Minggu, 30 September 2007
Foreign tourists die in Maldives bomb blast - ABC News Radio Australia
The government of the Maldives has condemned a bomb blast that has injured 12 foreign tourists.
The blast occurred near a park in the capital, Male.
Two British nationals are in a stable condition with extensive burns while eight Chinese and two Japanese tourists have been treated for minor injuries.
A government spokesman, Mohammed Sharif says the attack is unprecedented.
"We will look into all avenues, rest assured, because we really don't want anything of this sort ever to happen in the Maldives again," he said.
"This is something that really could jeopardise the economy and anyway the lives and the well being of our visitors is something that we take very seriously.
"I mean locals here are really warm towards tourists and there's general outrage publicly as well when they heard about this."
Maldives: Blast Came From Homemade Bomb
September 29, 2007 22 07 GMT Stratfor
An explosion that wounded 12 in Male, Maldives on Sept. 29 came from a homemade bomb, the Maldivian government said. The device detonated at the entrance to Sultan Park, a tourist destination. Those injured are all foreign nationals, including two British, two Japanese and eight Chinese nationals. Police have arrested two suspects, but no one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
British honeymooners seriously injured as washing machine bombers bring terror to Maldives
by STEPHANIE CONDRON - Last updated at 09:16am on 30th September 2007 A British couple were seriously injured yesterday in a bomb attack in the Maldives. Christian and Jennifer Donelan were believed to have been on honeymoon.
The home-made device - a washing machine motor attached to a gas cylinder and filled with nails - exploded in a park outside a mosque in the capital, Male.
Mr and Mrs Donelan, who live in Qatar, were among 12 tourists were injured, including eight Chinese and two Japanese. All were treated in hospital for burns.
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Deadly: Some of the components used in the bomb which exploded in the Maldives capital, Male, injuring British honeymooners Christian and Jennifer Donelan
Mr Donelan, originally from Rotherham, is a keen sportsman and has played hockey for the town's main club, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
He has undergone surgery to treat burns to his arms and legs.
His wife, whose maiden name is Green, suffered more serious burns but both are conscious and able to speak to friends and family by phone.
Mr Donelan's friend Tim Bulleyment told the newspaper: "Christian sounded really rough but he said he was lucky to be alive."
The couple, both thought to be aged in their 30s, married in Italy just two weeks ago before their honeymoon in the Maldives, it was reported.
They had been coming to the end of their holiday when the device exploded near a park in Male, which is on a separate island from Baros where they had been staying.
Local police did not immediately know who had planted the bomb. It is the first time tourists have been injured by a bomb in the group of islands in the Indian Ocean.
It exploded in Sultan Park at around 2.30pm local time. Police appealed to members of the public to send in any photographs or video footage of the attack. The park was packed with tourists at the time.
Witnesses reported seeing nails scattered in the park before the area was cleared by security forces.
A government spokesman commented last night: "We are taking this very seriously."
A tourist guide said: "After showing the tourists the museum inside the park, we had just reached the gate when I heard a mobile phone ring followed by a loud explosion.
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Investigators pinpoint evidence (above and below) after the blast outside the entrance to the park in Male
"When I looked back I saw that one of the tourist's legs was on fire. I immediately told the tourist to strip. By that time the skin on his leg was burned.
"Shrapnel, possibly nails, from the bomb struck the tourists, wounding them. Half the hair on the head of one of the guests was completely burned off. The hands were also bleeding from several wounds."
A broken phone, a timer and some masonry nails were recovered.
Eight of the injured were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and four, including the British couple, went to a private hospital called ADK Enterprise.
Ahmed Afaal, the managing director of ADK, said: "They were in shock and in a lot of pain. I condemn this act. It is bizarre and shocking."
Dr Ahmed Shaheed, former foreign minister for the Maldives, said: "This explosion seems to have been targeted at tourists. I have no idea who did it. The mood is one of shock and dismay but things are calm."
Some 600,000 tourists, including thousands from the UK, visit the idyllic islands each year.
Tourists normally stay on resorts away from the capital but usually pass through Male to get there.
The threat of terrorism is classed as "low" in Foreign Office advice to tourists but some Western diplomats have expressed concern about the potential for violence in the Sunni Muslim country.
A representative from the British High Commission in Sri Lanka is expected to arrive in Male today.
Maldives Home Minister Abdulla Kamaluddin said: "This was a cowardly terrorist attack and something which should never have happened in the Maldives."
He refused to speculate on the target of the bombing - despite all the injured being tourists.
In an interview with local television, the minister said it was too early so say who could be behind it.
But he added: "The attack was planned and executed using materials gathered in the Maldives."
A statement from the Maldives government condemned the attack as an inhuman and degrading act.
It said: "The Maldivian authorities will pursue the culprits and attempt to bring them to justice and give them the harshest punishment within the law."
The Maldives constitution allows for capital punishment in the case of acts against the state.
Police in the Maldives later said two people had been arrested in connection with the blast.
A spokesman said: "The special investigation team is undergoing a systematic search for the offender with the help of forensic analysis."
Government spokesman Mohamed Shareef said that police arrested the suspects hours after the blast last night but no motive has been established yet.
Maldives arrests - Sky News Australia
Two people have been arrested over a bomb attack in the Maldives which has injured 12 foreign tourists.
In the rare attack in South Asia's top luxury holiday destination, two Britons, two Japanese and eight Chinese nationals were hurt in the blast.
The Britons suffered serious burns, while the others had minor injuries.
The crude device went off while the tourists were visiting a popular spot on the island of Male.
A mobile phone and nails were found at the scene.
The arrested men, who are locals, are now being questioned.
The Muslim country has a reputation for peace and has not seen violence since 1988.
Explosion injures 12 in Maldives, including 8 Chinese tourists
Source: CCTV.com | 09-30-2007 09:07
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People stand near a mosque in Male September 29, 2007. A homemade bomb exploded near a mosque in the Maldives' capital on Saturday, wounding 12 foreign tourists, the islands' government said.(Reuters)
A bomb has exploded at a park in the Maldives, wounding at least 12 foreign tourists. Police have now launched an investigation.
