Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom was today sworn in as the 6th President of the Maldives, ending nearly two years of political turmoil that threatened to isolate the country internationally.
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.
India's silence on this week's troubles in the Maldives is puzzling, says Rajeev Sharma.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with officials on Monday night soon after taking over.
In his first bilateral meeting with international leaders after assuming charge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held talks with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
Maldivian President Yameen Abdul Gayoom has asked the international community to respect the ruling on Nasheed.
President Yameen declared the emergency on February 5 after the Supreme Court ordered the release of a group of opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials. Among them was exiled ex-President Mohamed Nasheed. The court said his 2015 trial had been unconstitutional.
'An authoritative source in the government tells me that India has emerged as the net security provider of the Maldives,' says Rajeev Sharma.
Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom had a lucky escape while his wife and two others were injured when an explosion ripped through their speedboat as they returned home after performing Haj in Saudi Arabia on Monday.
Former President Mohammed Nasheed emerged as a clear leader on Sunday in the first round of Maldives presidential election, receiving 45 per cent votes, but fell short of an outright majority, resulting in a run-off between the top two candidates scheduled for later in September.
Yameen declared the state of emergency on February 5 after the country's top court ordered him to free high-profile dissidents from jail.
This is Modi's first visit to the Maldives as prime minister. The last visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the Indian Ocean island nation was by Manmohan Singh in 2011.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday night hosted a dinner for visiting South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the guests were treated to a variety of dishes drawn from various parts of the country.
China's stand is that relevant parties should find a solution internally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held talks with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai during which they discussed ways to enhance cooperation in key areas and the recent attack on the Indian consulate in Herat that the Afghan leader maintains was carried out by Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Gujarati popular dish kela methi nu shaak, mouth-watering chicken chettinad from Tamil Nadu, Punjab's dal makhani and Bengali dish Potol Dorma will be served at a private dinner hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee for visiting foreign dignitaries on Monday.
India issued an advisory to its nationals on Monday, asking them not to undertake non-essential travel to the island nation.
'I am also concerned over Chinese ambitions in the Maldives and wider Indian Ocean,' former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed tells Rediff.com contributor Rajeev Sharma in an exclusive interview.
Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party functions from Colombo, appealed for India's help.
"You can change friends but not neighbours," Atal Bihari Vajpayee famously said this 15 years ago.
The action against the two journalists came as a privately-owned television station in the Maldives went off the air, citing threats during the country's current state of emergency.
Maldives on Tuesday voiced its 'hurt' at Prime Minister Modi not visiting it
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
Maldives health minister resigns, appeals for support from international community.
This is the first time that the Maldives government has acknowledged that compensation has to be paid to GMR.
New Delhi has reached out to neighbours like seldom before while singling Islamabad for criticism at international forums.
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.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Would it serve India's interest to go to war with China over the Maldives, asks Aditi Phadnis.
Maldivian President Mohammed Waheed on Wednesday said that all the three candidates for the country's controversy-ridden presidential election have reached a consensus on holding the poll on November 9.
'Agreements signed between the Maldives and China have seriously worried India.'
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.
'Of course, Maldives is chicken feed for the Indian armed forces. And an intervention in the Maldives may serve the purpose of creating jingoism in an election year.' 'But from the foreign policy perspective, any such move will be a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter,' warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Maldives government on Tuesday defended the arrest of former president Mohamed Nasheed.
In a significant decision, which may escalate the political turmoil in Maldives, the country's supreme court on Tuesday declared as null and void the first round of presidential polls in which former president Mohammed Nasheed emerged as the winner.
'Without doubt, General Bajwa has deliberately snubbed India.' 'But why did he do that?' 'The Male leadership is simply fed up with Indian interference,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Maldives Supreme Court has ordered the suspension of the run-off presidential re-vote scheduled for Sunday, a day after former president Mohammed Nasheed led the first round but failed to clinch an outright majority.
Blackmail on one side and bullying on the other doesn't make for a constructive partnership, says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
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.
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.
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