Maldives opposition announces new presidential candidate
Male, July 1 : Maldives' main opposition party has named veteran lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as its presidential candidate after former president Mohamed Nasheed withdrew his candidacy, authorities said on Sunday.
At a meeting held on Saturday, the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) amended its charter to award the party ticket to Solih, reports Xinhua news agency.
The MDP unanimously voted in favour of Solih as Nasheed's replacement.
On Friday, Nasheed withdrew his nominate for the "betterment" of his party.
He had applied to run for the election slated to take place on September 23 but his nomination was rejected by the Election Commission as he faces terrorism charges.
The Commission said last month that anyone convicted of a criminal offence could not legally contest in a political party's presidential primary, warning that such elections would be annulled.
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13 Iranian troops killed in airstrike at air base in southeastern Iran
Dubai (AP): Airstrikes targeting an air base in southeastern Iran killed at least 13 Iranian troops there, local media reported.
The semiofficial Tasnim news agency and the Hammihan daily newspaper reported the strike in Kerman, 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of Iran's capital, Tehran.
The Kerman Air Base is known to house military helicopters.
