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Tropical Storm Bret formed Monday afternoon in the open Atlantic Ocean.

Tropical storm warnings are in effect for portions of the southern Windward Islands and northeastern Venezuela.

Heavy rain and gusty winds are expected in these areas into Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Bret will spread heavy rain and gusty winds across the southern Windward Islands and northeastern Venezuela into Tuesday.

(MORE: 5 Changes to Hurricane Season Forecasts)

Here's the latest from the National Hurricane Center:

Little change in strength is expected during the next 12 to 24 hours.

After passing through the Windward Islands, the forecast calls for this systemto weaken into a tropical depression on Wednesday, due to increasing southerly wind shear and land interaction with Venezuela.

(MORE: Hurricane Season Outlook |Hurricane Central)

Tropical storm conditions, including gusty winds and heavy rain,have likely begun in portions of the southern Windward Islands and the northeastern coast of Venezuela, making outside preparations difficult or dangerous.

Total rainfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are currently expected over the Windward Islands and the eastern coast of Venezuela into Tuesday.

Tropical storm warnings remain in effect for Trinidad, Tobago,Grenada and Venezuela (Pedernales to Cumana, including Isla de Margarita). A tropical storm watch is in effect for Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao.

This portion of the Atlantic Basin is an unusual spot for tropical development this early in the season.

Tropical Storm Bret isan outlier that is only joined by a few tropical systems that have formed in June in the open Atlantic. The system is also somewhat odd because it formed farther south than most tropical cyclones around the globe.

The western Caribbean andGulf of Mexicoare two of the areas we typically look for the development of tropical storms in June.

Any storms that do form typically track north or northeastward, which brings the Gulf Coast and the Southeast coast in play for potential impacts.

On average, there's onenamed storm in June in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico every one to twoyears.

Tropical development in the open Atlantic only happens about once per decade.

Last Junewas an outlier, when Bonnie, Colin and Danielle all spun through the Atlantic Basin as tropical storms.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM:Life and Landfall of Hurricane Hermine: Africa to North Atlantic

Excerpt from:

Tropical Storm Bret Spreading Heavy Rain, Gusty Winds Across Windward Islands, Northeastern Venezuela - The Weather Channel

CAIRO (AP) The past weeks tempestuous parliament approval of a deal transferring two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia is putting Egypts government at odds with the judiciary and providing the countrys battered opposition with a nationalist cause to whip up at a time of growing economic distress.

The surprise 2016 deal to hand over the islands of Tiran and Sanafir aimed to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia, which has provided distressed Egypt with billions of dollars in grants and soft loans over the past four years. It comes amid fitful efforts to establish an axis of cooperation between two powers vying for leadership of the self-styled moderate Sunni Arab camp countries which oppose Shiite Iran and are willing to weigh closer ties to Israel.

But the opposition has proven a headache for President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, whose popularity seems to be slipping in the wake of economic liberalization reforms that deeply hurt Egyptians living standards, even while winning global praise. Sissis government has been gaining greater acceptance by other governments internationally, even while facing criticism over its authoritarian policies defended on security grounds that include jailing opponents and crushing rights groups.

With parliaments approval of the handover, the dispute over the islands now pits the legislative and executive branches of government against the judiciary. Courts issued two rulings over the past year that clearly stated the islands belong to Egypt.

In Egypts sometimes murky power structure, it is not clear where such a battle of wills could go.

The issue takes on added significance and sensitivity because Tiran controls the only shipping lane leading to the ports of Eilat and Aqaba, in Israel and Jordan respectively. The closure of the so called Tiran Strait was a main trigger of the 1967 Middle East war.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, talks with Saudi King Salman after the king arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, March 28, 2015. (Provided by Egypts state news agency, MENA via AP,)

Saudi Arabias request for the islands and the absence of any official explanation from Cairo or Riyadh has prompted widespread speculation. One scenario says the islands afford the Saudis a say of some sort in renewed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations along with formal contacts with Israel. Another line of speculation says these contacts would contribute toward formulating a joint strategy against Shiite Iran, a nemesis to the Saudis and Israelis alike.

Heres a look at some of the issues related to the islands and how they are likely to evolve:

The maritime border demarcation agreement under which Egypt would transfer control of the islands to Saudi Arabia was signed and announced when Saudi King Salman was visiting Egypt in April 2016. The announcement came as the Saudis unveiled a multibillion-dollar package of soft loans and investments to Egypt, prompting charges the government was handing over the islands in return for Saudi money.

A court in June 2016 ruled to annul the transfer of the islands. When the government appealed, a higher court upheld the verdict in January and asserted that the islands were Egyptian. The higher court alluded to official documents, some dating back to Ottoman and British colonial times, showing Cairos exercise of full sovereignty over the islands over the years and offered a legal opinion that dismissed the agreement as unconstitutional.

The government, meanwhile, filed a case with the Supreme Constitutional Court, seeking a ruling on whether the two courts had jurisdiction over the case. That court starts hearings next month, but a panel of constitutional experts already filed a report saying the courts did indeed have jurisdiction. If thats the case, serious doubts would be cast on the legality of parliaments ratification of the deal.

That, in turn, would usher in a potentially damaging battle between the legislature and the judiciary. In any case, Sissi has to sign off on parliaments ratification before the agreement can go into effect. He has yet to do so, and there has been no word on whether he will await the Supreme Constitutional Courts ruling. He will have to tread carefully given the courts weight and the erosion of parliaments credibility over its handling of the agreement.

Dozens of lawyers shout slogans during a protest against the accord to hand over control of two strategic Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, to Saudi Arabia in front of the lawyers syndicate in Cairo, June 13, 2017. (AP/Amr Nabil)

The 596-seat legislature ratified the deal on June 14 after four days of at times vicious arguments. Lawmakers on each side threw around accusations of treason, payments by foreign powers and illegal amassing of wealth.

The disorder reinforced critics charges that parliament is just a tool for the government to carry out its agenda and that many of its members lack the political skills to effectively carry out their duties. The government denies parliament is a rubber stamp, pointing to the rare cases where it has blocked proposals.

Perhaps most egregiously, Speaker Ali Abdel-Al asserted that judicial rulings on the agreement amounted to nil, a position seen as contemptuous of the judiciary. But only a mass resignation by the around 100 lawmakers who oppose the agreement might embarrass the chamber enough to trigger calls for its dissolution. In the meantime, more than 100 lawmakers have urged Sissi not to sign off on parliaments ratification before the Supreme Constitutional Courts verdict, according to local media.

