Colombo: The president of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, escaped an assassination attempt today, a senior minister told AFP.
"The president was greeting people when a young boy pulled out a knife and tried to stab him in the stomach," Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed said by telephone from the island capital of Male.
He said Gayoom escaped unhurt from the incident, which took place on Hoarafushi in the north of the Maldives, a chain of 1,192 tiny islands.
