Politics
More than a third of state offices without information officers
More than a third of government offices and organizations funded by the state have failed to appoint staff to handle information requests, as required by the landmark Right to Information (RTI) Act, passed in 2014 with the aim of improving public access to information.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Soldiers raid a Maldives resort under development
Dozens of soldiers raided an island in central Lhaviyani Atoll that is being developed as a resort today. A spokesman said the raid was “routine, and not related to the ongoing inquiry” into an explosion on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Judicial watchdog reprimands judge over blogpost
“I have the right to write. The Judges Act doesn’t prohibit me from writing. This does not threaten me at all and I don’t regret writing that post,” Judge Mahaz Ali told The Maldives Independent. The judge was reprimanded over a blogpost deemed critical of a Supreme Court ruling.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Presidential affairs minister resigns
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, presidential affairs minister, said he decided to resign after being told not to report to work on Sunday. Shareef returned to the Maldives last night after accompanying Vice President Ahmed in an official visit to China to attend an investment forum.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Police seize security camera footage from Adeeb’s residences
In the first direct move against Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, police have seized CCTV footage from two of his residences in Malé as part of the inquiry into an alleged assassination attempt on President Abdulla Yameen.
22 Oct 2015, 09:00
Police impose restrictions on MDP’s nightly street protests
Invoking authority under the Freedom of Assembly Act, which authorises police to order protest organisers to limit gatherings to a specific area, the police said in a letter to the MDP that its protests have posed “numerous difficulties” for pedestrians, businesses and restaurants as well as for tourists staying at guesthouses and hotels in the area.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Committee approves controversial anti-terrorism bill
The parliament’s national security committee has approved a new anti-terrorism bill that opposition MPs fear could be misused to target anti-government activities and jail politicians. The government-sponsored legislation could be put to a vote next week and is likely to pass as the ruling coalition controls a simple majority in the People’s Majlis.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Police chief, majority leader abruptly depart Maldives
The police chief and the majority leader of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) abruptly left the Maldives last night, in a sign of escalating struggle for influence at the country’s top leadership.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Vice President no longer co-chair of economic council
Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has been stripped of the title as co-chair of the powerful economic and youth council, days after the tourism portfolio was taken off his hands.
21 Oct 2015, 09:00
Nasheed urges Modi visit to ‘disentangle Maldives mess’
Jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed has urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the Maldives to “disentangle us from the mess we are in,” according to his lawyers.
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Majority of Maldivians ‘troubled by status quo,’ but support democracy
A solid majority of Maldivians prefer democracy as a form of government, but remain cynical about the status quo and distrustful of state institutions and political parties, according to a nationwide survey conducted by Transparency Maldives
20 Oct 2015, 09:00
Maldives government launches media offensive on boat blast
Cabinet ministers and ruling party MPs have launched a media offensive, appearing on some six TV channels every week night. Slick messages extolling President Yameen’s virtues have begun appearing on social media with the hashtag #IStandWithYameen.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Vice President stripped of tourism portfolio
President Abdulla Yameen has temporarily assigned Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim as acting tourism minister, stripping Vice President Ahmed Adeeb of authority over his previous portfolio.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
New US ambassador presents credentials to president
Atul Keshap, the new ambassador of the United States of America to the Maldives, presented his credentials to President Abdulla Yameen this morning. The pair discussed “issues of mutual interest encompassing global terrorism, human rights and environmental problems.”
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
MDP moves protest from pavement to the streets
Angered by the police’s attempts to limit protests to pavements, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) led a march in Malé late at night, walking along streets randomly and sometimes, against the traffic last flow.
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Government grants itself ‘extraordinary discretionary powers’ over NGOs
Under new regulations, a registrar at the home ministry has the discretion to suspend NGOs if it conducts activities that could be considered “a threat to national security” or “defamatory towards an individual.”
19 Oct 2015, 09:00
Security forces shut down Maldives tourism corporation
Employees of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation turned up to work at 8am today only to find three military and police officers blocking the office entrance. The shut-down comes days after police raided the offices and the home of its managing director Abdulla Ziyath over a blast on the president’s speedboat.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
After raid, top tourism official questioned
Abdulla Ziyath, who heads the MMPRC, was interrogated for more than three hours by the economic crime department. The summons came after his apartment was raided on Wednesday night. His passport has also been withheld.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
Nasheed’s family wins right to weekly visits
“Visitation rights have now been set to as it was before. This is a big development. The MCS did not reveal why they had stopped giving us the chance to visit. We believe it was personal,” Nasheed’s brother told the press today.
18 Oct 2015, 09:00
President’s aide resigns
Aishath Liza, the president’s office media coordinator, was told to stay home from work on Friday. She says she resigned today to pursue higher education.
17 Oct 2015, 09:00
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