Activists raged over the issue on social media. But online calls for street protests achieved a meager response, likely a sign of how Egyptians have become fatigued by recent years instability, cowed by security crackdowns and consumed with economic privations.

Police arrested more than 100 activists and demonstrators over the weekend, of whom about half remain in custody, according to rights lawyers. There were a handful of small protests in Cairo on Friday, quickly broken up by security forces.

But future street action is possible.

If the government went ahead and handed over the islands to Saudi Arabia, we will consider them occupied and will work toward liberating them by all means available, said one opposition leader, Farid Zahran.

An opinion poll conducted by an Egypt-based pollster, Baseera, found that 47 percent of those questioned believed the islands were Egyptian, with only 11% saying they were Saudi. The poll, conducted June 11-12, asked 1,164 people. The margin of error was below 3%.

Original post:

Egypt islands deal with Saudis pits government against courts - The Times of Israel

The Portland City Council on Monday passed more stringent rules for golf cart operators on Casco Bay Islands and opened additional mainland parking spaces for islanders two measures that generally received support from the handful of Peaks Island residents in attendance.

As Peaks has become more popular for tourists, islanders have raised safety concerns about golf cart traffic on their streets. They shared stories of drunken wedding guests speeding around the island and parents driving with children on their laps. Golf carts have been permitted on the islands for decades, but residents say accidents have resulted in property damage and even injury.

The new rules require all golf cart operators to have drivers licenses and prohibit anyone from standing in a moving golf cart or riding in the lap of a golf cart driver or passenger. While the changes were generally well received and passed unanimously, there was some concern they would be difficult to enforce. One resident suggested a moratorium on golf carts to phase them out of the islands, and another asked the police department to be more proactive in penalizing rule breakers.

With these changes I think comes a responsibility of the police department that they are able to make sure that we are as much as possible in compliance, Peaks Island resident Timmi Sellers said. If these new rules go on the book, take steps to enforce it.

Under the previous ordinance, golf cart operators are required to be over age 21 or have a valid license. The new version does not include an age restriction, but all operators must be licensed. It also stipulates that headlights must shine 200 feet ahead of golf carts in order to operate at night, and the carts must have added reflectors.

All golf carts on Peaks, Cliff and Great Diamond islands are already required to be registered with the city and display a sticker, and records show 255 registered golf carts on all three islands. However, residents say many carts are unregistered. Golf carts also are already required to have horns, safety flags and slow vehicle markings, but many do not.

Two companies now lease golf carts for hourly or long-term rentals on Peaks, and representatives from both businesses spoke at Mondays City Council meeting. Both noted their businesses generally follow the requirements of the updated ordinance already, and they said carts from private properties are more often the sources of the islands problems.

When we rent a golf cart, we spend anywhere from five to 10 minutes explaining how the golf cart works, going through all the safety and making folks understand that they have legal requirements, said Mike Sylvester, owner of Mikes Carts. We chase a lot of folks who arent in our carts off the road because it gives a bad name to all of us.

The speed limit for golf carts will increase from 10 mph to 20 mph to conform with the posted speed limit on island roads. The speed limit near the island school would be 15 mph. Few golf carts have speedometers, however, so it is unclear how operators could follow the speed limit.

Robert OBrien, manager of Peaks Island Golf Carts, said golf carts typically cant drive as fast as 20 mph, and he worried the increase might encourage others on the road to speed.

Everyone out there is thinking, we can go faster now, OBrien said.

Lisa Penalver, chairwoman of the Peaks Island Council, credited the golf cart rental companies for educating their customers on safe practices, but said an update was still needed for all operators.

We need to have guidelines, even if we cant always enforce them, Penalver said.

The City Council also asked the Sustainability and Transportation Committee to study the issue of parking for islanders on the mainland near the ferry. In the meantime, the City Council on Monday opened 30 spots on Fore Street as a short-term solution.

Island residents have said competition is fierce for only 55 designated spaces on the mainland near the Ocean Gateway terminal, and they want more spots to be designated for their use.

We have to be mindful of this need of islanders to get to and from their residences and their appointments and their workplaces, City Councilor Belinda Ray said.

Megan Doyle can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:

[emailprotected]

Twitter: megan_e_doyle

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Portland passes stricter rules for golf carts on Casco Bay islands - Press Herald

A flight scheduled to take former Japanese residents to two Russian-held islands in the Pacific Ocean has been canceled because of heavy fog conditions on one of the islands, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials say.

The ministry press service on June 19 said, "The flight has been canceled due to bad weather. We are now considering the possibility to arrange a new flight."

The visit was set to begin on June 18 to the disputed islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories and Moscow calls the Southern Kuriles.

It would have marked the first time Japanese citizens were allowed to travel by air to the island chain. Previous Japanese visitors were forced to travel by ship under a complicated procedure.

The flight with 70 people aboard by Russian airline Aurora was delayed on June 18 and June 19 because of heavy fog at the Mendeleyevo airport on Kunashir Island in the chain.

The visitors were going to "pay respects" to the graves of family members, officials said.

Although Russian-held, Japan still claims the islands, which the Soviet Union seized in the closing days of World War II.

Lingering tensions over the islands have prevented Japan and Russia from signing a peace treaty to formally end the war.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to start flights for former Japanese residents to "visit graves of ancestors" on the islands.

Excerpt from:

Japanese Visitors' Flight To Disputed Russian-Held Islands ... - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

HAMBURG, Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that Britain might end up following the example of other islands in the European Union with low tax rates when it quits the bloc.

Merkel, who said it was already hard to organise fair tax competition in Europe, also announced plans for a Franco-German corporation tax reform.

Speaking to non-governmental organisations in Hamburg before she hosts a G20 summit there next month, Merkel said: "I don't want to pillory anyone but the island states of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus say: we have a bad geographical location, we're at such a disadvantage, we can only attract companies by having very low taxes."

She added: "And when, within the context of Brexit, Britain one day decides to step into this tax competition too, then of course that would be a huge challenge for countries."

Germany and France will therefore attempt a joint corporation tax reform via a common tax assessment framework "so that at least two countries can be a role model", she said, adding that this could also be a blueprint for a global tax system.

The G20 summit is due to take place in Hamburg in early July. On July 13 the governments of Germany and France will meet in Paris for the Franco-German Council of Ministers, where they want to make proposals for closer cooperation in areas such as tax.

In a manifesto document ahead of a June 8 election, Britain's Conservatives - who emerged as the largest party but lost their parliamentary majority - said corporation tax would be cut to 17 percent by 2020.

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Merkel: Brexit-Bound Britain Might Copy EU's Low Tax Islands - New York Times

The Salish Eagle, the second of three new vessels joining the B.C. Ferries fleet this year, begins service Wednesday with a 9:10 a.m. sailing on the Tsawwassen-Southern Gulf Islands route.

