Maldives ex-leader Nasheed tipped as new Speaker

The former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed has been nominated as the country's parliamentary speaker and is set to be sworn in, a party official said. Nasheed was unanimously chosen to head the People's Majlis, or the parliament, by his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) which won a near three quarter majority in the 87-member assembly in April. "He is unanimously chosen as the Speaker," a party official told AFP. Nasheed -- who until six months ago was still in exile -- has vowed to use his party's thumping mandate to usher in a new era of stability and democracy in the Maldives.