Politics

Ex-elections chief appointed to police watchdog

Parliament approved former elections commissioner Ali Sulaiman’s appointment to the watchdog body for law enforcement agencies.

Maldives skipping India navy exercise over ‘heightened readiness’ at home

India’s naval chief Sunil Lanba told media that the Maldives had declined to participate in the ‘Milan’ exercise starting March 6, with no reason given for the absence.

Dunya Maumoon resigns as state health minister

Her departure from her uncle’s government appeared imminent after President Abdulla Yameen arrested her father on February 6, but has taken weeks to materialise.

Denied, detained, deported: how the Maldives sent a law association packing

LAWASIA confirmed that a fact-finding delegation was denied entry to the Maldives, despite the government’s insistence that international stakeholders are welcome to assess the country’s situation for themselves.

We are doing fine, Maldives tells UN, focus on Palestine and Syria

The United Nations Human Rights Council heard that President Abdulla Yameen had to declare a state of emergency because a “conspiracy – financed to the tune of millions of dollars – was set in motion” on February 1.

Opposition defies police protest curfew

Some protesters, including a 70-year-old female activist, were taken into custody when riot police moved to disperse the crowd at a busy intersection of the capital’s main thoroughfare.

Maldives hires US Trump-tied lobbying firm

The state-owned Maldivian tourism promotion company hired a top-earning US lobbying firm amid growing international condemnation of a continuing state of emergency.

Parliament’s approval of state of emergency constitutional, Supreme Court rules

The Supreme Court has legitimised parliament’s approval of President Abdulla Yameen’s state of emergency with less than half of lawmakers present last Tuesday.

Army bars media from parliament meetings

Soldiers blocked the entrance to the parliament building, saying there had been no written notification allowing journalists access.

Maldives threatened with ‘targeted measures’

PPM MP aggrieved over stalled airport project

MP Abdulla Khaleel has fallen out with the government over failure to deliver on an airport pledge, VFP reports, citing a source close to the MP for Faafu Nilandhoo.

Parliament resumes with speedy five-minute sitting

Parliament resumed regular business Monday morning with only pro-government lawmakers in attendance for a sitting that lasted less than five minutes.

Maldives presidential elections first round to be held early September

The Elections Commission expected a first round to be held in early September and a second round, should it be necessary, would be held within 21 days from election day.

Maldives president DID refuse UN help

A video shows UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric talking to reporters about exchanges between the United Nations and Malé.

Short and snappy: President gives 18-minute speech to parliament

The president’s speech clocked in at just 18 minutes. Last year’s speech lasted one hour and 13 minutes.

State of emergency ‘unconstitutional’

Prosecutor General Aishath Bisham wrote to police hours after parliament approved President Abdulla Yameen’s request to extend the state of emergency by 30 days.

India ‘deeply dismayed’ by Maldives state of emergency extension

Ties with India have been in the spotlight since the Maldives signed a massive free trade deal with China, and relations have become strained in recent months through a combination of snubs, suspensions, tweets and editorials.

Delicate and sensitive: Maldives seeks to reassure international community again

There has been widespread condemnation about President Abdulla Yameen’s administration and the country’s vital tourism industry has taken a beating as holidaymakers stay away.

Maldives state of emergency extended by another 30 days

The state of emergency in the Maldives has been extended by another 30 days, after parliament on Tuesday approved President Abdulla Yameen’s request.

#MaldivesInLimbo as parliament stalls on state of emergency vote

A total of 39 lawmakers from the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) attended a session to debate the president’s request, but all opposition lawmakers boycotted it.