Maldives President quits after police mutiny

The President of the Maldives has resigned amid unrest on the islands. Weeks of protests came to a head when mutinying police officers took over the state broadcaster.

Anger flared over President Mohamed Nasheed’s controversial decision to arrest a senior judge, accused of links to his rival, the Maldives’ ex-leader.

President Nasheed announced he was stepping down in a televised news conference, saying that continuing would mean having to use force against his people. He has handed power to his Vice President.

The tension has been largely invisible to visitors to the paradise holiday getaway in the Indian Ocean.

But rebel police defied orders to break up opposition protests today.

President Nasheed, widely credited with ushering in full democracy, has been in a power struggle with ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, whose decades-long rule was widely seen as autocratic.

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