A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Just a few days ago, President Abdulla Yameen referred to the Equatorial Convention Centre in Addu City as an “economic crime” committed by former President Mohamed Nasheed. The very next day, local media was flooded with the news of the construction of an airport on Kulhudhufushi to fulfil one of Yameen’s long overdue pledges. The […]
Aerial view of HDh. Kulhudhuffushi, which shows the large mangrove swamp of the island. PHOTO/EYEWELL PORTRAIT The government’s revelation that the mangrove swamp of Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi island will be reclaimed for the development of a domestic airport has sparked outcry from the island’s residents. While the government plans to commence development of Kulhudhuffushi […]
Photo: UNDP Maldives Facebook Soneva Fushi has pledged to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Maldives, by signing an agreement with UNDP The agreement was signed by UN Resident Coordinator and UNDO Resident Representative to the Maldives, Shoko Noda and Founder, Chairman and CEO of Soneva Group, Sonu Shivdasani. This partnership will […]
Ministers and senior officials representing 30 countries and organizations from across the world met in Malé, Maldives, signalling the determination of small island developing states (SIDS) to strengthen global efforts to address climate change and accelerate renewable energy deployment. The inaugural meeting of the Initiative for Renewable Island Energy (IRIE) was hosted by the Government […]
It looks like sand. But it is rubbish. Thilafushi is 4 miles from Male, it is a strip, a thin strip: just 2 miles long, and 200 meters wide. And it is an artificial island. It grows of a square meter every day: every day of 330 tons of trash. The Maldives don’t have an […]
The STO’s oil tanker named “Guraab” that was run aground a reef in Lhaviyani atoll on October 16, 2017. PHOTO / MNDF Maldives National Defence Force (MDF) has rescued the oil tanker that ran aground a reef in Lhaviyani atoll on Monday morning. MNDF revealed that the State Trading Organization (STO)’s oil tanker was rescued […]
Product tanker GURAAB, IMO 8221961, dwt 1907, built 1983, flag Maldives, owner State Trading Organization (STO).The STO’s oil tanker named “Guraab” that was run aground a reef in Lhaviyani atoll on October 16, 2017. PHOTO / MNDF An oil tanker of State Trading Organisation (STO) early on Monday morning ran aground a reef near the […]
A nation of islands barely above sea level, the Maldives is a special case for tsunami preparedness and response. By Ahmed Mohamed Shihab, Program Analyst, Resilience and Climate Change unit, UNDP Maldives Everything I have heard about surviving a tsunami has been simple and to the point. Move to higher ground, and move further inland. It […]
UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassador and Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau at the VIP lounge in Velana International Airport in the Maldives. PHOTO: FARAH AHMED/MIHAARU Last week, the news of Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau being in the Maldives had a large proportion of the population who religiously follow the show buzzing about his presence […]