Tropical cyclones are given names based on a small list containing a set of names for every year by the World Meteorological Organization. Names are given because it is easier to refer to and remember. The list is rotated every few years and names are reused. "Katrina" and "Sandy", became widely known because these tropical storms went onto develop into hurricanes and cause devastating damage in the US. There are different lists for different areas (ocean basins) of the world.

But what I didn't know before was that there is a list of names contributed by Maldives as well, for naming tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean. The names contributed by Maldives are all local Dhivehi names for different fish: Hibaru, Gonu, Aila, Keila, Madi, Roanu, Mekunu and Hikaa.



I am not sure if there's been any actual tropical cyclone that has been given a Maldives contributed name though...

Edit:
Ludge pointed me to a note "Cyclones Named by Maldives" that he had posted on Facebook in 2009 that had a lot more information on this:

...
Maldives has provided names to cyclones before, such as Cyclone Hibaru (January 2005), Cyclone Gonu (June 2007) and now Cyclone Aila (May 2009).
...

Cyclone Gonu is the "strongest tropical cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea, and is also the strongest named cyclone in the northern Indian Ocean".

There will be a Penumbral Lunar eclipse that will be visible in the Maldives taking place on 28 November 2012. The eclipse starts at 5:15 PM, reaches mid eclipse at 7:33 PM and ends at 9:51 PM.

Since this is a penumbral eclipse, the Moon will only catch the softer outer-shadow cast by the Earth, which does not produce as dramatic eclipses as total or partial lunar eclipses. There will be a slight but distinct darkening of the northern edge of the Moon. By the time the Sun sets on the 28th, the Moon will be low on the Eastern horizon which means it will be a while before any viewing can be done. Depending on cloud cover and atmospheric conditions, it might be hard to notice the eclipse except around mid-eclipse.

The next earliest total Lunar eclipse visible in the Maldives occurs 8 October 2014.

More info:
- http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/OH/OH2012.html#LE2012Nov28N
- http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar-eclipse-november-2012.html