Maldives News
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
President’s aide resigns
Aishath Liza, the president’s office media coordinator, was told to stay home from work on Friday. She says she resigned today to pursue higher education.
17 Oct 2015, 09:00
Top military officers detained in boat blast probe
The former head of the military unit tasked with providing security to senior state officials and a former bodyguard to Vice President Ahmed Adeeb are under administrative detention, a reliable source has confirmed.
17 Oct 2015, 09:00
Despite uncertainty, Vice President vows to return to the Maldives
Despite President Abdulla Yameen’s apparent suspicion of his deputy’s involvement in an explosion on his speedboat, Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has vowed to return to the Maldives this week after concluding an official visit to China.
17 Oct 2015, 09:00
Ten Questions for the Government of the Maldives
While it is unsurprising that the Government of the Maldives wishes to have a fact-free conversation about the rapidly deteriorating human-rights situation in the country, the international community will not be persuaded by mere repetition of the same claims lacking foundation in law or evidence, writes Jared Genser, legal counsel to former president Nasheed
17 Oct 2015, 09:00
Raids and rumours fuelling uncertainty in Malé
Police officers searched the office of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation office. Earlier in the night, the police raided the home of an influential businessman related to Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.
16 Oct 2015, 09:00
Journalists threatened on filming top judge’s secret visit with president
A group of young men threatened to kill several journalists camped outside President Abdulla Yameen’s residence hoping to film the secret visit of a top judge, the criminal court’s chief judge Abdulla Mohamed.
16 Oct 2015, 09:00
British company to invest US$10m in ‘historic’ agricultural project
“The purpose of the project is to develop controlled environment protected cropping. Temperature controlled greenhouses will be used to grow European variety salad crops and various berries,” the UK-based company Hummingboy Farms said. The goal of the project is “import substitution and additional food security for the Maldives,”
15 Oct 2015, 09:00
16-year-old injured by falling electric drill
A 16-year-old boy was hospitalised yesterday after being struck on the head by the screwdriver of an electric drill that fell from the sixth floor of a house in Malé.
15 Oct 2015, 09:00
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