The homemade bomb exploded outside Sultan Park in the capital, Male, leaving 12 people eight Chinese, two Britons, and two Japanese with burn injuries. The chief government spokesman said it was not immediately known how the bomb was detonated or where it was planted.
The Tourism Minister said the Japanese and Chinese nationals have been treated for minor injuries and discharged from the hospital. He said the two Britons sustained significant burns but were stable and out of danger.
2 arrested after explosion in Maldives
www.chinaview.cn  2007-09-30 11:52:01 | |
2 arrested after explosion in Maldives
COLOMBO, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Two persons have been arrested in connection with the explosion in the Maldivian capital of Male Saturday afternoon which injured 12 foreign tourists, said the Maldivian government on Sunday.
A spokeswoman from the Ministry of Information also said that 10 of the 12 tourists have been released from hospitals, but two British nationals are still in hospital.
More than 60,000 tourists visit Maldives each year, generating about one-third of the country's total income.
Explosion injures 12 in Maldives
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| Police officers investigate the site of a bomb explosion at the Sultan Park in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007. A homemade bomb exploded Saturday outside a crowded city park in the Maldives, wounding 12 foreign tourists. (Xinhua Photo) |
COLOMBO, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Twelve foreign tourists, including eight Chinese nationals were injured in an explosion in the Maldivian capital of Male Saturday afternoon, the Maldivian government said.
Mohamed H. Shareef, the chief government spokesman, told Xinhua from Male by phone that among the injured eight are Chinese nationals, two are Japanese, two are British nationals.Police cordon off blacksmith shop; case suspected to be linked with Sultan Park bombing
| DATE: 2007-09-29 HNS
MALE, September 29, 2007 (Haveeru News Service) -- Police tonight have cordoned off an area containing a blac
ksmith shop on Bodu Rasgefaanu Magu (street) in the capital Male.It was immediately not clear why the police are investigating the blacksmith’s, but sources said that it might be linked to the bomb explosion at the Sultan Park in Male today in which some foreign tourists were injured.
Haveeru reporters said that they witnessed police take two men into custody from the blacksmith\'s; however, the identities of those arrested are not clear yet.
The blacksmith shop is located at a house called Saraz and police have prevented even reporters from entering the area.
Haveeru reporters at the scene said that they saw a police forensic team enter the blacksmith\'s with briefcases.
Eyewitnesses said that they saw police confiscate some things from the blacksmith’s and took those away in a police jeep.
Explosion injures 12 in Maldives |
| www.chinaview.cn 2007-09-29 22:21:33 |   Print |
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| Photo taken on Sept. 9, 2007 shows an entrance of the Sultan Park in Male, Maldives. A homemade bomb exploded Saturday outside a crowded city park in the Maldives, wounding 12 foreign tourists. (Xinhua Photo) |
Mohamed H. Shareef, the chief government spokesman, told Xinhua from Male by phone that among the injured eight are Chinese nationals, two are Japanese, two are British nationals.
Shareef said the eight Chinese tourists and the two Japanese tourists have been discharged after being treated at hospital, but the two British nationals are still in hospital as they received extensive burnings in the explosion.
He said the explosion happened at about 2:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) in the Sultan Park in the central area of Male and the explosion was caused by a homemade device.
The spokesman said the government has no clues about who is responsible for the explosion.
Shareef said this was the first such explosion in the Maldives for many years and the government will do its best to investigate the incident.
More than 60,000 tourists visit the archipelago each year, generating about one-third of the country's total income. Maldivian president condemns explosion in Male |
| www.chinaview.cn 2007-09-30 10:52:55 | |
COLOMBO, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Maldivian President Maumoon AbdulGayoom has strongly condemned the act of detonating an explosive device in the Maldivian capital of Male on Saturday in which 12 foreign tourists were injured, according to local media Sunday.
The president's office said in a statement through its official website that it was the first time that the Maldives had suffered such a terrorist attack.
"During his visit to the foreign nationals injured in the explosion, the president said that this has been a very sad day for the Maldives," said the statement.
Gayoom also said that the people responsible for this act will be found and that they will be punished under law, the statement added.
An homemade device exploded Saturday afternoon in Sultan Park in Male, injuring 12 foreign tourists.
The government said 10 of the injured were released from hospitals after being treated, but the two British nationals were still in hospital.
At least 12 tourists hurt in bomb blast
COLOMBO - A homemade bomb exploded yesterday near a city park in the Maldives, injuring at least 12 foreign tourists. The group included two Britons, eight Chinese, and two Japanese. The afternoon attack occurred in Male, the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago that is famous for its resorts. Officials are investigating whether the explosion targeted the tourism industry or whether Islamic jihadists were involved. (AP)
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2007/09/30/at_least_12_tourists_hurt_in_bomb_blast/
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Maldives police have arrested two local men after a nail-packed bomb exploded in a busy park Saturday and wounded 12 foreign tourists, a government spokesman said Sunday.
The homemade bomb exploded outside the crowded Sultan Park in the capital, Male, the first such incident reported in this Indian Ocean archipelago renowned for its exclusive tourist resorts.
Government spokesman Mohamed Shareef said that police arrested the suspects hours after the blast. But no motive has been established yet, and it was unclear whether they would be charged.
"The Maldives has never had something like this before. We are taking this very seriously because tourism is our life blood," Shareef said after the blast on Saturday.
The injured included two Britons, eight Chinese and two Japanese, all of whom suffered burns, Shareef said. All except the British couple, who sustained burns over 40 percent of their bodies, were discharged from hospital and immediately sent home, he said.
Shareef said Saturday was too early to say whether the bomb targeted the tourism industry or determing whether an Islamic jihadist organization was involved.
Some Western diplomats have expressed concern about the potential for violence in this Sunni Muslim country. Half the population is under 18, reasonably well-educated and with few prospects for good jobs. Some young people have turned to drug use, while others have embraced a conservative strain of Islam that had been virtually unheard of on the islands just a few years ago.
Attacks against the tourist trade are virtually unheard of, though there has been tension and occasional outbreaks of violence in recent years between opposition activists and government forces, who are controlled by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has ruled the country for 29 years.
