Ahmed Naish
Ahmed Naish joined the Maldives Independent (formerly Minivan News) as a rookie reporter in January 2009, covering the country's tumultuous transition to democracy, first multi-party elections and series of political crises. He later served as editor-in-chief until the Maldives Independent suspended operations in January 2020 and returned to the role for the relaunch in January 2025. Naish has also written for local and international publications such as Al Jazeera and The Diplomat.
Residency for sale: what we know about Rasmalé, Ayla and the Pearl visa
Who is buying, who is selling and who is checking the money.
04 Nov, 16:19
After the sukuk: the 2027 budget in numbers
Foreign repayments ease, but more borrowing now comes from home.
02 Nov, 15:36
Infant deaths, interest bills and divorces: stories from the 2026 statistical yearbook
Plus fewer pension members, more foreign workers and falling births.
27 Oct, 15:09
Bleached reefs, scarce bait, broken seasons: Maldivian fishers on a changing ocean
As catches slump, a review finds fisheries rules yet to adapt.
20 Oct, 15:52
No new cases, no victims identified but Maldives escapes human trafficking downgrade
Immigration officials named in a bribery verdict remain in their jobs.
15 Oct, 15:18
Residents, not guests: Ayla, Henley and the Pearl visa
As Rasmalé draws the outrage, a foreign township rises unnoticed in Noonu.
14 Oct, 15:44
The Nobel Laureate who shook the Maldives in 2011
Navi Pillay's advice and what became of it.
13 Oct, 14:09
Foreign money, not foreign neighbours: Rasmalé and the politics of land
When does a 99-year lease become a sale?
01 Oct, 18:28
A revolt from Europe to Moscow as Maldives taxes the world's travel agents
An Italian operator has dropped the Maldives in protest.
30 Sep, 15:58
'Not an inch sold': the Eagle Hills deal and the foreign ownership question
UAE developer says every resale or inheritance restarts a 99-year lease.
23 Sep, 19:57
Gone in 60 seconds: the falling rate and the rationing bank
What the 7am scramble for dollars says about the shortage.
16 Sep, 16:05
The Maldives is taxing the world's travel agents. What the new T-GST law does
The World Bank said this would not work.
09 Sep, 21:12
No law, no means: Maldives may be unable to police flow of restricted goods to Russia
Russian embassy says only UN sanctions are legitimate.
07 Sep, 17:58
'Daily budget for this website reached': nowhere left to buy a dollar
What your card declining has to do with resorts.
01 Sep, 18:40
The state blames resorts, resorts blame the state and the peg cannot hold
Proposed doubling of mandatory conversion prompts rare industry revolt.
25 Aug, 19:30
Fine the rate or float it? The band the market left in 2011
The dollar's two prices and a new offence for spreading the second.
20 Aug, 19:33
Debt, trade and the bridge: India's envoy on exceptions New Delhi makes for Maldives
'We did it only for Maldives as a special case.'
13 Aug, 18:17
Nine resignations later, Pension Office confirms MVR2.4 billion bond deal
Board members resigned rather than approve it. The money moved anyway.
29 Jul, 17:27
A job offer, a contested resignation and a seven-year fight with Transparency Maldives
A court ordered the money set aside after the NGO failed to pay.
23 Jul, 17:12
El Niño is here: what it means for Maldivian reefs
A guide to the timeline, the record and the hardened forecast.
21 Jul, 18:05
