The opposition leader in the Maldives Mohammad Nasheed has secured the most votes in the presidential elections but has fallen short of the 50% mark that would have given him an outright victory. Here is Charles Havilland.

Mohammad Nasheed, the first democratically elected leader of this country, famous for luxury holiday resorts will be disappointed not to have won outright in this first round. His score of 47% was slightly up when his share in the September election later annulled by the Supreme Court. The runner-up Abdulla Yameen is a brother of the former un-elected president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom while a wealthy hotelier, Gasim Ibrahim came third and was knocked out.

Spanish police say they’ve arrested the leader of one of Colombia’s most violent drug’s gangs. Cipriam Manuel Palencia Gonzalez was detained by officers in Madrid under an international arrest warrant. Here is Tom Burridge.

Cipriam Manuel Palencia Gonzalez is according to Spanish police a leading member of the notorious Colombian gang known as Urabenos. He stands accused of drug smuggling, extortion and of ordering the murder of police officers in his native Colombia. The gang he allegedly ran was partly formed by members of paramilitary groups which was set up in Colombia in the 1980s to fight against leftwing guerillas during the country’s long civil war. Spanish police say he was planning on running another drug trafficking operation from Spain.