The Salish Orca was the first of the trio in service, starting in May on the Powell River-Comox route. The Salish Raven arrived in Victoria on June 7 and is due to start service in the fall, also in the Southern Gulf Islands.

All three ferries are 107 metres long and can carry 145 vehicles and 600 passengers. They were built in Poland at an overall cost of $200 million and are all duel-fuel able to run on natural gas or ultra-low sulphur marine diesel.

B.C. Ferries plans to run all three on natural gas, which it says means a reduction of 9,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, compared with running the vessels on marine diesel the same as taking 1,900 passenger vehicles off the road per year.

The new ferries were named to honour the Coast Salish people and each has been adorned with First Nations art.

The arrival of the Salish-class vessels means the Queen of Burnaby and Queen of Nanaimo are being retired, while the Bowen Queen will be taken out of regular service and used as a utility vessel.

Times Colonist

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New ferry Salish Eagle starts service Wednesday in Gulf Islands - Times Colonist

19 Jun 2017

OVER the last two centuries, experts say human activities have resulted in more greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere, causing global temperatures to steadily increase.

Although Micronesians and other Pacific islanders are among the lesser contributors to global warming, we are at the greatest risk from its negative impacts which include rising sea levels.

A number of islands in Micronesia and the Pacific are small island states/territories, low-lying atolls, volcanic or mountainous islands such as Guam, Palau, Nauru, Pohnpei and the NMI where majority of the population lives in the coastal areas which makes us particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

In addition, islanders depend on natural resources from land and sea which include fisheries, tourism, and agriculture which will be directly affected by the changing climate.

Researchers from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland found that while many plant species are able to persist in less favorable climate conditions, those same species often do so by adopting last-stand strategies such as shrinking in size and temporarily suspending reproductive and growth effort. This merely helps them to survive instead of thrive in these less favorable environments.

Plants provide us with food, pastures for livestock and places for recreation and well-being, the researchers say. They also directly and indirectly provide numerous invaluable ecosystem services such as water regulation, carbon sequestration and flood prevention. As a result, it is imperative that we understand how plant populations are responding to climate constraints now, and use that information to predict how they are likely to respond to climatic changes in the future.

A professor of zoology at Trinity College, Yvonne Buckley, said: Not all plants have the life strategies to persist for extended periods of time in less favorable climates, but our research is already helping to pinpoint those that do. One of the next steps is to design management strategies to help support these species and to safeguard the ecosystem services that they provide us.

Many islanders believe that human activities should support species and safeguard the ecosystem.

Originally posted here:

Climate change in the islands - Marianas Variety

Sean F. Driscoll @SeanFDriscoll

Memorial Day was just shy of a $1 million weekend for homeowners on the Cape and Islands who use the vacation booking site Airbnb to rent their homes, an eightfold increase in the site's traffic in just three years a sign that the company is making deep inroads in the local market.

Guest arrivals at Airbnb properties over Memorial Day weekend rose from 553 in 2014 to 4,573 this year, according to data the San Francisco-based company released last week. In the same time frame, host income rose from $135,000 in 2014 to $967,000 this year, a jump of more than 700 percent.

But company data shows that most of the local hosts on the site don't rent their homes full time, said company spokeswoman Crystal Davis. Instead, the majority of hosts on the Cape and Islands rent their properties only a few days a year and use the site to bring in extra cash to defray living expenses.

"Many of them are retired and dont have the same stream of income where they were younger, so using an extra space in home to make their money to pay for their mortgage and bills," she said.

The meteoric rise in Airbnb's popularity locally comes as a statewide debate continues over taxing short-term rentals to match the taxes assessed on hotel stays. Hotels collect a 5.7 percent lodging tax on all stays, and municipalities can levy an additional 4 to 6 percent on top of that. All the towns on the Cape and Islands save for West Tisbury and Gosnold have opted to collect a local lodging tax, according to state records.

The tax would affect people who rent homes, apartments or rooms through online services such as Airbnb, HomeAway or Vacation Rental by Owner for less than 30 consecutive days. The state tax would be levied at 5.7 percent with a local option to add up to an additional 6 percent, a policy on par with the current Massachusetts state hotels tax.

Airbnb estimates that, if its transactions were taxed, Massachusetts would have received $15 million in revenue based on sales between Nov. 1, 2015, and Oct. 31, 2016.

In comparison, the state collected about $22 million in room occupancy taxes in May, according to the Department of Revenue; the revenue from the Cape and Islands Airbnb transactions over Memorial Day would have brought the state about $57,000 in tax collections, and a similar total that would be split between the 19 towns with a local lodging tax.

Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce CEO Wendy Northcross said she isn't surprised Airbnb is picking up market share locally, and said that businesses particularly real estate agents, who have often served as the middleman between vacation renters and homeowners began to feel the company's presence more acutely last year. But whether it's $1 or $1 million in revenue, she said the home rentals should be taxed the same as hotel stays.

"If that transaction is taxable for some, it should be taxable for all," she said.

Jeff Talmadge, owner of booking site WeNeedaVacation.com, said Airbnb's advance isn't reflective of an explosion in the local lodging market but more on the company's own push into new territory.

"They've pretty clearly made inroads," he said. "Our market has been pretty steady."

Shortly before Memorial Day, Talmadge said in a news release that bookings were running slightly below 2016 for the summer. However, June has brought a surge that has put the summer on par with last year's benchmark, he said.

Although it's hard to ascribe a reason for the surge, he believes at least part of it is the large increase in the site's inventory of properties a result, he said, of froth in the vacation booking industry that has sent host property owners to their site.HomeAway/VRBO, an Airbnb competitor, decided last year to join other vacation rental websites and require vacationers to pay them a fee when booking online in addition to the advertising fee they charge homeowners.

Talmadge said his site charges a flat fee to list a property and allows property owners to communicate directly with renters, giving the owners more control over who, ultimately, rents their home.

"It's irritated a lot of vacationers and a lot of the homeowners are feeling priced out," he said. "We've seen an unusual surge back to us. It's heartening, after 20 years in the business, that we've racked up a lot of good will."

Follow Sean F. Driscoll on Twitter: @seanfdriscoll.

Link:

Airbnb usage showing steep climbs on Cape and Islands - Cape Cod Times (subscription)

A Filipino soldier patrolling the shore of Pagasa island (Thitu Island) in the Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea. Photograph: Reuters

On the horizon, the azure sea water stops and the white, concrete structures of the Chinese military base rise up.

