All international and domestic airports in the country will be managed by Maldivian operators, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Ameen said after The Hindu reported that the Airports Authority of India is studying a proposal to engage Indian companies to manage the Hanimaadhoo airport, which was recently upgraded by India's JMC under a line of credit from India. According to the paper, President Muizzu had made a request to India's Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu when he attended the airport inauguration ceremony in November as a special envoy of Prime Minister Modi. The civil aviation ministry then asked AAI – which manages 26 state government airports and owns 113 airports managed by private operators, including the GMR company that was evicted from the Maldives in December 2012 –to seek an Indian operator for the Hanimaadhoo airport. But the Maldives government "remains firmly committed to keeping airport operations under national institutions," Ameen said.
Hanimaadhoo airport should be made "the hub of the regional airline" and operated in partnership with the airline, which would ensure the development of the northern atolls, former President Nasheed suggested.
Hussain Sunny Umar was detained for trial on charges of child sexual abuse. The criminal court granted the detention order upon request by the Prosecutor General, which also extended the investigation period for the police. Sunny, a co-founder of The Travel Guys and sevearal tourism publications, is accused of sexually abusing minors over a decade.
The Maldives Qualifications Authority reprimanded Avid College for running accredited programmes abroad without authorisation, in violation of accreditation regulations. The local college had been delivering programmes and issuing certificates through "Amazon College" in Sri Lanka and "Alzet University," whose location is unknown. The MQA also found Avid College programmes being advertised at five other Sri Lankan campuses not registered with that country's education authorities. MQA said it had been advising Avid College to cease the unauthorised operations since August 2024, but the college continued without seeking approval. The formal warning, issued under regulations governing offshore delivery of accredited programmes, is MQA's first enforcement action. The authority warned that such practices risk damaging the international credibility of Maldivian qualifications.
The MDP Women's Wing condemned recent changes to the civil service dress code – which prohibited women dyeing their hair and tucking in shirts – calling them an infringement on the personal freedoms of female staff. Regulating women's clothing length and hair colour has no bearing on professionalism, and amounts to discrimination, the wing contended, questioning why the rules apply only to civil servants and not to political appointees, independent institutions, or state-owned companies. The party called on the Civil Service Commission to revoke the amended regulations.
The MDP accused the government of attempting to influence the upcoming local council elections by taking control of 100 housing units in Baa Thulhaahoo. The housing ministry's opening of applications with no involvement of the island council, despite a court order halting the allocation process, violates the constitution and the decentralisation law, the MDP argued.
The ruling PNC's membership stood at 74,048 people at the end of 2025, up from 68,665 members in late November when the annual state funding was calculated. The opposition MDP trailed with 43,784 members, followed by the Jumhooree Party with 12,343 members, the Maldives Development Alliance with 9,686 members and the Adhaalath Party with 8,267 members.
The New Year's Eve drone show cost US$ 100,000, Mihaaru reported. The 15-minute display in Hulhumalé featured 600 drones, including 75 pyro-drones. The celebrations, which included a music show and three-day food festival, had been organised by the Visit Maldives Corporation in partnership with HDC and BML.
There is no agreement showing that the Heenaamaage land plot was handed over to Rasheed Carpentry and Construction, Mayor Adam Azim told Adhadhu. The 8,000-square-foot plot was leased to RCC for a parking building and commercial uses when President Muizzu was mayor. Azim, a shareholder in RCC, defended the 70-year-old family business against suggestions it benefited from his ties to the Muizzu administration. The Malé City Council will no longer accept agreements not in its records, requiring parties to seek court confirmation, Azim said. RCC holds several government contracts, including a MVR 631 million (US$ 40 million) project to build council offices on 55 islands awarded without a bidding process.
A Maldivian and four foreign nationals were arrested on suspicion of selling alcohol from a safari vessel. Police searched the boat with a court order and seized 102 bottles and 218 cans of alcohol.
