Daily Archives: September 27, 2019

An AI learned to play hide-and-seek. The strategies it came up with were astounding. – Vox.com

Posted: September 27, 2019 at 7:48 am

This week, leading AI lab OpenAI released their latest project: an AI that can play hide-and-seek. Its the latest example of how, with current machine learning techniques, a very simple setup can produce shockingly sophisticated results.

The AI agents play a very simple version of the game, where the seekers get points whenever the hiders are in their field of view. The hiders get a little time at the start to set up a hiding place and get points when theyve successfully hidden themselves; both sides can move objects around the playing field (like blocks, walls, and ramps) for an advantage.

The results from this simple setup were quite impressive. Over the course of 481 million games of hide-and-seek, the AI seemed to develop strategies and counterstrategies, and the AI agents moved from running around at random to coordinating with their allies to make complicated strategies work. (Along the way, they showed off their ability to break the game physics in unexpected ways, too; more on that below.)

Its the latest example of how much can be done with a simple AI technique called reinforcement learning, where AI systems get rewards for desired behavior and are set loose to learn, over millions of games, the best way to maximize their rewards.

Reinforcement learning is incredibly simple, but the strategic behavior it produces isnt simple at all. Researchers have in the past leveraged reinforcement learning among other techniques to build AI systems that can play complex wartime strategy games, and some researchers think that highly sophisticated systems could be built just with reinforcement learning. This simple game of hide-and-seek makes for a great example of how reinforcement learning works in action and how simple instructions produce shockingly intelligent behavior. AI capabilities are continuing to march forward, for better or for worse.

You can watch the whole video here, or check out these highlights.

It may have taken a few million games of hide-and-seek, but eventually the AI agents figured out the basics of the game: chasing one another around the map.

AI agents have the ability to lock blocks in place. Only the team that locked a block can unlock it. After millions of games of practice, the AI agents learned to build a shelter out of the available blocks; you can see them doing that here. In the shelter, the seeker agents cant find them, so this is a win for the hiders at least until someone comes up with a new idea.

Millions of generations later, the seekers have figured out how to handle this behavior by the hiders: they can drag a ramp over, climb the ramp, and find the hiders.

After a while, the hiders learned a counterattack: they could freeze the ramps in place so the seekers couldnt move them. OpenAIs team notes that they thought this would be the end of the game, but they were wrong.

Eventually, seekers learned to push a box over to the frozen ramps, climb onto the box, and surf it over to the shelter where they can once again find the hiders.

Theres an obvious counterstrategy for the hiders here: freezing everything around so the seekers have no tools to work with. Indeed, thats what they learn how to do.

Thats how a game of hide-and-seek between AI agents with millions of games of experience goes. The interesting thing here is that none of the behavior on display was directly taught or even directly rewarded. Agents only get rewards when they win the game. But that simple incentive was enough to encourage lots of creative in-game behavior.

Many AI researchers think that reinforcement learning can be used to solve complicated tasks with real-world implications, too. The way powerful strategic decision-making emerges from simple instructions is promising but its also concerning. Solving problems with reinforcement learning leads, as weve seen, to lots of unexpected behavior charming in a game of hide-and-seek, but potentially alarming in a drug meant to treat cancer (if the unintended behavior causes life-threatening complications) or an algorithm meant to improve power plant output (if the AI arranges to exploit some obscure condition in its goals rather than simply provide consistent power).

Thats the hazardous flip side of techniques like reinforcement learning. On the one hand, theyre powerful techniques that can produce advanced behavior from a simple starting point. On the other hand, theyre powerful techniques that can produce unexpected and sometimes undesired advanced behavior from a simple starting point.

As AI systems grow more powerful, we need to give careful consideration to how to ensure they do what we want.

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An AI learned to play hide-and-seek. The strategies it came up with were astounding. - Vox.com

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Reddit and Gab’s most toxic communities inadvertently train AI to combat hate speech – The Next Web

Posted: at 7:48 am

A team of researchers from UC Santa Barbara and Intel took thousands of conversations from the scummiest communities on Reddit and Gab and used them to develop and train AI to combat hate speech. Finally, r/The_Donald and other online cesspools are doing something useful.

The system was developed after the researchers created a novel dataset featuring thousands of conversations specially curated to ensure theyd be chock full of hate speech. While numerous studies have approached the hate speech problem on both Twitter and Facebook, Reddit and Gab are understudied and have fewer available, quality datasets.

