Forecasts indicate sustainable economic growth in the medium term, driven by the upgraded international airports in the southernmost and northernmost atolls, Finance Minister Moosa Zameer told parliament. The expansion of tourism in these regions would fuel growth much as it did from the central atolls in the 1980s and 1990s, he suggested. Despite the absence of any tax hikes or significant revenue-raising measures in the 2026 budget, Zameer said the government expects gains from developing an international financial centre and tapping into new technologies such as blockchain and tokenisation. The budget is structured to cover essential public needs despite record debt-servicing obligations.
Dr Parvez Ansari, the brother of Dr Shaheen Syed, a suspect arrested in connection with the Delhi Red Fort blast last week, worked in the Maldives in 2016, Indian media reported Indian authorities are investigating his activities during that period to determine whether his stay overlapped with any known recruiters or radical influencers.
After maintaining a budget surplus for much of the year, the finance ministry reported an MVR 1 billion (US$ 64 million) deficit in its weekly fiscal update as spending far exceeded revenue. Only MVR 279 million of projected grant aid of MVR 2.6 billion was secured as of November 6.
An 18-year-old woman was forcibly held and physically abused in a house in Maafannu, police said.
The National Social Protection Authority invited couples to apply for In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment through the Fertility Care Fund. The 50 couples who score highest under the guidelines will be selected, NSPA said.
After a visit to Malé's commercial harbour, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim criticised the condition of the state-owned Maldives Ports Limited's facilities. The company previously maintained a healthy balance sheet of MVR 700 million before those funds were used to construct three residential towers for its employees, he said. He also blamed the recent capsizing of a landing craft earlier this month on the deteriorating state of the Malé port.
The Prosecutor General’s Office decided not to file obstruction charges against seven Maldivian Democratic Party members – Hussain Shakir, Yaugoob Abdulla, Yasir Abdul Latheef, Hassan Salaah, Azim Ali, Ali Juman, and Mohamed Khalaf Ibrahim – following their arrest during the October 3 protest in Malé. The individuals had been exercising a fundamental right and their actions caused no harm to people or damage to property, the PG office said.
The Elections Commission invited applications for elections officials to conduct the upcoming local council elections in March.
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck along the Mid-Indian Ridge southwest of the Maldives, 1,642 kilometres from Addu, the country’s southernmost region. The earthquake posed no threat to the Maldives, the Met office assured.
The Met office forecast adverse weather affecting southern atolls after Thursday and the entire country starting next Monday as the winds shift ahead of the start of the northeast monsoon.