Sometimes we get nervous because we are only civilians. If they invade the island, they can harm us. They can do whatever they want, says Romeo Malaguit, a fisherman and father of two, who lives on the nearby Philippine-claimed island Thitu.

Locally known as Pag-asa, meaning hope in Filipino, Thitu is a tree-studded settlement no more than 1.5km long and 800 metres wide. A dilapidated runway takes up almost half the area.

It sits within sight of Subi reef, part of one of Beijings most rapidly developing military projects a series of controversial giant bases across the South China Sea.

With Donald Trumps top adviser warning of an imminent war over these contested waters and China angry over US training exercises in the region, this tiny island could be one of the flashpoints for a potentially global and devastating conflict.

Few, if any, stretches of ocean are more heavily militarised by so many different governments. Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines claim parts of the South China Sea, with US backing. Beijing asserts ownership of most of the area through which about $5tn in ship-borne trade passes annually.

On 19 May, Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte said China had threatened to go to war if he pushed the South China Sea issue. Well, if you force this, well be forced to tell you the truth. We will go to war. We will fight you, Duterte quoted Chinese president Xi Jinping as saying at a meeting, without giving further details.

Within the past year, Subi reef has installed surface-to-air missile sites, reinforced fighter jet hangers and a 3km runway capable of handling some of the largest bombers in Chinas airforce.

Thitus residents know they must live by Chinas rules to remain here, where the armed forces of a host of countries are in a dangerous dance with Beijing.

We are not being harassed, said Roberto Del Mundo, the mayor. The Chinese fish here near us. We can also fish, but only around our area. Our boats cant go near [Subi reef]. Military planes are also shooed away if they get near.

There was a time when Filipino civilians lived here almost oblivious to the maritime dispute that sparks on-again-off-again tensions in the region.

The settlers on Pag-asa mainly belong to two groups former soldiers like Del Mundo who were once deployed here and came back to build a home, and residents of nearby mainland Palawan who accepted a job on the island.

Residents receive food packages. Theres a school building for the children. And there is work at the municipal hall if they want luxuries such as cable TV.

Thitu, one of the biggest naturally occurring islands in the disputed South China Sea, is now dwarfed by Subi reef, 6km long. Residents say it shines bright at night.

Eugenio Bito-onon, a former mayor who now lives off the island, spoke of a period when fishermen could still go to Subi. Chinese officers, when they were in a good mood, occasionally welcomed Filipino fishermen inside the reef that previously had just a garrison, helipad and lighthouse.

Our fishermen would wave at the Chinese officer and if he waved back, it means they could fish in the reef ... They just started shooing us away from Subi reef in recent years, Bito-onon said.

Events have changed dramatically in the past five years. China signalled renewed aggressiveness in the South China Sea in 2012 when it took practical occupation of Philippine-owned Scarborough shoal in its bid to control the disputed seas.

It was an incident that prompted Manilas legal territorial case against Beijing in The Hague. Chinas island building followed.

In July 2016, the court junked Chinas sweeping claims, but Beijing said it does not recognise the ruling and a newly installed Duterte, closer to China than his predecessor, has not made much of the court verdict.

In April, he announced a plan to personally raise the Philippine flag on Thitu and fortify it with barracks in celebration of Independence Day on 12 June, in the area the country calls West Philippine Sea.

But a week later he cancelled. Because of our friendship with China and because we value your friendship I will not go there to raise the Philippine flag, Duterte said at the time.

He instead sent his defence secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, to check on the situation in the island. His C130 plane received radio challenges from China four times.

However, it is not only China whose ships sometimes chase civilian boats. Thitu resident Aisa Balidan said she got a scare when a Vietnamese vessel tailed their boat a few months ago as she returned to the island from mainland Palawan.

The residents consider these incidents isolated. They can always catch the next ship back to the mainland if they no longer want to live on the island. But why leave when jobs are scarce on the mainland and residents here get subsidies from government?

Still, the danger sometimes crosses their minds, especially when they hear in the media about tensions nearby. And all the time, the scene is set for a larger conflict.

Trumps chief strategist at the White House, Steve Bannon, said months before he entered office that there was no doubt the US and China will fight a war within a decade over islands in the South China Sea.

Were going to war in the South China Sea in five to 10 years, he said in March 2016. Theres no doubt about that. Theyre taking their sandbars and making basically stationary aircraft carriers and putting missiles on those. They come here to the United States in front of our face and you understand how important face is and say its an ancient territorial sea.

More recently, secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the US would deny China access to the seven artificial islands. Experts warned any blockade would lead to war.

Residents of Thitu do not understand much about how Philippine presidents have constantly shifted their strategies on dealing with China. But, living on the frontline of the dispute, they can measure the success or failure based on what they see.

They see China turn reefs into cities while their runway in Thitu gets dilapidated over the years. The island doesnt even have a pier or a harbour.

We were the first to develop our island and build a runway. Now we are left behind, said Bito-onon. We are retreating while they are advancing. Our facilities are crumbling out of neglect while our neighbours improve their own.

Carmela Fonbuena is a senior reporter at Rappler.com

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A place called 'hope': the tiny island on the frontline of US-China tensions - The Guardian

http://www.kingstonregion.com/

Frontenac Islands recognizes staff, welcomes Ontario Waterkeeper http://www.kingstonregion.com/ The first order of business at the Frontenac Islands June meeting, held on Howe Island, was the presentation of staff recognition awards to four Howe Island municipal employees. This follows a similar presentation on Wolfe Island in May. Tonight we ...

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Frontenac Islands recognizes staff, welcomes Ontario Waterkeeper - http://www.kingstonregion.com/

PORT BLAIR: In a joint rescue operation by police, forest and Coast Guard personnel, three Onge tribals have been rescued at the remote Little Andaman Island of South Andaman.

Coast Guard station at Hut Bay received information from police at 1645 hrs on Friday about three missing Onge tribals. According to locals, they went for hunting at Pathar Nallah adjacent to Dugong Creek on June 14, 2017, and did not return to their settlement, said commandant Dalip Singh, public relations officer of Coast Guard Region (A&N).

A joint search party was launched for rescuing the tribals. Coast Guard ship C-412 sailed from Hut Bay Port of Little Andaman, for close coast-seaward search near Dugong Creek. The search was in vain due to the dense forest and pitch dark night.

Meanwhile, helicopter-carrying ship Vishwast of the Coast Guard was diverted towards Little Andaman to boost the rescue operation and the chopper was launched in the early hours of Saturday to undertake sea-air coordinated search.

These efforts paid off as the tribals heard the engine sound of the police marine force boat which was anchored off Bumilla Creek. Consequently, the rescue team located the missing tribals, said Dalip Singh.

