Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Three airlines, including one from the Middle East, are gearing up for their Maldives route operations according to Mohamed Firaq, owner of Inner Maldives and local aviation expert. FIraq’s statement comes amid ongoing Middle East war that the US and Israel launched on Iran, which has now turned over two months long. Maldives tourist arrivals showed visible dent in light of the conflict, as month-on-month slipped in 2026 in comparison to the same period last year. Numbers from the Ministry of Tourism provides proof of this reality, as it posted a monthly tourist arrival total capping at 216,309 in March…

Club Double Eight have been crowned champions of the STO Boduriya Championship 2026, storming through all seven rounds without losing a single match: a near-flawless run that capped off one of the most exciting team chess events the Maldives has seen in recent years. The 10-board rapid chess showdown, jointly hosted by Castle Chess Club and the Maldives Chess Association, drew 84 players from seven clubs across the country. What made the turnout especially memorable was the mix of generations on display: competitors as young as nine sat across the board from veterans well into their sixties, all chasing the…

The Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office) has forecasted that the current adverse weather conditions will persist across Maldives for the next two days. The warning comes as the Maldives fully transitions from the northeast monsoon (‘Iruvai’) to the southwest monsoon (‘Hulhangu’). According to MET, widespread rain is anticipated across the country during the period. The authority also alerted to heavy downpours in several regions. What to Expect For the upcoming 24 hours, the national weather agency’s outlook does not appear traveler-friendly for sea-bound vessels. MET expects scattered rain showers in milder circumstances and thunderstorms in more serious conditions. Some islands…

The Operation Kurangi biometric drive has logged fingerprints and updated photographs of 98% of the country’s legally documented migrant workers, a number the government is calling its biggest single dent in the undocumented immigrant problem in years. The Ministry of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology runs the operation. It launched on May 2, 2024. Two years later, the figure has lifted from 13% to where it stands today. For decades, the Maldives has lived with the same two-pronged problem. Tourists overstay their visas. Workers slip away from their sponsors and reappear on different islands, working for cash. Past administration talked…

Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Golam Sarwar, arrived in the Maldives today to take part in the Asia Media Summit 2026. His arrival marks one of the senior regional appearances confirmed for the gathering. Moreover, the summit’s delegate roster continues to fill out as participating countries send their representatives ahead of the official May 11 start. Top-Level Arrivals at Velana Public Service Media (PSM) Managing Director Ahmed Shakeeb and PSM Chairperson Aminath Namza welcomed the SAARC Secretary-General at Velana International Airport. The State Secretary for Social Communications for Timor-Leste, Expedito Loro Dias Ximenes, also touched…

Guardians of persons with disabilities, on their behalf can now seek affordable social housing. According to the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development this opportunity will be made available from May 20 onwards until June 15. The Minister of Infrastructure, Dr. Abdulla Muththalib confirmed ongoing efforts to tweak the social housing policies to introduce social housing eligibility and subsequent opportunity for persons with disabilities. He said this in April, while adding the ministry was working towards changing the policies that would facilitate this shift. The opportunity applies to guardians registered with the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) who represent…

The Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) has paid out more than MVR 10 million to fishermen during the first nine days of May, signaling that the country’s busiest tuna season continues to deliver strong volumes for the state-owned processor. The MIFCO May fishermen payments figure stood at MVR 10,686,595 between May 1 to 9, according to the company’s latest statistics. Moreover, the disbursement pace tracks closely with the strong April performance, where total payouts cleared MVR 78 million for the full month. A Single Day’s Settlement Tells the Story A notable MVR 2,957,958 of the cumulative total was processed today…

The Maldives’ fiscal scorecard for the first four months of 2026 closed with an overall surplus of MVR 1,036.2 million: a respectable headline, but one that masks a sharp tightening of the underlying picture. Total revenue and grants reached MVR 15,377.6 million (MVR 15.38 billion) by April 30. Expenditure climbed to MVR 14,341.4 million (MVR 14.34 billion). The Maldives fiscal surplus narrows materially compared with the same point last year, when the equivalent figure stood at MVR 1,698.7 million. Moreover, the data points to a fiscal year that may prove harder to navigate than the strong revenue print initially suggests.…

Maldives Green Tax revenue reached MVR 895.2 million in the first four months of 2026, an 18.6% jump on the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises’ last Weekly Fiscal Developments report. Green Tax Collection at a Glance: Cumulative total (Jan – Apr 2026): MVR 895.2 million Year-on-year: +18.6% Annual target: MVR 2,395.4 million Target hit so far: 37.4% The figure offers one of the cleanest reads available on tourism momentum, and the print so far points to a sector running noticeably hotter than it did a year ago. Moreover, the gain lands alongside…

The recent shake-up to BML debit card limits is not connected to the government’s foreign debt repayments last month. Chief Spokesperson at the President’s Office Mohamed Hussain Shareef told reporters today. He pushed backed on a theory that has been doing the rounds online: namely, that the bank tightened card spending because the government had drained its dollar reserves servicing debt. Not the case, he said. “Don’t Connect the Dots That Aren’t There” Shareef walked journalists through the timeline at his weekly briefing. BML’s Managing Director Mohamed Shareef had already laid out the bank’s operational position at a separate press…