Tag: maldives

Maldives opposition leader declares victory in presidential poll

by Amal JAYASINGHE Agence France Presse COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AFP) — Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has declared victory in the Maldives’ presidential election Sunday, following a controversial campaign observers said was rigged in favor of strongman President Abdulla Yameen. Solih had the backing of a united opposition trying to oust Yameen but struggled for visibility with the electorate, with local media fearful of falling afoul of heavy-handed decrees and reporting restrictions. “I call on Yameen to […]

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As Maldives crisis worsens, Nasheed returns to main stage

MALE, Maldives (AFP) — A decade after he swept to power in the Maldives’ first democratic elections, exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed is again pushing for change — by force if necessary — as his island homeland spirals into crisis. Nasheed made history in 2008 when he defeated Maumoon Abdul Gayoom — then Asia’s longest-serving leader — after three decades of unchallenged rule. In the years that followed, the charismatic young president won international renown […]

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Maldives chief justice arrested: police

MALE, Maldives (AFP) — Maldives Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another Supreme Court judge were arrested at dawn Tuesday, hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency, police said. Justices Saeed and Ali Hameed were arrested along with the court’s top administrator Hassan Saeed after security forces stormed the court complex in Male, with police citing complaints of corruption against them in a brief statement. The high profile arrests followed the arrest Monday […]

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Maldives president declares emergency, former leader arrested

MALÉ, Maldives (AFP) – Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency in the honeymoon islands on Monday, before heavily armed troops stormed the country’s top court and a former president was arrested in a deepening political crisis. The tiny tourist archipelago has been plunged into chaos recently, with the president pitted against the Supreme Court after he refused to comply with its Thursday order to release nine political dissidents. The tense standoff comes amid a years-long […]

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Maldives opposition urges global community to help end crisis

MALÉ, Maldives (AFP) – Opposition leaders in the Maldives urged the international community Monday to pressure President Abdulla Yameen into obeying a court order to free political prisoners and “restore democracy” to the troubled honeymoon islands. Yameen’s regime has so far refused to release nine jailed dissidents and reinstate opposition lawmakers as ordered by the Maldives’ top court in a shock ruling last week that has deepened turmoil in the atoll nation. The Supreme Court on Sunday […]

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Game of Thrones star visits Maldives on climate change impact

LAAMU ATOLL & MALE, Maldives (Reuters) — Game of Thrones star and UN Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador Nikolaj Coster-Waldau visited the Maldives earlier this week to highlight climate change issues. Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime Lannister, one of the main characters in the popular television show ‘Game of Thrones’, visited climate change mitigation initiatives in Laamu Atoll and Male and had a first-hand glimpse of the negative impact of climate change on the island nation […]

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Troops evict opposition MPs from Maldives parliament

MALÉ, Maldives (AFP) – Security forces physically ejected protesting MPs from the Maldives parliament Monday in chaotic scenes during a failed opposition attempt to impeach the speaker and destabilise the president ahead of elections next year. Lawmakers shouted and stood on their chairs and one tried to remove the speaker’s seat ahead of the impeachment vote, which came a day after exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed announced a unity pact with the president’s powerful half-brother — […]

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‘Alarming’ bleaching of Maldives corals: conservationists

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – Coral reefs in the Maldives are under severe stress after suffering mass bleaching this year as sea temperatures soared, a top conservationist body warned Monday. Around 60 percent of Maldives’ coral colonies have been bleached, with the figure reaching 90 percent in some areas, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said in a statement. It cited data from a survey it carried out with the Maldives Marine Research Center […]

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