Maldives News
Lawyers repeat plea for medical care to jailed politicians
Lawyers representing jailed ex-Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim and former ruling party MP Ahmed Nazim have accused the government of neglecting their clients’ medical care and endangering the pair’s health.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
More than a third of state offices without information officers
More than a third of government offices and organizations funded by the state have failed to appoint staff to handle information requests, as required by the landmark Right to Information (RTI) Act, passed in 2014 with the aim of improving public access to information.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Soldiers raid a Maldives resort under development
Dozens of soldiers raided an island in central Lhaviyani Atoll that is being developed as a resort today. A spokesman said the raid was “routine, and not related to the ongoing inquiry” into an explosion on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Judicial watchdog reprimands judge over blogpost
“I have the right to write. The Judges Act doesn’t prohibit me from writing. This does not threaten me at all and I don’t regret writing that post,” Judge Mahaz Ali told The Maldives Independent. The judge was reprimanded over a blogpost deemed critical of a Supreme Court ruling.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Maldives pursues fossil fuels and clean energy at once
The government, noting the need for reducing oil dependency, has signed its second renewable energy project in a month, but has also asked a visiting American research vessel to conduct tests for oil and gas near a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Presidential affairs minister resigns
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, presidential affairs minister, said he decided to resign after being told not to report to work on Sunday. Shareef returned to the Maldives last night after accompanying Vice President Ahmed in an official visit to China to attend an investment forum.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Police seize security camera footage from Adeeb’s residences
In the first direct move against Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, police have seized CCTV footage from two of his residences in Malé as part of the inquiry into an alleged assassination attempt on President Abdulla Yameen.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
News website hacked after repeated threats to journalists
Hassan Zaheen, senior journalist at Addu Live, told The Maldives Independent that suspects acquitted by the criminal court had often called reporters and demanded the removal of articles on corruption of judges and news items critical of the government.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Maldives ‘will not entertain’ foreign arms deals
The Maldives “will not entertain” private arms depots, the government has declared, after it emerged that a Malta based maritime security firm was planning to set up an armory in the remote north.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Police impose restrictions on MDP’s nightly street protests
Invoking authority under the Freedom of Assembly Act, which authorises police to order protest organisers to limit gatherings to a specific area, the police said in a letter to the MDP that its protests have posed “numerous difficulties” for pedestrians, businesses and restaurants as well as for tourists staying at guesthouses and hotels in the area.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Committee approves controversial anti-terrorism bill
The parliament’s national security committee has approved a new anti-terrorism bill that opposition MPs fear could be misused to target anti-government activities and jail politicians. The government-sponsored legislation could be put to a vote next week and is likely to pass as the ruling coalition controls a simple majority in the People’s Majlis.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Maldives moves to halt polls for national football body again
Despite the threat of suspension from international football, the home ministry has requested the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) to call off long-awaited elections scheduled for Thursday.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Police chief, majority leader abruptly depart Maldives
The police chief and the majority leader of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) abruptly left the Maldives last night, in a sign of escalating struggle for influence at the country’s top leadership.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Survey reveals barriers for women’s political participation
A majority of Maldivians believe that men make better leaders than women and only 39 percent agree that a woman could serve as president, a nationwide survey conducted by Transparency Maldives has revealed. Nine out of ten Maldivians also believe that “a good wife will always obey her husband, even if she disagrees with him.”
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Vice President no longer co-chair of economic council
Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has been stripped of the title as co-chair of the powerful economic and youth council, days after the tourism portfolio was taken off his hands.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Nasheed urges Modi visit to ‘disentangle Maldives mess’
Jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed has urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the Maldives to “disentangle us from the mess we are in,” according to his lawyers.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Five-year-old’s death revives concern over dengue
A five-year-old boy died from dengue fever on Sunday in a southern atoll as the spread of the mosquito-borne disease continues unabated with unusual rainfall caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Malta company confirms plans to build private armory in Maldives
A Malta company has confirmed plans to set up a private armory in a northern island in the Maldives, supervised by the Maldivian army, to cater to the demand for maritime security for ships transiting the Indian Ocean.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Majority of Maldivians ‘troubled by status quo,’ but support democracy
A solid majority of Maldivians prefer democracy as a form of government, but remain cynical about the status quo and distrustful of state institutions and political parties, according to a nationwide survey conducted by Transparency Maldives
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Sri Lankan experts confirm bomb blast on president’s speedboat, says home minister
Umar Naseer told the press today that a team of forensic experts from Sri Lanka who investigated the incident has confirmed that the blast was caused by an explosive device. Forensic teams from the US, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and India also investigated the blast, but have not shared their findings with the government so far.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
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