India on Saturday voiced "deep concern" over the developments in the Maldives, a day after former president Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a criminal court of that country under anti-terror laws.
Maldives on Friday affirmed that the controversy-ridden presidential polls set for Saturday will go ahead in order to avert a constitutional crisis.
Narayanan said he suspected that vested interests were behind the 1994 case to deliberately delay India's cryogenic engine technology by at least 15 years.
Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.
A Delhi court on Monday dismissed a criminal defamation complaint filed by former Indian Police Service officer R B Sreekumar against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh and two others for allegedly launching a malicious campaign against him in connection with the 1994 Indian Space Research Organisation spying case.
George Joseph
"The Prime Minister thanked the Prime Minister of Pakistan for his telephone call and greetings," MEA said.
As the international community focuses its attention on the presidential elections, front runners Nasheed and Abdullah Yameen have warned of poll time violence, reports Shubha Singh
Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party functions from Colombo, appealed for India's help.
At least 100 supporters of jailed former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed have staged a unique underwater protest seeking his immediate release.
In this exclusive conversation with Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma, exiled opposition leader Ahmed Naseem explains why the world should care about democracy in Maldives.
In a major development, former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed was on Friday night sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a criminal court in Male under the anti-terrorism laws.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed visit to Maldives on March 15 is under shadow because of troubled situation in the island nation after the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed earlier this week.
The court ordered a probe into the role of Kerala police officers involved in arrest of Nambi Narayanan.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said a total of 2,51,447 persons travelling in 2,315 flights have been screened so far.
Rajeev Srinivasan on the disastrous after-effects of a made-up spying incident
The Maldives government on Tuesday defended the arrest of former president Mohamed Nasheed.
The government of the Maldives on Saturday faced international condemnation, a day after former president Mohamed Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in prison under anti-terrorism laws
State Health Minister K K Shailaja told reporters that the government has declared the epidemic as a 'state calamity' to take all necessary steps to ensure that the outbreak is effectively controlled. A medical bulletin issued by the government said the health status of all the three students, who tested positive for the virus, was 'satisfactory'.
'The government has made good arrangements to tackle this situation.' 'At the ITBP camp, doctors have arrived from different hospitals from every state of India.' 'They have training on how to deal with suspected coronavirus cases.' ''So I am sure India will handle the coronavirus situation well.'
The condition of over two dozen people who were admitted to the hospital in Kathmandu is said to be serious.
Amid rising coronavirus cases in India, the government has asked people not to panic, saying no community transmission of the virus has been observed and there has only been a few cases of local transmission so far and that it is "not a health emergency" in India at present.
Abdulla Yameen, half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, on Saturday clinched an unexpected victory in the presidential run-off elections by defeating former President Mohamed Nasheed, who had led in two recent aborted polls.
Democracy in Maldives is at the crossroads. There is need for the international community to put pressure on the incumbent regime in the country, so that it is not able to disrupt elections once again, and the democracy in Maldives could be saved from sinking, says Anand Kumar.