According to the teams research paper,it wasnt hard to find enough posts to get started. They just grabbed all of Gabs posts from last October and the Reddit posts were taken from the usual suspects:

To retrieve high-quality conversational data that would likely include hate speech, we referenced the list of the whiniest most low-key toxic subreddits r/DankMemes, r/Imgoingtohellforthis, r/KotakuInAction, r/MensRights, r/MetaCanada, r/MGTOW, r/PussyPass, r/PussyPassDenied, r/The_Donald, and r/TumblrInAction.

A tip of the hat to Voxs Justin Caffier for compiling the list of Reddits whiniest, most low-key toxic subreddits. These are the kind of groups that pretend theyre focused on something other than spreading hate, but in reality theyre havens for such activity.

After collecting more than 22,000 comments from Reddit and over 33,000 from Gab the researchers learned that, though the bigots on both are equally reprehensible, they go about their bigotry in different ways:

The Gab dataset and the Reddit dataset have similar popular hate keywords, but the distributions are very different. All the statistics shown above indicate that the characteristics of the data collected from these two sources are very different, thus the challenges of doing detection or generative intervention tasks on the dataset from these sources will also be different.

These differences are what makes it hard for social media sites to intervene in real-time there simply arent enough humans to keep up with the flow of hate speech. The researchers decided to try a different route: automating intervention. They took their giant folder full of hate-speech and sent it to a legion of Amazon Turk workers to label. Once the individual instances of hate speech were identified, they asked the workers to come up with phrases that an AI could use to deter users from posting similar hate speech in the future. The researchers then ran this dataset and its database of interventions through various machine learning and natural language processing systems and created a sort ofprototype for anonline hate speech intervention AI.

It turns out, the results are astounding! But theyre not ready for prime time yet. The system, in theory, should detect hate speech and immediately send a message to the poster letting them know why they shouldnt post things that are obviously hate speech. This relies on more than just keyword detection in order for the AI to work it has to get the context right.

If, for example, you referred to someone by an epithet indicative of hate speech, the AI should respond with something like Its not okay to refer to women by terms meant to demean and belittle based solely on gender or I understand your frustration, but using hateful language towards an individual based on their race is unacceptable.

Instead, however, it tends to get thrown off pretty easy. Apparently it responds to just about everything anyone on Gab says by reminding them that the word retarded, which it refers to as the R-word, is unacceptable even in conversations where nobodys used it.

The researchers chalk this up to the unique distribution of Gabs hate-speech the majority of Gabs hate-speech involved disparaging the disabled. The system doesnt have the same problem with Reddit, but it still spits out useless interventions such as I dont use racial slurs and If you dont agree with you theres no reason to resort to name-calling (thats not a typo).

Unfortunately, like most early AI projects, its going to take a much, much larger training dataset and a lot of development before this solution is good enough to actually intervene. But theres definitely hope that properly concocted responses designed by intervention experts could curtail some online hate speech. Especially if coupled with a machine learning system capable of detecting hate-speech and its context with high levels of accuracy.

Luckily for the research, theres no shortage of cowards spewing hate-speech online. Keep talking, bigots we need more data.

Read next: Ready Player What? Facebook announces a new VR social network

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Inforum 2019 – How CERN is putting Coleman AI to the real world test – Diginomica

Posted: at 7:48 am

CERN's Widegren talks to media at Inforum 2019

In my last piece on Infor's AI progress, Can Coleman AI make self-service data science a reality?, I closed by saying it's time to see some customer proof points.

One customer that's embarked on an AI/ML project with Infor is CERN. CERN is a longstanding Infor EAM user, a project we have covered before.

At Inforum 2019, a small group of media including yours truly got an early look at CERN's AI/ML initiatives, via David Widegren, Head of Asset & Maintenance Management at CERN.

One thing we know out about enterprise "AI" is that it's all about the data sets. And CERN has some of the deepest, most interesting data sets in the world. That's what happens when you use particle accelerators to explore some of the biggest mysteries in the universe, including the Big Bang itself.

Readers might be aware that CERN's signature machine, the Large Hidron Collider, is on a self-imposed hiatus (and performance enhancement) for two years as of December 3, 2018 (It's the most powerful particle collider in the world).

But Widegren's team still has plenty of Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) data to work with via their Infor system. Their AI/ML project with Infor stands on the shoulders of the EAM work to date:

(credit to Infor's Andrew Kimber for always managing to remain in the picture during my photo).

