Maldives lost Cup Glory!

India had won Bangabandhu SAFF Championship 2009 after beating Maldives in Penalty Shootout (3 – 1) in the final match held at Bangabandhu Stadium at Dhaka.

From the beginning of the game Maldives kept pressure on Indian side, but the Indian team’s strategy was very positive as they were lucky without conceding a goal and keeping the score line blank until the end of 90 minutes and also in the extra period of the game.

Maldives who beat Sri Lanka 5 – 1 in the semi-final of the tournament was not in the best form throughout the game, but the countless goal scoring chances were created by the tiny Islanders and overall the match control was on Maldives side.

India who played a defensive game got a golden opportunity to win the match on extra period, but the skipper Sushil wasted the open chance in front of the goal. In the other hand Maldives would have won the match if their open chances in the game were converted in to goals, most noticeably the chances fallen to Thariq and Ashfaq even in the dying minutes of the game.

After the goalless draw in the penalty shootout, India decided to take the first penalty and Jibon, Denzil and Subodh got their target but Nirmal fired his one wide.

From four penalties Maldives win only the one scored by Ibrahim Fazeel, while Tahriq and Mukhthar saw their penalties saved by Arindam and Ashfag flies his chance over the bar.

Ahmed Thariq (Maldives), Channa (Sri Lanka) and Enamul (Bangladesh) were the joint Top scorers of the tournament with 4 goals. And Indian keeper Arindam who played in four games of the tournament and achieved 100% clean sheet was awarded to the Most Valuable player of the tournament.

India team who became the Champions of Bangabandhu SAFF Championship 2009 extends their record in the regional tournament as winning the 5^th title out of 8 played since 1993. Also this years’ tournament has built another record to India as to clinch a title with the least number of goals scored in a tournament. India scored only 3 goals in five matches but it should be noted that India had conceded only 2 goals in five matches.

Maldives scored 11 goals in this tournament while conceded 3 goals in five matches.

Foreigner in Kinbidhoo arrested on charges of trying to spread Christianity

A foreigner who had visited Thaa atoll Kinbidhoo was arrested on Friday on charges of trying to spread Christianity.

A resident of the island said that the man named David was from the UK and that Police had arrested him after entering the house where was staying. Some books on Christianity were also confiscated from his room during the arrest, the resident said. He further said that the man, who could speak fluently in Dhivehi, was a very friendly man who got along very well with the residents of the island and was held in high regard.

He also said that most of the residents weren’t sure exactly what he was doing in the island.

“He would give different answers to different people when asked,” the resident said. “Sometimes he would say that he was doing export business in Maldives. Other times he would say he was from the Red Cross. He has introduced CDs containing information about Christianity to some of the residents of the island.”

Six taken into Police custody in Dhidhdhoo during disturbance near DRP “jagaha”

Six people were arrested by the Police during a disturbance that occurred in Haa Alifu atoll Dhidhdhoo when some people tried to take apart the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) “jagaha” (camp) near the island’s harbor area and were confronted by the group manning the camp.

A Police Media Official said that six people were taken into Police custody in Dhidhdhoo “in order to keep the peace” during a confrontation between the two groups. The Official said that all six were released after being cautioned.

The leader of the DRP camp, Mohamed Naseer Nasru, said on Monday that the camp had been taken apart by a group of MPD people who said that plots of land were being given out from the harbor area. He said that when those inside the jagaha had refused to leave, they had been arrested by the Police.

Dhidhdhoo Councilor Ahmed Shareef said that no one had been authorized to set a political camp in the harbor area and that the land belonged to the Government. He further said that the area was a commercial zone and plots of land from there were being distributed now. He further said that there were no structures belonging to anyone in the area and stressed that no “incidents” had occurred in the area either.

According to Naseer, they had set up the DRP camp in the area without asking for permission because many such places had already been constructed near the harbor area of the island.

“If our camp was taken apart then they would have to destroy the other such structures in the area too, that’s all I’m saying,” he said. “There is no justification for this; it’s just plain unfair. We asked them not to take the place apart as we are willing to pay the rent for it.”

He said that many DRP and MDP supporters had gathered in the area when the camp was being destroyed.

Bad weather disrupts scheduled ferry services to Hulhumalé, Villimalé

The bad weather being experienced across the country disrupted ferry services to Hulhumalé and Villimalé on Wednesday.

