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Boy scout saves leader of the Maldives By KRISHAN FRANCIS, Associated Press Writer The president of the Maldives was saved from assassination Tuesday when a boy scout grabbed the knife of an attacker who had jumped out of a crowd greeting the leader, an official said. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was not hurt, but his shirt was ripped when the attacker tried to stab him before the boy and security guards intervened during the event on the small island of Horafushi, said government spokesman Mohammad Shareef. "This fellow in the crowd with a knife in his hand attempted to stab...

Inside a comic-book coup Why the Maldivian president needs to be eternally grateful to an unsung Indian frigate captain SHEKHAR GUPTA Posted online: Saturday, March 19, 2005 at 0213 hours IST Earlier this week some newspapers carried a small obituary notice, announcing the demise of Vice-Admiral Srinivasa Varadachari V. Gopalachari of the Indian Navy. The name, the face under the naval hat, figured in my memory somewhere and, sure enough, a little checking confirmed that he was the master of frigate INS Godavari when it went chasing the Maldives coup leaders in the Indian Ocean in 1988. He died last...