The opposition Minivan News reported on its Web site that witnesses said they saw nails, presumably from the bomb, scattered in the park, which is located near the country's army headquarters.
The Maldives, with a population of about 350,000, is by far the wealthiest — and most orderly — country in south Asia. About 600,000 tourists visit the country each year, accounting for one-third of its economy.
Authorities will seek help from Interpol, the United States and India in investigating the blast, Shareef said.
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Explosion Injures 12 Tourists in Maldives
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 The bomb exploded near the capital’s main mosque located at the entrance of Sultan Park. Two British nationals, eight Chinese and two Japanese sustained injuries when the blast occurred. The Japanese and Chinese citizens were lightly injured and weren’t hospitalized, but the two Britons suffered extensive burns and received supplementary treatment, officials said. No one claimed responsibility for the unprecedented attack. The mosque is visited by large groups of tourists daily and is close to the Maldives Army headquarters. Preliminary reports said the improvised explosive device consisted of a mobile phone and a motor attached to a gas cylinder. A witness reportedly saw some nails scattered after the explosion. The Indian Ocean island nation is a very popular tourist destination, drawing more than 500,000 tourists per year. This is the first incident to shatter the tranquility of the capital since 1998 and the first bomb to go off in the Maldives. For nearly 29 years the island nation has been steered by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who claimed another victory in last month’s referendum for a new constitutional system. Most of the voters chose the presidential system of government in the detriment of a parliamentary one and anchored the leadership of Gayoom. © 2007 - eFluxMedia |
Blast Wounds 12 Foreign Tourists In Maldives
September 29, 2007 12:09 p.m. EST
Male, Maldives (AHN) - At least 12 tourists were wounded in the first ever explosion in Maldives, a small nation of a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, on Saturday.
The wounded have been identified as two Britons, two Japanese and eight Chinese nationals.
The homemade bomb was detonated at a crowded park besides Maldives' army headquarters, using a mobile phone. No one has claimed responsibility for the blast.
"The Maldives has never had something like this before. We are taking this very seriously because tourism is our life blood," an official is quoted by BBC as saying. Police have ordered an investigation into the incident.
Tourism is the backbone of Maldives' economy and the country of 330,000 people, mostly Muslims, normally enjoys a peaceful atmosphere.
Malé Explosion Injures Twelve Tourists
By Ajay Makan
September 29, 2007 Minivan News
Twelve tourists have been injured in an explosion in Malé’s Sultan Park, in what appears to be a planned attack on the Maldives Tourism industry.
A small explosion took place at the entrance to the park, near the northern edge of the island at 2.36pm.
Eight Chinese, two Japanese and two British tourists were admitted to hospital for treatment.
The injured Chinese have all since been released, but will return to China on a flight tonight, the Tourism Minister told Minivan News.
The two injured Japanese are a couple. The female has sustained burns, which have now been treated, and she has been released along with her partner, Minister Shaugee said.Two Brits remain in hospital, but are in a stable condition, according to Shaugee. “They have sustained burns to their bodies, and are receiving treatment at ADK [Malé’s private hospital.]”
The British High Commission have been informed of the names of those injured, but the Maldives government has decided not to make their identities public.
A Maldives government statement released at 8pm, condemned an “Inhuman and degrading act.”
“The Maldivian authorities will pursue the culprits and attempt to bring them to justice and give them the harshest punishment within the law,” it read.
The Maldives constitution allows for capital punishment in the case of acts against the state.
Tourism Minister Dr Shaugee meanwhile has called for calm.
“I would like to emphasise it was a small explosive device. News reports of a bomb blast may be misleading people about the magnitude of the incident,” he told Minivan News.
Some local media report the explosion was triggered by a home made device involving a mobile phone and washing machine motor attached to a gas cylinder. Witnesses report seeing nails scattered in the park, before the area was cleared by security personnel.
The 100% Muslim Maldives receives over five hundred thousand tourists a year, and the industry is the linchpin of the country’s $1 billion economy.
The Maldives is known as a tranquil island getaway and the capital has not seen explosions or gunfire since an attempted coup in 1988.
The government is refusing to speculate officially on motives for the attack,
But one official told Minivan News, “this looks like an attack by jihadists on our tourism industry.”
He pointed out the explosion had taken place on the seventeenth day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which commemorates the prophet Mohamed's first victory in battle.
In recent years Wahabbi Islam has grown in popularity in the traditionally moderate country. But religious radicals have never threatened terrorism acts.
Tourists were the only people injured in the explosion, adding to the appearance of a deliberate attack on the industry. The device exploded as a large tour group reached the gates to Sultan Park. There were no locals within range of the blast, except those attached to the tour group, who escaped injury.
Tourists to the Maldives must stay on resort islands and relatively few visit the capital. But the Sultan Park, adjacent to Malé’s main mosque, is visited by all tour groups.
The Sultan Park is in the shadow of the Maldives army headquarters, and several surveillance cameras are trained on the area. A fifteen second burst of CCTV footage, apparently showing the blast, was shown on state broadcaster Television Maldives earlier this evening.
Explosion in Sultan Park injures 12 tourists
| DATE: 2007-09-29 HNS
Broken remains of the mobile phone and its timer used for the bomb that was detonated inside the Sultan Park on 29 September 2007. Some of the concrete nails used as shrapnel for the bomb is also seen in the picture. Haveeru Photo: Ali Nishan
29 September 2007 -- The relative peace of the Maldivian capital Male’ was shattered when a small bomb was detonated inside the Sultan Park this afternoon. Twelve tourists were seriously injured in the explosion.
In an interview with the media this evening, Police Superintendent Ahmed Faseeh said that they had received reports that something had exploded inside Sultan Park around 2:30pm today. He said that it wasn’t clear exactly what it was that had caused the explosion but confirmed that the people that had been injured in the explosion were all tourists. He also said that two of the tourists who were injured were in ‘serious condition’.
He said that the Police strongly condemned the incident and urged the public to send in any information, photo or video that anyone might have managed to get of the incident.
