The government proposed amendments to the Evidence Act to allow courts to compel journalists to reveal sources in cases involving unlawful disclosure of information, violent overthrow of the government, military aggression, and acts that endanger sovereignty. The constitution guarantees the right to protect sources of information, but the evidence law passed by the previous administration controversially introduced exceptions in cases involving acts of terrorism or offences related to national security. According to the proposed changes, the Prosecutor General's Office or defendants could petition the High Court to compel journalists to disclose sources. The court must rule within 24 hours. Journalists who refuse to comply could be fined or jailed for up to three months.
Police revealed the identities of four men arrested over the theft of a Bank of Maldives suitcase with over US$ 100,000 from the Velana International Airport on Monday morning. Mazin Moosa, 25, Ahmed Raihan Naeem, 20, Ibrahim Anoof, 24, and Hussain Shahid, 30, had been apprehended in Kaafu Huraa after they fled to the island on a speedboat. But the money wasn't recovered. The criminal court remanded them in custody for five days after "denying the right to legal counsel," their lawyer alleged.
President Muizzu became "the first head of state to visit every inhabited island in the Maldives in record time," the President's Office declared, after he concluded a two-day trip to Lhaviyani and Kaafu atolls. Muizzu has covered all 187 inhabited islands during his first year and 11 months in office, his office announced after Tuesday's visit to Thulusdhoo, during which he pledged "lasting solutions to the housing challenges faced by the community". In Dhiffushi earlier in the day, he assured completion of a 23-hectare land reclamation project within 12 months.
The civil court ordered Exotic Enterprises to pay MVR 47 million (US$ 3 million) owed to Customs as unpaid duties for 34,500 cigarette cartons cleared out from its bonded warehouse without authorisation. In a judgment issued in absentia after the company failed to attend hearings, the court gave 14 days to make the payment. The lawsuit had been filed in July last year after a Customs stock audit uncovered the disappearance of the cigarettes.
PNC MP Mohamed Siruhan denied any involvement in the illegal clearance of cigarettes by Exotic Enterprises after a parliament committee report identified him as a shareholder at the time of the import in December 2023.
Sultans of the Seas topped the new list of non-payers published by Customs with more than MVR 110 million owed as unpaid import duties and fines. Ashraf Waheed was in second place with a fine of MVR 72 million imposed over the illegal import of vapes. The majority of the cases on the list involved unpaid tobacco and vape fines.
Majority Leader Ibrahim Falah called on the government to seize plots of land awarded to native residents of Malé by the previous administration.
The Nautilus Foundation announced four fully funded scholarships in medicine, aircraft engineering, and commercial cookery.
The local government ministry decided to establish island-level committees to monitor progress on ongoing projects.
Former VTV journalist Zammath Waheed was elected vice president of the seven-member Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission, beating former Media Council president Hussain Saqeef by four votes to three.
The Maldives Qualifications Authority advised students against relying on programme recognition letters issued to other students. The advice followed a Supreme Court ruling that overturned a High Court decision ordering MQA to accept doctoral certificates from a Sri Lankan college granting Philippine degrees. The court ruled MQA's initial recognition was issued without proper due diligence.
