Maldives

Panama-flagged cargo ship Navios Amaryllis ran aground on a protected reef in the west of K. Rasfari island of the Maldives on August 19. EPA Director General Ibrahim Naeem said that the vessel may only leave the Maldivian waters after a damage assessment is made and if the ship's owners deposit 100 million MVR, which is the highest fine applicable for environmental damages under the Maldivian laws.

Navies from India and Maldives participated in the fourth edition of Ekatha exercise, with Male making a statement that it is India and not China which will serve as the net security provider of Maldives. A pivotal nation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Maldives is strategically located close to key international shipping lanes.

Solih, in a public statement on Tuesday, said that the primary objective of his government is to restart the country's economy amid the extended lockdown restrictions necessitated by the third wave of the pandemic that peaked in May, reports Xinhua news agency. Solih said that the ongoing curfew hours would be reduced to 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. starting from Thursday.

Shahid, who was backed by India, received 143 votes to former Afghanistan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rasoul's 48 in the elections held on Monday. Shahid pledged a "presidency of hope" for a world struggling to recover from the devastation wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. He will preside over the Assembly session that starts in September, succeeding Turkey's Volkan Bozkir.

The government last month called for bids from local and international investors to lease out 16 islands for a 50-year period and invest in tourist hotel projects aimed at increasing the bed capacity by over 3,700 within the next three years. The Tourism Ministry, which fixed the minimum lease acquisition cost

State-owned PSM News reported on Saturday that 21-year-old Mujaz Ahmed and 32-year-old Thahumeen Ahmed were arrested in connection to an attack that took place outside Nasheed's residence in Male on May 6, reports Xinhua news agency. Nasheed was admitted to the ADK Hospital, where he underwent multiple life-saving surgeries.

Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla said in a tweet that Nasheed was receiving treatment at the ADK Hospital in capital Male. "We will keep the public informed on (former) President Nasheed's condition as we receive updates," she said. "Police are currently active on the scene and we urge the public to refrain from going to that area for the time being. We will keep updating the public," Maldives Police said in a Twitter post.