Immediately following the incident the Police and members of the Maldives National Defence Force cordoned off the area and began their investigation. Although it wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the explosion, people who were at the area during the incident said that they had heard ‘a phone ring right before the loud explosion was heard’.
“After showing the tourists the museum inside the park we had just reached the gate of the Park when I heard a mobile phone ring followed by a loud explosion,” a tourist guide, who had been conducting a tour with some tourists when the incident had occurred at the Park, said from ADK Hospital where some of the injured tourists had been admitted. “When I looked back I saw that one of the tourist’s entire legs from the knee below was on fire. I immediately told the tourist to strip. By that time the skin on his leg was burned. Shrapnel, possibly nails, from the bomb struck the tourists, wounding them. Half the hair on the head of one of the guests I was with was completely burned off. The hands were also bleeding from several wounds.”
The wounded tourists had immediately been taken to the Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and ADK Hospital. When Haveeru reporters went to ADK they found three burn victims, all of them tourists, being treated for their burns. One had suffered severe burns below the waist. The other two had suffered various burns all over their body. The others who were injured were a Chinese woman, a Japanese couple and two European tourists.
A broken phone, a timer and some concrete nails believed to be used as shrapnel for the bomb was recovered at the scene by the Police.
Minggu, 30 September 2007 0
Sabtu, 22 September 2007
This is an account of a trip that I took with my in-laws through central Scotland.
Day 1 - September 10, 2007: My two older kids have week-long school trips this week, so this seemed like a good time to take a mini-trip through Scotland. Accompanying me on the trip were my wife, her parents, and my 5-year old. We started the trip by heading out of Aberdeen down the Royal Deeside trail. Our first stop was at Crathie Church, which is where The Royal Family has attended since Queen Victoria's days when they are in residence at nearby Balmoral Castle.
Because my father-in-law has had several heart attacks, I inquired at the visitor's center about driving up the hill to the church. They informed me that this was fine if there was a physical reason for needing to do so. So we drove up and parked in the back. I played outside with my son while the others went in and checked out the church. After a few minutes, a tour bus pulled up, so we left. But we had to drive by the parade of tourists as they walked up the hill, and some of them glared, certainly wondering why we were able to drive to the church.
The Royal Family was in residence at Balmoral, so we weren't able to visit it. We did pull off to the side of the road (where a sign said "No Parking") and snapped a couple of distant pictures of the castle.
We headed on to Braemar, which is a place we had stayed when we visited Scotland in 2000. Braemar is a very neat, if touristy village where the Highland Games take place. We wandered around Braemar for a bit and had lunch there. From there we had intended to go to Rob Roy country, but while I studied the map over lunch, it looked like it would be a more efficient use of our time to go straight to Stirling and then work our way back through Rob Roy country. So, I got on the phone and started trying to book a room. No luck. I was told that the university students were coming back that week, and everything in town was booked. Still, I decided to risk it and push on to Stirling.
So, we turned south into some very rugged country split by a narrow road. I can remember taking this route once before, and although the scenery is spectacular, the drive is unnerving. For some reason, Scottish roads often have curbs appearing on the inside lane when you encounter a curve. In that case, if a big truck is coming, you are really squeezed in on both sides. Go to far to one side, and hit the curb; too far to the other, and hit the truck. And these roads are very narrow. I clenched the steering wheel tightly numerous times, bracing for impact as a truck or RV passed me.
On the way to Stirling, we passed through Dunblane, site of the school shooting that haunts me more than any other. Sixteen 5 and 6-year olds plus one teacher were gunned down in class. My son is 5, and I have tried to imagine a 5-year old having to cope with something like that. I have to admit that many nights as I tried to fall asleep, the memory of this shooting crept in and made it impossible for me to sleep. It is simply incomprehensible to me.
We pulled into Stirling, with me still trying to work out a plan for the rest of the afternoon. It was about 4, and I wanted to go to Stirling Castle, one of the best ones in Scotland, and then onto the Wallace Monument. We saw the Wallace Monument from a distance, but we decided to go explore the castle first.
Stirling Castle is very cool. It is set up on a hill overlooking Stirling, and is one of the most impressive castles in Scotland. My wife decided to go on the audio tour, my in-laws went on a guided tour, and I went on the 5-year old tour. What that meant was that I went and did whatever my son wanted to do. He has wanted to visit a castle for a long time, and this one had lots to explore. He dragged me all over the place, exploring every room. It was hard for me to really get an appreciation for the various rooms and gardens of the castle, but it was worth it.
On my mind the whole time was the fact that we still didn't have a place to stay for the night. I called a couple more places, but no luck. We could have gone to the tourist information place after the castle visit, and they could probably find something for us, but I thought our chances were better if we just went over and visited the Wallace Monument, and then pushed on to Callander, our next stop 15 miles away.
We all wandered around the castle - in 3 separate groups - for a little over an hour. We all met back up near the front and decided to run over to the Wallace Monument. When we arrived, the visitor's center had closed, so we snapped a few pictures in front of the Mel Gibson - err - William Wallace statue (looks just like Mel Gibson). Pretty soon, a bus pulled up, and the driver said he was taking one more trip to the top. He said he would take us up, but we had to walk back down. We all agreed, and he hauled us up the hill to the monument.
There is quite a view from the monument, and you can look out over where The Battle of Stirling Bridge was fought by William Wallace and his troops. We didn't get to go inside the monument, as it was closed, but the big attraction there anyway is climbing to the top. Given my father-in-law's heart condition, we weren't going to be doing that anyway. So we wandered around for a bit, walked back down the hill, and headed for Callendar, and hopefully a good bed and breakfast.
We recently bought a navigation system, so I typed in Callendar and off we went. The system is pretty reliable, although once it tried to send me down a one-way street, and another time down a bike path. This time it tried to send me through the middle of the college campus, but I went around it instead. Twenty minutes later, we were on the outskirts of Callendar, stopping at one B&B after another. We stopped at one place after another with no luck. I also got some very unfriendly looks; once when I pulled into a guy's driveway (the B&B was next door, and I thought it was their driveway), and once when I was pulling out of a blind driveway, and a guy walking a dog stepped in front of us. Callendar was seeming a bit less friendly than the last time we were here, and suddenly a lot more touristy to me.
