Maldives

The Maldives' then President Abdulla Yameen attends a meeting in Beijing in 2017. He brought the strategically located Indian Ocean nation closer to China, while his successor has adopted a pro-India approach.
Politics

Conviction of Maldives' pro-China Yameen overshadows election

Ex-president and current candidate's corruption appeal has high geopolitical stakes

5 January 2023
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, left, insists the four-party coalition is needed for stability, while Mohamed Nasheed favors a pure MDP government that could better tackle corruption.
Opinion

The Maldives risks following in Sri Lanka's footsteps

Cracks in ruling coalition may allow strongman Yameen to return to power

26 July 2022
From a Maldives bond payment to India's central bank meeting and Pakistan's upcoming budget, South Asia's economic strain is in focus.
Asia Insight

Beyond Sri Lanka, economic cyclone bears down on South Asia

From Pakistan to Maldives, forex and debt risks grow as inflationary headwinds build

7 June 2022
As resorts like this one in Dubai await the return of the tourist hordes, analysts say the consequences of the war in Ukraine are likely to negate eased travel restrictions and keep would-be visitors at home. (Photo courtesy of Centara Hotels & Resorts)
Travel & Leisure

Thai hotels bet on expansion and recovery from COVID this year

Major chains are adding rooms and building resorts despite Ukraine war impact

27 April 2022
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, hosts Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba in New Delhi on April 2.
International relations

India offers carrots to 'pro-China' neighbors Sri Lanka, Nepal

Political instability in South Asia opens diplomatic doors for New Delhi

24 April 2022
The Maldives, South Asia's smallest nation, is returning as an important actor in the regional power struggle between China and India. (Source photos by Reuters)
International relations

Maldives scrambles to silence anti-India campaign

Bill in parliament looks to 'criminalize' acts that harm foreign relations

12 February 2022
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center, tours the Colombo Port City project during his visit to Sri Lanka on Jan. 9.
Belt and Road

China presses economic buttons to deepen Indian Ocean clout

Wang Yi's tour of Sri Lanka, Maldives and others sends message to India and U.S.

12 January 2022
The Maldivian government now expects to attract 1.5 million vacationers by the end of this year, nearing the 1.7 million tourists it received in 2019.
International relations

Russian tourists make big splash in the Maldives

Island nation's gamble to open despite pandemic could draw near-record visitors

29 July 2021
The Maldives' capital, Male. The archipelago of 400,000 people is being divided by a religious dispute.
Politics

Hate crime bill widens Islamic divisions in the Maldives

'Irreligious' or not? Debate splits ruling party, fuels instability in South Asia

22 July 2021
Mohamed Nasheed, the charismatic former president of the Maldives, was the target of a failed assassination attempt on May 6.
Politics

Murder attempt on Maldives ex-president reveals rising radicalism

Government probes attack as Islam extremists continue to sow strife in country

17 May 2021
Maldives former President Mohamed Nasheed. 
8 May 2021
Port Louis, the Mauritian capital, is getting busier as the free trade agreement with China comes into play, but observers are concerned that the balance of trade is already in Beijing's favor by a factor of over 30. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
International relations

Beijing expands Indian Ocean FTAs westward with Mauritius

Concern among small island nations over huge trade imbalances with China

2 February 2021
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. India and China see a chance to deepen their geopolitical influence in cash-strapped and increasingly vulnerable Sri Lanka and the Maldives, both strategically located in the Indian Ocean.
Asia Insight

India and China compete over Indian Ocean debt-relief diplomacy

Sri Lanka and Maldives seek bailouts as Asian giants dangle dollars to gain edge

1 December 2020
U.S. sailors train near Diego Garcia, a small island in the Indian Ocean that serves as a crucial U.S. military base in a part of the world where Washington is intent on beefing up its presence. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy)
Indo-Pacific

US counters China in Sri Lanka and Maldives by driving a wedge

Pompeo announces opening of Male embassy and calls Communist Party a 'predator'

30 October 2020
Tourists walk along a beach on Vihamanafushi Island in the Maldives in 2012.
Interview

Western tourists shrug off COVID fears to play in the Maldives

Sunseekers stay longer, unhappy with pandemic response at home, minister says

19 October 2020
India's approval for a new defense agreement between the U.S. and the Maldives counters China's recent incursions into the region. (Source photos by Reuters) 
International relations

India on board with US-Maldives alliance to counter China

Delhi's ground-leveling move sets up new Great Game in South Asia

27 September 2020
The Maldives has borrowed heavily from China for infrastructure projects, including a bridge connecting the capital Male to the country's international airport on another island.  (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Belt and Road

China debt trap fear haunts Maldives government

Beijing reminds Male of sovereign guarantee on a private resort deal

15 September 2020
The country's tourist industry has recovered from disasters before and hopes the new measures will revive sinking visitor numbers.
International relations

Maldives tests waters by opening resorts to COVID-weary tourists

No quarantine and free 30-day visas to greet visitors from July 15

11 July 2020
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government have their hands full as the pandemic batters an already slumping economy. (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by Reuters) 
Coronavirus

Modi buried under avalanche of COVID-19 cases and 120m jobless

India struggles as slumping economy takes another hit from spreading pandemic

23 May 2020
Indians wait to board a repatriation flight from Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait City, on May 9: There are reports that more than 400,000 Indians worldwide are trying to return home. © AFP/Jiji
Coronavirus

Coronavirus wrecks South Asian migrant livelihoods in Middle East

Some 900,000 stranded workers to test health care systems and economies

20 May 2020
Staff at INHS Asvini, an Indian navy hospital in Mumbai, attended a ceremony in early May to honor frontline health care workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. 
International relations

India sends hydroxychloroquine to Africa in war on coronavirus

Aid initiative to fill pandemic leadership failings of China and the US

18 May 2020
USS Gabrielle Giffords conducts routine operations near a drill ship in South China Sea on May 12: the U.S. has been unwavering in its mission to preserve regional peace and stability. (Handout photo from the U.S. Navy)
Opinion

Indo-Pacific network must evolve to meet changing threats

US is working with partners to defend a free and open region

17 May 2020
With exports and domestic consumption crashing, China, the world's second largest economy, could be on course for losses of up to $1.6 trillion this year, according to the ADB. 
Economy

ADB warns coronavirus threatens to chop 10% off global output

Bank says fiscal and monetary responses needed immediately to soften fallout

15 May 2020
(All images from Amazon.com)
Arts

Top 10 South Asian books to read during lockdown

From Indian mysteries to Nepalese histories, we have the perfect selection

13 May 2020
A man attempts to fend-off a swarm of desert locusts in Kenya on Feb. 21: it is the worst outbreak to strike the country in 70 years.
Opinion

World must protect India and Pakistan from threat of locust swarms

Insects wipe out crops and pastures, damaging food supply and livelihoods

13 May 2020