Mohamed Nasheed, who took the oath of office Tuesday as the Maldives' first democratically elected president, is looking for ways to protect his low-lying island nation from the threat of global warming. Nasheed was sworn in to office at a private ceremony in the capital of Male following an election victory last week that ended 30 years of single-party rule. He now leads the flattest nation on Earth _ with an average height of 2.3 meters (7 feet) above sea level _ and one considered particularly vulnerable to the perils of global climate change and rising sea levels.