We finally found a place that could accomodate all of us. It was called Abbotsford Lodge, and was run by a very friendly fellow. When he asked where we were from, I told him "Aberdeen. Can't you tell from our accents?" Anyway, he set us up, and also told us that a good Italian place had opened up down the road. That was good, because the guide book we were using said there weren't any good restaurants in Callendar. But we took his advice, and had a very nice meal at Ciro's. I can say that Callendar has at least one good restaurant.
Day 2 - September 11: Hmm. 9/11. I didn't realize that until I had been up for a while. I had thought about it when I was planning the trip, but it had slipped my mind after the busy day yesterday. I hope it's a quiet day.
After we had the traditional Scottish breakfast, we checked out and headed downtown. We needed to stop at the grocery store first and get supplies, because we probably wouldn't be near a restaurant at lunch time. As we were shopping, my cell phone started ringing. This is odd, because hardly anyone has the number. But my two older kids were on a week long trip, and I was concerned that something may have happened. The number said "Private", but because I was concerned about the kids, I answered. It was a headhunter, asking me if I would be willing to leave my company. The oil industry has a terrible manpower shortage in the North Sea, so these kinds of phone calls are very common. I explained that I was on an expat assignment with my employer, and that they sponsored my work visa. "Oh, that's not a problem", she told me. "This other employer can buy that visa." I had always wondered about that. Not sure if she had that correct, but that's interesting if true.
So, I got off the phone, and continued shopping. Five minutes later, the phone rings again. Headhunter again. She tells me that she has confirmed the visa situation. She wants my CV. I told her I would think about it. Back to shopping. This time, it goes 10 minutes before she called back and asked if I might be interested in this other company. I told her I was on vacation, and we could talk about it some other time. I turned my phone off.
So, we finished shopping, and then made our way to the Rob Roy Visitor's Centre. Couldn't find a parking place. This is another thing that drives me crazy when traveling around Europe - you can't ever find parking. (The first thing that drives me crazy is that you can't ever find bathrooms). We eventually did find a spot where you could park for 30 minutes, which meant we couldn't stay in there long. We all went inside, and they informed us that they had removed the most interesting exhibit. It was a display of Rob Roy sitting around a fire and talking about his troubles. Apparently there were some who disagreed with the politics of what he was saying; I had read that in a book. Maybe that's the reason they pulled the plug on the exhibit.
I wanted to keep an eye on the car, so I bought a pair of little plastic swords, and my son and I stayed outside and had sword fights while the others spent time in the visitor's center. People walking by got quite a kick out of our sword fight; a number of people stopped and took pictures or video of us. One guy walked by and said "Go for the shins."
While we were out there, I saw a couple of instances of one other thing that drives me a bit crazy. Circling the visitor's center was a very narrow road, with parking in the back. While we were out there sword-fighting, two cars driven by elderly men just stopped and parked in the road. They completely blocked the road, and started to go into a store. They almost made it into the store when a large truck tried to turn down the road that they were blocking. It couldn't turn in, so he just stopped, blocked traffic, and sat there. He was glaring at the men, and it finally hit them that they had completely blocked the road. They moved, but it wasn't 10 minutes before someone else came along and did the same thing.
On the way out of town, we stopped at the Trossachs Woollen Mill to pick up some souvenirs. I spent most of the time outside, where they had Hamish - a Scottish Highland bull - on display. These are really unique looking animals. As my father-in-law said, they look like they have bangs. I took some pictures with my son while the others shopped, and when they all came out we were on our way.
Our plan was to drive all the way to Rob Roy's gravesite, but we barely made it out of town before we came across a spectacular lake. The lake was Loch Lubnaig, and the scenery around it reminded me of something from Yellowstone National Park. We pulled off at a parking area, and walked around the lake some and took pictures. We saw a tiny mole - probably only about 2 inches long - sniffing around a rock. I tried to get down and take a picture, but it didn't turn out very well.
We finished there, and pushed on to Balquhidder, which is where Rob Roy is buried. The road down to his gravesite is very narrow and winding. I would hate to drive that every day. In fact, we almost saw a wreck on that road after we stopped. Someone stopped in the road, and someone else came flying around the corner. I thought there was going to be a fight, because the car that almost hit the second one stopped in the road for a long time. (They were lucky someone didn't come around the corner and hit them).
Anyway, we spent quite a bit of time at the church and cemetery. We took pictures of the grave marker and the remains of the old church. The "new" church, built in 1855, happened to be open. I don't recall that this was the case the last time. So, we opened the door and went inside and had a look around. It amazes me that people don't vandalize or steal things from the church. I think if this was a church in a remote area of the U.S., and it was always left unlocked, it would just be a matter of time before someone vandalized it.
We took some walks down a trail behind the church. The path leads to a waterfall in the woods, so we went down and took some pictures. There are some really old-looking ruins down that path, but no explanation of what they are. We probably spent an hour puttering around the area before heading for our next destination, which would take us through some spectacular scenery.
We were headed to Fort William, and this would take us through Glen Coe. Personally, I think the scenery through Glen Coe is the most spectacular in Scotland. The first time we drove through, we thought it looked like Montana. There are huge green mountains, waterfalls, heather on the hills, and deer wandering around. Some of the scenes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were filmed there. We stopped several times as we drove through and took a lot of pictures. Once we took some close-ups of some red deer stags with very impressive racks. Another time we snapped some pictures of a very impressive waterfall.
Once we passed through the valley, we stopped at the Glencoe Visitor Centre and looked at the exhibits. Apparently the area was formed as a result of a massive volcanic eruption. There was quite a lot to see at the visitor's center, including some panaromic outdoor views of the glen.
We left there and pushed on into Fort William. We drove to the visitor's center there to book a room for a night. They couldn't find anything suitable in Fort William, but located something that sounded pretty good in the next town, Spean Bridge.
