A 15-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by her step-father, has been sentenced by a court in the Maldives to 100 lashes for having pre-marital sex with another man. Police in the strict Islamic country had been investigating allegations the girl had been abused by her stepfather for years when they uncovered new evidence. The girl and her step-father were first arrested after the body of a baby... 

Many countries do their best to preserve the diversity of their flora and fauna. However, the Maldives have gone even further. The authorities of the island nation assured that within four years the whole country would become the first biosphere reserve in the world. This will allow to preserve the existing natural diversity of the islands and solve other major problems that the country is facing...