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NEWS ABOUT: Maldives

Maldives Ex-President: I Was Ousted at Gunpoint

Protests erupt after Mohamed Nasheed's speech

(Newser) - Protests erupted in Maldives today after Mohamed Nasheed said he'd been forced to resign the presidency at gunpoint. Nasheed stepped down yesterday , handing power to VP Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, saying he was "not a person who wishes to rule with the use of power." But today... More »

President Out After Mutiny in Maldives

Mohamed Nasheed hands over power to vice president

(Newser) - A police mutiny has pushed Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed to resign, less than four years after he became the first democratically elected leader of the Indian Ocean island nation. Opposition protests erupted weeks ago after Nasheed arrested a judge who, he claimed, was still under the control of previous leader... More »

Maldives: No, Our Country Isn't Underwater

Satirical 'Telegraph' global warming column irks island nation.

(Newser) - Atlas makers have decided to omit the Maldives from future editions because global warming threatens to submerge the island nation, a climate-change skeptic Telegraph writer claimed in a satirical column . Sound ludicrous? Not to some newspapers and opposition politicians in the Maldives, who took the bogus story seriously and demanded... More »

Couple Insulted in Foreign Tongue at 'Blessing'

Maldives hotel apologizes for staff's joke

(Newser) - A hotel in the Maldives is expressing remorse today after a YouTube video emerged showing a couple being cursed at in the worst of ways during a ceremony to commemorate their love. The only thing is, they didn't know it. Though their ceremonial guide appeared solemn, in the Dhivehi language... More »

Maldives Leaders Meet Underwater on Climate

Stop climate change or we're sunk, they say

(AP) - Members of the Maldives' Cabinet donned scuba gear and used hand signals today at an underwater meeting staged to highlight the threat of global warming to the lowest-lying nation on earth. President Mohammed Nasheed and 13 other government officials submerged and took their seats at a table on the sea... More »

150 Maldive Women to Be Flogged for Affairs

(Newser) - A criminal court in the Maldives has ruled that 150 women will be flogged for having affairs in the Muslim country, reports the Independent. Some 50 men face the same punishment. Earlier this month an 18-year-old woman fainted after being flogged 100 times for having sex with two men, who... More »

Madonna's the Same Age as Boy Toy's Granny

Parents worry pop star kidnapped son to NY

(Newser) - Madonna is the same age as her latest lover’s grandmother, the New York Post reports. Brazilian model Jesus Pinto da Luz met Madge at a photo shoot, before spending the Christmas holidays with the 50-year-old pop star in the Maldives. The 22-year-old's family thinks Madonna has kidnapped him to... More »

Island Paradise Seeks New Home

Low-lying islands divert tourist funds to buy land

(Newser) - Under serious threat from rising sea levels, the government of the Maldives is saving funds from the islands' biggest industry—tourism—to finance the purchase of a new national home, the Guardian reports. Much of the country, near India, rises less than 5 feet above the water, and the UN... More »

Former Prisoner Ousts Maldives' Brutal President

Torture victim wins Indian Ocean islands' first democratic vote

(Newser) - A former political prisoner won a decisive victory yesterday in the Maldives' first democratic election, the Telegraph reports, ousting Asia's longest-serving leader. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who came to power in 1978, conceded defeat to former journalist Mohamed Nasheed—a man he jailed 13 times and who walks with a limp... More »

Top Spots for Solo Adventurers

Go it alone for fun

(Newser) - Looking to mend a well-trodden heart with a solo adventure? From serene fishing villages to culture-packed cities, several destinations can be just the ticket. For those who prefer to go it alone, IgoUgo readers recommend:
  1. Vienna
  2. Rio de Janeiro
  3. Florence
  4. Parque Nacional Volcan Baru, Panama
  5. Marseille, France
More »

Island Paradise Battles Global Warming

Republic of Maldives sounds alarm about rising sea levels

(Newser) - The Republic of Maldives has a lot to fear from rising sea levels, but the chain of tiny islands in the Indian Ocean is doing something to protect itself. The nation has built a concrete wall around the capital, Male, and constructed an entirely new island 7 feet higher than... More »

Boy Scout Saves Maldives President From Assassin

15-year-old blocks knife-wielding assailant

(Newser) - A 15-year-old boy scout saved the Maldives president from an assassination attempt today, wrestling the assailant to the ground. AFP reports that a 20-year-old man brandishing a knife went after Maumoon Abdul Gayoom while he was visiting one of the archipelago's northern islands. Police are currently trying to establish the... More »

World's Best Green Hotels

Leave a footprint as small as your carry-on at a luxurious eco-hotel

(Newser) - Solar-heated pools, energy-conserving lights, composted food scraps . . . hotels aren't all bastions of consumption and waste. Travel+Leisure teamed up with Conservation International to assemble a list of 20 eco-friendly hotels:
  1. Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada
  2. Soneva Fushi Resort & Six Senses Spa, Maldives
  3. Heritance Kandalama, Sri Lanka
More »

Brutal Maldives Leader Clings to Long-Time Grip

Repression mixes with tourism as a new generation seeks power

(Newser) - Luxury resorts coexist in the Maldives with claims of a darker reality: Censorship, political repression, torture, and recent terrorist bombings. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the longest-serving leader in Asia, is reneging on a promise to step down and instead will run for a seventh term. But now his own supporters are... More »

Maldives Blast Injures 12 Tourists

British, Japanese and Chinese visitors hurt by homemade device

(Newser) - Twelve tourists are in the hospital after a homemade bomb exploded in the Maldives capital of Male. The bomb, which was detonated with a cell phone, a gas cylinder and a washing machine motor, is a first for the Maldives, a tranquil country. “We are taking this very seriously... More »

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