Maumoon Abdul Gayoom

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Maldives Declares 15-Day State of Emergency

Former leader, 2 judges arrested

(Newser) - The Maldives opposition leader and two Supreme Court judges were arrested early Tuesday, hours after the government declared an emergency in the Indian Ocean nation that has been increasingly in turmoil in the days since the court ordered several jailed politicians to be freed. The charges against opposition leader Maumoon...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

6 Stories