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Ford Motor ( F.N ) is on track to double the number of dealerships in China by 2015, its country chief said on Friday, as it launches a half-billion-dollar plant and races to narrow the gap with foreign rivals in the world's largest auto market. Ford, which unveiled the new Focus at the opening of a plant in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing, is adding an average of two outlets a week to bring the total to 680 by 2015, said David Schoch, chairman and CEO of Ford's China operations. "Obviously, it's not only important for us to grow the production capacity and get the new products in, but we have to improve the retail distribution network," Schoch told Reuters. Ford, which steered clear of a bankruptcy filing and U.S. government bailout in 2009, is a relatively late-comer in China, where General Motors ( GM.N ) and Volkswagen AG ( VOWG.DE ) have built a sizeable lead. It sold 320,658 vehicles in China last year, compared with Volkswagen's

President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives resigned on Tuesday after weeks of protests erupted into a police mutiny, leaving the man widely credited with bringing democracy to the paradise islands accused of being as dictatorial as his predecessor. Nasheed handed power over the Indian Ocean archipelago to Vice-President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, saying continuing in power would result in his having to use force against his people. "I resign because I am not a person who wishes to rule with the use of power," he said in a televised address. "I believe that if the government were to remain in power it would require the use of force which would harm many citizens." In the morning, soldiers fired tear gas at police and demonstrators who besieged the Maldives National Defence Force headquarters in Republic Square. Later in the day, scores of demonstrators stood outside the nearby president's office chanting "Gayoom! Gayoom!," refering to his