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DESI SPOTTING: This year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue

[Desi spotting = items with South Asia(n) connections - see our archive]

I told my wife when we were married 10+ years ago, "Anything you find on my computer, it's research." This post falls under that clause.

Basically, there's nothing I wouldn't do for SAJA or our community, including searching through the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, looking for South Asian connections. After years of making this supreme sacrifice, I am happy to report on the following four items in this year's issue.

MALDIVES: Democracy comes to world's smallest Muslim state

Sarah Palin isn't the only former journalist seeking  to run a country. In Maldives, a former journalist has already won the right to rule his nation, the world's smallest Islamic state. Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party emerged as the new leader with a victory in the run-off election on Oct. 28, putting an end to 30 years of rule by president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

In the Oct. 8 election, none of the candidates gained 50 percent of the votes required to win the presidency. Gayoom had secured 40.3 percent votes while his main opponent, Nasheed, secured 24.91 percent of the votes.

In the second round of voting, it was a close call. With 54 percent of the votes to Gayoom's 46 percent votes, Nasheed emerged as the new leader .

According to the BBC, Nasheed said that the people of Maldives were embracing the future. On the other hand, Gayoom accepted his defeat and congratulated the new leader.

"I congratulate Anni [Mr Nasheed's popular name]," Mr Gayoom said in a radio address.

"I thank the people of the Maldives for allowing me to serve them for 30 years.

He promised to ensure a smooth transition from his rule during a rare show of unity held later on Wednesday with Mr Nasheed.

"I want this transition to be a smooth one. I will do everything to work with him (Nasheed)," Mr Gayoom said, calling on his followers to co-operate with the new regime. 

The new president, Nasheed, locally known as Anni, is a a former journalist who claims he was imprisoned by Gayoom for 13 years since 1989. He is only the third president since the country became independent from Britain: The first was Ibrahim Nasir who ruled from 1968 to 1978 before Gayoom came to power the same year.

Read Nasheed's profile from the BBC.

Writing in a Forbes.com essay, former Indian diplomat G. Parthasarathy (he was spokesman for the Rajiv Gandhi government during India's military intervention in the Maldives) writes that this shows Maldives is a "democratic Muslim paradise!" (you rarely see exclamation marks in headlines, so it must be important):

MALDIVES: First multiparty elections in Maldives

Here's news about Maldives, the tiny South Asian island that we rarely get to write about. Known for its pristine beaches and turquoise water, the country has been ruled by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's since 1978. But many are calling for change.

Maldives held its first multiparty election ever on Oct. 7, which would now decide the fate of Gayoom. The result is expected within a day and if no one gains 50 percent of the votes, a run-off election will be held within 10 days, reports CNN.

Having already served a seventh term, Gayoom and his supporters are hopeful of an eighth term.

From CNN:

"We're very confident it's going to be a first-round victory," said Gayoom's spokesman, Mohamed Shareef. "He has taken the country from near abject poverty, and during his presidency, we have achieved a lot economically, socially, and more recently, politically."

However, Gayoom's opponents share a contrasting view. One of his strongest opponents, Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), condemns Gayoom's rule and blames him for the gap between the rich and poor.

POVERTY: New effort to bring mobile banking to poor

Today at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, a new four-year effort to reach poor people with mobile phone banking in developing countries is being announced. From the press release below:

The global microfinance resource center CGAP today is making a new four year commitment to identify, fund, research and champion technology enabled banking services for 25 million people in 20 countries. CGAP CEO Elizabeth Littlefield will announce the plan at the Clinton Global Initiative's "Mobile Banking Call to Action."

"The brick and mortar bank branch system can only go so far. With cell phone service and a local shop handling the cash, mobile banking can reach every village and barrio in the developing world," said Littlefield. "Technology can enable us to reach millions of poor people who, until now, have been left out of the formal financial system," she added.

Four South Asian countries are part of this effort: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan. What is CGAP, you ask? "CGAP (The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) is the world's leading resource for the advancement of microfinance."

See press release below and post your comments.

 

MALDIVES: KT Tunstall's Favorite Destination

Scottish singer KT Tunstall, whose hit single "Black Horse and a Cherry Tree" won her a Grammy nomination in 2007, says her favorite travel destination is Maldives.

