Cristiano Ronaldo’s son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., has been selected for Portugal’s under-14 national team. Junior is currently playing for the under-14 team of Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where his father is playing. Ronaldo, who has been serving as Portugal’s captain, has announced this news on social media, expressing his joy at his son’s selection for his country’s under-14 national team.
Ronaldo said he is proud of his son. The tournament that Ronaldo’s son is set to play for Portugal is scheduled to take place in Croatia from the 13th to the 18th of this month. In this tournament, Portugal will face Japan, Greece, and England. Ronaldo, who has won the world’s best player award five times, continues to play for the Portuguese national team at the age of 40. He has scored 136 goals for the national team. Ronaldo is also the player with the most goals and most appearances for the national team.
Ronaldo’s son began his football career when his father was playing for Real Madrid in Spain. Later, when Ronaldo played for Manchester United and Italy’s Juventus, his son trained in the academies of both clubs. Ronaldo’s son started playing for Portugal despite having the opportunity to play for the national teams of Spain and the United States.
Real Madrid won their match against Celta Vigo in the Spanish La Liga last night with a score of 3-2, reducing the gap with Barcelona who are in first place. With this victory, Real Madrid now stands in second place in the table with 75 points from 34 matches played so far in the league. Barcelona, in first place, has 79 points, with both teams having four matches remaining.
Celta Vigo is in seventh place with 46 points. In the match played at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Arda Güler scored a goal in the 33rd minute to give Real Madrid the lead. And with six minutes left in the first half, Kylian Mbappé scored another goal from Jude Bellingham’s assist, increasing the gap between the two teams. Three minutes into the second half of the match, Mbappé scored another goal, changing the score to 3-0.
Celta Vigo improved their game in the second half of the match, posing a threat to Real Madrid’s goal. As such, in the 69th minute, Javi Rodríguez scored a goal, causing additional problems for Real Madrid. Celta Vigo’s second goal in this match was scored by substitute player Williot Swedberg in the 76th minute.
Two minutes after this goal, Celta Vigo’s Pablo Durán had a good opportunity to equalize the match. However, his dangerous attempt was saved by Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. As Real Madrid and Barcelona both strive to win the La Liga championship, if Barcelona wins in the match between the two teams next week, they will secure the league title. However, if Barcelona loses, Real Madrid’s chances of winning the league will increase significantly.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Abdullah Rafiu has said that the aim is to hold a regional sports tournament in the Maldives within the next 10 years, and that this year’s Commonwealth Beach Handball Tournament is a door that opens to pave the way for it. The Minister said this at a ceremony held last night at Henveiru Bolgey to hand over jerseys to the national team competing for the first time in the 10th Beach Handball Asian Championship to be held in Oman this month.
The Minister said that from the moment it was decided to hold the Commonwealth Beach Handball Tournament in the Maldives, he shared that message with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, and the President assured that the government would do everything possible to support it. The Minister also said that a team comprising of the Handball Association, the Mayor and members of Kulhudhuffushi City Council, the parliamentary members of that constituency, the Maldives Olympic Committee and officials from the Ministry are currently discussing arrangements related to the tournament.
The Minister said that holding such a tournament in the Maldives would be a great opportunity to introduce the concept of visitor economy and promote sports tourism in the Maldives. The Minister also said that by hosting the Commonwealth Handball Tournament, many countries will gain confidence that the Maldives is a country capable of hosting many sports events. The Minister said that many countries will gain confidence that the Maldives is a country that can host many sports, and that everyone is proud to be able to play on the beaches of the Maldives.”
Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Abdullah Rafiu has stated that he believes the Maldives national team will win a gold medal in the near future at the South Asian Regional Youth Table Tennis Championship. Highlighting the success achieved by the Maldives national table tennis team at the 10th South Asian Regional Youth Table Tennis Championship held in Kathmandu, Nepal, the Minister said that the tournament has brought many advancements for Maldivian players.
“The biggest success is that the 10th South Asian Regional Youth Table Tennis Championship turned out to be a tournament where we saw a lot of improvement,” the Minister noted. The Minister said that the Maldives table tennis team has been representing the country at an international level for many years, but the difference between then and now is the progress made by the players. In this regard, the Minister highlighted that compared to before, the current players’ skill level has improved and advanced significantly, stating that there is not much difference now between the players representing the Maldives in the international arena and the players from other competitive countries.
