Maldives News
Suspect wanted for stabbing of Nasheed’s lawyer arrested
A police spokesman confirmed that Ahmed Raaid, 20 years, one of the two suspects wanted over the stabbing, has been taken into police custody. He declined to comment on where Raaid had been apprehended.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
MMPRC’s fireworks import suspected of links to boat blast
The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) remains shut down over an investigation into suspected links between the corporation’s import of fireworks and a blast on the president’s speedboat, credible sources have told The Maldives Independent.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Police seize new synthetic drug ‘flakka’ and 2.5kg of cocaine
Flakka or alpha-PV is a synthetic drug created in laboratories. Police Superintendent Ahmed Shifan said the seizure of 200 grammes of the drug at the airport was the first time it was discovered in the Maldives.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Why the sentence on death by stoning is unconstitutional
The decision contravenes provisions that emphasize non-discrimination, equality, human dignity and fair trial rights in the constitution and international human rights conventions that the Maldives is signatory to, argues Shahindha Ismail and Mushfiq Mohamed.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Maldives government launches media offensive on boat blast
Cabinet ministers and ruling party MPs have launched a media offensive, appearing on some six TV channels every week night. Slick messages extolling President Yameen’s virtues have begun appearing on social media with the hashtag #IStandWithYameen.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Foreigners banned from mobile phone business
“The ministry believes that the mobile phone business has much potential. We would like to encourage and pave way for locals to invest in the trade,” Ali Abdulla, economic development ministry spokesperson, told The Maldives Independent.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Supreme Court strikes down sentence of death by stoning
The magistrate court verdict marked the first time a person was sentenced to death by stoning in the Maldives and sparked heated debate and outrage on social media. Invoking powers under “supervisory jurisdiction,” the Supreme Court said the magistrate court decided the case “in violation of judicial and legal procedures”.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Maldives faces suspension from international football over delayed elections
The governing body of Asian football has warned that the Maldives could face suspension “from all football activities” over government interference in the long-delayed elections of the Football Association of Maldives.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Vice President stripped of tourism portfolio
President Abdulla Yameen has temporarily assigned Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim as acting tourism minister, stripping Vice President Ahmed Adeeb of authority over his previous portfolio.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
New US ambassador presents credentials to president
Atul Keshap, the new ambassador of the United States of America to the Maldives, presented his credentials to President Abdulla Yameen this morning. The pair discussed “issues of mutual interest encompassing global terrorism, human rights and environmental problems.”
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
MDP moves protest from pavement to the streets
Angered by the police’s attempts to limit protests to pavements, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) led a march in Malé late at night, walking along streets randomly and sometimes, against the traffic last flow.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Government grants itself ‘extraordinary discretionary powers’ over NGOs
Under new regulations, a registrar at the home ministry has the discretion to suspend NGOs if it conducts activities that could be considered “a threat to national security” or “defamatory towards an individual.”
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Security forces shut down Maldives tourism corporation
Employees of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation turned up to work at 8am today only to find three military and police officers blocking the office entrance. The shut-down comes days after police raided the offices and the home of its managing director Abdulla Ziyath over a blast on the president’s speedboat.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
Chinese company to install solar panels in Hulhumalé
The agreement was signed under the Accelerating Sustainable Private Investments in Renewable Energy (ASPIRE) project developed in collaboration with the World Bank, the environment ministry said.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
After raid, top tourism official questioned
Abdulla Ziyath, who heads the MMPRC, was interrogated for more than three hours by the economic crime department. The summons came after his apartment was raided on Wednesday night. His passport has also been withheld.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
Nasheed’s family wins right to weekly visits
“Visitation rights have now been set to as it was before. This is a big development. The MCS did not reveal why they had stopped giving us the chance to visit. We believe it was personal,” Nasheed’s brother told the press today.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
Economic minister departs for investment forum in China
Saeed told reporters the main target of this year’s forum will be “opening the eyes of the world” to the potential of the Maldives’ banking and financial sector.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
Suspect in Nasheed’s lawyer stabbing spotted in Colombo
A young man wanted by Interpol on a charge of stabbing a lawyer who represents former President Mohamed Nasheed has been spotted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to a credible source.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
Maldives court sentences woman to death by stoning
An island magistrate court has sentenced a woman to death by stoning after she confessed to committing adultery. However, the new penal code does not allow the punishment. The verdict marks the first time a person has been sentenced to stoning in the Maldives.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
The explosion on Yameen’s speedboat: What we know so far
The cause of an explosion on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat remains unclear, but here are the important details of the inquiry, which has seen the arrest of three soldiers, a shakeup of the security forces and raids on government offices, and homes of a businessman and a top tourism official.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
Showing 234 / 809