The 5,000 housing units Eagle Hills is to build before starting work on Rasmalé will be located on Hulhumalé’s Urban Island, according to a video shared by Housing Minister Dr Abdulla Muththalib. The three-bedroom flats are estimated to cost US$400 million to US$500 million, to be paid from the state’s 10 per cent share of Rasmalé sales, which Muththalib has projected at US$3 billion. The video suggests Eagle Hills will develop the entire Urban Island, though the government has not confirmed this. The land was previously set aside for an US$8.8 billion financial centre to be built by Qatar’s MBS Global Investments, a project that has not moved forward and that the government says is being rescoped.
Foreign-owned businesses in wholesale and retail trade and cargo, general and passenger sales agent services can no longer operate unless they have met the new foreign investment rules, the economic ministry said, as the transition period ended on 8 October. The ministry said it was reviewing applications from companies seeking to comply through localisation or restructuring, while those that had not engaged would receive formal notices requiring them to stop prohibited activities. Companies localising ownership will have to prove the transfer is “meaningful and substantive” rather than nominal. The ministry will assess the price paid, the source of funds, beneficial ownership, effective control and any continuing interest held by the foreign seller. Non-compliant businesses face enforcement action.
Police seized six pots from a shop in Hulhumalé Phase 2 after information circulated on social media that it was selling items symbolising other religions. The pots, confiscated on Wednesday evening following a raid, are used to grow tulsi, a plant considered sacred in Hinduism, though police did not name the shop or say whether anyone had been arrested or was under investigation.
The foreign ministry is working to open embassies in Italy, Egypt, South Africa and Australia, it told Mihaaru in response to a right to information request, but did not say when they would open. The government announced plans for an embassy in Italy two years ago and has received approval from Rome. The Maldives currently has 19 embassies and two consulates in 18 countries.
Police found drugs on a table when they forced their way into a room in Villimalé where three actors and another man were arrested, police told the Criminal Court, which remanded all four for 15 days. The court order named the actors as Ahmed Azmeel, Ismail Jumaih and Mohamed Vishal 'Roman,' along with Azmeel’s brother Shahil Mohamed. Police said the preliminary weight of the drugs found exceeded the threshold for trafficking. All four are suspected of possessing, dealing and trafficking drugs. Under recent amendments to the Drugs Act, trafficking carries a life sentence with no possibility of parole or clemency.
MTCC had 6,700 employees before the decision to merge it with the Road Development Corporation, 2,500 of them permanent and the rest on project contracts, CEO Ahmed Saudhee said on TVM, adding that many of RDC’s more than 4,000 staff would also join the company. Saudhee told Mihaaru last month that MTCC had about 5,000 employees, and said its board had approved hiring up to 7,500.
Former President Nasheed warned that if the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb are reopened, rebel groups may target the Kaashidhoo and Huvadhoo channels, saying a small group of armed people in a speedboat could obstruct passage. He urged major and middle powers to deploy significant military assets in the Indian Ocean, and called on the Maldives to build its own capacity to counter such threats, work closely with India and other friendly countries, and address religious extremism, as armed rebel groups rise from extremist movements.
Police towed a motorcycle and fined its 20-year-old rider for riding on one wheel in Hulhumalé, as part of what they described as a crackdown on dangerous driving.
MDP opened applications for positions in the party's national council, island and city constituencies, women's wing and youth wing. Members registered with the party before 20 October 2026 are eligible to contest and candidacy papers can be submitted through the party's yellow app before 25 October.
Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem laid the foundation stone for a new two-storey mosque for 1,000 worshippers on the site of Villimalé’s Masjidussalam, funded by the Fiya Foundation. The mosque will include two classrooms for Islamic education.
