Maldives declares state of emergency

Maldives

The president of Maldives has called for a 30-day state of emergency after a second alleged assassination attempt since September. The decision comes in front of a planned anti-government demonstration.

The foreign ministry of the Maldives made the announcement to bolster security forces and curtail civil rights via Twitter on Wednesday.
Attorney General Mohamed Anil said the decision was made "to protect the people" in response to "a threat to the public and the nation."
The announcement comes two days after a bomb was defused near President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's home in the capital Male - and three days after the government rejected an FBI report on an explosion in September on the president's boat that found no evidence of a bomb causing the blast.
Tensions are high on the Indian Ocean archipelago, known by many mainly for its relaxing beaches and resorts. High-ranking officials have been arrested or removed, and opponents of the president were preparing for a demonstration before the state of emergency was declared.
The bomb defused by the military on Monday was found in a parked vehicle near the president's official residence. It was said to have been a remote controlled improvised explosive device.
On September 28, a speedboat explosion left the president unharmed but injured his wife, aide and bodyguard.
Officials initially believed the incident was caused by a mechanical failure but later launched a murder investigation. The vice president - first in line for succession to the presidency - has been arrested along with eight others.

President Yameen had denounced on Tuesday the alleged boat bombing as "an act of greed to attain power."

The US, Saudi Arabia and Australia were called on to investigate the cause of the explosion. An FBI probe found no evidence pointing to a bomb causing the blast, which the Maldives' interior ministry said was an inconclusive result. He noted that Saudi Arabian and Sri Lankan investigators suspected a bomb.

Officials respond after the speedboat explosion

The country of just under 400,000 citizens, mostly Sunni Muslims, has wavered since its transition to democracy in 2008. It's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, resigned in 2012 under protests that he and the opposition call a coup.
President Yameen then won a bitterly contested election against Nasheed, who was then sentenced to 13 years in prison for charges of terrorism after a trial widely decried for lacking due diligence.
The president's half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, endured a coup as president 27 years ago. He ruled Maldives from 1978 to 2008, when he lost in the country's first democratic election.
jtm/kms (AFP, Reuters)

Turkey's Erdogan signals referendum on executive presidency

Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed interest in expanding presidential powers through a national referendum. The president's spokesperson said the move wouldn't be for Erdogan, but for Turkey's future.

Erdogan's spokesman said on Wednesday that if necessary, the government would hold a national referendum on an executive presidency.
"An issue like the presidential system can't be decided without the nation. If the mechanism requires a referendum, then we will hold a referendum," said Ibrahim Kalin, spokesperson for the Turkish presidency, at a press conference in Ankara.
"The executive presidency is not a question of our president's personal future. He has already entered the history books. The basic motivation is to make the system in Turkey as effective as possible," Kalin added.
The statement comes as Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept Sunday's snap elections after losing its 13-year majority in June.
The AKP gained 317 out of 550 seats in the Turkish parliament.
However, Erdogan's party is 13 seats shy of the 330 needed to change the constitution in favor of an executive presidency.

Turkey elections: AKP reclaims majority

'Another league'
"We have a clear opinion that the presidential system will help Turkey jump to another league," Kalin said.
Erdogan's spokesperson said that Turkey's foreign policy would not change following Sunday's election.
Turkey will continue its "open-door" policy towards Syrian refugees, whether or not the EU provides financial assistance, said Kalin.
Kalin also said that Turkey would continue to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party "with determination."
Stability?

The AK party, which Erdogan founded, won Sunday's election with almost half the vote

Earlier Sunday, Turkish authorities said they arrested nine suspected members of the "Islamic State" militant group.
Turkish police said they were planning an attack on a political party in Ankara as well as the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper.
Since the summer of 2015, Turkey has boosted efforts to curb the "Islamic State" militant group's presence, launching airstrikes in Syria.
However, Ankara has also been criticized for launching military operations against the Kurds in northern Iraq and Syria, where the Kurdish forces made significant gains against the militant group.
ls/jil (Reuters, AFP, AP)

France ends ban on gay men donating blood

Gay men in France will now be allowed to give their blood, authorities have announced. The ban had drawn criticism from civil rights groups claiming it was discriminatory.

France's health minister said on Wednesday the government was lifting its decades-long ban on gay men donating blood.
The lifting of the ban would be enacted over an extended period of time, Marisol Touraine said. Initially, only gay men who haven't been sexually active within the past year will be allowed to give blood. By spring of 2016, all gay people will be permitted to donate.
France, like many other countries, introduced the ban in the 1980s as a measure to prevent the spread of AIDS. Since then, civil rights groups have called for a lifting of the ban, insisting it stoked prejudices against members of the LGBT community.
The health minister reflected those concerns in her announcement on Wednesday, saying the decision to lift the ban represents the end "of a taboo and discrimination," the Associated Press reported.
Other countries that have similar bans in place include Australia, Britain, Sweden and Japan.
blc/jil (AP, AFP)