text: 365 News - What's happening in the Maldives? All you need to know
  (CNN)The Indian Ocean island nation of the Maldives is engulfed in a political crisis, after the President defied a Supreme Court ruling to reinstall opposition MPs and release political prisoners.
  In a TV address, Yameen insisted that it was business as usual and urged Maldivians to remain calm. He claimed the Supreme Court had acted "hastily" and argued that his actions were designed to prevent a coup.
  Yameen also imposed a state of emergency, giving him sweeping powers which he used to order the detention of Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed. The remaining three justices overturned the earlier ruling, a statement on the court's website read.
  The US issued a stern criticism of the President's actions. "President Yameen has systematically alienated his coalition, jailed or exiled every major opposition political figure, deprived elected members of parliament of their right to represent their voters in the legislature, revised laws to erode human rights... and weakened the institutions of government," the State Department said in a statement.