“The biggest difference we saw was in the points we scored in our sets compared to other countries we played against before and this year. There’s now a very small difference between the two countries,” the Minister said. Noting that this demonstrates the rapid progress of this sport, the Minister said that with a little more effort, a gold medal is not far away. In this regard, the Minister has said that if coaches and players put in extra effort, winning a gold medal is something that can be done very easily.
“If we put in an extra effort, the message we got from this tournament is that reaching gold is very easy. So I would say this is a great success,” he said. The Maldives national team has brought back a silver medal and two bronze medals to the country after competing in the South Asian Regional Youth Table Tennis Championship. The Maldives under-15 and under-19 table tennis teams returned with this success last Thursday. The tournament was held in Nepal from April 24 to 27.”
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that he will act in accordance with any decision made by the presidential commission established to investigate the case of 21-year-old Hawwa Yumna Rasheed, who fell from a building on the 18th of last month. The President said this yesterday at a press conference in response to a question about calls for the resignation of Transport Minister Mohamed Ameen during protests by youth regarding the incident of Yumna’s fall. Ameen has been accused of influencing the case after it was revealed that he called the then Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau during a police press conference about Yumna’s incident.
When asked if he was considering removing Ameen from his position, the President said that this case has been one where suspicious matters have surfaced from the beginning. He said that the presidential commission was established to investigate the evidence of the case without any influence. The President stated that he will act on whatever conclusion is reached in the commission’s investigation report.
“Isn’t this case progressing in a very suspicious manner even up to today? That’s why I have established a presidential commission to investigate this matter without any influence, very objectively, by finding all the evidence and clues of the entire case,” he said at a press conference held at the President’s Office. As the President said this, 12 members of the opposition MDP have submitted a no-confidence motion against Ameen to the People’s Majlis last Tuesday. The notice of this motion has already been sent by the Majlis.
Before entering H. Fentenoage, the people who were with Yumna had also spent a considerable amount of time at Minister Ameen’s M. Maandhooge Dekunuge. Regarding this matter, Ameen had previously stated that the house is not his personal property and that the property is registered under his name along with three of his full siblings. He also said that when Yumna and others went to that house, it was not a place under his control.
Ameen has said that he was not in the Maldives on the night Yumna fell. According to him, he returned to the Maldives at around 8:50 am that day after an official meeting in Doha, Qatar. According to footage released by the police, Yumna fell sometime between 4:30 am and 5:30 am that morning. While Ameen denies the allegations against him, the police have stated that they were unable to obtain CCTV footage needed for the investigation of what happened when people entered Maandhooge Dekunuge before the incident of Yumna’s fall. The police said they were told that the CCTV cameras were damaged, and when checked, there was no footage.
The police have searched the terrace and the second and fourth floors of Maandhooge Dekunuge, as well as the third floor of G. Kathivelige, under a court order. However, when these places were searched about four days after the incident of Yumna’s fall, the police have stated that nothing related to the incident was found.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that MACL has been tasked with building a racing track. The President said this during a press conference being held at the President’s Office. Speaking at this press conference, the President said that MACL has been tasked with building a racing track and that the project will be carried out at MACL’s expense. Additionally, the President stated that this racing track is planned to be built on land reclaimed from the sea outside the solar panels along the highway between Sinamalé Bridge and Hulhumalé.
According to the President, there is enough space in that area to reclaim land sufficient for building a racing track. The President further stated that it was decided to build a racing track there because it is not possible to build a racing track in a residential area due to its dangers. Furthermore, while wanting to do this in a connected area, the President also said that there is no land available in Hulhumalé to build a racing track.
The President also said that MACL will disclose information about the racing track works, the completion date, and the cost of this project.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that the main purpose of the digitalization policy is to eliminate corruption and ensure integrity. He said this while speaking about the “Maldives 2.0” digitalization policy announced by the government at a press conference held at the President’s Office. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said that if a digitalization policy is established in the Maldives, it will make it easier to eliminate corruption.
President Dr. Muizzu said that this was also the main purpose of his trip to Estonia. Estonia is one of the countries at the top of the global index for eliminating corruption, governing transparently and efficiently. Noting this, the President said that Estonia also has the second-highest press freedom in the world. He added that it is a fully digitalized country with an inter-governmental system.
“When things are done automatically or digitally, corruption can be greatly reduced. And when we move to a digital system, transparency can be greatly increased while eliminating corruption. It also speeds things up,” said the President. Maldives 2.0 is a project launched by the government to digitalize the entire state system over the next 3 years. The government says the purpose of this project is to establish a system of governance that eliminates corruption and is transparent and easy to manage.
