Most tourists in the Maldives are still sleeping when swimming lessons begin at 6.30am. Christof Langer is one of the lifeguards from Germany who have been teaching their skills to a group of people from the Maldives. Lessons begin early because weather conditions and the sea currents are usually at their best then for swimming.
A propaganda video shot inside a radical Maldives mosque and posted on the Internet has raised fears that al-Qaeda is gaining a foothold in the Indian Ocean tourist paradise. The video was recorded at the Dhar-al-Khuir mosque on the remote Himandhoo island in the hours before it was raided on October 6.
A homemade bomb exploded near a mosque in the Maldives' capital, Male, on Saturday, wounding 12 foreign tourists, the islands' government said. The blast occurred at the entrance to the capital's Sultan Park, a popular stop-off for tour groups.
