Friday, March 10, 2017

Maldives

Maldives

Saudi King and the Maldivian atoll


Saudi royal family is set to buy Faafu atoll of Maldive. But what is the grand plan behind this? As rumours abound that Maldive’s president Abdulla Yameen has been negotiating to sell an entire atoll with 19 coral islands and dozens of... More

India watches with concern as row erupts over Maldives’ plan to...


India might be faced with another security challenge in its neighbourhood with a controversy erupting in the Maldives over Abdulla Yameen government's plan to give control of an entire atoll to Saudi Arabia. Members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) told... More

Exiled Maldives leader Nasheed to stand for 2018 presidency


Exiled Maldivian leader Mohamed Nasheed said on Thursday he would return to the troubled Indian Ocean archipelago to contest a 2018 presidential election and called for international pressure on the government to allow him to run. The Indian Ocean island nation has... More

Maldives, Sri Lanka concludes third session of Joint Commission


The Third Session of the Maldives-Sri Lanka Joint Commission was held last on Thursday, at the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Mohamed Asim, Minister of Foreign Affairs, headed the Maldivian delegation, and Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri... More

Maldives opposition boycott presidential address


For a second consecutive year, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the main opposition, boycotted the President’s annual state of the nation address at the official opening of parliament on Monday. The MDP’s parliamentary group took the decision at a meeting held in... More

Maldives First lady launches Yameen’s 2018 re-election campaign


Maldives First Lady Fathmath Ibrahim launched President Abdulla Yameen’s 2018 re-election campaign on Friday night with a gathering in Hulhumalé dubbed Feshun (Beginning). Ibrahim Muaz Ali, spokesman for the first lady’s campaign office, told the press last week that the event will mark the... More

Watchdog dismisses multiple corruption allegations against Maldives first lady


The anti-graft watchdog has dismissed corruption allegations against Maldives First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim’s charity, declaring legal the Sadaqat Foundation’s distribution in its name of dates gifted by Saudi Arabia. The Anti Corruption Commission said Tuesday that some 500 boxes of 50 tonnes... More

New family feud feared in Maldivian politics


Defections and sudden u-turns in allegiance are common in Maldivian politics. The joining of Dhunya Maumoon, daughter of the former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and the former foreign minister, with the government is the latest example of the volatile nature of... More

Maldives launched sub-sea cable connecting islands


  The nationwide submarine cable in Maldives, a joint venture of Maldivian Ooredoo and China’s Huawei Marine, has launched connecting six main islands of the Indian Ocean archipelago. The 1,200 km subsea cable project is part of the program to provide high-speed... More

Maldives urged to strengthen ties with China


    China urges the Maldives to strengthen alignment of development strategies within the framework of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative. Zhang Dejiang, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), made the call recently when meeting Abdulla... More

Money laundering checks are a burden on small countries, says Yameen


Maldives President Abdulla Yameen has described international money-laundering checks as “red tape” that imposes a disproportionate burden on small countries. Speaking Monday at a conference organised by the supreme court, the president said the Maldives lacked full sovereignty over its financial affairs... More

Maldives to establish int’l arbitration center


In a bid to resolve trade disputes out of court, Maldives government is looking to establish an international arbitration center in the archipelago. The country feels that the absence of an arbitration center proves a difficult proposition for businesses to resolve various trade disputes through the courts. Maldivian... More

UN raises concerns over Maldives’ political polarization


Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon has expressed concern over the increase in political polarization in Maldives. In a statement issued from the office of the UN chief said that Ban expressed concern that increase in political polarization was making dialogue... More

Maldives postpone council election


  The civil court in Maldives has granted the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) its request for a two-month postponement to the upcoming local council election. The election was scheduled to hold on 14 January, 2017. PPM filed the lawsuit seeking the postponement... More

‘Unjust Treatment’: Maldives’ antipathy to Commonwealth


Is the organization named ‘Commonwealth of Independent States’, which started its journey with the moto ‘all member states as “free and equal” stated in the 1949  London Declaration, losing its pertinence? Is the group being used as another tool for controlling the... More

Commonwealth family lost the Maldives


By Shiaan Ahmed:   Last week, the Commonwealth family lost another of its members – the third one in the past years. The Maldives took the extremely difficult but inevitable decision to withdraw from the organisation after 34 years of continuous and active... More

COLUMNS

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The Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) is an honourable institution. Dr Pronab Sen, the... More

(Exclusive): Over the past few months, particularly in the post-sanctions era, Iran has... More

EDITOR'S CHOICE

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This week’s gathering of the Indian Ocean leaders in Jakarta has drawn a... More

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READERS' VIEWS

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