islands

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Report: Japan Has Twice as Many Islands as It Thought

Recount finds more than 14K islands

(Newser) - For an island nation, Japan appears to have been very bad at counting islands for a very long time. Sources tell Kyodo News that the newest official count will more than double the number of the country's islands, from 6,852 to 14,125. In the last count, about...

Emergency Declared Over Polar Bears— Lots of Polar Bears

They've invaded the Novaya Zemlya archipelago

(Newser) - An emergency has been declared in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, due to ... polar bears? Yes, dozens of the animals have invaded the Russian islands, prompting environmental authorities to bring in a team of specialists to sedate and remove them, the Guardian reports. The bears "have literally been chasing people,...

New Zealand's Islands Are Moving
Islands 'Creeping'
Closer Together

Islands 'Creeping' Closer Together

New Zealand islands still unsettled after 2016 earthquake

(Newser) - New Zealanders are coming together this holiday season in more ways than one. A magnitude-7.8 earthquake that struck two years ago initially brought the country's North and South Islands about 16 feet closer together, and the land masses have continued to close the gap. Scientists say the distance...

Looks Like China Has Armed Its S. China Sea Islands
China's Man-Made Islands
Are Now Weaponized
NEW REPORT

China's Man-Made Islands Are Now Weaponized

US think tank report notes anti-aircraft, anti-missile weapons appear to have been installed

(Newser) - China appears to have installed anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons on its man-made islands in the strategically vital South China Sea, a US security think tank says, upping the stakes in what many see as a potential Asian powder keg. The Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report...

Nobody Home: Tiny Island Emptying Fast

Fewer than 1.6K left on Niue as many leave for New Zealand

(Newser) - While much of the world worries about how it will accommodate rapidly growing populations, some islands in the Pacific face the opposite dilemma: how to stop everybody from leaving. The population decline on Niue, a lush coral atoll about the size of Baltimore, has been steady and relentless. In the...

First Snakes, Now Spiders Take Over Guam

Tree snakes devoured most of the spider-eating birds

(Newser) - First it was two million snakes . Now spiders are taking over Guam. The tiny island is experiencing a population explosion of arachnids because a vast, invasive army of snakes ate most of the native birds, the spiders' natural predator. Biologists say Guam's jungle currently holds 40 times more spiders...

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