Supporting physics research is high stakes for Widegren's team. As he told us:

To do this, we need lots of technology and lots of engineering. That's where EAM comes into the picture, because we have a large site. You can compare it to the size of a big oil and gas facility with high tech equipment that we have to make sure that have very high availability.

A big budget is good for the science, but it comes with accountability:

We have an annual budget of about $1.1 billion per year, so it's lots of money at stake. One day of not getting a result of this, it's lots of research data not being generated. So that forces us to maximize uptime of our installations.

We're a long-time client of Infor; we've been using Infor EAM for many years. I think it's one of the oldest still-standing clients of the product.

Machines of all kinds fit into this landscape. They all need to work in concert:

We have everything from superconductive magnets to hotel rooms. Everything from fire extinguishers to super hot vacuum equipment, and a very broad range of things. What we are really happy with is we can have one single tool that can manage this without any modifications. So we are really using the compatibility of the software.

Shutting down the Large Hidron Collider didn't mean Widegren's team could take a break. In fact, the opposite:

We're in a shutdown mode of maintaining, upgrading the accelerator complex, so there are loads and loads of equipment either being replaced, repaired or improved. That is also why we are currently using EAM a lot, to trace all those things. So at any given moment right now, we have some 125 technicians down in the tunnel working with EAM, checking things and so on, reporting what's being done to consolidate the infrastructure.

The phrase "IoT" comes into play as CERN's equipment gets more connected. But Widegren's team learned: just because you have more data, doesn't mean you are getting the most out of it.

We've been using this data in the past obviously, but we have not been using it to its full potential. In many cases, when equipment is getting up to temperature above a certain threshold, we can say, "Okay, someone might have to go fix it", and so on. This is the kind of simple thing we've done for many, many years.

This is where AI/ML enters the picture:

What's happening now is with new things like machine learning and AI, we're now able to explore this data in a better way - meaning that instead of just looking on a daily basis at what's happening, we can also go back now, and see those many years of history.

Can we see patterns, can we see trends, can we see correlations of data? Can we see what happened in the past - and how can that predict the future? Can we move into a more predictive mode that can predict failures, that can predict potential problems. We can also optimize the way we are operating and maintaining the facilities, so we are in a very early phase now for starting to apply these kinds of technologies.

Widegren issued a caveat: AL/ML is in fact an old discipline. For their physics research, CERN has been working with algorithms and machine learning since the early 1990s. So what's changed? As the technology becomes more accessible and affordable, it's also easier to apply to operational control rooms to aid in decision support. Applying AI/ML to enterprise asset management is a logical next step.

As Widegren emphasized, this is not about trying to replace CERN employees:

We're moving this kind of thinking into the asset management domain. The goal there is not really to replace people. It's basically to do things we couldn't do in the past.

For example?

If we have a type of motor or pump, for example, in the past, we could perhaps try to predict a bit the end of life for a family of equipment. But with machine learning, now we can actually start doing it for individual pumps, because we start to automate these protections.

In the past, it was taking too much time, so it wasn't financially possible to do it. Now we've started to automate that.

There's plenty of AI tooling out there. So why Coleman?

The difference here is really that it's integrated in the Infor applications, and the fact that it's connected to our EAM database.

ML needs good data; Infor EAM has that for CERN.

We have millions and millions of interventions being traced in the system. On top of this, we also have operational data.

Each day adds in another 800 gigabytes:

We are capturing about 800GB of data every day from that equipment. By combining this information and analyzing this a bit, we really can start exploring it in a completely different way than we did before.

When I talked with Ziad Nejmeldeen about Infor's data science EAM projects, I asked him what the main obstacles to success were. For the goal of predicting maintenance issues on specific parts and machines with precision, the technology is there, and for most companies, the historical data needed to that is there also. But to take it up a notch, you want the real-time data in Coleman as well. As Nejmeldeen told me:

The problem we've had is in real-time, present-day data, because what we want to do now is say, "Okay, so you have that historical data; you've trained it. Now you want to be able to make real-time predictions on what's going to happen, which means you need real-time information coming through."

The obstacles to that real-time data are not technical anymore: sensors can be applied to just about anything you want to monitor. The remaining challenges include rolling out ultra-secure wifi networks in highly sensitive locations. There are ways to tackle this, including hard-wiring especially sensitive machines. But for real-time, a network rollout is often the next step. Nejmeldeen mentioned FHR and MTA, two other customers featured in the Inforum 2019 keynotes:

FHR is another customer that has made a lot of progress in recent years. They were talked about on main stage today... If you're the New York Transit Authority (MTA), and you want to have sensors on rail lines in order to tell you which ones are possibly having some fractures, you still need a way of getting that information back into a place where it can be assessed.

