Swap rollover, checkpoint crash and land purchase

India approved the rollover of its INR30 billion currency swap with the Maldives, first drawn down in April, the Indian High Commission said. India has provided over US$1.1 billion in swap support since 2012, has subscribed to two long-term treasury bonds worth US$250 million and US$100 million, and paid US$42.8 million in interest on three US$150 million treasury bills the Maldives has since repaid, according to the High Commission.

A police officer on duty at a checkpoint on the Sinamalé Bridge highway suffered serious facial injuries, including broken teeth and a split lip, when a motorcycle travelling at over 100km/h struck the barricade and hit him at 4:29am on Saturday. Police called it a coordinated attempt involving three other motorcycles to intimidate officers and derail an ongoing traffic enforcement operation. Four people were arrested and remanded for five days, including the alleged rider, Abdulla Sammah Hassan Sadiq, 20, and his passenger, Ahmed Sinaz, 30. All four tested positive for drugs in preliminary urine tests, police said.

The finance ministry bought a 25,011 square foot plot in Hulhumalé Phase 1, near the ferry terminal and fish market, from the state-owned HDC for MVR94.5 million (US$6 million), and has paid in full. The Civil Court registered the transfer. The ministry has not said what the land will be used for. The state must pay HDC for any land it takes in Hulhumalé, and earlier this year paid MVR69.7 million for a plot in Phase 2 for an Islamic university campus.

Two Maldivian flydubai pilots detained in UAE in connection with an alleged attempt to down a Dubai-Tel Aviv flight on 30 September arrived back in the Maldives, with police meeting them at the airport for questioning and placing them under arrest. Israeli officials have described the incident, in which the co-pilot was restrained by passengers and crew while the plane was over Saudi airspace, as an attempt to bring down the aircraft.

Religious scholar Sheikh Zamzam Farish accused Home Minister Ihusaan of warning him against "spreading lies to create discord" on national security matters related to the Rasmalé project. Zamzam said the minister threatened him. He also claimed that ministers had told him and other scholars that Maldivian police would not be stationed in the area given to Eagle Hills, which would instead be guarded by the developer’s own security, with police only having access to CCTV footage and called in when crimes were reported. Zamzam said the scholars’ network had prepared a 100-page report on the deal for the government.

The MDP-majority Malé City Council voted to challenge the government's seizure of 14 plots, saying the move violated the decentralisation law by proceeding without consultation or documentation. Mayor Azim called it a direct attack on residents rather than the council, while MDP presidential candidate Abdulla Shahid alleged the real motive was to shut down venues used for opposition gatherings and rallies.

Police said a viral video showing two men in basketball shorts handling what appeared to be firearms in Hulhumalé turned out to involve toy guns. Officers tracked down the red car seen in the video and questioned its renter, who said the weapons were props for a video shoot. The toy guns were taken into police custody while further investigations continue.

Economic Minister Saeed called on the opposition to stop spreading misinformation about foreign investors and the US$790 million Ayla project in Noonu Atoll, the Maldives’ first SEZ township, dismissing a Maldives Independent report as "fake news" and warning that such campaigns serve competitors seeking to undermine the country’s investment climate.

A man began a hunger strike outside the main police station after 18 months of complaints about a neighbour, Ahmed Farish, who had been harassing residents near Kashimaage Higun and Dhoohimeri Magu with verbal abuse, blocking roads, throwing rubbish into homes, pouring oil and water on passers-by and breaking into their building. He accused police of taking no action despite documented evidence. Police arrested the alleged harasser the same day.

Six people were remanded for 30 days after police raided an apartment they said was operating as a drug café, finding large quantities of drugs, cash wrapped in rubber bands and scales. The suspects denied any connection to the drugs, but police told the Criminal Court that some had been seen frequently entering and leaving.

A man was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to repay MVR 15,465 (US$1,000) after breaking into Iskandhar School and stealing over MVR15,000 in cash, including a parent's donation for students' lunch, netball coach payments and the deputy principal's personal money, along with two perfume bottles from the deputy principal's desk drawer.

Former Home Minister Sheikh Imran called on Friday sermon imams to speak out against the Rasmalé deal with UAE’s Eagle Hills, describing it as a religious and national duty to prevent what he characterised as handing Islamic land to Zionist interests. Imran also noted that the agreement is structured so the land can be sold and resold indefinitely with each buyer receiving a fresh 99-year term, meaning the land would effectively never return to Maldivian hands.