12 September 2013, Male';President Dr. Mohamed Waheed has appointed Minister of Environment and Energy Dr. Mariyam Shakeela, as the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The position was previously held by the Minister of Education, Dr. Asim Ahmed.

ENDS.

09 Sept 2013, Geneva;The Maldives is participating in the 24th Session of the Human Rights Council which commenced in Geneva today.

8 September 2013, Male'; The preliminary results have been announced in the Presidential Elections of the Maldives. The preliminary results announced by the Elections Commission of Maldives are as follows;

7 September 2013, Male'; Polling for the second multi party presidential election in the Maldives has begun at 0730 hrs today.

7 September 2013, Male'; Voting has now begun and is progressing smoothly at all voting stations in the Presidential Elections in the Maldives. The last polling station to begin voting was the one in London, UK which began voting at 1300 hrs Male' local time.

7 September 2013, Male'; Polling has now ended in the Presidential Elections held in the Maldives. However, all eligible voters who lined up to vote before 1600 hrs will be able to cast their votes.

7 September 2013, Male'; Votecounting is underway in the Presidential Election of Maldives and is progressing smoothly. The counting is taking place at the respective voting stations and the preliminary result of each box is being announced at the voting station.

06 September 2013, Male'; The second multi-party Presidential election in the Maldives is scheduled to be held on Saturday, 7 September 2013. Polling will begin at 7:30am and would close at 4pm. The Elections Commission of the Maldives has announced that there are 239,593 eligible voters for this election.

6 September 2013, Male'; Campaigning has ended at 1800 hrs today in the Presidential Election in the Maldives.

When is the Presidential Election going to be held?

29 August 2013, Male'; Four Palestine nationals who visited the Maldives via Fly Dubai flight on 9 July 2013, on Syrian travel documents, have departed the Maldives for Sweden on 26 August 2013. Sweden has accepted the Palestinian family as refugees. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) facilitated the family's application for refugee status.

25 August 2013, Male'; Minister of Foreign Affairs H. E. Dr. Abdul Samad Abdullah's Funeral Prayers in absentia was held in all inhabited islands of the Maldives today after the Asr prayers.

25 August 2013, Male'; Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened a book of condolence, in memory of late Dr. Abdul Samad Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who passed away last night in Singapore.

25 August 2013, Male'; Minister of Foreign Affairs H. E. Dr. Abdul Samad Abdullah has passed away tonight at 4:05 Singapore time, while being treated at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.

Male', 22 August 2013: The Government of Maldives is deeply concerned by reports of alleged use of chemical weapons in the ongoing conflict in Syria. The Maldives condemns the use of chemical weapons by any party, and believes that anyone responsible for the use of chemical weapons be held accountable. The Maldives, therefore, calls on the United Nations to immediately investigate the allegation.

21 August 2013, Male'; The Government of Maldives welcomes today's landmark decision of the High Court to overturn the verdict of the Juvenile Court to sentence the 15-year old girl for pre-marital sex. The Government of Maldives notes that the decision is a big relief for the girl who has been a victim of sexual abuse and neglect by her own family.

15 August 2013, Male'; President Dr Mohamed Waheed has appointed Dr Aishath Shehenaz Adam as the Ambassador of the Maldives to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dr Aishath Shehenaz Adam was previously the Ambassador of Maldives to Pakistan.

14 August 2013, Male'; The Government of Maldives is deeply concerned by the escalation of violence and the loss of life in Egypt, and calls on all parties in Egypt to show maximum restraint and respect for the fundamental human rights of the people of Egypt. The Maldives urges all parties to respect the right to freedom of assembly as stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution 15/21 on the Rights to Freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

26 July 2013, Male'; President Dr Mohamed Waheed has said that the State in the Maldives might fail if Maldivians cannot agree on important questions of the country's sovereignty, and that it is the duty of every Maldivian to sustain and uphold the power of the State. The President said this at his Address to the Nation on the occasion of the country's 48th Independence Day at the ceremony held at the Jumhooree Maidhaan tonight.

07 July 2013, Male': The Government of the Republic of Maldives and the Government of the United States of America, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Assistance Programmes today, with a view to strengthen resilience to the adverse effects of climate change and to strengthen the capacity of target institutions to promote democratic elections and political processes.