Former foreign minister and parliament speaker Abdulla Shahid was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing a minor. Police said Shahid, 64, was arrested under a court warrant at 9:59pm and declined to give details. According to media reports, he was taken from his home in Hulhumalé to the police station and later to the Dhoonidhoo custodial centre. Shortly before his arrest, Shahid wrote on X that politically motivated claims aimed at assassinating his character were baseless lies. Shahid, a former president of the UN General Assembly and of the MDP, is campaigning for the party’s 2028 presidential ticket.
Parliament accepted for consideration an amendment to the Education Act that would allow home-schooling for children unable to attend school because of a physical disability or a psychological or other special circumstance. Under the government-sponsored bill, parents would have to be able to afford home-schooling and the child would have to stay registered at a school. Children whose disabilities prevent them from studying at school or at home would be exempt from compulsory education. Former President Nasheed has called it the “jaariya bill,” using a word for slave girls, and accused the government of a “cunning” ploy to keep girls out of school. MDP MP Meekail Naseem warned that without a proper regulatory framework, the change would open the door to extremists. Defending the bill, Manadhoo MP Husni Mubarik said children would remain under school supervision. Education Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu said home-schooling would only be allowed after an assessment and under specific conditions.
Christie’s International Real Estate launched a Maldives affiliate to sell branded residences at luxury resorts to international buyers. The Malé-based venture belongs to Laith Pharaon, founder and CEO of hospitality group Orca Holding, with sales managed by Marco Bonini. Its first projects include Rah Gili in South Malé Atoll, Don Maaga Maldives, due to open in May 2027, Nammos Resort Maldives and Fusion Resort Maldives. Bonini said buyers had traditionally come from Britain, France, Germany and Italy, but interest from Singapore and Hong Kong was growing.
HDC terminated its land agreement with Solaris Hospitality, which runs the popular Riveli Beach Club and Restaurant in Hulhumalé, over unpaid rent, and barred the company from doing any business on the plot. HDC said it had taken the land back under its control after giving all the notices and opportunities required under the agreement. An HDC official told Mihaaru that the company owed about MVR5 million (US$324,254) and had never paid rent in full since the lease began, nor met its CSR obligations under the agreement.
Transparency Maldives urged authorities to halt the deportation of migrant workers who took part in a protest that began last week at a resort construction site on Bolidhuffaru reef in Kaafu Atoll. The NGO said police had confirmed that 21 workers were taken straight to the airport for deportation, and that 20 who refused were being held in immigration detention pending decisions by immigration and their employer. Calling the move retaliation against workers exercising their constitutional right to strike, Transparency asked immigration to release the workers, the Human Rights Commission to investigate, and the Labour Relations Authority to look into the grievances behind the protest. The workers were protesting over wages allegedly unpaid for more than six months, according to media reports. The resort is a DAMAC Properties project on a 34-hectare reclaimed lagoon.
MTDC opened its new 10-storey headquarters opposite Hulhumalé’s Central Park, after two decades of renting office space in Malé. Inaugurated by Tourism Minister Mohamed Ameen, the building has basement parking, a ground-floor café and a convention hall, and MTDC plans to rent out space to other offices. Managing Director Haris Mohamed said the tower gave the company a new, permanent source of income and that work on a similar building in the Malé area would begin soon. The building was constructed by China’s Hunan No. 6 Engineering on land acquired in 2022. Work started in 2024.
The trade ministry opened the second phase of the Youth Entrepreneurship Financing scheme run by Bank of Maldives and SME Digital, which gives Maldivians aged 18 to 30 unsecured loans of up to MVR150,000 to start or expand businesses.
The defence ministry contracted a Chinese company, Rotime Engineering and Technology Corporation, to build a 15-storey accommodation and logistics building for the MNDF at Kalhuthukkalaa Koshi in Malé, to be designed and completed within two years. The MNDF called it the largest construction project in its history. President Muizzu had pledged in his 2026 presidential address to expand the military’s operational capacity and facilities.
STO made a profit of MVR281 million in the third quarter, up 51 per cent from MVR186 million in the same period last year, according to its quarterly report. That takes its profit for the first nine months of 2026 to MVR837 million.
Roads and the harbour around Republic Square, the Martyrs’ Monument and the Islamic Centre in Malé will be closed from 4am until night on Tuesday for Victory Day events, police said. The closures cover the dawn prayer and flag-raising from 4am, a military display from 1:30pm, when the surrounding sea area will also be closed, and the official ceremony from 6:30pm. Victory Day marks the defeat of the 3 November 1988 attempt by foreign mercenaries to overthrow the government.
