Maldives president quits

After three years in office, Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed resigns.

In a statement on Tuesday, Nasheed said he was handing over power to his vice president.

He said he refused to use force to quiet growing protests and a police mutiny led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled the Indian Ocean archipelago for 30 years.

Nasheed came to power in 2008 and is credited with bringing true democracy to the tropical tourist destination.

But he was unable to squash protests after ordering a top criminal court judge arrested for being in the pocket of Gayoom ahead of presidential elections next year.

Opposition leaders, who are using hardline Islamist rhetoric to win support, have also accused Nasheed of being anti-Islam.

Nasheed, who has a long-standing rivalry with Gayoom, was jailed for 6 years and arrested 27 times by Gayoom's government for his pro-democracy activism.

Jessica Gray, Reuters