A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Mobile phones belonging to family members of a key witness in a bribery trial have been confiscated by police. The police action follows Ahmed Shafiu’s allegations of a lawmaker attempting to coerce false testimony against MP Faris Maumoon, who is at the centre of the trial. Shafiu, a Jumhooree Party activist, was arrested a day […]
Two Maldivian men charged with terrorism were planning to carry out a suicide attack in the capital Malé, officials confirmed Wednesday. Ishag Ali, from Madduvari island in Raa atoll, and Hussein Afeef, from Fuvahmulah City in the southern Maldives, were named by prosecutors and are alleged by police to have connections to the Islamic State […]
The former boss of the Maldives’ tourism promotion company has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges relating to the country’s largest-ever corruption scandal, facing 90 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Abdulla Ziyath, who managed the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, is accused of misappropriating US$44 million (MVR721 million) by leasing islands […]
Two men have been hospitalised after being stabbed in the Maldivian capital Tuesday evening. They were attacked on Fareedhee Magu, near MHA Mart, police confirmed and are being treated in Male’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital. One of them is in a critical condition after his intestines fell out and require surgery, news outlet Mihaaru cited […]
Finance Minister Ahmed Munawar submitted for parliamentary approval Wednesday a record MVR27.9 billion (US$1.8 billion) budget for 2018. Opposition lawmakers continued to protest with chants of “government of thieves” while Munawar presented the budget projections. “The goal of the 2018 budget is developing human resources for building the nation along with spending on infrastructure development […]
The death penalty is a violent and ineffective form of punishment that has no deterrent or protective value, the UK has said following the Maldives’ decision to lift its moratorium on executions. British minister Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon told the House of Lords Monday the government had engaged the Maldives at the highest levels on […]
The Education Ministry Tuesday hit out at reports that a popular professor has been banned from giving lectures at local schools. Mihaaru said that Professor Hassan Ugail, the first Maldivian scientist and PhD holder in mathematics, was banned by the Education Ministry. The report was later edited to say he faced “challenges” to appear at […]
Two people with connections to the Islamic State group have been charged for planning and attempting to take part in a suicide attack, officials confirmed Tuesday. The men are affiliated with the jihadi group operating out of parts of Syria and Iraq, the Prosecutor General’s office said. PG spokesman Adam Thaufeeq told the Maldives Independent […]
President Abdulla Yameen has told the people of Kulhudhuffushi they can either stay in the past or move with the times. He has not visited the island for two years but was there on Sunday for the ruling party’s annual rally. PPM supporters, heads of state-owned firms and senior government officials have been flocking to […]