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Category Archives: Islands

China defends South China Sea island reclamation

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BEIJING, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- China justified its reclamation of disputed islands in the South China Sea Wednesday by claiming it has sovereignty over the entire area.

China and several of its neighbors are disputing ownership of islands and reefs in the South and East China Seas.

At a press briefing Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying responded to a question about a report by the BBC. The report noted the reefs in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands, claimed by both the Philippines and China and named the Nansha Islands in China, were being enlarged by Chinese construction crews who are dredging rocks and sand from the sea floor to increase the land mass of the reefs.

"We have answered this question many times before, and I suppose you must be fully aware of China's position. China asserts indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and the adjacent waters, and China's activities on relevant islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands fall entirely within China's sovereignty and are totally justifiable," Hua said.

The Philippines, in May, released photos of the reef in question that suggested an airstrip was under construction. The country's Department of Foreign Affairs said it regards the construction work as destabilizing and contrary to both international law and a 2002 treaty between nations bordering the sea.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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China defends South China Sea island reclamation

Heaven on Earth Francis Bay Beach, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park, Sat., Sept 6, 2014 – Video

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Heaven on Earth Francis Bay Beach, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park, Sat., Sept 6, 2014
Heaven on Earth @ Francis Bay Beach, St. John, United States Virgin Islands National Park, Sat., Sept 6, 2014. http://www.nps.gov/viis/index.htm.

By: Anna Fisher

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Heaven on Earth Francis Bay Beach, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands National Park, Sat., Sept 6, 2014 - Video

Volcan Cleveland En Erupcion Islas Aleutianas ( Alaska ) – Mount Cleveland Eruption Islands 1080p HD – Video

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Volcan Cleveland En Erupcion Islas Aleutianas ( Alaska ) - Mount Cleveland Eruption Islands 1080p HD
Volcan Cleveland En Erupcion Islas Aleutianas ( Alaska ) - Mount Cleveland Eruption Islands 1080p HD El Cleveland es un estratovolcn situado al oeste de la isla Chuginadak, del grupo...

By: Naturaleza Salvaje HD

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Volcan Cleveland En Erupcion Islas Aleutianas ( Alaska ) - Mount Cleveland Eruption Islands 1080p HD - Video

Survey finds pessimism in China's ties with Japan

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Zhang Yunbi and Cai Hong

China Daily

Publication Date : 10-09-2014

The impact of the Diaoyu Islands dispute on China-Japan ties is diminishing, but pessimism over future relations remains, the latest public opinion poll in both countries showed.

A majority of the public continued to see the significance of the relationship but "the proportion of such people is shrinking to a record low on both sides" - 65 per cent of those polled in China and 70.6 per cent in Japan.

The 10th Public Opinion on China-Japan Relations 2014 survey, co-sponsored by China Daily and the Japanese nonprofit think tank Genron NPO, was released in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The latest poll follows two years of global attention on security policies and territorial disputes between Asia's two largest economies, as well as Tokyo's official positions regarding its wartime atrocities.

The annual poll, conducted in July and August this year, gathers responses from a wide spectrum of society.

In China, the survey included 1,539 Chinese residents in the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenyang and Xi'an, 201 international relations scholars from around the country and 813 university students and faculty members at five top Beijing universities. In Japan, respondents included 1,000 members of the public and 628 intellectuals, mostly with experience of China.

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Survey finds pessimism in China's ties with Japan

Darkshard Islands Minecraft- w/TeenagedKnight & TheWeav- Hunger Games? [Ep 1] – Video

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Darkshard Islands Minecraft- w/TeenagedKnight TheWeav- Hunger Games? [Ep 1]
In our first survival map me and TheWeav must collect pages in order to figure out what is going on here. We will die. A lot. My Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenagedknight TheWeav Twitter:...

By: TeenagedKnight

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Darkshard Islands Minecraft- w/TeenagedKnight & TheWeav- Hunger Games? [Ep 1] - Video

Postcard from Norway's Magical Lofoten Islands A Biodiversity Hotspot to Rival the Amazon

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The view from the M/S Lofoten on the journey from Bod to Svolvaer in Norway, Sept. 8, 2014. Please click to enlarge. (Photo: Tom Yulsman)

Greetings from Norways spectacular Lofoten Islands,one of the crown jewels of our planets biodiversity: an environment above the Arctic Circle where coral reefs actually thrive, seabirds by the millions roost, and Orcas, humpbacks, and sperm wales not to mention humans feast on teeming stocks of fish.

This biodiversity has been described as an Arctic Amazon rainforest and Great Barrier Reef all in one.

Im here to help lead a field trip thats part of a climate change communication course organized by a colleague atOslo and Akershus University Collegeof Applied Sciences.Ill have more to say about this special place in coming days. In the meantime, I thought Id post this ImaGeo postcard.

I photographed the scene up top as our Hurtigruten ship, the M/S Lofoten, was steaming out into Vestfjorden, a wide bight of water separating the Lofoten archipelago from the Salten district of Norway. (For a map, click here.)

Tommy Edvardsen, Chief Officer of the M/S Lofoten, on the bridge. (Photograph: Tom Yulsman)

The ship, built in 1964, is worth commenting on. Shes still got the original engine, which according to the crew may be distinguished in a remarkable way: among engines for which records have been kept, the M/S Lofotens may well be the longest operating engine on Earth 300,000 hours in all.

Moreover, as shes plied the waters between Bergen in the south and Kirkenes in the north, shestraveled a distance equivalent to the moon and back eight times,according to Tommy Edvardsen, Chief Officer of the ship. (Thats him at the helm in the photo at right.)

Im writing this from the town of Svolvaer, where Ill be staying for the next few days while Im helping with the course. When I get a chance, Ill share some of what Ive learned about this remarkable place, along with more photographs. So I hope youll check back for more.

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Postcard from Norway's Magical Lofoten Islands A Biodiversity Hotspot to Rival the Amazon

Part-time residents of Little Bay Islands want answers on resettlement

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For years, the residents of Little Bay Islands have had the issue of resettlement looming over their heads.

Little Bay Islands has had the cloud of resettlement looming for a while. A group known as Friends of Little Bay Islands is now seeking answers from government about what happens to them in the event resettlement eventually happens. TC Media photo

The topic has divided the community on more than one occasion. Advocates for the plan to resettle have made sure the issue has been brought up, and votes have been taken and failed when too many residents opposed leaving their homes.

However, when the provincial government announced the available settlement for relocation was going up significantly in last years budget, talks of leaving Little Bay Islands came to life again.

The talks werent just among those who call the community home, however. People like Christina Pelley also raised the topic.

Pelley and her family own a home on Little Bay Islands, but their permanent residence is in Springdale.

We wanted a summer home, somewhere we could go and spend time with the kids, she said. So we found a place on Little Bay Islands, and decided to buy it.

The Pelleys bought the home in 2012, and have enjoyed summer there.

My husband works during the summer, so usually its just me and the kids who go out and spend some time there, she said. The rural atmosphere where her children could play freely and safely was a drawing card.

Christina and her husband have been concerned by the ongoing talk of resettling through the governments community relocation policy.

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Part-time residents of Little Bay Islands want answers on resettlement


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