The Onges were in a weak physical state due to starvation and severe dehydration. They were rushed to the medical sub-centre at Onge settlement camp where their vitals were stabilised. On further advice of paramedic staff, they were shifted to primary health centre, RK Pur, for treatment, the PRO added.

The Onges call themselves Eniregale which means "perfect person". The Onges are considered to be one of their kind in the present world of negritos. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is home to four primitive tribes of negrito origin Jarawa, Great Andamanes, Onge and Sentinelese. Other than this, there are two tribes of Mongoloid origin Nicobarese and Shompen.

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Three Onge tribals rescued in Andaman islands - The New Indian Express

Former Japanese residents are traveling to two Russian-held islands in the Pacific Ocean to pay their respects at family graves, Japanese officials say.

The visit set to begin on June 18 will mark the first time Japanese citizens will be allowed to travel by air to the disputed island chain, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territories and Moscow calls the Southern Kuriles. Previous Japanese visitors were forced to travel by ship under a complicated procedure.

About 70 visitors will travel aboard a charter flight by Russian airline Aurora from the Japanese city of Nakashibetsu to the islands of Iturup and Kunashir, officials said.

Although Russian-held, Japan still claims the islands, which the Soviet Union seized in the closing days of World War II.

Lingering tensions over the islands have prevented Japan and Russia from signing a peace treaty to formally end the war.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida on June 17 said the visit and continued cooperation with Russia regarding the islands could mark a big step toward the eventual signing of a peace treaty.

"The joint economic activities in the Northern Territories and the fact we are going to jointly consider their future is no doubt a big step toward signing a peace treaty by solving the issue of sovereignty [over the islands]," Kishida told Japanese NHK TV.

On March 20, Moscow and Tokyo pledged closer economic and security cooperation related to the island chain.

A month later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to start flights for former Japanese residents to "visit graves of ancestors" on the islands.

He said the move was made to help create an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding as the two sides sought a more-permanent solution to the dispute.

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Former Japanese Residents To Fly To Disputed Russian-Held Islands - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

La Rochelle is a lively, sparkling seaside town with a great reputation for seafood, three urban beaches and the best vieux port on the French Atlantic. Spend a day strolling under the arcades of the rue du Palais, exploring the maritime museum, and the aquarium, open until 11pm in the summer. Spend the late afternoon watching the pleasure boats and the evening on the seafront, eating a platter of shellfish. Sleep at Des Tours La Rochelle, a family-run chambres dhtes with a pool, five minutes drive from the centre (doubles from 75 B&B, each named after one of La Rochelles medieval stone towers).

In the morning, join the avenue de la Repentie and drive across the bridge (16 toll) to the le de R, an island of nautical chic and sandcastle charm, the kind of place Monsieur Hulot might have gone on holiday. Lots of traditional marinire tops, bicycles with baskets, ice-cream and excellent campsites. Two of its main towns, Saint Martin and La Flotte, are pleasantly breezy, even in high summer, with a permanent sound of fluttering mast wires in the harbour, a sprightly market in La Flotte and seafood bistros. Hire a bike and cycle out to the lighthouse near Saint-Clment-des-Baleines, a great ride past the salt pans of Loix and the black-and-white church spire at Ars-en-R. Spend three nights at Le Snchal (doubles from 79) or at the eco-campsite Camping Les Baleines (pitch from 19.50) near La Conche beach.

On day five, drive down the E602 coast road, past Rochefort to Marennes and over the bridge to Olron, mainland Frances oyster capital and its second largest island (after Corsica). First stop is the Chateau dOlron, for a visit to the citadel and a plate of oysters in one of the colourful floating cabanes; try the red-and-black painted Cabane du Sans Souci .

Stay in Hotel LEcailler (doubles from 58), which serves trays of crab and crayfish overlooking La Cotinire harbour. Or, for a couple of days calm in the pine forests of the west coast, try Hotel Le Vert Bois, which has a heated pool, a space for bikes, table tennis and apartments (doubles from 70).

Just off Olrons northern coast is Fort Boyard. The oval-shaped Napoleonic fortress, usually only accessible to contestants in the eponymous TV gameshow and former soap stars, can be part of an islands day trip (adult 20, child 13, under-four 4). More rewarding is the car-free le dAix, a 20-minute ferry ride from Fouras, which has a museum dedicated to Napoleon, as this was his last stop on mainland France before exile on Saint Helena. The islands Hotel Napoleon (doubles from 80) has, of course, a Chez Josphine restaurant.

On day seven, head eastwards on the D728 to Saintes, past the many signs for Pineau des Charentes. Saintes has a huge Roman arch and the ruins of an amphitheatre, which can take up an afternoon if the visit includes the crypt of the Basilique St-Eutrope.

Spend a night at the tastefully decorated chambres dhtes Les Persiennes (doubles from 75) just outside the centre, which also does an evening assiette gourmande to eat on the terrace (12), a lunchtime picnic (8) and, most spectacularly, chicken marinated in Pineau and then flambed in cognac.

Leave Saintes for a detour north on the dead-straight D137 to the Chateau de la Roche Courbon in Saint-Porchaire, a sumptuous 18th-century castle, which has its own prehistoric caves, turrets, and has launched a new escape game for summer 2017.

From there, drive east through the vineyards towards Cognac, the smell of which can be detected long before arrival. Most of the big brandy companies offer guided tours of their warehouses, with Camus being well-recommended spiders in the roofs of its distilleries are so drunk they make crooked webs. Spend two nights at the Maison Gaudin B&B (doubles from 72) in the old town, which has a little pool in a tranquil garden. Madame Gaudin, the owner, suggests Le Bistro de Claude nearby for a typical Charentais three-course lunch (25).

Return towards La Rochelle via medieval Saint-Jean-dAngly and Surgres on the D731, where, at Migron, theres a museum focused on cognac also with permanent exhibitions of coffee, cigars and chocolate. Otherwise, Bordeaux is just 1 hours south on the E5. Total distance: 220 miles Brittany Ferries sails from Portsmouth to Le Havre, Caen and Cherbourg, and from Poole to Cherbourg; Condor Ferries sails Portsmouth-Cherbourg. Ryanair flies to La Rochelle from Stansted and easyJet flies from Bristol and Gatwick

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France road trip: La Rochelle, Cognac and the Atlantic coast islands - The Guardian

CAIRO Egyptian police deployed in force on Friday to deter protests against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's plan to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.

Parliament voted on Wednesday to hand over the two uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanafir and Sisi is expected to ratify the decision soon.

