The Privatisation and Corporatisation Board gave state-owned enterprises three months from last Monday to meet the previously announced target of cutting their workforces by 33 percent, following a circular first issued in April. Companies must report progress through a tracking tool provided by PCB, which reminded them that compliance with its directives is legally required under the corporatisation law.
The China-funded project to rebuild Malé's roads will now begin late this year or early 2027 at the latest, President Muizzu said on the President's Office podcast The Pulse. He said funding and the project were secured and preparatory work was under way. Muizzu had said in his 2024 presidential address that it would start that year and the government has given several start dates since. Muizzu blamed the delay on requirements attached to grant-funded projects. A Chinese team is now surveying Malé's roads.
Police arrested Moosa Naeem, 63, from a Maafannu guesthouse room on suspicion of practising sorcery and possessing paraphernalia associated with it, following an intelligence-led operation and court-authorised search of the room. The Criminal Court remanded him for 15 days while police continue the investigation.
The Criminal Court found Pakistani cook Mohamed Abid guilty of intentionally killing Bangladeshi waiter MD Shameem at Hulhumalé's Khanji Restaurant in April 2022, after witnesses testified that Abid stabbed Shameem during an argument that began over the number of potatoes Shameem had cut for a biryani. The court found evidence of murderous intent, with medical evidence confirming death from a chest wound. Sentencing will follow after the victim's family is asked whether they wish to seek the death penalty.
A Maldivian man was found dead in a guesthouse in Hulhumalé Phase 1 on Friday afternoon. Police identified him as Mohamed Razeen, 50, from Maafannu Star, Malé.
The Maldives' first shark research centre, the Shark Research and Conservation Hub, opened in Fuvahmulah, run by local NGO The Miyaru Programme. Fuvahmulah is known internationally as Tiger Shark Island for its frequent tiger shark sightings.
The Criminal Court ordered the pre-trial detention of both suspects in the 1.5kg drug smuggling case, Alya Sharsa Naseer, 25, and Aminath Roona, 29, to continue until the conclusion of their trial. Police have said Roona was the ringleader who directed Alya's travel abroad to retrieve the drugs.
Mohamed Ahmed was appointed new CEO of the Capital Market Development Authority.
The Maldives called for an immediate halt to Israeli attempts to occupy Palestinian land, for Palestinian rights to be restored, for UNRWA funding, and for recognition of a Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
