For days after the political crisis in the Maldives began, speculation of a particular kind swirled around New Delhi: would India send troops to settle the brouhaha in its backyard?
India even had an invitation, of a sort. As soon as President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and arrested two judges and a former president on February 6, Mohamed Nasheed, another former president now in exile, called for India to intervene.
“We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees,” said Mr Nasheed, who divides his time between Colombo and London. “We are asking for a physical presence.”
There was precedent as well. In 1988, asked to step in during a coup in the Maldives, India flew 1,600 troops to the Indian Ocean archipelago to help the government regain control. The intervention was widely praised. In the US, President Ronald Reagan called it “a valuable contribution to regional stability”. British prime minister Margaret Thatcher said: “Thank God for India.”
In this ongoing crisis, however, India has refrained from stepping in. At least two people with knowledge of the government’s deliberations insist that the option was never seriously discussed.
In some part, this had to do with the differences between the 1988 coup and the current situation, which was triggered by the Maldives supreme court ordering the reinstatement of opposition MPs sacked by Mr Yameen. But India’s decision also reflects how dramatically the dynamics of power in the Indian Ocean have altered over the past three decades, and how the crisis threatened to provoke a great-power struggle between India and China.
"The major difference between the two cases is that, in 1988, the sitting president was the one who invited Indian troops to suppress the coup," said Sushant Singh, a former lieutenant colonel in the Indian army who wrote the book Mission Overseas about the 1988 Maldives operation.
“Here it’s an exiled opposition leader asking India to go to Maldives,” Mr Singh said, pointing out that it would set a poor diplomatic precedent to respond to such a call.
Just as significant, though, is the recent rise of China.
China has backed Mr Yameen’s government, and last week Beijing explicitly warned India to stay away.
"If India one-sidedly sends troops to the Maldives, China will take action to stop New Delhi," an editorial in the state-run Global Times said. "India should not underestimate China's opposition to unilateral military intervention."
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Read more:
Ex-leader wants India to intervene to free Maldives judges
Maldives government in standoff with supreme court
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Under Mr Yameen, the Maldives has expressly cosied up to China over India, the traditional regional power. Last December, Mr Yameen’s government signed a free-trade pact with China, and agreed to be part of Beijing’s trillion-dollar “One Belt, One Road” (Obor) infrastructure network.
Since 2013, when Mr Yameen replaced Mr Nasheed as president, the Maldives has received hundreds of millions of dollars in Chinese investment infrastructure, developing, among other things, a bridge between two of its most important islands and an international airport.
By accepting this investment, Mr Nasheed has said, the Maldives is walking into a “debt trap”, doomed to consign the infrastructure to Chinese ownership when it fails to repay these loans.
For India, dispatching troops to the Maldives when it has placed itself so firmly within Beijing’s embrace would only result in yet another source of friction with China, Mr Singh said.
The two powers already clash on several fronts. Last year, Indian and Chinese troops entered a tense standoff in the Doklam valley in Bhutan. China also continues to claim parts of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
China’s growing influence, through Obor, over India’s neighbours — Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan — worries New Delhi. T P Sreenivasan, a retired diplomat who served as India’s ambassador to the UN, called OBOR “a grandiose project aimed at global domination through connectivity and infrastructure”.
The “Chinese factor” served as a major deterrent to India’s plans to intervene in the Maldives, Mr Singh said. “In 1988, China’s influence here was very limited. That is far from the case now.”
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
BLACKBERRY
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%3Cp%3E%0DFashion%20director%3A%20Sarah%20Maisey%0D%3Cbr%3EPhotographer%3A%20Greg%20Adamski%0D%3Cbr%3EHair%20and%20make-up%3A%20Ania%20Poniatowska%0D%3Cbr%3EModels%3A%20Nyajouk%20and%20Kristine%20at%20MMG%2C%20and%20Mitchell%0D%3Cbr%3EStylist%E2%80%99s%20assistants%3A%20Nihala%20Naval%20and%20Sneha%20Maria%20Siby%0D%3Cbr%3EVideographer%3A%20Nilanjana%20Gupta%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
J%20Street%20Polling%20Results
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap (TB) $68,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner Canvassed, Par Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)
7.05pm Meydan Cup – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (Turf) 2,810m
Winner Dubai Future, Frankie Dettori, Saeed bin Suroor
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas – Group 3 (TB) $125,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Mouheeb, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard
8.15pm Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $130,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
9.50pm Meydan Classic – Conditions (TB) $$50,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
9.25pm Dubai Sprint – Listed Handicap (TB) $88,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Man Of Promise, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
The biog
Favourite book: Men are from Mars Women are from Venus
Favourite travel destination: Ooty, a hill station in South India
Hobbies: Cooking. Biryani, pepper crab are her signature dishes
Favourite place in UAE: Marjan Island
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