Challenges? Yes. But not insurmountable. As for CERN, I wanted to know about "next best actions." Do they want machine operators to receive prescriptive recommendations, and options for correction? Widegren:

We have not discussed that with Infor yet, but it's clearly in our minds to see how to go there. Today the goal is not to automate decisions. Decisions will still be made by humans. But I think the idea is to try to empower the operator, for example in the control room, to make a better decision based on information.

CERN thinks ML can aid in decision support:

If something is happening in the accelerator complex, or you can also have fifty alarms open up, and then based on the sequence of things happening, the machine learning says, "Okay, hey, I've seen this before. Last time this happened, it was this way. So probably, the likelihood this is the root cause, and this is the way to solve it." You have options - and that is the way we're going for those kinds of things.

Ultimately, Widregren wants to connect their EAM and PLM data and use ML on a "digital twin" to connect operations back to design, identifying patterns for process improvement throughout. Let's see what progress they make by next year's Inforum. For now, Widregren has practical advice for other customers in pursuit of "AI":

You can do plenty of things with AI and machine learning, but if you don't have the data right, it's quite useless. Spend some time now getting the data right, and connecting the dots.

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The two Bahamas: One still devastated, the other again welcoming tourists – Tampa Bay Times

Posted: at 7:48 am

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. As Hurricane Dorian ravaged the Bahamas, two groups of islands emerged. One group was hit hard by death and destruction. The other escaped relatively unscathed and now the push is on for tourists to vacation there again.

After the Category 5 storm, Bahamian tourism officials took pains to tell the outside world that many of the countrys destinations, including Nassau, the nations capital, as well as the adjacent Paradise Island, werent badly damaged and are open for business. Cruise lines, which take hundreds of thousands of passengers annually to the Bahamas, say their private islands also were largely spared even though Dorian hit the northern Bahamas and killed at least 50 people.

It is important to spread the word that much of the country had no or little impact and is open for business, said Roger Frizzell, spokesman for Miami-based Carnival Corp. Cruise tourism is a vital economic driver for the Bahamian people.

Cruise lines have started lining up Caribbean itineraries from Florida and beyond. But the government, resorts and cruise lines face a challenge in persuading vacationers to return to the islands, as many reportedly feel uncomfortable booking vacations near areas hit by the storm. Bookings declined significantly at resorts across the country, according to the tourism ministry, which published a map showing how 14 of the nations 16 tourism-centric islands are open for business.

There are plans for various Grand Bahama resorts to reopen in the coming weeks, but no regularly scheduled cruise ships are docking or disembarking leisure travelers in Freeport, as authorities tend to displaced residents and damaged properties. The worst thing that could happen to the island at this stage is to stop going there, said Oneil Khosa, CEO of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line.

The cruise line, which conducted relief missions out of the Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island, is assessing how to resume leisure cruises to the island. Itd be a controlled cruise experience, Khosa said. We would restrict the region where our passengers would be able to go for their own safety, while not diluting the experience.

RELATED: Thousands in Bahamas struggle to find work after Dorian

Some Bahamians without homes have instability ruling their lives miles from where tourists arrive.

While Nassau is back in business as a cruise and tourist destination, it also has been a landing place for large numbers of storm refugees who lost their homes in Grand Bahama Island, the Abacos and other northern islands. In the capital, there are still nearly 2,000 people in shelters, mostly from devastated areas in the north, a disaster official with U.S. Agency for International Development told The Associated Press.

Besides Nassau and nearby Paradise Island, the storm spared Andros, the Exumas, Eleuthera and farther out, in southeastern islands such as Cat Island and Long Island, most of the island nation never experienced tropical-storm-force winds. But the damage picture is vastly different in the north, where Grand Bahama suffered widespread property destruction in its eastern portion, and maritime operations in Freeport were curtailed.

Atlantis, Paradise Island the huge hotel, casino and water park complex adjacent to Nassau kept its flags at half staff out of respect for people killed by the storm, one of the strongest hurricanes on record. But the complex, which is more than 120 miles south of the storm-ravaged region of the country, is quickly emerging from a short-term decline in visitors who are getting over their reluctance to travel to the Bahamas, a spokesman said.

We have not seen any kind of long-lasting effect other than the week prior to and the week during the storm, said Ed Fields, spokesman for the destination. You would have the same impact as in South Florida. Once (visitors) realize the storm is past, they are quick to start up again and those who may have canceled have rebooked.

