MALE: Police in the Maldives used tear gas and pepper spray to control a crowd of people who disrupted a yoga event organized by the Indian High Commission, or embassy, in the capital Male on Tuesday morning, an organizer said.
The crowd stormed a stadium where more than 150 people, including diplomats and government officers, were taking part in an event celebrating International Day of Yoga, attacking participants and vandalising the property, one of the organizers, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak with the media, told Reuters.
Earlier, the protesters brandished placards proclaiming that yoga was against the tenets of Islam.
Islam is the state religion in the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean with a population of about half a million.
Police responded with anti-riot measures and later used pepper spray and tear gas to control the crowd and secure the area, Superintendent of Police Fathmath Nashwa told Reuters.
Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident, Nashwa said.
Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said a police investigation into the incident had begun.
“This is being treated as a matter of serious concern and those responsible will be swiftly brought before the law,” Solih said on Twitter.
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Protesters attack Yoga Day event in Maldives
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Protesters attack Yoga Day event in Maldives
- Crowd stormed stadium where more than 150 people were celebrating International Day of Yoga
- Protesters brandished placards proclaiming yoga was against tenets of Islam
EU countries give final approval to Russian gas ban
BRUSSELS: European Union countries on Monday gave their final approval to the bloc’s plan to ban Russian gas imports by late 2027, allowing it to pass into law.
The policy makes legally-binding the EU’s vow to cut ties with its former top gas supplier, nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ministers from EU countries approved the law at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, although Slovakia and Hungary voted against.
Hungary said it would take the case to the European Court of Justice.
The ban was designed to be approved by a reinforced majority of countries, allowing it to overcome opposition from Hungary and Slovakia, who remain heavily reliant on Russian energy imports and want to maintain close ties with Moscow.
Under the agreement, the EU will halt Russian liquefied natural gas imports by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by 30 September 2027.
The law allows that deadline to shift to November 1 2027, at the latest, if a country is struggling to fill its gas storage caverns with non-Russian supply ahead of the winter heating season.
Russia supplied more than 40 percent of the EU’s gas before the Ukraine war. That share dropped to around 13 percent in 2025, according to the latest available EU data.
The policy makes legally-binding the EU’s vow to cut ties with its former top gas supplier, nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ministers from EU countries approved the law at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, although Slovakia and Hungary voted against.
Hungary said it would take the case to the European Court of Justice.
The ban was designed to be approved by a reinforced majority of countries, allowing it to overcome opposition from Hungary and Slovakia, who remain heavily reliant on Russian energy imports and want to maintain close ties with Moscow.
Under the agreement, the EU will halt Russian liquefied natural gas imports by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by 30 September 2027.
The law allows that deadline to shift to November 1 2027, at the latest, if a country is struggling to fill its gas storage caverns with non-Russian supply ahead of the winter heating season.
Russia supplied more than 40 percent of the EU’s gas before the Ukraine war. That share dropped to around 13 percent in 2025, according to the latest available EU data.
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