Maldives
Striking staff demand transparent audit before job cuts
Staff on strike at the finance ministry have signed a petition calling on the Civil Service Commission to conduct a transparent and comprehensive resource audit before making mass job cuts.
22 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Finance Ministry staff stage strike over job cuts: “We have families to take care of, bills and rent to pay”
Hundreds of civil servants at the finance ministry are on strike over mass job cuts. The historic strike – only the second by civil servants in recent history – comes after President Abdulla Yameen insisted on the dismissals, arguing the Maldivian civil service is overstaffed.
22 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
“This attack on me is, first and foremost, personal,” says Cadman
Responding to allegations of pitching the government and the opposition, Cadman writes: “Supporters of the former President need to make as much noise in public and in the press as possible because the activities of which he is accused are so hard to contest in court, not least when he has confirmed them in media interviews on at least two occasions.”
22 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Maldivians who assisted deported German crew under fire
Home Minister Umar Naseer has pledged to prosecute all Maldivians who assisted a German TV crew who were deported while filming for a story on Islamic extremism. ARD’s local fixer was summoned for questioning on Sunday.
21 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
China’s short-term affair with Yameen
The Maldives is not China, where predictability and stability can be achieved in a relatively subdued population. If China wants predictability, stability, and sustainability for its interests in the Maldives, it must support democracy, not complex authoritarianism, argues Hassan Hameed.
21 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Rilwan’s disappearance: Why we accuse the government of negligence
500 days after our brother’s disappearance, the “Yageen [certain] team” have failed to conduct a thorough investigation. This is why we are forced to use words such as “failure,” “negligence,” and “atrocity,” writes Fathimath Shehenaz.
21 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Hundreds protest over horrific rape case in Thinadhoo
Hundreds of Maldivians took to the streets in southern Gaaf Dhaal Atoll Thinadhoo Island after a woman from the island was hospitalized with life-threatening rape injuries.
20 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Nasheed lodges appeal at the Supreme Court
In a surprising U-turn, former President Mohamed Nasheed has lodged an appeal at the Supreme Court, requesting judges to overturn his 13-year jail sentence on a terrorism charge.
20 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Deported German crew’s coverage of Maldives will affect tourism, says minister
A report on radicalization in the Maldives by a German TV crew who were deported from Malé last week will affect resort bookings, Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer has warned.
20 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Cadman proposed to lobby for sanctions and a tourism boycott for Nasheed’s release
Toby Cadman, the barrister who defended the jailing of former President Mohamed Nasheed at the UN on the Maldivian government’s behalf, first approached the opposition leader’s aides and proposed to lobby for a tourism boycott and sanctions on the Maldives to gain his freedom, The Maldives Independent can reveal.
19 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Government accused of hindering Nasheed’s Supreme Court appeal
The government’s refusal to allow lawyers to handover appeal documents to Nasheed directly constitutes a breach of lawyer-client protocol, as the government may intercept legally privileged communications, lawyers have said.
19 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Ex vice president hauled to surprise trial in makeshift court room
Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb was hauled to a makeshift courtroom at a police remand facility on Dhoonidhoo Island and charged with corruption in an unannounced hearing. He did not have access to a lawyer.
17 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Government flip-flops on firing 70 top finance ministry staff
The government was scrambling to clarify its position on firing more than 70 senior staff at the finance ministry when Permanent Secretary Ismail Ali Manik, the finance ministry’s top civil servant, tendered his resignation.
17 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
President vetoes bill banning calls for sanctions, tourism boycotts
President Abdulla Yameen has vetoed a law banning calls for tourism boycott and sanctions against the Maldives, saying the bill infringes on the right to free speech.
13 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Government reneges on promise for new hospital in Addu
The government has backtracked on a pledge to build a new hospital in southern Addu City, promising to improve services at the existing Hithadhoo Regional Hospital instead.
10 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Death sentence on a “coerced confession” prompts concern
The high court has sentenced a man to death based on a murder confession he had retracted in court, prompting concern that the verdict heralds a return to the tradition of confession-based sentencing, instead of building cases on solid evidence.
09 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Brand Maldives: the paradox
If fans of brand Nike are concerned with the working conditions at factories in Bangladesh, rich tourists who travel to the Maldives must surely ask themselves how ethical is it is for them to support an industry that siphons off the riches earned by exploiting the natural beauty of these of islands with just a minute percentage of it trickling down to the average Maldivian, writes Hassan Saeed.
09 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Home minister reveals Nasheed’s medical condition in a tweet
Home Minister Umar Naseer revealed today jailed former President Mohamed Nasheed’s medical condition, prompting an outcry on social media over the release of confidential information.
08 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
First couple’s cash handouts to single parents spark concern
Cash handouts to single mothers from President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim has sparked concerns of corruption and a return to the patronage systems of old.
08 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
Cameron’s Maldives comments “not true”
UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s claim that the Maldives has been placed on the Commonwealth’s watch is not true, the foreign ministry has said.
07 Dec 2015, 9:00 AM
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