We are looking good for the fall. Obviously the islands directly affected have some ways to go. Our focus is to see how we can help them rebuild.

Atlantis, which pledged $3 million to relief efforts, is doing more to entice visitors. Its offering nervous travelers a Worry Free Hurricane Guarantee. Under the plan, would-be visitors can cancel their reservations up to the moment of departure if the National Hurricane Center issues storm warnings within 14 days prior to a persons scheduled arrival. Travelers are expected to rebook within 60 days.

Meanwhile, the cruise lines have resumed most of their regularly scheduled trips to the islands.

Here is a look at where they are headed:

CARNIVAL CORP.

Three of the companys lines Carnival Cruise Line, Holland America Line and Princess Cruises are all resuming regular sailings starting this month and in October. Destinations include Nassau, the nations capital, and the Carnival-owned private islands of Half Moon Cay, which is 100 miles south of Nassau, and Princess Cays, which is 50 miles east of Nassau. Collectively, the three companies will operate more than 250 sailings to the Bahamas through the end of the year, Frizzell said.

Carnival Cruise Line: The companys ships have returned with scheduled visits to most Bahamian ports of call, including 41 planned calls to Nassau and Carnivals private islands, Half Moon Cay and Princess Cays, for the rest of September. Eight vessels will make a combined 204 calls through the remainder of the year, visiting Nassau and the private islands.

Princess Cruises: Starting Oct. 9, the line has 19 sailings scheduled through the end of this year, including visits to the private Princess Cays enclave.

Holland America Line: Ships are scheduled to return to the Bahamas starting Oct. 21, when MS Zuiderdam calls on Half Moon Cay. Through the end of the year, the company plans 46 scheduled cruises to Bahamian destinations with seven of its ships.

BAHAMAS PARADISE CRUISE LINE

Prior to the storm, the two-ship line offered two-night voyages out of the Port of Palm Beach to Grand Bahama Island, its only destination.

Khosa, the CEO, said he doesnt have a date for resuming regular service. But he has no plans for serving anywhere else.

We are committed to Grand Bahama, he said. It is our only port of call.

On regular cruises, passengers spend most of their time aboard the lines ships and take beach excursions. Most of our guests are going to happy with that, he said.

After the storm, the line converted one of its ships, the Grand Celebration, into a relief vessel.

The second round-trip mission returned to South Florida on Sept. 18. While in Grand Bahama, the ship served 12,000 meals to island residents.

Khosa said large numbers of people from around Palm Beach County and elsewhere in the state volunteered their services to help storm victims.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN

The Miami-based companys website is offering cruises out of Port Everglades to Nassau via Key West. Voyages to Nassau are also being offered out of Port Canaveral. Royal Caribbean reopened its private island called CocoCay, also known as Little Stirrup Cay. The island is 55 miles north of Nassau and is used exclusively by its cruise passengers.

NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS

The companys Miami-based Norwegian Cruise Line said its ships have resumed operations to Nassau and to its private island called Great Stirrup Cay, which is south of Nassau.

Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, we are unfortunately unable to call to Freeport, Grand Bahama, a spokeswoman said.

The Oceania Cruises subsidiary is advertising Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay as part of cruise itineraries out of Miami in October and December.

MSC CRUISES

The Fort Lauderdale-based U.S. arm of the company continues to serve Nassau out of PortMiami. The line says its Nassau itineraries were not impacted by the storm.

The line is also promoting the opening of a redeveloped private island called Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve, which is scheduled to start operations in November. The enclave, part of the Bahamian district of Bimini, lies 65 miles from PortMiami. It did not sustain any storm damage, a representative said.

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Rent This Entire Private Island Near Belize For You And 9 Of Your Closest Friends – Simplemost

Posted: at 7:48 am

Summer is officially over, but that doesnt mean you have to pack away the swimsuits and beach gear. You can have an entire tropical island all to yourself and keep the summer vibes going any time of the year.

Kanu Private Island is located off the coast of Belize and is a relaxing retreat for up to 10 adults and 10 children. Kanu is no deserted island this property is all about luxurious amenities and comes with everything you, your family and best friends need, in an all-inclusive package.

Kanu Private Island

For starters, the accommodations are positively dreamy. There are five 1,000-square-foot villas dotting the island. Each one features a spa bathroom, air conditioning, well-appointed decor, and views of the beach and Caribbean Sea. Select villas include a large soaking tub, and the master villa has a family-friendly loft space for the little ones.

