A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer and Ambassador Mohamed Hussain Shareef have met with Sri Lankan opposition lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa. The son of the former Sri Lankan president tweeted a photo with the pair on Saturday. Both Zameer and Shareef are senior members of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives. The meeting comes after criticism of the […]
Politics overshadowed Fishermen’s Day celebrations Saturday on the island of Ihavandhoo in the northernmost atoll, putting the fisheries ministry at loggerheads with the opposition island council. Ahead of Fisheries Minister Dr Mohamed Shainee’s arrival for the 37th annual event, the opposition-controlled island council claimed it was ordered to take down ornamental arches deemed insulting towards […]
It has been a busy winter for the Maldives Environment Minister Thoriq Ibrahim. Last Wednesday he concluded the One Planet Summit, which marked two years since the Paris Agreement. In November he attended the COP23 Summit. The Maldives is a poster child internationally for its vulnerability to climate change, but its globetrotting and grandstanding has […]
Ali Sobah* was 13 when a concrete block fell on his leg and his thigh bone snapped in half. Kulhudhuffushi’s only hospital was unable to treat his injuries and said he would have to go to the capital. His two brothers, the only breadwinners in a family of nine, scrambled for the funds needed for […]
Murder charges have been raised over the fatal stabbing of two young men in late September, the Prosecutor General’s office informed media Thursday. Three suspects were charged in connection with the murder of 19-year-old Moosa Ahmed in the Maafanu ward of the capital on September 23. The prime suspect, Sammaah Ahmed Fathuhy, 18, was charged with […]
The Bank of Maldives will host a regional banking conference late next year with 80 leading institutions from 25 Asian countries due to take part. The Asian Bankers Association announced that its 35th annual gathering will be held in Kurumba Maldives in November 2018. “I am delighted that Maldives, with Bank of Maldives as host […]
A Chinese dive instructor at the Centara Grand Resort who went missing at sea has been found dead. Citing the police, local media reports the 25-year-old man was found in the Maafaru lagoon near the island of Mahibadhoo in Alif Dhaal atoll. The discovery of the body was reported to the police around 10:50 am […]
Three councillors have been suspended for meeting India’s ambassador to the Maldives, days after authorities banned local officials from hosting foreign diplomats without prior consent. The decision to punish the Gaafu Alifu representatives was made at a board meeting of the Local Government Authority on Wednesday. The Maldives Independent has seen a copy of the […]
A landmark China-Maldives free trade agreement signed last week will help pave the way for the “revolutionary development”, President Abdulla Yameen said Tuesday night. In his first public remarks on the controversial FTA, Yameen urged the public to work with his administration to achieve development goals and complete flagship projects. “As a result of the […]