News in Brief Thursday, October 8 Facebook

Content note: This post refers to rape and sexual violence. A ninth grade student at a school in Greater Malé sent messages endorsing rape and mocking the woman at the centre of the Cornell University rape allegations. Screenshots spread among students and parents are alarmed. “I wonder if my daughter is safe,” the parent of a classmate told the Maldives Independent. A teacher says such talk is “pretty standard” among boys. Content creator Afnan Latheef warns that Gen Alpha “speak in memes” with little sensitivity to sexual violence. https://maldivesindependent.com/society/students-messages-endorsing-rape-alarm-parents-f43e Facebook

News in Brief Wednesday, October 7 Facebook

News in Brief Wednesday, October 7 Facebook

Tourists paid a record MVR2.2 billion in green tax last year – money funnelled to the green fund to be used for environmental related projects. But the Green Fund spent just MVR275.2 million in 2025, about 12 per cent of what it collected and the lowest since it was set up in 2019. It ended the year with an outstanding balance of MVR3.6 billion. This year, the finance ministry has not published any figures, and a right to information request filed in August has gone unanswered. https://maldivesindependent.com/environment/green-fund-goes-dark-after-record-tax-haul-2ed8 Facebook

News in Brief Tuesday, October 6 Facebook

News in Brief Tuesday, October 6 Facebook

Can Malé’s traffic be fixed in two years? Yoosuf Maaniu thinks so. The new head of the Greater Malé Transport and Mobility Office sets out his plans in an interview with the Maldives Independent: parking towers of perhaps 15 storeys on cleared cemetery land, cameras that use radar to catch speeders and AI to read licence plates, and his view that there should be no parking on the road at all. He also says buildings without ground-floor parking will have to convert or help pay for parking buildings, and that drivers should get at least six months of warnings before fines begin. “People might think this is a joke, but it’s not,” he says. “I’ll finish this within two years.” Read the full interview: https://maldivesindependent.com/society/ill-finish-this-within-two-years-mals-new-traffic-chief-sets-out-his-plans-5eda Facebook

News in Brief Monday, October 5 Facebook

News in Brief Monday, October 5 Facebook