Politicians and activists opposed to the deal had called for protests on Friday in Cairo's Tahrir Square, center of the Arab Spring upheavals of 2011.

At least a dozen police vans and trucks were positioned around the square and in side streets on Friday. The metro station in the square was closed as a security precaution.

Armed police were also stationed in and around the Journalists' Syndicate building, scene of a protest earlier in the week.

Protest organizers said supporters had dispersed before the event started. Social media posts said other small protests in Cairo and elsewhere were quickly broken up by police.

The plan to cede the islands to Saudi Arabia, which has given Egypt billions of dollars of aid, was announced last year and has become mired in political protest and legal action.

Opponents of the plan say Egypt's sovereignty over the islands dates back to 1906, before Saudi Arabia was founded.

Saudi and Egyptian officials say the islands belong to the kingdom and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh had asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.

Small demonstrations have taken place over the past few days, despite a state of emergency imposed by Sisi in April following a wave of bomb attacks on Christian churches.

The controversy over the islands comes as Sisi is losing much of the popularity he enjoyed after overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. With an election due next year, he is facing mounting criticism over the struggling economy and is seen by many Egyptians as a traitor for giving up the islands.

(Reporting by Amina Ismail and Mohamed Abdellah; editing by Giles Elgood and Janet Lawrence)

TOKYO/WASHINGTON Seven crew members are missing and at least three injured after a U.S. Navy destroyer collided early on Saturday morning with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel south of Tokyo Bay in Japan, the U.S. Navy said.

BRUSSELS EU officials see the start of Brexit talks on Monday as a sign Theresa May is accepting their format for negotiations but they expect no quick deals and are wary the prime minister may try to break with Brussels protocol.

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Egyptian police deploy to deter Red Sea islands protest - Reuters

Walruses with marine litter on Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. Photograph: WJ Strietman/WUR

Beaches on remote Arctic islands are heavily polluted with plastic, a new expedition has found, demonstrating that the region is the dumping ground for waste carried northwards on the Gulf Stream.

The shorelines of islands in the Svalbard archipelago and of Jan Mayen island were found to be littered with much more plastic waste than on European beaches, despite tiny local populations.

The cause is plastic drifting northwards up the Atlantic from Europe and north America, before being stranded in the Arctic. Plastic waste dumped in UK seas is carried to the Arctic within two years, according to a previous study.

At least 1tn pieces of plastic have already been frozen into the Arctic ice over past decades, according to other research. This makes it a major global sink for plastic pollution, many times more concentrated than the well-known great Pacific garbage patch.

With global warming causing rapid melting of the ice cap, plastic is being released and making the problem even worse. Plastic pollution kills animals that become tangled up and seriously harms those that mistake it for food.

The latest expedition took Dutch scientists from the Wageningen Economic Research (WER) institute to six beaches in Svalbard, where they recorded 876 pieces of visible litter per 100m stretch of beach. On Jan Mayen Island, the most remote in the North Atlantic, they recorded 575 pieces. By comparison, an average of 375 pieces were found on Dutch beaches, despite their proximity to the source of the waste.

When these items arrive in the Arctic, they will remain here, said Wouter Jan Strietman, one of the WER team. This is why the amount of litter in the Arctic is building up every year. As a consequence, the sea around Svalbard ends up becoming the drain hole of the Gulf Stream.

The goal of the expedition, which has just returned from three weeks in the Arctic, is to try to identify the plastic waste. Almost nothing is known about the source of the litter, said Strietman. If you really want to do something about it, then you need to know the sources.

About half the plastic was too broken up to be identified, but 12% was nets, ropes and buoys from fishing vessels. The researchers also found large bundles of tangled strapping band, which is used to secure fish boxes on fishing vessels, with waste strapping most likely thrown overboard. Strietman is now working on projects with the fishing industry to reduce these problems.

But much of the waste comes from far away 8% of the items were plastic bottle caps and one distinctive bucket-like item was identified as being from oyster farms in southern Europe. The problem is increasing too, said Strietman: As you have the currents pouring in new amounts of plastic all day, and those pieces getting smaller, you get a multiplier effect.

When it really hit home was when I saw in front of the walruses, there was all kinds of plastic, Strietman told the Guardian. It was right there in front of me. Now you could see the direct relationship between these innocent animals and the plastic.

It was revealed in May that 38m pieces of litter had polluted the uninhabited Henderson Island in the South Pacific. With 99.8% of the litter being plastic, it represents the highest density of human-related debris recorded anywhere in the world. In February, scientists reported extraordinary levels of toxic pollution in the Mariana trench, with plastic waste carrying industrial chemicals to one of the most remote and inaccessible places on the planet.

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Plastic polluted Arctic islands are dumping ground for Gulf Stream - The Guardian

When the call came just after noon on May 17, Scott Woolford was told he would have to gather his things and leave by the end of the school day. He would have to pack his budget binder, medical emergency binder and the parent council binder, along with everything else: How do you pack up an office in twohours?

As principal at Island Public School, the school with the most unusual geography in the city, you sometimes have to beadaptable.

There are 246,000 kids attending Toronto District School Board schools. Only 236 of them attend school on the Toronto Islands. And while about 30 of them live there, the vast majority are from the Harbourfront community, which means they are the only students in the city who travel to school every day byboat.

When the water freezes during a harsh winter, shutting down the regular ferry for a day or two and keeping the Harbourfront kids from getting to school, the island-resident kids, supervised by two staff members who also live on the island, ride a city bus to Billy Bishop airport. The bus travels the airport runway, letting the students off at the airport ferry for a short ride to the foot of Bathurst Street, where the TDSB finds them some space forschool.

And when the island floods, as it has this spring, they are forced to find a temporaryhome.

Their school is dry, but the roadways to the ferry docks were not safe for the children and Mr. Woolford had to move his students to the mainland for the remainder of the schoolyear.

Izzy and Billie walk off the ferry as they temporarily attend Nelson Mandela Park PublicSchool.

Michelle Siu/The Globe andMai

How do you fit a whole school somewhere else? heasked.

On that phone call in May was Jason Kandankery, the tall, affable principal at Nelson Mandela Park Public School in Torontos Regent Park neighbourhood. The school accommodated the island kids before, and it had space forthem.

Mr. Kandankerys crew would get to work cleaning out 10 rooms for when the island kids arrived the next day. Yoga mats in one room were moved into storage; so were larger desks to make room for smallerones.

On the other side of the lake, Mr. Woolfords crew set aside laptop carts, students schoolwork, tables and carpets for the bigmove.

See these baby hands? We didnt have to pick up anything, Mr. Kandankery said jokingly, one afternoon thisweek.