Things decided to be done under this project:
* Bringing revolutionary digital changes in various sectors * Developing ICT systems * A legal framework suitable for the digital age * A digital infrastructure with full sovereignty and security * Providing services to citizens * Cyber security for national resilience * Government administrative operations in an open data system * Secure and reliable transactions with digital identity
At this press conference, the President announced that a major conference on the digitalization policy covering the entire state is scheduled to be held on the 9th of this month. The main purpose of this conference is to bring together all relevant parties and launch a 3-year project for running the entire state system.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that there are no issues with the Speaker of the Parliament and PNC Chairperson Abdur Raheem Abdullah. Responding to a question from a journalist during a press conference held at the President’s Office, President Dr. Muizzu said that the talk of a problem between him and Abdur Raheem is not true. He also stated that he still maintains a friendly relationship with Abdur Raheem, just as before.
“There are no issues between Abdur Raheem and me. Abdur Raheem and I were and still are friends,” the President said. Following the dismissal of Ibrahim Faisal, son of Abdur Raheem who was serving as the Tourism Minister, rumors spread about disagreements between President Dr. Muizzu and Abdur Raheem. The President said that the decision to dismiss Faisal was made because he believed it was the best decision at that time.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu today denied rumors that the Maldives Armed Forces are planning to purchase missiles. Responding to a question from a journalist during a press conference at the President’s Office, President Dr. Muizzu said that they are neither “buying missiles” nor “seeking missiles”.
“An ambassador from a foreign country who came to meet me expressed great concern about the missile story. I said no, these are completely false stories. We are not trying to buy missiles. We are not buying missiles, nor are we trying to acquire them,” the President said. President Dr. Muizzu said that as part of the close relationship between the Maldives and Turkey, Turkey has decided to gift a warship to the Maldives. President Dr. Muizzu said that the vessel is not one equipped with missiles.
“This is a size that has not been in the Maldives until now. We didn’t have to incur any expenses,” the President said. According to the Turkish newspaper Anadolu Agency, citing officials from the country’s defense ministry, Turkey is bringing a Dogan-class vessel capable of missile attacks, namely the TCG Volkan (P-343) corvette.
The Ministry of Defense said that bringing the military warship gifted by Turkey is a very important step towards achieving President Muizzu’s goal of strengthening the capability of the Maldivian military to fully play its role as a responsible member of the international community in ensuring the security of the Maldivian seas and maintaining the safety and security of the Indian Ocean. A team of Maldivian soldiers is currently undergoing training in Turkey in preparation for bringing this vessel to the Maldives, putting it into service with the Maldives National Defense Force, and preparing to operate it.
The Ministry of Defense said that this capability being added to the military service will be a very significant force in ensuring the security of the Maldivian territory and exclusive economic zone, and the safety of the people, as stipulated in the law.”
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that the regular disbursement of funds to fishermen has brought new vigor to the fishing industry. He said this while speaking at a press conference held at the President’s Office on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.
Speaking about the fishing industry at this press conference, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said that one of the biggest promises in the fishing industry was to pay fishermen within 48 hours for their catch. The President said that when this government took office, about 250 million rufiyaa was owed to fishermen. However, the President said that debt has been paid off, and now fishermen are being paid on a daily basis.
“Since we started paying that money alone, 488 million rufiyaa has now been disbursed to fishermen. In total, we have given 1.59 billion rufiyaa since we took over the government. That includes fuel subsidies,” said President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
Photo Credits: President’s Office
The President said that since they started paying fishermen daily for their catch, the number of boats going out to fish has increased, bringing new vigor to the fishing industry. He also said that investment in the fishing industry has increased, with private parties and crew members starting to build more boats. The President also noted that people who had left fishing boats have now returned.
Furthermore, the President has assured that funds will continue to be disbursed to fishermen in the same manner in the future. The President said that in addition to paying fishermen, the government is also working on many projects to develop this industry. In this regard, the President noted that a lot of work is being done to more than double the cold storage facilities in different parts of the country.
“When we took over, there was a cold storage capacity of 9,500 tons. If the planned work is carried out properly, increasing the cold storage capacity to 25,000 tons is an achievable target. Not a promise, but a target. The promise was to double the capacity. This promise will definitely be fulfilled,” said President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
