Maldives declares state of emergency as Yameen tightens grip on power
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on Monday (Feb 5) declared a state of emergency for 15 days and security forces stormed the Supreme Court in an escalation of a power struggle with the archipelago’s top court.
Police also arrested former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom at his residence along with his son-in-law. Gayoom is Yameen’s half-brother and ruled the country in the Indian Ocean for 30 years until 2008 but is now in the opposition. His detention is further evidence of a bid by Yameen to strengthen his grip on power.
The president has defied a Supreme Court ruling ordering jailed opposition leaders to be freed, including Gayoom’s son Farish, an opposition lawmaker.
Britain hits back at Trump over attack on healthcare system
Britain reacted angrily on Monday (Feb 5) to a tweet from US President Donald Trump attacking its public healthcare system in the latest spat to strain US-UK ties, casting further doubt on his possible visit to London.
"The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working," Trump wrote in an early morning tweet.
"Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks!" The tweet came after thousands of people marched through central London on Saturday in support of more funding for the state-funded National Health Service (NHS), which is straining under the weight of winter demand.
Children with 'normal' heads may have Zika brain damage: Study
Babies infected with Zika virus may suffer severe brain damage even if they do not display the signature symptom of an unusually small head, a study in monkeys suggested Monday (Feb 5).
This meant that brain-damaged children may be walking around undiagnosed and missing out on life-bettering therapy, scientists reported in the science journal Nature Medicine.
"Current criteria using head size to diagnose Zika-related brain injury fail to capture more subtle brain damage that can lead to significant learning problems and mental health disorders later in life," said the study's lead author Kristina Waldorf of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.
Banks in Britain and US ban Bitcoin buying with credit cards
Banks in Britain and the United States have banned the use of credit cards to buy Bitcoin and other "cryptocurrencies", fearing a plunge in their value will leave customers unable to repay their debts.
Lloyds Banking Group Plc, which issues just over a quarter of all credit cards in Britain, and Virgin Money said they would ban credit card customers from buying cryptocurrencies, following the lead of US banking giants JP Morgan Chase & Co and Citigroup.
The move is aimed at protecting customers from running up huge debts from buying virtual currencies on credit, if their values were to plummet, a Lloyds spokeswoman said.
Olympics: Medvedev slams 'unfair and unlawful' IOC verdict
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Monday (Feb 5) blasted the International Olympic Committee's decision not to invite 15 Russian athletes and staff who had their life bans for doping lifted for the Pyeongchang Games.
"The IOC Commission has taken a shameful decision. This decision is unfair, unlawful, amoral and politically charged," Medvedev wrote on his Facebook page.
"The court has taken a decision in this case. After that, its decision has been overturned by a group of people who have placed themselves above the court, the IOC, the athletes and fans."
