Maldives ex-President Nasheed wounded in bombing 2 minutes read
Male, May 6 (EFE).- Maldives former President Mohamed Nasheed, currently speaker of the Indian Ocean nation’s parliament, was wounded Thursday when a bomb went off outside his home here, authorities said.
The blast took place in the late afternoon as the 53-year-old Nasheed walked out of the residence in Male’s Neeloafaru Magu neighborhood to get in his car.
In 2008, Nasheed became the first democratically elected leader of the chain of islands some 700 km (435 mi) southwest of India. Ousted in a coup four years later, he spent time behind bars and in exile before making a triumphant return in 2019.
08 Mar 2021 | Mon 13:04
7 March 2021 marks one year since the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in the archipelago nation
jonesaroundtheworld.com
Pandemically, the Maldives
As a set of idyllic and geographically secluded islands strewn across the Indian Ocean, Maldives may have had a singularly unique pandemic experience compared to other world nations, with some similar difficulties accompanied by an altogether different set of obstacles. One year since the pandemic washed ashore at home, the nation faces a near-overwhelming third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with over MVR 3 billion from the state s budget pumped into pandemic response efforts thus far. This is a significant dent for a country with an approximate population of 530,000, but by all means, a necessary allocation of critical funds.
Even as the Government of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has been busy unveiling the India-gifted COVID-19 vaccine in the Maldives, the Opposition PPM-PNC combine too has knocked at New Delhi’s doors to ensure freedom for former President Abdulla Yameen, who is currently serving a jail term for money laundering. His release alone, under the law, can facilitate his contesting the next presidential polls, due in 2023.
The two, near-simultaneous, episodes come ahead of the nation-wide local council elections (LCE) scheduled for 10 April, which have been postponed by a year due to the pandemic. Apart from the immediacy of the election battle, which is the touchstone of the decade-old democracy in the country, the vaccine itself will further unfetter the nation’s mainstay tourism economy in the coming weeks and months.