Maldives
Government makes U-turn on affordable housing pledge
Some 300 families who were awarded flats by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration are being asked to pay MVR2million (US$129,701) for a flat, with the housing ministry announcing that it will prioritise families who can make the payment within five years.
10 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Prosecutor, ex-criminal court registrar appointed as judges
The judicial watchdog has appointed a public prosecutor involved in the prosecution of high-profile politicians and a former court registrar to the criminal court.
10 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Ex-President Nasheed ordered to return to prison
The government has refused to extend former President Mohamed Nasheed’s medical leave in the United Kingdom, and ordered him to return to the Maldives to serve the remainder of his 13 year jail sentence.
08 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
President Yameen to make official visit to India
President Abdulla Yameen is scheduled to make an official visit to India ahead of a crucial Commonwealth summit. He is due to call on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 10.
08 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Maldives airport expansion to cost US$800m
President Abdulla Yameen unveiled Wednesday a US$800million plan to expand the Maldives’ main airport. The project, to be financed entirely by loans, was risky, but its returns would be transformational, he claimed.
08 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Ex-MP flees Singapore after order to return to prison
Ahmed Nazim, a former MP with the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives who was allowed to travel to Singapore on medical-leave from prison, has left the country and traveled to the United Kingdom, The Maldives Independent understands.
07 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Arresting the fourth estate
It is perhaps not the best idea to jail a bunch of journalists. It means that those who hold the pen, the power to communicate, feel a rare sense of empathy towards the rarely seen, writes Xiena Saeed.
07 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Notorious gangster arrested over Rilwan’s abduction
The owner of a car suspected to have been used in the abduction of The Maldives Independent journalist Ahmed Rilwan was arrested Tuesday.
06 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Time stands still: Maldivians react to Haveeru closure
Maldivians reacted with despair as the country’s oldest newspaper remained closed for a third day amidst a bitter ownership battle. “Three days without Haveeru is like deleting three days from the calendar,” one reader said.
06 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Ex-president’s daughter quits government
Deputy Education Minister Yumna Maumoon, daughter of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has resigned last week, local media reports. It is not clear why Yumna, who heads the department of national heritage, quit her uncle’s government.
05 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Reporters barred from ex-vice president’s graft trial
The criminal court blocked reporters from observing proceedings in a graft trial against former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and his associates today citing a lack of space in the courtroom.
05 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Government wants to grant police prosecution powers
Home Minister Umar Naseer says the government is planning to grant police the authority to prosecute petty crimes in a bid to speed up long-pending criminal trials. The opposition has labelled the move an attempt to jail dissidents.
04 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Government orders ex-defence minister to cut short Singapore medical trip
The home ministry has ordered former Defence Minister Mohamed Nazim to cut short a medical trip to Singapore and return to the Maldives to serve the remainder of his 11-year jail sentence.
02 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Rilwan was abducted, confirms police
The Maldives police have confirmed links between The Maldives Independent reporter Ahmed Rilwan’s disappearance and an abduction reported outside his apartment building on August 8, 2014, some 600 days ago.
02 Apr 2016, 9:00 AM
Opposition women handed suspended sentences over airport protest
The 13 women and one man were sentenced to three months in jail, suspended for three years, on a charge of disobeying orders by protesting at a restricted zone.
31 Mar 2016, 9:00 AM
PPM wants to strip Nasheed of ex-presidential privileges
Opposition MPs have slammed a bill that proposes stripping privileges for former presidents convicted of criminal offences as the latest attack on dissent by the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives.
30 Mar 2016, 9:00 AM
Police make headway in three murder probes, promise details in Rilwan’s disappearance
The police have identified suspects in three suspicious deaths, and pledged to provide details in the mysterious disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan on Saturday.
30 Mar 2016, 9:00 AM
Tourist arrivals remain unchanged in February
Tourist arrivals to the Maldives remained unchanged in February with 120,639 arrivals, just a 0.1percent increase compared to the same period last year.
28 Mar 2016, 9:00 AM
45 islands out of water amidst record heat
Some 45 islands have reported a water shortage amidst record breaking warm weather. The meteorology department said the Maldives is experiencing its hottest dry season in 18 years.
28 Mar 2016, 9:00 AM
Journalists rally against defamation bill
Maldivian journalists have urged the government to reconsider a bill criminalising defamation, expressing grave concern over proposed restrictions on freedom of expression and speech.
28 Mar 2016, 9:00 AM
Showing 44 / 530