Added Mr. Woolford, a friendly man: It was so well orchestrated. There were nohiccups.

Billie walks near large puddles of water and a shoreline lined with sand bags on WardsIsland.

Michelle Siu/The Globe andMail

The next morning, the island-students boarded the ferry at Wards Island with two teachers and met their mainland classmates and teachers, as well as Mr. Woolford, at the terminal. Three school buses followed one another to Nelson Mandelaschool.

By noon on May 18 a day after the call the children settled into their new classrooms. The principals have staggered recess time and lunch so that both schools get to use the playground and gymnasium for their meal. Sometimes, one class will invite another into its room, or kids from Nelson Mandela will read alongside island students in thehallways.

About a month in, eight-year-old Eli Prins-Carty has reluctantly settled into his new space. He cuts pictures for a collage on the floor of his large classroom, which he shares with another class. Nearby, the Grade 1s are rehearsing for theirplay.

Eli said he walks to the ferry dock to meet his island-side classmates every morning at 8:10 for their ferry-and-bus commute to school. Before the flooding, the school bus used to pick him up on the island and take him toschool.

Its way bigger, Eli said of his temporary classroom. There are so many floors, and there are so many more rooms and so many moreclassrooms.

The island school is a one-storey building, and Nelson Mandela has three floors. On the island, kids can see the forest outside their school windows, not the cranes and construction workers around the Regent Parkschool.

On the island, kids can see the forest outside their school windows, not the cranes and construction workers around the Regent Parkschool.

Michelle Siu/The Globe andMail

Billie Page, 6, wonders if the duck eggs on the playground at her island school have hatched. Her mom, Melissa Amer, said that, although spring is a magical time on the island, being in the city is anadventure.

Billie is not so sure. It has no nature, shesaid.

Yes, it does, said her twin sister, Izzy.

Billie, wearing a white summer dress with pictures of leaves, shrugs her shoulders: It has a bunch of cars, and itsbusy.

Both girls, fifth-generation islanders, were nervous when they first came to the city forschool.

Then I got used to it, Billie said, getting ready for her commutehome.

Billie dozes off as she rides the school bus to the ferry dock on her wayhome.

Michelle Siu/The Globe andMail

Izzy strapped on her backpack, the one with a bright pink unicorn on it, and formed a line in her classroom withBillie.

They followed their teacher down three flights of stairs, and burst out the school doors into the warm sunshine. They climbed onto the last of three school buses that would wind their way through the congestion of Lake ShoreBoulevard.

As they approached the ferry docks, two police officers had blocked off the bike lanes so the children could cross safely to the sidewalk. Time was running tight the ferry was scheduled to depart at 4p.m.

We got to go, one teacher said, we got togo.

Izzy and Billie ran as fast as their little legs could carry them onto the boat that would take themhome.

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The never-ending school trip to the mainland - The Globe and Mail

Whether by force of habit, or youthful inattention, or something else, some pedestrians arent yet using at least some of the new pedestrian islands installed in a handful of locations around the county.

You do have that. Im not sure why, Steve Decker, Athens-Clarke Countys traffic engineer, said when asked about the number of pedestrians who are continuing to cross streets without the protection of an island in places where an island is now available.

I dont know whether its habit; something theyve always done, Decker said, explaining that most of the problems are on Cedar Shoals Drive.

The pedestrian islands were installed close to the edges of the Cedar Shoals High School campus, one near Barrington Drive and another near Laurie Drive, and it is mostly the young people who live in nearby apartments and other residential areas who are eschewing the pedestrian islands, according to Decker.

The islands are two sets of raised concrete curbing installed in the turn lanes of Cedar Shoals Drive. Other islands are installed in the middle of an intown stretch of Prince Avenue, and on Milledge Avenue between Broad and Baxter streets with a sidewalk-width walkway between them.

The islands give pedestrians a respite from having to traverse multiple lanes of traffic.

On Cedar Shoals Drive and Prince Avenue, the islands and their associated crosswalks are equipped with pedestrian-activated flashing yellow beacons to alert motorists to stop until the crosswalk is clear of pedestrians. Because Milledge Avenue is a state route, the county could not install the beacons at those islands, Decker explained.

I think its mostly going to be a matter of education, Decker said when asked how the county would address the issue of people not using the pedestrian islands.

Decker said he has already talked with the countys public information officer, Jeff Montgomery, and they have begun sifting through some ideas for some immediate educational initiative. Ultimately, Decker said, hed like to involve county parks personnel, police officers and University of Georgia representatives in planning an educational initiative.

For the longer term, according to Decker, there is the bicycle and pedestrian master plan currently under development in conjunction with Toole Design Group, a consulting firm working under a $200,000 contract with the county. The final plan, which will be ready for county commission review next spring, will include an educational component. It is that longer-term approach that ultimately will change ingrained pedestrian behavior, Decker said.

Decker said the pedestrian islands on Prince Avenue have worked well, and in addition to providing some assistance to pedestrians, have also served to slow vehicular traffic along the intown section of the street.

The islands are a bargain in comparison with the cost of installing traffic lights to regulate pedestrian flow at traditional intersection-based crosswalks. The concrete islands themselves now being filled with soil and planted with vegetation cost somewhere around $4,200, Decker said, and the roadside flashing beacons, which are solar-powered, add another $7,000 to the cost. Even if the islands themselves are eventually equipped with flashing beacons to provide additional warning to motorists that pedestrians are present, the total cost still wont approach the cost of installing a traffic signal, Decker said.

The pedestrian islands are the result of work done by a roadway safety audit team, an idea put in place by Decker.

Rather than relying solely on input from his departments engineering specialists, Decker assembled a team comprising police officers, Athens Transit bus drivers, Clarke County School District personnel and even county clerical personnel who regularly drive local roads to assess local transportation safety needs.

The pedestrian islands represent the first round of work by the audit team, Decker said. The team is already working on a second round of traffic safety assessments.

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Official: Education needed to increase pedestrian island use - Online Athens

DISCLAIMER: We were provided with a code that provides us in-game currency. Boohoo, I know, but it has not influenced the review in any way.

Battle Islands: Commanders is a Clash Royale-style game (why does that concern me) made by 505 Games (I can feel my childhood coming back) that sets its premise to World War Two. You can see 505s page on it here, where they provide links to download on Android, Apple, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam! Now thats a collection!

Me being me, I always like to disclose the permissions an app uses. In this case, I have zero issues with Battle Islands and what it wants. Just storage (since its a large app) and the basics for any game.