We wandered around downtown Fort William for a while. It was really different than I remembered it from before. There is a pedestrian walkway down town with lots of businesses, but it seemed reallly run down. The last time I was there, it had seemed really charming. We went into a little fish and chips place and had a bite. They actually charged a pound more per meal if you ate it in the restaurant. I got the fish and chips, and my in-laws, thinking I knew that this would be good, had some as well. In fact, I almost always find the fish and chips in the UK to be pretty awful, but I keep getting it in the hope of finding some place that serves it at least as well as Long John Silver's in the U.S. It was bad, as it normally is. I told my in-laws that I could have warned them; that I was just gambling on it maybe being good.
After eating, we headed on down the road to our Bed and Breakfast at Spean Bridge, about 10 miles down the road. It ended up being out in the country in a very beautiful setting. The B&B was called Coinachan Guest House, and we were met at the door by a 15-year old American girl. She told us that her mother was Scottish, but that she had grown up in Virginia. She had been back in Scotland for several years, and she was just starting to pick up a bit of the accent (she was not happy to hear that). Her mother had run into town on an errand, but she arrived within the hour and introduced herself. She told me that she was an environmental consultant, and I told her that we might have a lot to talk about.
The guest house was directly across the street from the Commando Memorial, dedicated to commandos who trained in that area during WWII. There was also a great view of Ben Nevis, although it spent most of the time in the clouds. The hills all around were covered with heather, and all of this combined to make for a really neat setting. To top it all off, the owners had a very friendly Rough Collie (the same breed as Lassie) which they let us play with the entire time we were there. Needless to say, I highly recommend this B&B.
We spent a lot of time outside playing with Max, the collie. There was a ball that he liked to run and catch, and he would bring it back all covered with slobber. It wasn't long before I was covered with long hair and dog slobber. We walked up a hill right on the property, and threw the ball down the hill and let Max bring it back up. After about 4 runs down the hill, he brought the ball back, dropped it at my feet, and then peed on it! I wasn't sure if he had done this on purpose, so I picked the ball up (gingerly) and tossed it back down the hill. He looked up at me with a look like "I am not touching that", and that was all of our ball tossing.
The owner stayed up late visiting with the women, but I turned in early with my son as I had a long drive the next day. There were skylights in the room, and I left the shades on them open so I could see the stars (when the clouds weren't covering them up).
Day 3 - September 12: This was to be our last day on the road, and the main item on the agenda today was Loch Ness. We had a Scottish breakfast with a twist. Instead of having sausage with my scrambled eggs, I had smoked salmon. Delicious. We packed the car and said our goodbyes, but then modified our plans slightly. The owner had told us about a nearby walk through the forest that someone had decorated up in a fairy theme. She said that when she first heard about it, she thought it would be pretty corny. But she said after she went and saw it, it was well worth the trip.
We had a bit of a tough time finding it, but we finally found what we thought was the right location. We had been told that it was about 10 minutes into the woods, and that most people failed to walk far enough. We would know we were on the right path when we saw a partially submerged barge in the lake next to the trail. After about 5 minutes, we spotted the barge (which my son wanted to investigate) so we knew we were on the right path.
The walk itself was very cool. The forest was very dark in places, and lush green everywhere. As far as my son was concerned, we were just taking a walk in the forest. We walked for probably 15 minutes before we came across the first signs of it. It was at a very dark portion of the forest, and it looked like something right out of a fairy tale. The place was decorated up as a home for gnomes and fairies. My son was just bewildered (and excited). He must have asked "What's happening?" 50 times.
I was a bit concerned about the in-laws, who had stayed in the car. I told them we wouldn't be long, but this thing was further into the forest than we thought, and it was also a lot more substantial than we had realized. Someone had invested thousands of hours (and dollars) into decorating the pathway.
Finally, after about an hour we returned to the car. It had been well worth the loss of time, but we had a long drive in front of us and we needed to get on the road. So, we got in the car and headed toward Loch Ness.
We were only 20 miles away, and I thought we would be there in 20 minutes. But after only about 5 miles, we got behind a pair of trucks transporting some huge pieces of equipment that basically took up 2 lanes of traffic. It was also moving about 15 miles an hour, but had to frequently stop and clear the road ahead of them. The funny thing was that a BMW had passed me at very high speed just after we left Spean Bridge, but ended up right in front of me when we encountered the trucks.
We debated what they were hauling. It appeared to be some pieces of pipe that were around 10 feet in diameter. I thought it looked like parts of a vessel or distillation column. One thing for sure; there was no getting around them, and there was no place for them to pull over and let traffic around. It looked like we were just going to drive the next 15 miles at 15 miles an hour.
My son started to get car sick. That had been a theme during much of the trip. With the winding roads, and all of the stops and starts, several in the group spent part of the trip feeling car sick.
The trucks finally turned off toward a different destination, and traffic could flow freely again. But we had spent a full hour behind them, and had moved about 10 miles. After just a few more minutes, we started seeing Loch Ness over on the right. Loch Ness is a very long lake, and the road winds along right nest to it. We stopped at one point and took some pictures of Urquhart Castle, overlooking the lake. We pulled into Drumnadrochit at lunchtime, and stopped at the Drumnadrochit Hotel, which is also next to a visitor's center. My son and I played on the same plaster Nessie model that I had played on with my other two kids seven years earlier. There were 3 Chinese tourists there watching us, and one asked if he could take our picture as we played.
I was finally able to drag my son off of Nessie, and we went and had some lunch in the hotel. Following lunch, we pushed off for Inverness, which was on the way before returning to Aberdeen. We had a long, but pretty uneventful drive back to Aberdeen. We passed through a lot of mountainous country, but we were all pretty traveled out at that point. I think we were all glad to finally arrive back in Aberdeen.
Sabtu, 22 September 2007 0
Kamis, 20 September 2007
2007 rwbcmeTcpes 20
Ahmed Rishan (HNS)
http://www.haveeruonline.com.mv/?page=details&id=58059&category=irWfwyiv
Tourist Arrivals from Switzerland at the end of July 2007: 15,816, a 4.3 per cent growth over the same period in last year.
