Maldives rejects FBI report

The Maldives government insisted yesterday its president had survived an assassination attempt on his boat even though the FBI found no evidence of a bomb blast that led to the arrest of his deputy.

Home Minister Umar Naseer said he had received a report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which found no evidence that a bomb caused the explosion.

But Naseer described the US agency's report as "inconclusive", adding that Saudi Arabian and Sri Lankan investigators had confirmed the likelihood of a bomb.

"The FBI report only said there wasn't conclusive evidence found from the scene to suggest that an explosive device had been used to trigger the blast," Naseer told reporters in the capital Male.

President Abdulla Yameen was unharmed in an explosion on his speedboat on September 28 that slightly injured his wife and was described by authorities as an attempt on the leader's life.

Police arrested Vice President Ahmed Adeeb almost a month later for treason, fuelling fears of fresh political turmoil in the honeymoon islands after a series of sackings of senior government officials.

"The US team had taken 10 samples, but none of which had shown traces of an explosive," Naseer said.