If you wish, you can still connect to civilization or opt out of the Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs available in each villa.

While the villas offer privacy, there is a central palapa designed to bring everyone staying on the island together. It houses the communal kitchen, bar and living area. Plus, there is a swimming pool with sun loungers right next to it!

Kanu Private island

With the beautiful villas, pristine beach and a swimming pool, theres more than enough to fill your days on the island. But those arent all the activities included with a stay.

The all-inclusive package includes up to four complimentary massages every day for the whole group. Its up to you to decide the exact schedule, but thats more than enough for everyone to get a turn on the treatment table.

Kanu offers a private boat captain, who is at your service to take guests on tours around the island and to neighboring islands. If you want to make your away around under your own power, there are kayaks and paddleboards just waiting for you. Games and a pool table can be found on site, too.

Kanu Private Island

Just a 15-minute boat ride away is the town of Placencia. Here, youll find shops, restaurants and bars. Its not too much of a culture shock from the quiet island oasis, as its known for a slow pace and uniquely Belizean way of life.

A visit to Belize is incomplete without a tour underwater. The country is home to the longest barrier reef system in the Northern and Western Hemispheres. The stunning central section is conveniently located near Kanu, so you can step into snorkel gear and dive in. Or, let your personal concierge arrange a nearby scuba trip!

Kanu Private Island

As you may have gathered, this private island oasis doesnt come without a hefty price. It rings in at $3,950 per night for exclusive use of the entire island for up to eight adults for a seven-night minimum stay. Its $4,250 per night for use of the entire island for up to eight adults during a four- to six-night stay.

That price does include all housekeeping and laundry, a personal chef, local beverages (including some alcohol) and unlimited use of all equipment. It also includes the services of your personal concierge, your boat captain and a snorkeling and fishing guide.

Kanu Private Island

What are you waiting for? Save up your pennies, grab your nine closest friends and a few kids and head to the island!

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Entire Scottish island on the market for less than an Edinburgh flat – The Scotsman

Posted: at 7:48 am

This uninhabited island off the west coast of Scotland is on sale for a bargain price.

Wednesday 25 September 2019 13:15

If you're looking for a complete escape and fancy owning a private island then Insh island may be a dream buy. With only cottage ruins and a cave (in which is thought that the previous owner lived for a few years), the island is close to Oban and is on the market for a guide price of 125,000 with Dawsons - a budget of which is less than a central Edinburgh flat.

This private island extends to just over 90 acres and is situated in the Firth of Lorne.

Dawsons

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The island has rough grass bordered by rocky outcrops and cliff faces. There is also a natural cave and the ruins of two croft cottages.

Dawsons

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Insh is one of the slat islands, which include Seil, Easdale, Luing, Lunga, Shuna, Torsa and Belnahua.

Dawsons

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New owners can enjoy complete solidarity as the island is uninhabited.

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Entire Scottish island on the market for less than an Edinburgh flat - The Scotsman

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10 of the world’s most beautiful islands – CNN

Posted: at 7:47 am

(CNN) Spin the globe, pick a spot and odds are good you'll alight on the color blue: 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water.

Vast stretches of ocean spread from the edges of the continents, and what lies between the coasts is true wilderness. Far from terrestrial plants and light-filled shallows, the open ocean makes no accommodation for human comfort or survival.

Islands are the exception. These widely scattered landing places offer respite in the form of fresh water, abundant food and the occasional fruity cocktail.

Every single one invites travelers to leave familiar shores behind.

Whether you're dreaming of a beachy escape or plotting a course for the edges of the Earth, these are the world's 10 most beautiful islands:

Milos (Greece)

This is where the famous Venus de Milo statue was discovered in 1820.

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This is where the famed Venus de Milo was discovered in 1820, and the island -- like the statue -- does spectacular justice to the ancient goddess of love.

Whitewashed houses with blue shutters mirror the island's natural color scheme, and the coast has eroded into a wonderland of arches, coves and white-sand beaches that invite discovery. The Kleftiko caves, which you can reach only by water, are amazing.

Bartolom (Ecuador)

Visitors can't stay overnight at Bartolome Island in the Galapagos.

Shutterstock

The bald summit of Pinnacle Rock looks out across pale beaches and blue-green water, their colors offset by the coal-black lava flow at Sullivan Bay.

It's not possible to overnight on Bartolom, which is named for a friend of the naturalist Charles Darwin, but the island is just a day trip away from Santa Cruz, the Galpagos' main base for visitors.

