Maldives opposition parties on Monday launched a new bid to seize control of parliament through a third attempt to impeach the speaker. An opposition coalition said it had submitted a no-confidence motion with the support of 45 MPs — enough to force a vote in the 85-member majlis, or parliament. The main opposition Maldivian Democratic … Read more
The Maldives arrested one of the few vocal dissidents still in the country on Thursday, a day after facing censure at the UN Human Rights Council, the main opposition said. Police seized Adam Azim, the brother of jailed former defence minister Mohamed Nazim, in a pre-dawn swoop on his home in the capital island Male. … Read more
First-time parents George and Amal Clooney welcomed their twin babies, Ella and Alexander, on Tuesday morning in London, the actor’s publicist said. “This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives,” Stan Rosenfield said on behalf of the couple. “Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.” “George … Read more
A liberal blogger, Yameen Rasheed, was stabbed to death in the politically restive Maldivian capital Male, his family members and colleagues said Sunday. He was 29. Rasheed was found in the stairwell of his apartment with multiple stab wounds to his neck and chest early Sunday and died shortly after being taken to hospital, family … Read more
Maldives opposition parties said on Monday they would launch a fresh bid to seize control of parliament by impeaching the speaker, weeks after their first attempt failed when the president called in troops to evict lawmakers. A coalition of opposition parties said it had submitted a no-confidence motion on Sunday with the support of 31 … Read more
The last free opposition leader in the Maldives has been arrested as part of a major government crackdown on rival politicians who narrowly failed to seize control of parliament in the honeymoon islands. Qasim Ibrahim, who ran for president in 2013 and currently heads the Jumhooree Party (JP), was one of four signatories of an … Read more
Opposition parties in the Maldives accused the government Friday of waging a revenge campaign against their leaders after they narrowly failed to seize control of parliament. Mohamed Nasheed, the leader of the main opposition party, was slapped with fresh terrorism charges this week just days after he remotely lead an effort to wrestle control of … Read more
Exiled Maldives opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed vowed Wednesday to keep up the pressure on the government after it deployed troops to remove his MPs from parliament, drawing a warning from Washington. Nasheed admitted he had been unable to secure “outright victory” in his bid to seize control of parliament by entering into a pact with … Read more
The Maldives’ ruling party has sacked the country’s former strongman president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom as its leader after he led an unsuccessful rebellion against his half-brother, who is now in power. The decision came late Monday after Gayoom entered a pact over the weekend with exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed and then tried to persuade … Read more
The exiled former leader of the Maldives Sunday announced plans to take control of the national parliament after hammering out a rare unity pact with his politically influential erstwhile enemies. Mohamed Nasheed said he entered into a pact with three other parties to wrest control of the 85-member national parliament currently held by President Abdulla … Read more
The Saudi king has cancelled a scheduled visit to the politically-troubled atoll nation of the Maldives because of an outbreak of swine flu in its capital, the government in Male announced Friday. The Maldives was to be the final stop in the monarch’s ongoing Asian tour that has already taken him to Malaysia, Indonesia, China … Read more
Maldivian opposition parties protested Friday a planned visit by King Salman following reports that Saudi business interests were buying an entire atoll in the politically-troubled Indian Ocean republic. A coalition of opposition parties and dissidents said they would stage street demonstrations against the alleged sale of islands when the Saudi monarch and his 1,000-strong entourage … Read more
The Maldives government on Wednesday denied it was selling a cluster of small islands to Saudi Arabia, following opposition protests against such a deal, but said it was seeking foreign investment to develop the area. The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) had accused the government of President Abdulla Yameen of ceding control of the inhabited … Read more