President of Maldives quits

The first democratically-elected president of the Maldives has resigned and been replaced by his vice president after the police and army clashed in the streets amid protests over the arrest of a top judge.

Mohammed Waheed Hassan, who previously worked as a top Unicef official, was sworn in as the new Maldivian president in the afternoon. Soon after, the judge was released.

In a televised address, Hassan promised to protect his predecessor, Mohamed Nasheed, from retribution and called for the street chaos to stop.

The resignation of Mr Nasheed marked a stunning fall for the former human rights campaigner who defeated the nation’s long-time ruler in the country’s first multiparty election. He was also an environmental celebrity, travelling the world to persuade governments to combat the climate change that could raise sea levels and inundate his archipelago nation.