In this year MTPB organised roadshows in 5 countries: 2 Gulf States, Australia, South Africa and United Kingdowm
Kamis, 20 September 2007 0
2007 rwbcmeTcpes 20
M S M Wajdee (HNS)
http://www.haveeruonline.com.mv/?page=details&id=58052
Ahmed Saeed, Haveeru News Services, 20 Sep 2007
http://www.haveeruonline.com.mv/?page=details&id=58053#comments
Male, 15 Storey 5 Start Hotel (2 bids proposed by the same bidder - Shangri La)
Date of announcement of tender for the hotel: 26th August 2007.
On 27th August 2007 Airport Investment Maldives (AIMS) annonced opening of tender 4 resorts for the second time. (Only 1 bidder expressed interest)
On 06th September 2007 Maldives Tourism Development Cooporation (MTDC) opended invitation to bid for 3 islands to be developed as resorts.
On 11th September 2007 Ministry of Tourism opened tender for H. Alif, Berinmadhoo and Hathifushi to be developed as resorts.
Get the picture!
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
10 Heroin Packets, Nasandhura, Male, 20th Sept 2007
http://www.haveeruonline.com.mv/?page=details&id=58093
Rabu, 19 September 2007
A Police Media Official said yesterday that the special operation had been launched following tips received from civilians that abusing and dealing narcotic drugs were happening on a large scale in Hulhu-Male’. The six people who were arrested in the special operation had all tested positive for drugs, Police said. However, Police have not revealed the identities of those they had arrested.
Police said that they had captured five people on drug related charges last week also, bringing the total number of arrested in the special operations to 11. Police also said that many of those who had been arrested in the special operations had been sent to the Rehabilitation Center in Feydhoo Finolhu for treatment. They are to receive treatment at the Centre for 90 days.
Iru Observer, 18 September 2007, Shixu
ރ. އަތޮޅު އުނގޫފާރުން ގިނައަދަދެއްގެ މަސްތުވާތަކެއްޗާއެކު ހަތަރު މީހުން އަތުލައިގެންފި ކަމަށް އުނގޫފާރު ޕޮލިސް ސްޓޭޝަނުން ހާމަކުރައްވައިފިއެވެ. އިރުއޮބްޒާވަރަށް މަޢުލޫމާތު ދެއްވަމުން އުނގޫފާރު ޕޮލިސް ސްޓޭޝަންގެ ސާރޖަންޓު އިބްރާހިމް ފާއިޒް، ވިދާޅުވީ، އެމީހުން ބަންދު ކުރެވުނީ މިދިޔަ އަންގާރަ ދުވަހުގެ ރޭ 23:00 ގައި ބަޔަކު މަސްތުވާ ތަކެތި ގެންގުޅޭ ޙަބަރު ލިބިގެން އެސަރަހަށް ދަށް ގޮސްބެލިއިރު އެމީހުންގެ އަތުން މަސްތުވާ ތަކެތި ފެނިގެން ކަމަށެވެ. އެ4މީހުން އަތުން މަސްތުވަތަކެއްޗަށް ޝައްކުކުރެވޭ މުށިކުލައިގެ ކުނޑިހުރި އެއް ބުލެޓާއި، 2 ޕެކެޓާއި މަސްތުވާތަކެތި ބަންދުކުރުމަށް ގެންގުޅޭ ބައެއް އާލާތް ފެނިފައިވާ ކަމަށްވެސް ފާއިޒު ވިދާޅުވިއެވެ. މިމީހުންނަކީ ސުނާމީގެ ސަބަބުން އުނގޫފާރުގެ ވަގުތީހިޔާތަކުގައި ދިރިއުޅޭ ކަނދޮޅުދޫ ބައެއްކަމަށާއި މިމީހުންގެ ތެރޭގައި 18 އަހަރު ނުފުރޭ ކުޑަކުއްޖެއްވެސް ވާކަމަށް ފާއިޒު ވިދާޅުވިއެވެ. މިހާރު މިމީހުންގެ ތެރެއިން 18 އަހަރުގެ ކުއްޖާއާއި، 21 އަހަރުގެ ކުއްޖާވަނީ އުނގޫފާރު ޕޮލިސް ސްޓޭޝަންގެ ބެލުމުގެ ދަށުގައި ކަމަށާއި، 18 އަހަރުނުފުރޭ ކުޑަކުއްޖާ ވަނީ ގޭގައި ބަންދުކުރެވިފައިކަމަށްވެސް އޭނާ ވިދާޅުވިއެވެ. Rabu, 19 September 2007 0
Kamis, 13 September 2007
Magnitude 7.9 quake hits Sumatra, tsunami warning issued
| |
By Ahmad Pathoni
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake measuring 7.9 struck near Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday triggering tsunami warnings across the region, officials said.
Indonesia's Global TV reported several buildings in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra had collapsed, while Metro TV reported that some buildings had caught fire.
A Reuters witness said residents of Padang fled for higher ground.
Indonesia's Meteorological agency said via an sms alert that the earthquake's epicentre was 159 km (99 miles) southwest of Bengkulu, which is in south Sumatra.
The head of the agency's seismology centre, Fauzi, said he had not received any report of a tsunami from the affected areas.
"But we have not withdrawn the tsunami alert until we are certain that the danger has passed," he said by telephone.
"It seems there is some damage but we don't know how serious it is."
Some residents of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand also felt the quake, which struck at just after 6 p.m., and some buildings were evacuated.
Budi, a police chief in Bengkulu, said on Indonesia's Elshinta radio that he felt a strong quake. "People panicked and tried to save themselves," he said.
He added that he heard a report that a three-storey building had collapsed.
One resident in Bengkulu told Reuters it was difficult to assess the damage because there had been a blackout.
"There's a blackout. The quake was very strong and I rushed out of my house. I don't know if there's any damage because it's dark," Edi Santoni, 38, told Reuters by phone.
Widyastuti, a 23-year-old IT worker in Jakarta who was in one of Bank Indonesia's offices in central Jakarta, said: "After praying I felt the earthquake. I panicked, threw away my shoes and ran through the emergency exit."
Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes, lying on an active seismic belt on part of the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire".
