Latest News from the Maldives

Islam And Democracy: Can A Country Fully Embrace Both?
MALE, Maldives (RNS) Can a nation that considers itself 100 percent Muslim also be a democracy without risking its Islamic identity and ideals? That's what this tiny island nation off the southern coast of India is trying to do. Two years after the country embraced democracy, a literary festival imported from the West shows the promise -- and peril -- of that experiment. more

Addu to become a city with Presidential decreeAs stipulated in the Decentralization Act (Act number 7/2010), President Mohamed Nasheed has today issued a decree on determining the administrative constituencies of the Maldives.
Following the decree, the list of administrative constituencies has been published in the Government Gazette. A total of 184 administrative constituencies are announced. read & comment 

President and Vice President Attend Foundation Laying Ceremony of Teachers’ FlatPresident Mohamed and Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed today attended the foundation laying ceremony of Teachers’ flat to be built under the Education Fund.read & comment

Holiday Inn Male' bought by Shangri-la and to be rebranded soonThe 117-key hotel, the Holiday Inn Male', owned by Male Hotel Associates and managed by InterContinental Hotels Group IHG, has been bought by the Shangri-la Group of Hong Kong. The hotel staff had been notified of the sale today.The building now known as the Holiday Inn Male' would likely be rebranded by Shangri-la to a brand of hotels owned by the company. read & comment

Commonwealth Secretary-General to visit MaldivesCommonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma will visit Maldives from 16 to 18 October 2010 where he will call on President Mohamed Nasheed. The Secretary-General is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed, Health and Family Minister Dr Aminath Jameel, and the Minister of Human Resources, Youth and Sport Uz Hassan Latheef. read & comment