Eagle Hills chairman Mohamed Alabbar pledged transparency on the Rasmalé project during a visit to the Maldives, saying the detailed agreements had not been published because they were still being finalised and would be disclosed once complete. “There is nothing to hide,” he told Mihaaru. In an interview with Sun, Alabbar said Eagle Hills would not proceed without public support, but did not directly answer what would happen if the company failed to deliver. He said construction would begin in about a year, financed through the company’s equity, bank loans and sales, and that the 5,000 Hulhumalé housing units, costing about US$500 million, would be its first investment. He estimated the state would earn nearly US$20 billion in taxes over the project’s lifetime, with 40,000 construction jobs and 15,000 to 18,000 permanent jobs.
At a lunch he hosted for business and community leaders and local media at DusitD2 Feydhoo Finolhu, attended by ministers and heads of state-owned enterprises, Alabbar said all work would go to Maldivian companies, local businesses could invest in the project and all funds would flow through Maldivian banks.
Former Vice President Faisal Naseem announced he will contest MDP’s presidential primary. He named Malé Mayor Adam Azim as his running mate and told Raajje TV the decision was made with the “strong support” of former President Solih. Appearing alongside Faisal on the MDP-aligned station's morning show, Azim said Solih had advised that the two of them were best placed to complete projects started under his administration, including allocating housing plots in Malé. Former housing minister Mohamed Aslam was among the first to declare support. Faisal becomes the fourth declared candidate alongside Fayyaz Ismail, Abdulla Shahid and Dr Ahmed Shamheed.
Moody’s upgraded the Maldives’ credit rating to Caa1 from Caa2 with a stable outlook, citing a material reduction in near-term default risk after the government repaid the US$500 million sukuk and a US$400 million currency swap with the Reserve Bank of India in April, as well as US$100 million in treasury bills owed to the State Bank of India. The upgrade restores the rating Moody’s cut in September 2024, but the agency said Caa1 remained low, reflecting persistent fiscal, external and liquidity risks. Moody’s expects the fiscal deficit to widen to 8 to 8.5 per cent of GDP this year, government debt to stay above 100 per cent of GDP over the next few years, and higher energy costs and weaker tourism receipts to renew pressure on the balance of payments. It credited foreign currency rules requiring tourism earnings to be converted through local banks, but said usable reserves remained weak relative to similarly rated countries. Of nearly US$1.9 billion in external debt service due this year, US$411 million remains for the last quarter, including the INR30 billion swap with India due this month.
The finance ministry’s statement on the upgrade described the SBI repayments as “securities investments” totalling US$100 million and the extension of the Abu Dhabi Fund loan as a Eurobond rollover. It did not mention Moody’s warnings on the fiscal deficit and reserves.
Two Maldivian flydubai pilots questioned over the alleged attempt to bring down a Dubai–Tel Aviv flight have been arrested, the Maldivian embassy in the UAE told their families, Adhadhu reported. The pilots were taken to a police station on 3 October, and their families heard nothing until Tuesday, according to Adhadhu. Government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef and a foreign ministry spokesperson disputed the report. Adhadhu said the two were among six Maldivian pilots at flydubai and had met the Omani co-pilot accused of the attack at work. Last week, Shareef said the pair had been questioned but not arrested, and that UAE authorities had not contacted the government.
The Criminal Court convicted three of eight men charged over an alleged Islamic State-directed plot to bomb a school laboratory in Thaa Thimarafushi, but cleared them of planning a terrorist act. Abdulla Imad, Ali Muneez and Ali Arham Mohamed were found guilty of supporting a terrorist group, Imad and Ibrahim Looth of obstructing justice, and Arham of attempting to travel to a war zone. All other charges, including planning and encouraging terrorism, were not proven. All except Arham were released because they had spent longer in pre-trial detention than their sentences. The case was filed in February 2021, and the men had been held since their arrest, prompting protests by their families over the length of their detention. The Prosecutor General’s Office said it would decide whether to appeal once it received the court’s report.
The Maldives Journalists Association called for qazf charges against Adhadhu’s CEO Fiyaz Moosa and editor Hassan Mohamed to be dropped. At the last preliminary hearing, the Criminal Court rejected key defence witnesses, including President Muizzu and a criminal law expert. The trial is set to begin on 22 October. The court accepted some Adhadhu journalists as defence witnesses and ruled the two would be tried jointly with the former President’s Office staffer charged in the same case. The charges stem from Adhadhu’s “Aisha” documentary, which alleged a relationship between Muizzu and the staffer.
The Prosecutor General's Office closed criminal cases against former Supreme Court justices Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir, who were removed from the bench in May 2025, finding insufficient evidence to prosecute after ACC sought abuse of authority charges. Azmiralda's lawyers said the outcome showed the case never had any basis, noting that she was not questioned once during an investigation lasting more than two years.
Religious scholar Sheikh Adam Nishan said the Rasmalé deal raised “extremely concerning and dangerous” issues, arguing in a Facebook post that its outcome would determine whether the Maldives preserved its Islamic faith and independence. Nishan said Maldivians risked becoming second-class citizens and losing land to non-Muslims, and cited Eagle Hills’ alleged links to Jews and the spread of immorality. “Islam and Muslim lands cannot be sacrificed in the name of development and civilisation,” he said.
Normal passport issuance will resume on Sunday after a delay in booklet deliveries from German supplier Dermalog was resolved, Home Minister Ali Ihusaan said. Immigration had suspended routine passport issuance and prioritised urgent cases to avoid running out of booklets, after the company reported a problem at its print house. New stock will arrive over the weekend, and the backlog of more than 2,600 passports will take about five days to clear, Ihusaan said.
President Muizzu established government services centres in 18 atolls, to be run by the homeland security ministry in place of the abolished atoll councils. The directive, issued under the Decentralisation Act, sets up centres to provide integrated public services in every administrative atoll.
Police arrested four men, three of them from the film industry, in an anti-narcotics operation in Villimalé. Police said searches were under way and more details would be released later.
Three people were injured, including a woman who suffered a broken arm, when a motorcycle skidded and hit another on the Sinamalé Bridge highway, police said. All three are being treated at Tree Top Hospital.
The rider who caused a crash on Sosun Magu on 20 September was drunk and unlicensed at the time, police told the Criminal Court, which ordered Maahu Hassan, 21, held until the end of his trial. He is now suspected of causing death by negligence after Aishath Maahidha, 26, from Shaviyani Foakaidhoo, who was a passenger on the motorcycle he hit, died of brain injuries on 25 September. Maahu had been fined four times this year for riding without a licence.
The MDP published the timeline for its 27 November national council elections, the first under its amended charter. Nominations open on Saturday and close on 25 October, and members must join the party by 20 October to vote.
Islamic Minister Dr Shaheem warned that entering cemeteries to remove or dig up gravestones in search of black magic, in the name of ruqyah, was forbidden in Islam. Shaheem said in a Facebook post that he had received reports of such acts by people claiming to perform ruqyah, the practice of reciting the Quran over the sick, and that they had no basis in the Quran or Sunnah.
Police destroyed 2,547 500ml bottles and 23 five-litre bottles of alcohol seized in three drug enforcement cases, along with nine other items including plastic containers, at Doonidoo on 5 October.
