Maldives President Muizzu's party loses Male Mayoral poll amid diplomatic row with India
Male, Jan 14: In a setback to Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, pro-India opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Saturday secured a landslide victory in the capital Male's Mayoral election.
The MDP candidate, Adam Azim, has been elected as the new mayor of Male, a post held by Muizzu till recently. Muizzu resigned from the position to contest the presidential elections last year.
The Maldives media reported Azim's win as a "landslide" and "victory by a large margin".
The MDP is headed by pro-India former president Mohammad Solih, who was defeated by Muizzu, a pro-China leader, in the presidential elections.
With 41 boxes counted, Azim has taken a huge lead with 5,303 votes. His rival Aishath Azima Shakoor of Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC) got 3,301 votes, Maldives' Sun Online news portal reported.
The poll was marked by a low turnout, according to reports.
The Mayoral election victory is expected to revive the political fortunes of the MDP, which still holds a majority in the Parliament.
Muizzu returned to Male on Saturday after a five-day state visit to China.
The Mayoral polls were held in the backdrop of derogatory comments posted by three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government against Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading to a diplomatic row with India. During his high-profile visit to China, Muizzu sought to align Maldives closer to Beijing.
Muizzu suspended the three ministers after their social media postings, which stirred concern in India and calls for a boycott by Indian tourists who ranked highest in numbers followed by Russia. Chinese tourists figured third.
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Trump’s fresh threat to bomb Iran amid reports of deal to end war
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a report that the warring sides were nearing an agreement to end the war.
US media outlet Axios reported, quoting US officials and two other sources, that the US and Iran were getting close to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
The US expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, Axios reported, adding that nothing has been agreed yet. This was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before," Trump said.
According to Axios, the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the US agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
It said many of the terms laid out in the memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached, leaving the possibility of renewed war or an extended limbo in which the hot war has stopped, but nothing is truly resolved.