Go to: Don a snorkel and swim with Galpagos penguins, the only penguins to live north of the equator. Spot the native birds as they dart below the surface while looking for food.

Fregate (Seychelles)

Wild landscapes still thrive on the private island, which is a haven from the Seychelles' more developed shores. Giant aldabra tortoises saunter through the understory here, while two species of sea turtles crawl ashore to lay their eggs.

Granite cliffs swerve for the breakers, giving way to powdery beaches: one, Anse Macquereau, can be turned into a perfectly private getaway. A "beach occupied" sign dangles from a nearby palm tree, inviting visitors to reserve the picture-perfect cove for themselves.

Go to: Channel castaway fantasies gone luxe. (Eating breakfast in a banyan tree platform is where Swiss Family Robinson meets fine china, pressed linen and impeccable service.)

St. Lucia (Lesser Antilles)

The Pitons are twin volcanic spires located in Saint Lucia.

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A matched set of volcanic peaks, the Pitons, are the spectacular centerpiece of this beautiful island.

Jura (Scotland)

The Jura mountains dominate the view on the isle of the same name.

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Walking trails ramble through mountains home to native red deer, while golden eagles and sea eagles wheel overhead.

Komodo Island (Indonesia)

Komodo Island will close to visitors in 2020 to protect its most famous residents.

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From a lipstick-pink beach to free-roaming lizards, Komodo Island is a topsy-turvy tropical paradise pulled straight from a fever dream.

Here, thorny savanna rolls towards a shoreline lapped by crystalline water, dramatically varied ecosystems that provide shelter for oddball wildlife.

Senja Island (Norway)

High mountains swoop toward indigo water off Senja Island, a showstopping destination in a country with more than 50,000 beautiful islands.

From the rocky summits of nderdalen National Park to deep, ice-chilled fjords, Senja Island is a dramatic stage for the natural beauty of the Arctic.

Mo'orea (French Polynesia)

A fringing reef wraps the island of Mo'orea in a sheltered embrace, creating a creamy blue lagoon that's a natural playground for swimming and snorkeling.

But it's a dramatic backdrop of jungle mountains that make Mo'orea one of the most beautiful islands on Earth. The summits rise from the forest like jagged stone teeth, a rugged contrast to the paradise scenes at the water's edge.

Go to: Sleep in an overwater bungalow with views of the mountains, then sip your morning coffee as tropical fish dart beneath your front porch.

Palawan, Philippines

Palawan offers many secert beaches with clear water and pale sand.

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Go to: Ride a tidal river deep into a limestone cave system, then bask away the afternoon on a postcard-ready beach.

Kaua'i (United States)

All that lava rock from Kilauea's smoking crater crumbles into otherworldly black-sand beaches,.

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Native forest here provides habitat for bird species that only live in the Hawaiian islands, and a trip into the wilderness reveals hanging valleys and towering waterfalls above crystal-clear freshwater pools.

The most spectacular wilderness on Hawaii's "Garden Island" flanks the N Pali Coast, which intrepid hikers can reach via a challenging trail known as one of America's toughest walks.

Go to: Hike the wilderness N Pali Coast Trail to an untouched beach that can't be reached by road.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story included a photo that misidentified the location of Senja Island, Norway.

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Travel Group Partners with Bahamas Tourism To Encourage Travel To Unaffected Islands – EyeWitness News

Posted: at 7:47 am

NASSAU, BAHAMAS North Americas largest retail travel company is launching a major initiative with the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation to encourage travelers to visit islands unaffected by Hurricane Dorian.

Travel Leaders Group, which represents 50,000 travel advisors, is hoping its campaign Travel Helps The Bahamas will help minimize the economic impact on the countrys most important industry.

The tragedy and devastation on the Abacos, Freeport and Grand Bahama Island have deeply affected the Bahamian people and everyone who loves The Bahamas, said Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko.

We grieve for those who lost their lives, their family members and their homes and businesses and want to help in the best way we can to foster tourism to The Bahamas and minimize the economic impact on the countrys most important industry.

As part of a fundraising and awareness campaign, Travel Leaders Group will match money donated by its advisor community through its foundations to aid The Bahamas relief efforts.

Funds raised, currently totaling $36,000, will be directed to the Ranfurly Homes for Children, which provide a safe haven for Bahamian children who have been displaced because of natural disasters, death, abandonment or other unfortunate circumstances. Travel Leaders Group will also launch an advisor education and marketing effort to promote travel to The Bahamas for fall and winter.

