09 April 2013, Male'; We would like to thank the international community for their concern in the case of the 15 year old girl who recently received a flogging sentence here in the Maldives. Currently the case is being appealed and I have urged the judiciary to resolve this matter as quickly as possible. This case should never have been presented in the courts and we are working to ensure that cases like this are never brought to the courts again.

7 April 2013, Male':Minister of Wakf and Religious Affairs of the State of Palestine, H.E. Dr. Mahmoud S.A. Al-Habbash met with His Excellency Dr. Abdul Samad Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, today.

04 April 2013, Male'; President Dr Mohamed Waheed and First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain have arrived back in Male' following the conclusion of their official visit to Kuwait. The President and First Lady arrived in the early hours of Thursday morning.

03 April 2013, Male'; President Dr Mohamed Waheed has met with some senior officials of the Kuwaiti Government, and members of the business community in Kuwait yesterday.

03 April 2013, Male'; President Dr Mohamed Waheed has today visited the Parliament House of Kuwait. During his visit he met with Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait Mr Ali Fahad Al-Rashed, and the Chairman of the Kuwait-Maldives Friendship Committee.

Discussions at the meeting were focused on the importance of sharing the experiences of democratic consolidation in both countries.

ENDS.

02 April 2013, Male'; Amir of the State of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber has said that Kuwait is ready to help the Maldives in building infrastructure Projects. The Amir made this remark during his meeting with President Dr Mohamed Waheed, yesterday.

02 April 2013, Male'; President Dr Mohamed Waheed has today met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait His Excellency Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and the Kuwaiti Minister of Education Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf.

01 April 2013, Male';President Dr. Mohamed Waheed and First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain have this morning arrived in Kuwait on an official visit. The President and the First Lady received a very warm welcome on arrival at the Amiri Airport.

27 March 2013, Male'; New Ambassador of Ukraine accredited to the Maldives, Oleksandr Shevehenko presented his letter of credence to President Dr Mohamed Waheed this morning.

25March 2013, Geneva; The UN Human Rights Council has concluded its 22nd session in Geneva, with the adoption of a number of resolutions on the rights of the child, prevention of torture,protecting human rights defenders,the role of parliamentarians in the work of the Council and country specific human rights situations in Syria and also in Sri Lanka.

24 March 2013, Male';Canadian Special Envoy to the Commonwealth, Senator Hugh Segal has met the His Excellency Dr. Abdul Samad Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs today. The call was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

16 March 2013, Male'

The Government of the Maldives considers the ‘Declaration' issued on the Maldives by the European Union's High Representative, Catherine Ashton, on 14 March 2013, as unfortunate and unacceptable. The Government is committed to ensuring that the Presidential elections will be fair and inclusive of all qualified parties and individuals wishing to participate.

11 March 2013, Male';At the 22nd Session of the Human Rights Council, currently ongoing in Geneva, the Maldives delegation has been actively participating in the debate and negotiations of the Council. The Maldives Delegation in Geneva is led by Ambassador Iruthisham Adam.

10 March 2013, Male'; President Dr. Mohamed Waheed has appointed Mr. Mohamed Naseer as the High Commissioner of Maldives to India.

The Commonwealth Day is an opportunity to celebrate the Commonwealth principles and values. The modern Commonwealth, which came into being following the London Declaration of 1949, represents one-quarter of the world's countries brought together by a commitment to shared values of equality, democracy, good governance, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights. These values and principles, most clearly articulated in the 2009 Affirmation, would continue to guide the member-States of the Commonwealth in their strive to improve the lives of their peoples. The values also help the Commonwealth and its member-States in building national resilience, a theme of the 2011 Commonwealth Summit in Perth, Australia.

06 March 2013, Male'; Former President Mohamed Nasheed was brought under Police custody yesterday afternoon, following a court order issued by the Hulhumale Magistrate Court, that instructed the Maldives Police Service to produce the former President to court today at 1600 hours. Updated information from the MPS confirms that Mr. Nasheed was brought under custody while on Rahdhebai Magu, near the Centre for Higher Secondary Education (CHSE). The Court order was read to him while taking him into custody.

6 March 2013, Male'; The Hulhumale Magistrate Court has decided today to postpone the trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed for four weeks. The court's decision came following Mr. Nasheed's legal counsel's request in the court to postpone the case either for four weeks or until the Presidential elections.

05 March 2013, Male'; The Hulhumale Magistrate Court today issued an order to the Maldives Police Service to produce former President Mohamed Nasheed to the court at 1600 hours, on Wednesday, 6 March 2013. According to the Police Service, the Police went to Mr. Nasheed's residence G. Kenereege around 1330 hours this afternoon and showed him the court order. Nevertheless, Mr. Nasheed refused to receive the court order. Hence, the Police confirmed the existence of the court order verbally to President Nasheed. The former President then volunteered to walk to the Police Headquarters.

3 March 2013, New York; The Maldives participated at a panel discussion last week, which was aimed at promoting the ratification of the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedures. During the one-year anniversary of the opening for Optional Protocol for signature, the Maldives reaffirmed and reiterated its commitment to promote and protect the rights of children, especially that of the girl child.

28 February 2013, Malé;The Government of Maldives is deeply concerned by the prosecution and the Juvenile Court's sentence to flog a 15 year-old girl on the charges of pre-marital sex. Though the flogging will be deferred until the girl turns 18, the Government believes she is the victim of sexual abuse and should be treated as such by the State and the society and therefore, her rights should be fully protected. The Government is of the view that the case merits appeal. The girl is under State care and the Government will facilitate and supervise her appeal of the case, via the girl's lawyer, to ensure that justice is done and her rights are protected.