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A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.

2017

Commission on State Asset Recovery

Maldives Asset Recovery Commission: a fake, a trap?

6 min read

The original Dhivehi article was published on Avas.mv website on 8th October 2017. The following is a loose translation: The period was when government corruption talk is widely discussed around. When former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb was again discussed. When Jumhooree Party Leader Qasim Ibrahim publicly severely criticised the government. During that time, President Abdulla […]

Velana International Airport

City at the End of Days

5 min read

On September 25th, I stepped out into brilliant sunlight at Malé’s international airport. Two ground crew in modest heels, yellow reflective vests, and navy-blue hijabs directed us around the wing and into the terminal. An hour later I was on a bus along the access road to Hulhumalé, a massive island which the Maldives’s Housing […]

Maldives legal teams ‘decimated’ after mass lawyer suspension, says UN expert

Maldives legal teams ‘decimated’ after mass lawyer suspension, says UN expert

3 min read

Legal teams have been decimated and trials could end up paralysed because of the mass suspension of lawyers in the Maldives, a United Nations rights expert said Monday. The comments from the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Diego García-Sayán, follow the suspension triggered by scores of lawyers calling for judicial […]

Presidnet Yameen and Saudi King

Maldives rises in defence of Saudi Arabia, says UN fails to be impartial

2 min read

The Government of Maldives has risen to the defence of Saudi Arabia, citing that the UN had failed to amass accurate information on the current situation prior to placing Saudi Arabia on the list of shame. Saudi Arabia was placed on the UN’s ‘list of shame’ last week. Speaking on the condition of anonymity to […]

Yameen murder trial hearings will be open, says PG office

Yameen murder trial hearings will be open, says PG office

3 min read

Public hearings will be held in Yameen Rasheed’s murder trial, the Prosecutor General’s office has told the Maldives Independent, amid mounting criticism of the closed-door sessions. Following a statement from 20 regional rights groups, the PG office’s spokesman Ahmed Thaufeeg said all criminal cases were carried out according to the criminal procedure code. “All the […]

Police arrest Afrah Abdul Razzaq, 21, a suspect wanted in connection to the murder of Mohamed Anas. PHOTO: HUSSAIN WAHEED/MIHAARU

Court remands suspect arrested over Anas murder

1 min read

Police arrest Afrah Abdul Razzaq, 21, a suspect wanted in connection to the murder of Mohamed Anas. PHOTO: HUSSAIN WAHEED/MIHAARU The Criminal Court on Monday added 15 days to the remand of a suspect arrested the day before in connection to the murder of Mohamed Anas in late July. According to Police, Afrah Abdul Razzaq, […]

barricade at parliament

Barricaded: Maldives Parliament Speaker

2 min read

The original Dhivehi article was published on Mihaaru.com website on 9th October 2017. The following is a loose translation: The wall of MNDF guards used as a protective shield in the Maldives parliament, has now become a real wall. If some found it bewildering to watch the parliament session while MNDF were protecting Speaker of […]

During a meeting of the parliamentary Economic Affairs Committee. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI/MIHAARU

Parliament committee passes MVR50 mln budget for audit office

2 min read

During a meeting of the parliamentary Economic Affairs Committee. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI/MIHAARU The parliamentary Economic Affairs Committee on Monday approved over MVR 50 million as the next year’s budget for the Auditor General’s Office. The budget submitted by the Audit Office was passed unanimously by all members of the committee. The committee had passed a […]

Maldives issues sovereign guarantee for US$370 million Chinese loan

Maldives issues sovereign guarantee for US$370 million Chinese loan

2 min read

The Maldives has issued a sovereign guarantee for a US$370 million (MVR5.6 billion) loan for the development of 7,000 housing units in the capital’s suburb Hulhumalé. The development of the housing units, by China Construction Company Limited, is financed by the Industrial Commercial Bank of China. The government’s decision to issue a sovereign guarantee for […]