News in brief: arson suspect arrested in Kulhudhuffushi

A 30-year-old man suspected of setting fire to a motorbike parked inside a house on Kulhudhuffushi island has been arrested, police said on Thursday.

The fire incident destroyed a motorbike and partly damaged a three-wheeler mini pick-up vehicle. The fire was put out in less than half an hour after it was reported around 4:16am on October 22, according to the Maldives National Defence Force.

Photo from PSM

Addu City Council invites bids for city hotel and guesthouses

The Addu City Council on Thursday invited bids to lease 96 plots of land for the development of a city hotel and guesthouses in designated tourism zones.

The land plots would be leased for 50 years as part of the current administration’s pledge to develop 4,000 tourist beds in the southernmost atoll. Bid documents are available from the council secretariat until November 28.

Two High Court judges under investigation

The Judicial Service Commission on Wednesday placed High Court Judges Shujau Usman and Hussain Shaheed under investigation over alleged ethical misconduct.

An investigation sub-committee has been formed for the separate probes, the watchdog announced, but did not disclose details regarding the nature of the complaints or allegations against the judges. Last month, the JSC suspended High Court Judge Hassan Ali over an alleged attempt to cover up the abduction and murder of journalist Ahmed Rilwan in August 2014.

President appoints new commissioners

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Thursday presented letters of appointments to Fathuhulla Jameel as the Commissioner General of Taxation, Asma Shafeeu as the Deputy Commissioner General of Taxation and Hussain Fiyaz Moosa as Information Commissioner.

All three presidential nominees were approved by parliament earlier this month.

Today on Twitter

…Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for young people must be aligned with job market needs and youth aspirations. Government and private sector need to work together to provide those opportunities for young people. (2/2)

— UNICEF Maldives (@UNICEFMaldives) October 31, 2019

Inaugurated the 3rd session of the Joint Meeting Mechanism to Deal with Issues of Safety of Chinese Tourists in 🇲🇻, along with Min @ali20waheed. As we target 1m Chinese tourists annually, ensuring their continued safety and security is of paramount importance. @AmbassadorZhang pic.twitter.com/i3aiXuWWMB

— Abdulla Shahid 🎈 (@abdulla_shahid) October 31, 2019

3/3 In the 3rd Meeting of the Joint Meeting Mechanism today , types of safety issues are reviewed. Both sides stress the need of awareness campaign and capability trainings. We are also informed of new major safety measures to tourists as a whole by the Maldives government. pic.twitter.com/0OeK8JjLWy

— Amb. Zhang Lizhong (@AmbassadorZhang) October 31, 2019

Statistics of cases investigated July – Sept 2019 pic.twitter.com/3wSLx9GwD8

— HRC of the Maldives (@hrcmv) October 31, 2019

High level officials, decision makers, civil society, cross sectoral partners, technical experts in relevant fields will deliberate on issues of importance about Public Health in this Conference @AslamAslamtey #PublicHealthConference2019#WorkingTogether#PH2020 pic.twitter.com/0KsSHcl4uM

— Ministry of Health (@MoHmv) October 31, 2019

I am honoured to share with my friends that I am the featured speaker at FINE ART TALKS in Malé, Republic of Maldives in the FE AUDITORIUM at The Maldives National University (MNU) on 2nd NOV 2019 at 4:00 pm.

It’s free entrance.
you all are invited. pic.twitter.com/UT8DReXHzB

— GMB Akash (@GmbAkash) October 31, 2019

We would like to invite for public comments and ideas to formulate the National Action Plan on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in the Maldives. pic.twitter.com/gRKdcvsehG

— National Counter Terrorism Centre – Maldives (@NCTCMaldives) October 31, 2019

MPL signed an MoU with @MTCC to distribute our ‘Touch Link Card’ from MTCC's Ferry Terminal ticket counters in Male’, Hulhumale’ & Velana International Airport. pic.twitter.com/gd8K6Lahlt

— Maldives Ports Limited (@Portmv) October 30, 2019

Congratulations to the winners of Makita Heyyaa Competition 👏😊 We thank all the talented participants who submitted their work making the competition a success. @STO_HomeImp pic.twitter.com/Ul07zGyNT6

— STO Plc (@stoplc) October 30, 2019

Congratulations to the new Srilankan Ambassador to Maldives, HE Kohona Walawwe Nimal Dharmakeerthi Karunaratne on presenting Credentials to HE President @ibusolih. Srilanka is the second home to a lot of Maldivians and I look forward to strengthen 🇲🇻-🇱🇰 relations. @MFA_SriLanka pic.twitter.com/bbz13Wyf7z

— Abdulla Shahid 🎈 (@abdulla_shahid) October 30, 2019

HDC signs Sale of Land agreement with @bankofmaldives, for the development of an Office Building in #Hulhumalé Phase I. pic.twitter.com/nDwIzwtBOl

— HDC (@hdcmaldives) October 30, 2019