From the Florida Sun-Sentinel:

I visited the Maldives on my first fancy holiday three years ago when I first had success and really needed to lie down for a week! I fell in love with it. What was incredible about the Maldives was that the entire island we were on consisted of sand. There didn't seem to be any dirt. You could walk around for hours barefoot with your white trousers skimming the ground, and they'd still be pristine white.

Please post your comments below.

MALDIVES: NPR on Maldives' initiative to fight climate change

Although the Maldives was the first country to sign the Kyoto Protocol, that did not help this tiny string of islands reduce the threat of climate change. And it hasn't discouraged them. Instead, they have just set an example.

According to NPR, some countries that are struggling with climate change could learn a lot from this constellation of tiny islands in the Indian Ocean. Also, listen to Jon Hamilton's radio report. 

Maldives' president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has been in power for the last three decades, is experimenting with not only something new and ambitious, but something very unimaginable for a country like the Maldives. He is building artificial flood-resistant islands!

From the NPR story:

"You catch a ferry from a part of Male where motorcycles clog the narrow streets and fishermen gut their morning catch on the sidewalk. A few minutes later, you arrive in a brand new world, the island of Hulhumale. It's an artificial island built by engineers, not volcanoes.

When the ferry arrives, you step up onto this island. The streets are straight and wide. There's a new hospital, new schools, new government buildings, new apartments — all several feet higher than the rest of the Maldives.

The flood-resistant island was created by a huge dredge that sucked up sand from the ocean floor and disgorged it into a shallow lagoon. Eventually, Hulhumale rose from the waters.

That was more than five years ago. Now, several thousand people live here. Gayoom's goal is to attract at least 50,000."

Check out what Hulhumale Development Corporation is doing.

MALDIVES: Attempt to murder President Gayoom

The Associated Press reports that a 15-year-old Boy Scout foiled an attempt to assassinate President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom during his visit to a small coral island, Hoarafushi, by grabbing the attacker's knife.

Report says that Gayoom was unhurt but the attacker managed to rip off his shirt when he made a second attempt to stab him.

    "Residents of the Maldives showered praise Wednesday on a 15-year-old Boy Scout who foiled an attempt to assassinate the president of this island nation by grabbing the attacker's knife.

    "Mohammed Jaisham Ibrahim, wearing his blue Maldives scout uniform with a blue kerchief, was among those waiting to greet the leader Tuesday when the attacker lunged out from the crowd.<snip>

    "The attacker hid a knife in the Maldivian flag as he awaited Gayoom's arrival, then sprang toward the president, Shareef said. Ibrahim reached out and grabbed the blade, and he was cut on the hand, according to the government."

BBC News reports that Ibrahim said he acted out of his instinct.

The student said the incident happened so quickly that he did not have enough time to think about the risk he was taking.

His left hand was badly cut in the incident - for which he received hospital treatment in the capital, Male, before being discharged on Wednesday.

A number of newspapers in the islands have heaped praise on him as a hero for saving the president's life and many predict he will receive some kind of public award for his actions.

Maldives-based Miadhu News says that the presidential spokesperson has accused the opposition party, National Unity Alliance, for the assassination attempt.

In an interview given to Miadhu Daily yesterday, Mundhu said that there is a hand of the leaders of National Unity Alliance in this attempt. Mundhu questioned “Is this how those (National Unity Alliance) who left this island a few days ago depose President Gayoom by saying national unity? Should they do it by attacking him?”

But the spokesperson from the National Unity Alliance, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed has denied this accusation. In an interview given to Miadhu Daily, Dr. Shaheed said that National Unity Alliance was shocked to hear the stab attack on the President and said that he himself and the Alliance condemn this attack in strongest possible words.

Gayoom is Asia's longest serving leader, who was elected to office in November 1978.

Please post any updates or comments below.

TRAVEL: NYT's 53 Places to Visit in 2008

The New York Times has a list of 53 places to visit in 2008. It says, "...the travel choices for global nomads have never been more varied." Lots of interesting places, but only one South Asian destination makes the cut:

7. MALDIVES

The 2004 tsunami, a fragile ecology and a recent bombing have done little to dampen a hotel boom in this island-nation of about 1,192 coral islets in the Indian Ocean. Among the high-end hotels expected to open next year is a Regent Hotels & Resorts (www.regenthotels.com) with 50 villas, many set over the water, allowing guests to observe the rich marine life while still lying in bed.

See the full list. Post your comments below.