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Saudi women’s national football team beat Seychelles in historic international win

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  • Team overseen by German coach Monika Staab claimed first-ever victory with 2-0 triumph
  • Maldives mini-tournament will see KSA women battle hosts on Feb. 24 in capital

The Saudi women’s national football team has won its first ever international, overcoming the Seychelles 2-0 in a friendly match in the Maldives on Sunday night.

The match was always going to be a historic one for the Falcons whatever the result, but the team overseen by German coach Monika Staab ensured the occasion was marked in triumphant manner with a fine display at the Maldives National Stadium in Male.

Al-Bandari Mubarak gave the Saudis the lead on 14 minutes to become Saudi women football’s first-ever international goalscorer, and the lead was maintained until halftime.

The lead was doubled only four minutes after the break when Maryam Al-Tamimi converted from the penalty spot. There would be no more addition to the scoreline and Staab would have been delighted that her team kept a clean sheet to add to the two strikes.

Having completed an intensive training camp in the Kingdom, the squad landed in the Maldives on Thursday to continue the preparation ahead of their debut match against the Seychelles, before turning their attention to the match against hosts Maldives on Feb. 24.

Staab had stressed that the goal of the mini-tournament was to gain as much experience as possible.

“Our goal is for the players to gain the experience necessary to play international matches, in addition to our aim for our official entry into the FIFA classification.”

The Women’s Football Department — part of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation — will hope that these two fixtures are the start of a journey that will see the team eventually gain FIFA certification.

The rapid development of women’s football in the Kingdom was further aided by the establishment last November of the new Regional Football League, which involves 16 teams split across three regions: Central, Western and Eastern, with six teams based in the first two and four in the east.

Eight teams progressed to the National Football Championship, which was contested at the start of the year and won by Al-Mamlaka after they defeated Challenge 7-0 in the final.

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Nasheed to form new party

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The main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s leader Mohamed Nasheed has decided to form a new political party.

Nasheed initiated a separate political movement within MDP, ‘Fikuregge Dhirun’, following his loss in MDP’s presidential primary held back in January. After major conflicts with the government and its policies – all lawmakers from the faction tendered their resignation from MDP on Wednesday.

The move came after Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim was expelled from the party on Tuesday and banned from rejoining for at least one year over involvement in opposition political activities surrounding the Chagos archipelago dispute.

The 12 members who resigned from MDP on Wednesday are;

Parliament’s Deputy Speaker, North Galolhu MP Eva Abdulla
Ungoofaaru MP Mohamed Waheed (Wadde)
North Maafannu MP Imthiyaz Fahumy (Inthi)
West Henveiru MP Hassan Latheef
Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb
North Kulhudhuffushi MP Yasir Abdul Latheef
Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef
Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde)
Madaveli MP Hussain Firushan
Thoddoo MP Hassan Shiyan (Gita)
North Mahchangoalhi MP Mohamed Rasheed (Boadhigu)
Gadhdhoo MP Ahmed Zahir
All 12 members are close acquittances of Nasheed. MP Hassan Latheef, during a meeting at Bodufenvalhuge on Wednesday, announced Nasheed’s decision to form a new political party. The meeting was attended by supporters of Nasheed.

Should Nasheed form a new political party, that party would be the largest opposition party in terms of members in the parliament, thereby, the minority party. The minority party at present, opposition PPM-PNC coalition has only eight members in the parliament.

Despite the resignation of the 12 MPs, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih continues to hold full control of the Parliament with 56 MPs.

Source(s): sun.mv

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MPs loyal to Nasheed leave MDP

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Multiple members of the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) loyal to the party’s leader Mohamed Nasheed have left the party.

The members who resigned from MDP include 12 MPs. They include Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla, MP Mohamed Waheed, MP Imthiyaz Fahmy (Inthi), MP Hassan Latheef, MP Ilyas Labeeb, MP Yasir Abdul Latheef, MP Hassan Afeef, MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde), MP Hussain Firushan, MP Hassan Shiyan, MP Mohamed Rasheed (Boadhigu), and MP Ahmed Zahir.

They submitted their resignation letters Wednesday.

The move comes after MDP’s parliamentary group had requested action against Inthi, Hassan Latheef, Ilyas, Yasir, and Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim earlier this week, for forming an alliance with the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhoory Party (JP) and Maldives National Party (MNP), after accusing the government of failure to protect the interests of the Maldivian people in the case lodged with the International Tribunal of the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) over the disputed maritime territory between Maldives and Mauritius.

The party’s disciplinary committee decided to expel Azim from the party on Tuesday.

They are all members of Nasheed’s ‘Fikuregge Dhirun’ faction.

However, Nasheed has yet to resign from the party.

Despite the resignation of the 12 MPs, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih continues to hold full control of the Parliament with 56 MPs.

Source(s): sun.mv

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The Cambodian Prime Minister arrives in the Maldives on an official visit

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The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, arrived Sunday morning on an official visit to the Maldives at the invitation of H.E. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It is Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen’s first visit to the Maldives.

The Cambodian Prime Minister and accompanying delegation were received at Velana International Airport (VIA) by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid (ODRI). The government will hold a ceremony on Monday to officially welcome the Cambodian Prime Minister to the Maldives.

During the visit, President Solih would meet with Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen and hold official talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation, followed by the exchange of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the two countries. President Solih and the Cambodian Prime Minister would also deliver a joint statement on the outcomes of their discussions.

The Maldives and Cambodia established diplomatic relations on September 21, 1995.

Source(s): President Office.

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