Maldives News

The Petro Dictatorship

President Abdulla Yameen has a powerful motivation to keep opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed in jail – he threatened the financial interests of the powerful cartel of oil traders who stood to lose billions if the country ditched diesel and converted to solar, argues Mark Lynas.

PPM confident of impeaching vice president without MDP support

The ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives says it is confident of impeaching Vice President Ahmed Adeeb without the main opposition party’s backing.

Police accused of beating three Raajje TV journalists

The opposition-aligned Raajje TV has alleged that three of the station’s journalists arrested while covering last night’s bomb scare were beaten by police. The criminal court ordered the police to release the journalists at a remand hearing this afternoon.

President warns Maldivians to be wary of ‘traitorous plotters’

In his address to the nation on the occasion of Victory Day – celebrated annually on November 3 to commemorate a failed coup attempt in 1988 – Yameen assured the public of efforts to ensure security after a weapons cache, including firearms and explosives, was discovered submerged in the lagoon of an uninhabited island leased for resort development.

A bomb in the heart of Malé

Amidst an escalating struggle for influence at the country’s top leadership, the residents of Malé reacted to the news of Monday’s bomb with skepticism, signaling an unprecedented loss of confidence in the security forces and the government.

Man arrested over photo of boat blast suspect

Ismail Shakir, an employee of the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL), was arrested for taking a photograph of Maldivian police officers taking a suspect in a ‘bomb plot’ into custody from the airport tarmac on Friday.

Vice President loses remand appeal

Vice President Ahmed Adeeb remains in custody after losing an appeal of his detention over suspicion of links to an alleged assassination attempt on President Abdulla Yameen.

Maldives army defuse presidential palace bomb

Bomb squad officers defused tonight a homemade bomb found on vehicle parked near the presidential palace in Malé. President Abdulla Yameen, who prefers to live at his private residence, only uses Muleeaage for official meetings.

Maldives introduces new banknotes

The new Maldivian rufiyaa note series unveiled last night “represents the Maldives, and the identity of Maldivians” and “attempts to encapsulate all the innate factors that define our country, and our ancestral identity,” the central bank said.

Parliamentary rules changed to expedite budget approval

Banks will lower interest rates, says finance minister

Commercial banks in the Maldives have agreed to lower interest rates on loans after the central bank slashed interest rates for the sale of treasury bills (T-bills) with effect from October 28, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has said.

MDP meets new police chief, discusses November 6 protest

The police had said in a statement that the acting police chief met with representatives from the MDP yesterday and asked them to reconsider plans to stage a mass protest on November 6 “given the present state of affairs in the country”.

No evidence of bomb on Yameen’s speedboat, says FBI

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has found no evidence an explosive device caused the blast on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Maldives downplays FBI findings on boat blast

Although the FBI had found no evidence of an explosive on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat, the government insisted that analysis by Sri Lankans and Saudis, and evidence gathered by Maldives security forces provide enough proof of a bomb plot.

Police officers asked to stay clear of politics on social media

“We will be taking action against police officers who comment, like, share or re-tweet political posts, photos or publish political posts in social media,” Assistant Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed informed departments heads last week.

Missing weapons from state armoury ‘a national security failure’

President Abdulla Yameen as the commander-in-chief must bear full responsibility for weapons that went missing from the state armoury, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has said. The military has acknowledged that a rifle and a submachine gun found in a weapons cache discovered on Friday in the lagoon of an uninhabited island in Baa atoll were from its armoury.

Hunt declared for eight suspects in boat blast probe

Mohamed Allam Latheef ‘Moho,’ a close associate of the vice president and the singer of a popular local band, is wanted by the police on suspicion of links to an alleged attempt to assassinate the president. The police said that Latheef has links to a weapons cache discovered on an island leased for resort development.

Social media celebrity, loyal to Adeeb, arrested in Sri Lanka

The police have confirmed Ahmed Ashraf, aka Shumba Gong’s arrest. The 18-year-old had tweeted that he was in danger and that “some people smashed my doors trying to come in.”

Court to hear appeal of vice president’s detention today

The High Court will review today Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s detention on suspicion of links to an alleged assassination attempt on President Abdulla Yameen. The hearing is scheduled for 4:45pm.

Human rights watchdog calls for review of anti-terrorism law