TSUNAMI ALERTS
Malaysian authorities issued a tsunami warning for citizens to stay away from beaches. The alert was for four states fronting peninsular Malaysia's northwest coast, the same region hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami which also followed an Indonesian sub-sea quake.
"We are asking people to stay away from beaches," science ministry spokeswoman Ainon Mohd told Reuters when asked about the quake near Indonesia's Sumatra island.
"This not an evacuation. We are just telling people to stay away from the beaches," added Dr Mohd Rosaidi Cheabas, director of the Meteorology Department's seismological division.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services also issued a tsunami alert for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands but said no alert had been issued for the mainland yet after the earthquake in Indonesia.
"As yet there is no alert for the mainland," an official at the centre told Reuters.
Sri Lanka also issued a tsunami alert for its north, south and eastern districts.
There was some initial confusion over the number of quakes as the United States Geological Survey issued two different reports, with conflicting measurements and locations for the quake.
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
Tsunami alert for Indonesia
September 12, 2007 10:30pm
A 7.9-magnitude quake has struck off the western coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island, prompting authorities to issue a tsunami warning, meteorologists said.
The undersea earthquake, which hit at 6.10pm (9.10pm AEST), struck in the sea about 100km southwest of the city of Bengkulu, at a depth of roughly 15km, the US Geological Survey said.
The quake was strongly felt in the capital Jakarta, some 600km away, where it caused tall buildings to sway.
An official at the Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency said a tsunami warning had been issued.
The US Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 8.0, and that a second quake measuring 7.9 had also hit the Sumatra region.
Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered tsunami of December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province alone.
The archipelago nation sits on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” where continental plates collide, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity
Tsunami threatens Western Australia
September 12, 2007 12:00am
A POWERFUL quake measuring 7.9 struck near Indonesia's Sumatra island today, triggering tsunami warnings in Indonesia, Malaysia, north-west Australia, India and Sri Lanka, officials said.
Indonesia's Global TV reported that several buildings in Padang, the capital of West Sumatra had collapsed, while Metro TV reported that some buildings had caught fire.
The US Geological Survey said the underwater quake hit at about 6.10 pm (2110 AEST) and was centred 105 kilometres south-west of Bengkulu on Sumatra island at a depth of 15.6 kilometres.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a tsunami warning for wide areas of the region.
"Earthquakes of this size have the potential to generate a widespread destructive tsunami that can affect coastlines across the entire Indian Ocean Basin," it said, warning that waves could hit Indonesia and Australia within an hour.
Sri Lanka and India could be struck within three hours, it said.
A preliminary tsunami warning has been issued to residents of Christmas and Cocos islands.
The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre (JATWC) issued a potential tsunami threat warning at 9.44pm (AEST) today saying that a tsunami could start affecting Christmas and Cocos islands from 7pm local time today (2230 AEST).
The centre is seeking confirmation that a tsunami has been generated.
Residents in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand felt the quake and some buildings were evacuated.
Buildings collapsed in the Indonesian town of Mukomuko on the west coast of Sumatra, a policeman told local radio.
Budi Darmawan said that buildings of three storeys and higher had either collapsed or cracked in the town, which is located approximately 300 kilometres from the quake's epicentre.
Four had so far collapsed, he told ElShinta radio, after fleeing into the hills away from the coast.
"Those with cracks are many, buildings of three floors or more are either fissured or collapsed," he said.
Malaysian authorities issued a tsunami warning for citizens to stay away from beaches. The alert was for four states fronting peninsular Malaysia's north-west coast, the same region hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami which also followed an Indonesian sub-sea quake.
"We are asking people to stay away from beaches," science ministry spokeswoman Ainon Mohd told Reuters when asked about the quake near Indonesia's Sumatra island.
"This not an evacuation. We are just telling people to stay away from the beaches," added Dr Mohd Rosaidi Cheabas, director of the Meteorology Department's seismological division.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services also issued a tsunami alert for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands but said no alert had been issued for the mainland yet after the earthquake in Indonesia.
"As yet there is no alert for the mainland," an official at the centre told Reuters.
Indonesia suffers frequent earthquakes, lying on an active seismic belt on part of the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire".
The USGS initially said on its website there was quake measuring 8.0, and then a short time later said there was a quake measuring 7.9 at slightly different location.
India, Australia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka on tsunami alert
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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Malaysia and Sri Lanka issued tsunami warnings on Wednesday after an earthquake in Indonesia and told people to stay away from beaches, while India also issued an alert for its remote Andaman and Nicobar islands.
Australia also issued a tsunami warning for its Christmas and Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean, urging people to move out of the water and away from low-lying coastal areas.
"We have issued a warning for the south, north and east after the quake," Keerthi Ekanayake, an official at Sri Lanka's National Disaster Management Centre told Reuters.
Sri Lanka and India were battered by the 2004 tsunami that hit the Indian Ocean rim.
India said it was sounding the alert for the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which lie around 1,200 km (750 miles) off its east coast.
"We have issued an alert for the Andaman islands but not for the mainland," Shailesh Nayak, director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service, told Reuters.
The Indian home ministry's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said it had also told authorities in all coastal areas on the mainland to be vigilant, but the biggest risk appeared to be for the Andamans.
"The warning is red, it is one level below the highest," said an NDMA official, referring to the Andaman islands.
"A tsunami alert has been issued and we are transmitting it to every island," Kishan Saran Singh, the chief of the Disaster Control Committee for the Andaman and Nicobar islands told Reuters.
Police in the islands said they had contacted the southernmost islands of Great Nicobar and Car Nicobar "but nobody felt anything".
Staff at Australia's Christmas Island hospital told Reuters by telephone they had not noticed any change in sea level or felt any affect from the earthquake.
"Based on the magnitude and location of this earthquake, tsunami could start affecting these locations at the following local times, Christmas Island and Cocos Island from 07:00 pm (1200 GMT) Wednesday," said Australia's tsunami warning centre.
"The Joint Australian Tsunami Warning Centre is seeking confirmation that tsunami have been generated," said the centre on its Web site (www.bom.gov.au).
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved.
Kamis, 13 September 2007 0
