Maldives bans spas after ‘prostitution’ protests

The Maldives has ordered hundreds of luxury hotels to close their spas after protests by an Islamist party which claimed they were a front for prostitution, an official told AFP Friday.

The tourism ministry instructed all resort hotels across the nation’s 1,192 tiny coral islands to shut their spas and health centers with immediate effect.

The opposition Adhaalath party, a socially conservative movement whose website features an article criticizing “lustful music,” staged protests in the capital Male last week accusing spas of being used as brothels.

“An Islamic party has been agitating against spas hoping to embarrass the government,” an official told AFP by telephone, confirming Thursday’s ministry order but asking not to be named.

Tourism is a key foreign exchange earner in the Maldives, a popular high-end destination for well-heeled honeymooners where luxury rooms can cost up to $12,000 a day.

The Indian Ocean country this year received more than 850,000 tourists, drawn to its secluded islands known for turquoise blue lagoons, flourishing corals and reefs filled with multi-colored fish.

But the government bowed to the pressure less than a week after President Mohamed Nasheed called for a “tolerant” form of Islam in his nation of 330,000 people, who by law are all Muslims.

He urged Maldivians to reject religious extremism and support the more liberal “traditional form” of Islam that has been practiced in the Maldives for centuries.

“I asked you to come here in support of the middle, tolerant path,” Nasheed, who came to power in the country’s first democratic elections in 2008, told ruling party supporters last week.

The government move to shut spas will directly affect an opposition leader, Gasim Ibrahim, head of the Jumhoory Party, who owns five, the independent Minivan news website reported.

It said they were asked to shut down this week before the government’s blanket ban on Thursday, and the companies had sought court intervention to remain in business. Thursday’s order applied to all spas in the country.

193 Alleged Kidnappers Arrested In Edo State In 2011

The Edo State Police Command on Thursday said it arrested 193 suspected kidnappers in 2011.

Commissioner of Police, Mr. David Omojola, while reviewing activities of the command during the out-going year, said 41 victims were rescued by men of the command.

Omojola said in Benin that 63 suspected kidnappers were killed by the police during the period under review, adding that other suspects were facing charges.

He said the command recovered arms and ammunition, including 30 AK-47 rifles with 1,107 rounds of live ammunition, 10 rifles with 100 rounds of live ammunition, three military FNC rifles together with three magazines and 20 other military rifles with 48 rounds of live ammunition.

While commending the state government for its support in combating crimes, Omojola said the “relative peace experienced during the Christmas period is attributable to the alertness of men of the command, in line with directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Rafiz Ringim.”

The commissioner said the police on December 20, rescued Mr. Joseph O. and Edward O, from the den of kidnappers at Unuaze village in Uromi after a gun battle.

U.S. to move ahead with $11 billion arms deal with Baghdad, despite concerns about Maliki

The arms deal between Iraq and the United States will go through despite concerns that the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is attempting to further consolidate his power and abandon the American-backed power-sharing government, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The deal – nearly $11 billion worth of arms and training for the Iraqi military, according to The New York Times – includes advanced fighter jets and tanks, some of which have already been delivered, and is on despite al-Maliki’s failure to continue with an agreement that would have limited his ability to marginalize the Sunnis and change the military force into a more of a sectarian force.

In 2010, the U.S. and Iraq signed an agreement that required the Sunni bloc in parliament to have a say in who runs the defense and interior ministries. But despite Maliki’s pledge, the ministries remain under his control.

“It is very risky to arm a sectarian army,” Rafe al-Essawi, the country’s finance minister and a leading Sunni politician, told the newspaper. “It is very risky with all the sacrifices we’ve made, with all the budget to be spent, with all the support of America — at the end of the day, the result will be a formal militia army,” al-Essawi added.

Like any other U.S. arms deals in the Middle East, the Iraqi-U.S. deal is to counter the Iranian threat, but according to the newspaper, “there are also fears that the move could backfire if the Baghdad government ultimately aligns more closely with the Shiite theocracy in Tehran than with Washington.”

Joost Hiltermann, the International Crisis Group’s deputy program director for the Middle East, told the newspaper that “Washington took the decision to build up Iraq as a counterweight to Iran through close military cooperation and the sale of major weapon systems.”

But Hiltermann added that “Maliki has shown a troubling inclination toward enhancing his control over the country’s institutions without accepting any significant checks and balances.”

F-16 fighter jets, M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, cannons and armored personnel carriers are among the items that will be received by the Iraqis.

The newspaper said that the Iraqis have also received body armor, helmets, ammunition trailers and sport utility vehicles, which critics say can be used by domestic security services to help Maliki consolidate power.