The government has ended fish-buying subsidies to MIFCO, Fisheries Minister Shiyam told parliament. Policies had to change to boost fish exports, he said, criticising the previous government's move to buy fish at MVR 25 (US$ 1.6) a kilo, which he said required the government to pay MIFCO MVR 13 of that per kilo. At 123,000 tonnes of skipjack a year, that meant subsidies in the billions. That money could have been spent on infrastructure and factories instead, he said, noting that Felivaru has run a single factory for 40 years and that the government aimed to raise processing capacity from the current 105 tonnes. Work to enable processing at Nilandhoo in Faafu and Fiyoaree in Gaafu Dhaalu and to double Felivaru's capacity was progressing, tripling capacity overall, he said.
Reported cybercrime more than doubled in the first half of this year, up 105 percent on the same period last year, police said. Cases rose from 512 in the first half of 2025 to 1,053 this year, driven mainly by online scams. Online shopping scams saw the sharpest rise, up 439 percent from 86 to 464. Scams run through social media rose from 15 to 109 and fake currency-exchange scams from 56 to 103.
Someone cut down a large banyan tree inside a children's park in Villimalé, with photos showing much of the mature tree felled. Malé City Council said it was not responsible and was working to find who did it. The felling comes amid a dispute over building flats in Villimalé. A photo posted on X showed two men in WAMCO uniforms cutting down the tree.
Sending new patients to India's Amrita Hospital has been paused after its agreement with the Kochi hospital expired, Aasandha Managing Director Aminath Zeeniya told Mihaaru. She said new cases were not being referred there while the agreement is under review before re-signing, but that patients already receiving treatment at the hospital would continue as before. The earlier agreement billed each procedure separately; Aasandha is now working towards package-based treatment instead. A date for signing the revised agreement is not yet clear.
Twenty-three measles cases were reported in the Malé area in the past week, bringing this year's total to 144, HPA said, with 7,100 people vaccinated so far. Separately, the agency told Adhadhu it had not yet confirmed whether the young man who died this week died of measles. It said the case was being reviewed under set clinical and epidemiological procedures to establish the cause, and that it would release more information once that was complete.
A new regulation lets the Judicial Service Commission remove chief judges of courts if it sees fit. The JSC can remove a chief judge from that post if it decides doing so is needed to strengthen a court's administration.
An 82-year-old man was found dead in the harbour water at Baa Eydhafushi. Police identified him as Ali Abdulla of Seasonge. A report came in at about 7.55am that a person had been found dead in the harbour. No further details were given.
The opposition MDP condemned the LGA for blocking Kulhudhuffushi City Council's decisions. The party said the government was pressuring the LGA to force councils to reverse lawful decisions made within their own remit, calling it an illegitimate order. The LGA told Kulhudhuffushi to halt work on forming a board for islands in Haa Dhaalu to cooperate on development. Separately, fee-based services previously provided by the atoll councils, now abolished – vehicle licensing, annual fees and Department of National Registration services – resumed last Sunday, with payments now taken through Bandeyri Pay.
Usgekolhu, the only surviving building of the old grand palace complex in Malé, has been repeatedly vandalised, the heritage ministry told state media. The walls had been drawn on and scrawled with obscenities, doors broken, and the building entered and used as a toilet. The ministry accused Malé City Council, which is responsible for the building, of neglecting it.
The first round of talks on a Maldives–India free trade agreement has concluded, Economic Development Minister Saeed said at a press briefing, with the government aiming to have the FTA in force before the end of this year. He said the first round covered 12 areas, including goods, services, technical barriers and economic cooperation, involving 102 parties on the Maldivian side, 65 of them private.
Climate change is affecting drinking water and is one of the main threats to water security, Mohamed Musthafa, the environment ministry's director general, said at a press briefing. He said the biggest challenge was groundwater turning salty and rainwater sources being hit as sea levels rise. On some islands, sewerage systems are buried very shallowly, so heavy rain and flooding damage both water and sewerage systems, and shifting rainfall patterns raise the risk of water contamination in future. He said fresh groundwater on most islands was still of good quality and needed protecting. Over the past 10 years, water has been delivered to an average of 51 islands a year that ran short: 2,333 tonnes, costing an average of MVR 6.4 million a year. Musthafa said this should end within the next year and a half, by when every inhabited island will have a water system in place.
Independence Day will be observed without the official reception again this year, as part of the government's spending cuts, the President's Office said. The official ceremony will go ahead at 9am at the Centre for Social Education, where President Muizzu will address the nation.