Storage wise? As of writing, Commanders is using 291MB of storage. Those with newer phones shouldnt need to worry, but you may need to if you have a smaller storage say, 8GB. (Then again, Google Play Services is 473MB, so no worries!)

(You are here to read a review of the game, after all.)

The gameplay plays like Clash Royale, but with more things stuck onto it. If you arent aware, these deck-building/tower-defense hybrids have you build a custom deck of up to 8 units, which you then take into a real-time battle with another player. by charging points (Called command points in this case) you can summon units into battle. The goal? Destroy all 3 of your opponents buildings in 3 minutes. In the last minute, the rate you get command points doubles. In a tie, you get an extra minute if its still a tie after that minute, the game ends in a draw. Sounds simple, right?

Of course, winning games (or earning stars in a game, although this can be slower) earns you chests. These little guys give you money (or supplies, in this case) as well as some unit cards. Said cards can be used in the deck editor to upgrade existing cards(if you have more than 1 of them) or be swapped out.

Tutorials? Much like similar games, the tutorial is in-depth and covers everything it can. I wont narrate it here, it is a long one, but be assured that you will know how to play after it.

There are also alliances, where you can team with players and give them cards. And then leaderboards, which allow you to watch some of the top fights.

As for looks and sound, 505 have done well. You can tell that a lot of detail has gone into every single unit. Oh, did I say each unit is individually voiced in a variety of languages and accents?

English and American Accents? Got em. You want German and French units, with accents thicker than butter? Sure! But youmustkeep the Australian flamethrower guy. That accent warrants special powers.You must adhere to these powers.

What can I say? Its what you would expect from this sort of game. The basic pack costs 99p (or cents) and the most expensive /$99.99.

Overall? Not too shabby, 505. Not too shabby. I was expecting a disappointing clone of Clash Royale, but its gone beyond the base to make a feasible product. Fairly good gameplay, sounds and graphics are pleasantly surprising, and I cant really complain over the IAPs. Only real issue is that the games play store page can is a little confusing in its layout, but thats not too bad. They just used PC screenshots, thats all.

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Battle Islands: Commanders (Review) - AndroidGuys

Smith Island lies in the Chesapeake Bay twelve miles west of Crisfield, Maryland.

Captain John Smith first charted the archipelago in 1608, but seasonal occupation by Native Americans goes back more than 12,000 years. Most Smith Islanders descend from 17th-century settlers, most of whom arrived in Maryland and Virginia from southwest England and Wales. Surnames indicate a smattering of Scotts and Irish soon followed. Both Maryland and Virginia claimed Smith Island until the dispute was finally settled in the 1873. The Maryland-Virginia state line runs through the island chain, a fact that played a key role in the bloody Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake.

Smith Island is so closely associated with the maritime activities of crabbing and oystering, that few know that the first permanent residents were farmers. Islanders turned from land to water after the Civil War in an economic restructuring resulting from skyrocking demand for seafood and wildfowl, at a time when erosion and rising water levels made farming increasingly challenging.

The three-by-five mile island chain has three villages with a total population of about 350 year-round residents. The Cultural Center is in Ewell, which is the largest village. Ewell joins Rhodes Point by bridge, while Tylerton is on a neighboring but unconnected island. Most everything and everyone that comes to Smith Island arrives by boat. The cruise and passenger ferries offer roundtrip passage daily throughout the summer and early fall. The passenger ferries also provide limited passage during the off-season. The cruise boat affords you the comfort of air conditioning and bathrooms on board along with a light narration of the passing scenery. Locals and their supplies travel on the three passenger ferries (two serving Ewell and Rhodes Point, and one Tylerton). This transportation option provides narration of a different kind, in the form of the distinct dialect of the locals you will meet aboard.

Bring along your kayak (for an additional freight fee) to take advantage of the various water trails and beaches. Bikes and golf carts are available for rent. Photo opportunities abound as you tour the island and meet the people. Youll also want to catch a peek of the many waterfowl, wading birds, shore birds, herons, and other wildlife that inhabit the island.

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Smith Island Cultural Center Ewell, MD

CAIRO Prominent Egyptian political parties on Thursday criticized President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's plan to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia and urged people to take to the streets in protest.

Parliament voted on Wednesday to back a treaty to hand over the two uninhabited islands of Tiran and Sanfir and Sisi is expected to ratify the decision soon.

The plan to cede the islands to Saudi Arabia, which has given Egypt billions of dollars of aid, was first announced last year and has since become mired in political protest and legal action.

The Social Democratic Party, along with several other parties and groups, called for protests on Friday.

Thousands of people backed a Facebook page named "Giving up land is treason," which urges people to protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square, birthplace of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. It shows a box full of Saudi cash, which it describes as the title deeds for the islands.

Opponents of the plan say Egypt's sovereignty over the islands dates back to 1906, before Saudi Arabia was founded.

Small demonstrations have taken place over the past couple of days, despite a state of emergency imposed by Sisi in April following church bombings that killed at least 45 Christians.

At least eight were detained for 24 hours on suspicion of illegally protesting and insulting the president, according to the state news agency MENA.

"Those who kidnap our youth from their homes because they are defending their land, shouldn't they be called the Occupation Authority?" Zyad el-Elaimy, a liberal politician and a member of the social democratic party said on Twitter.

Elaimy said at least three members of his party had been arrested following a protest after a meeting at party headquarters on Wednesday. Security forces broke up the demonstration.

Sisi is losing much of the popularity he enjoyed when he overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 and was lionized as the savior of the nation.

He is facing mounting criticism over the struggling economy and is seen by many Egyptians as a traitor for giving up the islands. A popular Twitter hashtag is "Sisi is a traitor."

The Free Egyptians Party, usually supportive of Sisi, issued a strong denunciation of the treaty.

"Our patriotic and historic responsibility requires us to confirm that Tiran and Sanfir islands were and continue to be under Egyptian sovereignty," the statement read.

The statement had also backed a court ruling which blocked the islands deal earlier this year. As legal action rumbles on, the matter will next be taken up by the Supreme Constitutional Court.

Saudi and Egyptian officials say the islands belong to the kingdom and were only under Egyptian control because Riyadh had asked Cairo in 1950 to protect them.

(Reporting by Amina Ismail; editing by Giles Elgood and Pritha Sarkar)

MARAWI CITY, Philippines When Philippines troops advanced on positions held by Islamist militants in a southern city last Friday they were caught in a kill zone.

SYDNEY The United States will tell dozens of refugees held in an Australian-run offshore detention center whether they will be offered resettlement in America within six weeks, two detainees told Reuters on Friday.

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Opposition grows to Egypt's plan to cede islands to Saudi Arabia - Reuters