Officials from Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), which is responsible for providing ferry services in Malé region, said that the seas had become so rough in the Villimalé and Hulhumalé area that they had decided to cancel the ferry services on Wednesday morning. Due to the disruption, there were no ferries travelling between Villimalé and Malé between 5:30am and 7:30am. The ferries scheduled between Malé and Hulhumalé were also cancelled between 6:00am and 7:30am.

Those who wished to travel from Hulhumalé to Malé between 7:30am and 12:00pm had to travel via the Hulhulé route.

“The ferry service was stopped because the seas were too rough for safe travelling,” an official from MTCC said. “Those in Hulhumalé who wanted to come to Malé had to go to Hulhulé and then take a ferry to Malé.”

Some of the passengers who arrived in Malé via the Hulhulé route complained about it. Some of them were unhappy about having to pay Rf2 to the bus that took them to Hulhulé.

MTCC has said that they might have to cancel some of the scheduled ferries in the near future, depending on the weather.

DRP members call for action against Alhan Fahmy

Two members of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) parliamentary group has called on the Party to take severe action against Seenu Feydhoo MP Alhan Fahmy for going against the Party’s decision and not taking part in the vote of no-confidence against Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed.

Speaking at the DRP rally held at the Artificial Beach on Tuesday night, Thoddoo MP Ali Waheed and Villi-Maafannu MP Ahmed Nihan Hussain both criticized Alhan and called on the Party to take action against him. Although they did not directly refer to Alhan by name, their choice of the words left no doubt about whom they were speaking about.

Ali Waheed, who had presented the no-confidence motion against Dr Shaheed, said that if the “party member who voted against the Party’s policies” was given even one more chance to speak at the Party’s podium, then it would be the last time that he, Ali Waheed himself, would speak there. He further said that he wished to work with trustworthy people who won’t turn out to be hypocrites.

He went on to say that an emergency Party council meeting was required to discuss the matter of the DRP member who didn’t take part in the vote and that strict measures should be taken against the member who had tried to destroy the Party’s policies.

Addressing the supporters gathered at the Artificial Beach, Ali Waheed said that what really saddened him wasn’t the fact that DRP had not won the vote of no-confidence against Dr Shaheed, but that it was a DRP member that had backstabbed them. He said it was due to such treacherous people that the 30-year rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had come to an end.

Government signs agreement with Shri Educare to privatise Ghiyasuddin School

Government of Maldives has signed an agreement with Shri Educare to privatise Ghiyasuddin School.

The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Maldives by Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfee while Mr Karikeya Bharat Ram signed on behalf of Sri Educare Pvt Ltd.

Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony held at the President's Office, President Mohamed Nasheed reiterated the Government's long-term ambition to dramatically improve the state of education in the Maldives. He added that the Government's aim was for at least 60 per cent of student who finish school to pass all their exams with higher than C grades.

Stating that Ghiyasuddin School was the first school to be privatised under the Government's public-private partnership policy, the President said that more such schools would be established in the Maldives.

The President added that he was confident that such partnerships would improve the quality of education, make schools more efficient and give parents a choice of different schools.

Speaking at the function, Education Minister Dr Musthafa Luthfee said that privatisation of schools would provide more choices to parents and increase competition within the system. Minister of Civil Aviation and Communcation, Mahmood Razi and Kartikeya Bharat Ram from Sri Educare Pvt Ltd also spoke at the function.

Umar Naseer’s case submitted to Prosecutor General’s Office

The Maldives Police Service last Monday sent the case of Islamic Democratic Party President Umar Naseer, charged with assaulting a man during the protest held outside the President’s Office on last October, to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

A Police Media Official said on Wednesday that the Police had concluded their investigation and sent the case to the Prosecutor General.

Umar has denied that he assaulted anyone during the protest. He said that he was aware that there was a video clip which apparently shows him assaulting a person that day but said that it just appeared that way because of the angle the video was shot from. Umar further said that he had another video clip of the same incident taken from another angle which clearly shows that he did not physically attack anyone.

He went on to say that it was a political move and that the Government had been trying for a year to press charges against him. He added that the charges wouldn’t stick.

There had been some clashes between MDP and DRP supporters during the protest.