Former president Solih announced his intention to contest in the 2028 presidential election. According to media reports, he made the announcement at a meeting with senior MDP officials after weeks of consultations as supporters campaigned on social media. The confirmation of the long-rumoured candidacy came a day before an MDP rally to welcome back former president Nasheed, whose acrimonious departure amid a rift with Solih was widely blamed for the party losing power in 2023.
The government aims to extend schooling years to A'Levels by the end of the current five-year term, the education minister announced, touting the success of a pilot project in 23 schools that increased enrolment in higher secondary education by 38 percent. The admission criteria were also lowered to accept students who pass one to three O’Level subjects.
Student loans will no longer be offered for pilot training due to limited job opportunities, Transport Minister Ameen told state media, criticising the previous government for providing loans to 500 pilot trainees, many of whom were unable to find jobs upon graduation as the aviation sector is only able to train about 20 Maldivian cadet pilots per year.
The Supreme Court overturned a High Court ruling to release seven suspects who were found not guilty over the murder of Mohamed Anas in July 2017. The prosecution sought to keep the accused in custody after appealing the acquittals in early 2024, but the High Court refused to order their detention until the end of the appeal.
An association representing religious scholars condemned the government for allowing an International Yoga Day event organised by the Indian High Commission at the Taj Maldives resort, calling the participation of a state minister as the chief guest “unacceptable,” and referring to the violent disruption of the 2022 Yoga Day event in Malé. More than 100 scholars had previously declared yoga to be forbidden by Islam as an act of shirk (associating partners with God) and warned that it poses a threat to religious unity, the association noted.
The Auditor General's office was unable to verify the accuracy of PSM's financial statements due to poor record-keeping, missing documentation and widespread irregularities, including an estimated loss of MVR 9 million (US$ 583,600) due to misappropriation of funds between 2020 and 2024. Following operational losses of MVR 123 million in 2021, the state broadcaster required a government grant of MVR 100 million to continue operations. However, the corporation's management claimed to have resolved 90 percent of issues flagged by auditors.
In an op-ed on Adhadhu, MDP Chairman Fayyaz Ismail called for constitutional amendments to require a public vote to dismiss Supreme Court justices, arguing that it would protect judges from politically-motivated impeachments by a parliamentary supermajority.
Alleged "con artist" Zaidhan Mohamed Hashim, a 28-year-old Maldivian man implicated in 11 cases of scam and facing trial in two cases, was arrested last Tuesday over the purchase of goods worth more than MVR 73,400 (US$ 4,760) with fake payment receipts sent to three shops in Malé and Hulhumalé. He was remanded into custody for 15 days, police told the media. A 30-year-old Bangladeshi woman named Afrin Akhtar was also arrested as an alleged accomplice and remanded for five days.
A 42-year-old woman fell from the second floor of a residence in Malé in the early hours of Sunday. She was treated at IGMH for an ankle fracture, police said, declining to provide any further details.
