Talk:Maldives

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Bleached Corals?

Could somebody please place a picture of the bleached versus the still alive corals? This might help to understqnd the process. Thanks!

First sentence "in the arabian sea" is wrong, in my opinion

Map of Arabian Sea from article Arabian Sea

I was quite surprised to read the first sentence, according to which the Maldives are situated "IN the Arabian Sea". According to the article Arabian Sea, it is limited to the east by India, which is in accordance with the map (see right). However, the Maldives (north end) are located at least about 100 km (see Google Maps) south of the southern end of India. Clearly, the Maldives are situated way south of the Arabian Sea, according to the written description of WP-AS and as well regarding the map. Shouldn't this be changed? I am, of course, open to any counter arguments, but there also seems to be no source for this statement in the article. Pittigrilli (talk) 11:08, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

The map is wrong on every border, if we go by the definition of the IHO (PDF, P.20). The Arabian Sea goes all the way from the Horn of Africa via the southernmost point of the Maldives, around the Laccadive Islands to the Indian cost. The border to the gulf of Oman also goes to Pakistan, not Iran.

I've replaced the map with a better one in the English and German articles, but it's still used in many other languages and should imho be retired on all of them. MaligneRange (talk) 06:06, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

Addition: Maybe this helps: The French WP article says (Google translation): "The western atolls have their west coast bathing the Arabian Sea while the eastern atolls entirely belong to the Laccadive Sea." ( I left the term 'bathing' though probably a translation error). Pittigrilli (talk) 11:18, 9 April 2021 (UTC) Comment: Heavily edited my post on 11:51. Pittigrilli (talk) 11:53, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Further information: I played a bit on Google maps and found that the absolute northernmost island of the Maldives is about 130 km more southern than the southernmost spot of India. Pittigrilli (talk) 13:51, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

I changed the respective sentence some days ago. Pittigrilli (talk) 17:52, 2 May 2021 (UTC)

Is there any IHO definition? 218.250.76.126 (talk) 13:11, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

Definite article

Is the article "the" missing in some parts of the article? Most of the subtopic articles have it in their titles. 218.250.76.126 (talk) 13:13, 12 October 2022 (UTC)

Use of the definite article seems to vary, although from what I can gather from official sources (the official tourism website and the website for the President's office) using it seems to be preferred. I've gone ahead and changed all references to "Maldives" to "the Maldives" except for quotes or official names. PolarManne (talk) 17:26, 8 March 2023 (UTC)

That's just bad English from media and journalists. At least we can use the World Geographical Names compiled by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names as a reference. They have two clear rules about using the definite article in country names:

1. No definite article should be used before Maldives, Seychelles, and Solomon Islands.
2. The definite article "The/the" should be used before Gambia (The Gambia), Niger (the Niger), and Sudan (the Sudan).

Link: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/geonames/ 203.46.37.2 (talk) 01:36, 1 February 2024 (UTC)

Comment The country's official name is the Republic of Maldives, not the Republic of the Maldives. Its constitution is called the Constitution of Maldives, not the Constitution of the Maldives. The United Nations does not use the definite article before Maldives in their official documents. However, some websites, including some local Maldivian websites, continue to use the definite article before Maldives.

Sources:

1. United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names – World Geographical Names: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/geonames/
2. Republic of Maldives – The President's Office: https://presidency.gov.mv/Pages/Index/15 203.46.37.2 (talk) 10:41, 30 January 2024 (UTC)

Deforestation

this is a major problem in maldives 43.231.28.185 (talk) 09:12, 14 October 2023 (UTC)

"Health" section

The health section of this article is largely irrelevant. It should either be deleted or expanded to include more general health stats instead of a report on a single incident of a COVID outbreak from 3 years ago. Agbaxter (talk) 01:55, 3 December 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 11 January 2024

Change "first lady Fazna" to "former first lady Fazna" 43.231.29.159 (talk) 04:32, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

 Not done Please provide a reliable source that indicates she is not the current First Lady.--RegentsPark (comment) 16:45, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 12 January 2024

"Abdullah Afeef" is mentioned in the Independence and republic section and then spelt differently in the next sentence 75.28.142.235 (talk) 00:22, 13 January 2024 (UTC)

Rising Sea Level

A note should be added that coral atolls are made of coral, and coral will grow to match the rise of sea level. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Maldives will be sunk by rising sea levels any time soon. 70.71.56.249 (talk) 16:00, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 31 January 2024

Please add the following in culture subtitle. Its missing in the english version:

Destruction of culture

In 2011, an Islamist mob destroyed a monument engraved with an image of Buddha. In 2012, 35 irreplaceable Buddhist and Hindu art objects from the National Museum of the Maldives - the oldest dating back to the 6th century BC - were destroyed by Islamists who believed they were following Islamic law. Ali Waheed, director of the National Museum, explained: “The collection has been completely, totally destroyed.” The entire pre-Islamic history was affected. Among the works destroyed were the Bohomala sculptures, the Hanuman statues and a sculpture of the Hindu water god Makara. The 'Five-Faced Man', the only remaining archaeological evidence of a Buddhist era in the Maldives, was also destroyed, irreparably damaging the country's cultural heritage. The 'Coral Stones of the Buddha' were also destroyed.

Sources:

Francis, Krishan: Maldives Museum Reopens Minus Smashed Hindu Images. (Memento vom 21. Mai 2013 im Internet Archive) Associated Press (via Abcnews.go.com) 14. Februar 2012; abgerufen am 17. Februar 2012. (englisch)
Vikas Bajaj: Vandalism at Maldives Museum Stirs Fears of Extremism. In: New York Times, 14. Februar 2012; abgerufen am 15. Februar 2012
Invaluable Hindu and Buddhist Statues Destroyed in Maldives by Extremist Islamic Group. In: chakranews.com. The Chakra News, The Chakra, 23. Februar 2012, archiviert vom Original am 25. Dezember 2012; abgerufen am 25. Oktober 2023 (englisch). 94.114.89.213 (talk) 21:30, 31 January 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: Wikipedia is not a newspaper. M.Bitton (talk) 02:27, 1 February 2024 (UTC)