IBRAHIM MOHAMED SOLIH

The adjacent appeals illustrated a central dilemma for many small island developing states: their livelihoods, or their lives? This past week, Vanuatu announced it would seek to bring climate change before the International Court of Justice. The small island developing states made up a substantial portion of the list. For the small island developing states, this central climate change tension between lives and livelihood is mirrored in their response to the coronavirus pandemic. Now that the ramifications of climate change have reached countries that could long pretend it didn't exist, the small island developing states hope the message is finally getting through.

The adjacent appeals illustrated a central dilemma for many small island developing states: their livelihoods, or their lives? This past week, Vanuatu announced it would seek to bring climate change before the International Court of Justice. The small island developing states made up a substantial portion of the list. For the small island developing states, this central climate change tension between lives and livelihood is mirrored in their response to the coronavirus pandemic. Now that the ramifications of climate change have reached countries that could long pretend it didn't exist, the small island developing states hope the message is finally getting through.

Many of the 38 members recognized by the United Nations as small island developing states are known for their stunning coral reefs, pristine beaches and dire imperilment by climate change.

Maldives Blast Maldivian police officers secure the area following a blast in Male, Maldives, Thursday, May 6, 2021. Maldives' first democratically elected president and current Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has been injured in a blast Thursday near his home and was being treated in a hospital in the capital, police said. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sharuhaan) (Mohamed Sharuhaan)MALE, Maldives — (AP) — The Maldives president said Friday an explosion that wounded former leader Mohamed Nasheed was an attack on the country’s democracy and economy and said Australian police would assist the investigation. He is the current Parliament speaker and was the Maldives’ first democratically elected president, serving from 2008 to 2012. Nasheed remained an influential political figure and was elected Parliament speaker in 2019.

Police in the Maldives say an explosion that wounded former President Mohamed Nasheed and four others including a British national was an act of terrorism and they are attempting to identify four possible suspects.

Police say the Maldives’ first democratically elected president and current Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has been injured in a blast near his home.

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Hood said Tuesday that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has received a request from Sri Lanka to look into the possibility of allowing such burials. There was no immediate confirmation from Sri Lanka of such a request. Sri Lankan prisons are highly congested, with more than 26,000 inmates crowded in facilities with a capacity of 10,000. Unrest has been growing, with prisoners demanding better facilities and care as COVID-19 cases increase. — Taiwan has set a goal to vaccinate 60% of its population with a COVID-19 vaccine, or 15 million people, a health official said Tuesday.

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, Pool, File)KANSAS — A western Kansas mayor announced Tuesday that she is resigning, effective immediately, because of threats she has received after she publicly supported a mask mandate. Brian Kemp and Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey visited Savannah as the first four shots were administered to local health care workers. ___TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida’s largest hospital system said it was on track to immunize nearly 20,000 health care workers against COVID-19 as Gov. He traveled to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on Monday and was given the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine. Several health care workers at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in the eastern part of the state also received injections.