Tag: maldives news

Lightning strike victim brought to Male’

One of four people injured in lightning strikes in Haa Alif Dhidhoo has been brought to Male’ for further medical care.

Moosa Rasheed, 17, was admitted to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) because his condition was deemed too serious, reports Haveeru.

According to Haveeru, he has been taken into the intensive care unit and has not regained consciousness.

Of the four that were struck by lightning, one is stable and recovering at Kulhudhufushi regional hospital, while the other two have been released.

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Imaadhudeen to introduce grade eight

Imaadhudeen school will introduce grade eight studies this year.

The academic year will begin on 10 January. Until 2009, the school only taught from grades one to seven.

According to Miadhu, the school has 243 students that will enroll in grade eight this year.

The only facility not available when classes begin would be the laboratory, which is scheduled to be completed in one month.

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Fire on MNDF launch

An MNDF vessel caught on fire on Thursday, injuring some of the officers on board.

The incident occurred on the morning of 31 December, at 8.45am, while launch number 58 was moored in the harbour behind Kalhuthukalaa Koshi.

Lance Corporal Abdhul Rahman, of the electric and mechanical engineers, who was working on the vessel sustained burns to his arm and leg.

MNDF reports that the fire was caused when the battery short circuited and ignited the petrol tank.

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New ADK hospital building to open next year

The new eight-storey ADK Hospital building will be operational next year.

According to Miadhu, construction work on the building is already complete.

The new hospital would have 43 private rooms and provide many services which is expected to ease the pressure on the only two hospitals in Male’.

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Valencia wants Heena as coach

Club Valencia are hoping to sign Ismail Asif, popularly known as “Kuda Heena”, as their coach for the next season.

Kuda Heena, who spent the best days of his playing career at Valencia, is currently the technical director of All Youth Linkage, AYL.

According to Haveeru, Kuda Heena is choosing not to stay with AYL due to financial issues.

Haveeru reported that AYL has failed to pay Heena and many other players.

After an illustrious playing career spanning 15 years, Heena went on to start his coaching career.

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Lunar eclipse tonight

The Maldives is among the countries to experience a lunar experience on the eve of the new year.

The eclipse will occur at 11pm tonight, but astronomers say it might not be fully visible till around 12.20am.

Other countries that will experience the eclipse are Sri Lanka, parts of the United States, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia and much of the European and Arctic regions.

The eclipse would last for about an hour, experts said.

The Maldives is also set to experience a solar eclipse on January 15, 2010.

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MNDF Male’ area inaugurated

The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Malé Area was inaugurated by President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday.

The Male’ area is being formed as part of the MNDF decentralising its operations.

The president highlighted the importance of decentralising MNDF into different area commands. As a result, he said, army officers could now work closer to their families.

The president also mentioned the economic benefits to the local communities from the MNDF bases.

He said Rf65 million, spent annually on salaries, healthcare and catering for MNDF staff, would directly benefit the local economies.

MNDF have already established an area command centers in southern, central and northern parts of the country.

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NGOs slam special needs bill

Several NGOs have criticised the recently-passed bill protecting the rights and providing financial assistance to people with special needs.

The bill, which was passed on 21 December, states that disabled people will receive financial benefits of Rf2000 a month. In addition, persons found mocking people with disabilities could be fined from anywhere between Rf5000 to Rf10,000.

However NGOs such as Care Society have strongly criticised the bill.

Sidaatha Shareef from Care Society said “this bill is not in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) that the Maldives has signed.”

The UNCRPD is an international human rights convention pushing a rights-based vision addressing issues concerning people with disabilities.

The Maldives signed a UNCRPD act in 2008. According to this Act, a country must have a specialised bill that focuses on the rights of people with disabilities.

“The term ‘special needs’ is a very board category. We wanted this bill to be specifically for the rights of people with disabilities,” continued Sidaatha.

“We’re not trying to downplay other issues, they are just as important, but we want to get rid of the confusion caused by the bill. People with special needs and people with disabilities are very different.”

Care Society said a revised bill was important because people with disabilities were a marginalised group, and therefore it was important to make sure a proper bill was passed that would give rights to these groups.

Sidaatha also said that in the future “we must carefully think about signing such conventions such as the UNCRPD.”

Former minister of gender and family Aishath Didi said that providing monthly financial assistance was not enough.

“We need to focus more on prevention and screening,” she said. “Screening during the first three months is crucial in early detection of disabilities, and once detected the proper assistance needs to be provided.”

Didi also mentioned the importance of including things like speech therapy in the bill.

The bill is currently with the president who has a week to ratify it before it becomes law.

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