A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
The High Court has overturned an Employment Tribunal unfair dismissal ruling over the Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort’s sacking of three local staff in 2014. Ahmed Siyad, Hussain Ali Didi and Moosa Mohamed, who were senior members of the Tourism Employees Association of Maldives, were accused of organising and joining four separate “illegal” demonstrations on the […]
President Abdulla Yameen has hit back at opposition criticism over rising national debt, defending the huge loans taken by his four-year administration as necessary for development. Speaking at a function held Sunday night to hand out the annual ‘Youth Awards,’ Yameen said the criticism from opposition lawmakers showed a lack of vision or an understanding […]
The island of Thinadhoo became a campaign battleground over the weekend as the senior leadership of the ruling party and opposition coalition descended on the southern population hub for rival rallies. Violent clashes erupted between pro-government and opposition supporters when a ruling party delegation arrived Thursday evening. Video footage shows several young men with ruling […]
The state-owned Housing Development Corporation has announced the sale of more than 100 flats awarded under a previous government’s social housing programme. Built by a subsidiary of India’s Tata Group in the capital, the flats were put up for sale after its original recipients under the Veshi Fahi Malé programme were unable to secure loans before a […]
President Abdulla Yameen has sacked the chief of the Maldives’ integrity watchdog, days after he threatened to take action against the police. Yoosuf Maniu Mohamed, the president of the National Integrity Commission, was dismissed from his position on Thursday. The NIC is an oversight body for the law enforcement agencies and investigates alleged violations of […]
Tourist arrivals to the Maldives exceeded one million during October, reaching 1,125,995 visitors so far in 2017. Some 127,986 tourists visited last month, up nine percent from October 2016, according to statistics released this week. The government hopes to welcome a record 1.5 million tourists in 2017, despite missing the same target during the past two years. With the […]
Six ministries have been sent right to information requests after refusing to hand over data to the Maldives Independent, which wanted to fact-check claims made by President Abdulla Yameen. Yameen rattled off figures and challenged “political leaders who say they do not see development” at the November 17 rally marking the four-year anniversary of his […]
A Maldivian seaplane operator issued a non-apology Thursday for a crash involving one of its aircraft, as a report surfaced of the pilots abandoning passengers and swimming away and children’s life jackets being given to adults. Holidaymakers Thomas Markey and Sebastian Marczyk had sat through two aborted take-offs before being lobbed into the ocean on […]
A ruling party lawmaker has berated islanders in the south of the country, accusing them of being ungrateful towards the president and telling them to boycott an upcoming opposition rally. The MP and parliament majority leader Ahmed Nihan lashed out Tuesday night at a Progressive Party of the Maldives event, taking aim at the people […]