Travel Leaders Group has also partnered with Royal Caribbean International to support travel to The Bahamas through an exclusive offer that provides consumers with up to $100 in onboard spending money on Royal Caribbean voyages that visit Nassau and/or Perfect Day at Coco Cay in The Bahamas.

The offer can be combined with most Royal Caribbean promotions and can only be booked through a travel advisor affiliated with Travel Leaders Network, Nexion Travel Group, Tzell Travel Group, Protravel International and ALTOUR, all units of Travel Leaders Group, the largest retail travel agency organization in North America.

Bonus spending money of $100 per stateroom will be offered for suite reservations; $50 per stateroom for balcony accommodations; and $25 per stateroom for interior and ocean view rooms. Reservations must be made October 1-7, 2019 for cruise departures from October 18, 2019 onward for voyages that visit the charming and historic Bahamian capital of Nassau and/or Perfect Day at Coco Cay, which is a Royal Caribbean private island in The Bahamas featuring beautiful beaches and pristine water, plus exciting experiences like the Thrill Water Park, ziplining and a wide variety of watersports.

Our partners at Royal Caribbean have been absolutely extraordinary in their support for The Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian, said Ninan.

At Travel Leaders Group, we are committed to providing aid and fostering travel to The Bahamas, as well. This special offer from Royal Caribbean will help our tens of thousands of travel advisors promote Bahamas cruises to their clients.

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Jenkins, Islands and Savannah Country Day pick up Thursday night wins – WSAV-TV

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) Thursday night football in Savannah involved two of the areas best teams coming away with convincing wins and a thrilling last-minute victory to keep one private school undefeated.

Damozzio Harris and Kian Gary both found the endzone to help Jenkins jump out to a 12-0 lead over Windsor Forest at Garden City Stadium. The Warriors (4-1) never trailed in a convincing 30-0 win over the Knights.

The Islands Sharks continued its winning ways and took care of Groves 65-12 at Memorial Stadium. The Sharks (5-0) have never been undefeated this far into the season and that record will be put to the test next Thursday when they face Jenkins.

Savannah Country Day trailed Johnson by six points with four minutes left in the game at Daffin Park. Sophomore quarterback Barry Kleinpeter engineered a Hornets drive, which included an 8-yard QB keeper touchdown, to tie and eventually take the lead for good.

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Survivor: Island of the Idols Premiere Episode Sneak Peek – Screen Rant

Posted: at 7:47 am

Survivor: Island of the Idolshas shared a sneak peek of its premiere episode.Fans have been waiting patiently since the new season was announced at the finale of Survivor: Edge of Extinction back in May.

Survivor first aired back in May of 2000 and was a big hit among CBS viewers. Themain point of the competitionis to place a group of strangers from different walks of life on an isolated island where they have to find their own food, water, shelter, and fire. Each week, the contestant compete in physical and mental challenges that grant them rewards or immunity for elimination.A contestant is then eliminated by their fellow castmates until one is left to claim the one million dollar prize.

Related:Survivor: Island of the Idols Cast Preview: Who Will Win? Part 1

The 39th season of Americas favorite survival competition is upon us,withSurvivor: Island of the Idolspremiering on September 25. The season premiere wasa glorious 90-minute episode, letting fans jump back into the spirit of the competition. The new season sees two mentors return to the game, Sandra Diaz Twine, who won bothSurvivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Redemption Island and Boston Rob Mariana, who won Survivor: Redemption Island. The two all-stars will not be competing to win the one million dollars, but rather there to help the newcontestants find their way. Take a look at a sneak peek of the episode below:

Survivor: Island of the Idolsis filmed in Fiji,makingit the eighth time the franchise had chosen to film inthat location. The two mentors, Rob and Sandra, will also tempt the players to take them on during challenges, which could help them win advantages, suchas an idol in the Tribal Councils. The two legends have three wins, over 200 days in the game, and have made a career out of surviving Survivor. The new game format will have the two mentors living on their own, private island which will be decked out in statues that look like them. The host, Jeff Probst called it Survivor Mount Rushmore.On the secluded island, certain contestants will have the chance to take part in a boot camp led by both Sandra and Rob. The players will be coached, giving them a strategic advantage later in the game.

This new season of Survivor: Island of the Idols is set to be one of the most exciting ones yet thanks to having Sandra and Rob as mentors. Even though the two cannot compete for the monetary prize, fans are sure to experience sneaky motives and plots from the new players.

Next:Survivor: Island of the Idols Cast Guide

Survivor: Island of the Idolsairs Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Source:Survivor

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