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☆ One year after volcanic blast, many of Tonga's reefs lay silent
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Coral reefs were turned to rubble and many fish perished or migrated away. Following the eruption, the Tongan government said it would seek $240 million for recovery, including improving food security. SILENT REEFSThe vast majority of Tongan territory is ocean, with its exclusive economic zone extending across nearly 700,000 square kilometres (270,271 square miles) of water. It is likely volcanic ash smothered many reefs, depriving fish of feeding areas and spawning beds. While volcanic eruptions on land eject mostly ash and sulfur dioxide, underwater volcanos jettison far more water.

David Slotnick/Business InsiderAmerican Express Membership Rewards points are among the most valuable card rewards you can earn. You'll usually get the most value from Amex points by transferring them to airline and hotel partners. In fact, the Amex Membership Rewards program debuted way back in 1991 with just seven US airline partners. More Information Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. What to know about transferring Amex points to partnersAmerican Express Membership Rewards points are among the most valuable and versatile travel rewards out there.

☆ The US military is planning for a 'transformative' year in Asia as tensions with China continue to rise
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Amid rising tensions with China, the US military has sought to bolster its presence in Asia. US forces there may see the "most transformative year" in a generation in 2023, a US official said. Major changes to the US military presence in Asia face logistical and political hurdles, however. Other countries have sought more training with the US military or, in the case of Palau, to host US forces. There are opportunities for the US "to expand its access and deepen relationships" in both Northeast and Southeast Asia, said Thompson, a former US Defense Department official, but US leaders will have to reckon with the limits of those partnerships, especially in Southeast Asia.

☆ The world's in a 'polycrisis' — and these countries want to quash it by looking beyond GDP
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand are all members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership. "Which I think is why we're seeing such growing interest in the well-being economy approach, both here in Scotland and around the world." A post-growth society is one that resists the demand for constant economic growth. Mostly led by women, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand are all members of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership. 'GDP is not a way to measure richness'The push to look beyond economic growth comes at a time of growing calls to end fossil fuel production worldwide.

Leaving parliament on Saturday, Rabuka told waiting media he was humbled to have become the prime minister of Fiji before being rushed away to be sworn in by the country's president. Biman Prasad, leader of the NFP and the new finance minister, said the incoming government would work for the Fijian people. The prime ministers of both New Zealand and Australia released statements to congratulate the newly sworn-in Rabuka. "We strongly value Fiji as a close friend and partner as we progress our shared priorities for the region," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, added in a tweet that he also looked forward to working with Rabuka.

☆ Sonya Eddy, 'General Hospital' actor, dies at 55
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Liz Calvario | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

“General Hospital” star Sonya Eddy has died. Alongside the statement, the “Spirited” actor shared a photo of her dear friend, along with a heartfelt message dedicated to the soap star’s loved ones. “Her legions of @generalhospitalabc fans will miss her 💔🕊️ My thoughts and prayers are with her loved ones, friends, and fans!” has died. “General Hospital” executive producer Frank Valentini also expressed his condolences on Twitter. Eddy was best known for her role as Epiphany Johnson on “General Hospital.” She was on the soap opera from March 2006 until November 2020.

Page purchased Hans Lollik and its smaller neighboring island, Little Hans Lollik, in 2014 for $23 million. The Hans Lollik Islands in the US Virgin Islands were bought by Larry Page in 2014 cdwheatley/Getty ImagesPage purchased the islands from Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Company using a limited-liability company called Virgin Island Properties LLC. Page's intentions for the Hans Lollik islands are unclear, but the larger island of the two may have personal significance for the Google cofounder. In the deposition, Osborne hinted that Larry proposed to his wife, the research scientist Lucinda Southworth, on Hans Lollik. Page expands to the South PacificIn 2020, Page added another island to his portfolio: the heart-shaped Tavarua island in Fiji's Mamanuca archipelago.

☆ Netflix has lost its golden touch. Here's why the streamer is so boring now.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Finance has long ranked employees, but it's been out of fashion in tech for nearly a decade. Netflix once made an explicit choice to invest in underrepresented communities, Paris Marx writes. Shows like "Orange is the New Black" and "GLOW" gave spotlights to women, queer people, people of color, and non-Americans. But, according to Marx, the company stopped prioritizing stories from underrepresented communities, and new players were throwing their hats into the streaming wars. Now, Marx writes that Netflix is filled with bland shows, half-assed reality TV, and hopelessly derivative movies.

☆ Fiji national election a tight race in early provisional counting
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Voters queue at a polling station to vote during the Fijian general election in Suva, Fiji, December 14, 2022. Bainimarama is in a tight race against another former coup leader and one-time prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, whose People's Alliance Party has formed a coalition with Fiji's oldest political party, the National Federation Party. The election office said result updates were put "temporarily on hold" shortly before 11 p.m., and later said its election results app, used by the public, had errors. Bainimarama's Fiji First supporters campaigned on stability and progress, while the opposition said national debt was too high and questioned the state of democracy, he said. A multinational observer group led by Australia, India and Indonesia includes 90 election observers who are also monitoring the national vote counting centre.

☆ Larry Page, Sergey Brin Post-Google Lives: Investments, Yachts, Islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

Even before their retirement from Google, Page and Brin relied heavily on their respective family offices to bring order to their worlds. The Bay Area headquarters of Koop, Larry Page's family office, is nondescript and gives little indication of the billionaire's empire. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show less Bayshore Global Management, Sergey Brin's family office, is based in Palo Alto and has a bit more of a public face. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show lessThe difference in styles holds true for Brin's family office, Bayshore Global Management. The CEO of Page's family office is Wayne Osborne, a former elder in the Presbyterian Church who attended Princeton Theological Seminary.

☆ Hawaiian Airlines is launching a new route to a destination hard to reach for American tourists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Hawaiian Airlines is launching a new nonstop route between Honolulu and the Cook Islands. American tourists previously had to stop in only New Zealand or Tahiti to get to the island. Hawaiian's new route will be the only link between the Cook Islands and the US, allowing travelers to more easily reach the isolated nation. In August, the nation's home airline, Air Rarotonga, launched direct flights between Papeete in Tahiti and Rarotonga, reported local publication Enjoy Cook Islands. The service comes after Air Tahiti ended its route between the two nations in 2020 after 13 years.

☆ Island nation Vanuatu sends climate resolution to UN for court opinion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | Moushumi Basu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The island nation Vanuatu and 17 other countries on Wednesday published a draft resolution asking the world's top court to clarify what responsibilities governments around the world have to protect future generations from climate change. ICJ advisory proceedings involve a series of hearings, which give a platform to all countries to provide evidence. An advisory opinion would not request compensation or reparations, the Vanuatu government said. A vote at the U.N. General Assembly to request the ICJ advisory opinion would only require a majority to proceed. An opinion by the ICJ could bring about greater climate action, campaigners said.

In the early 2010s, Mr. Mellow set out for still more distant shores, traveling to many famous surf breaks in the South Pacific. Mr. Abdul-Rashed and Mr. Danian traveled to Hawaii to connect with Mr. Mellow, their spiritual guide and Pacific expedition leader. Mr. Mellow posted an ad on Facebook and Craigslist offering $10,000 for passage to the South Pacific. Mr. Schmidt was in sync with the young seekers when it came to fear of Big Brother and vaccines, but dreading port officials brandishing nasal swabs struck even Mr. Schmidt as a little unhinged. When asked if he was at all responsible for what had happened to Mr. Danian and Mr. Abdul-Rashed, Mr. Mellow looked genuinely confused.

☆ China holds policing discussion with officials of Pacific island nations
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 23 (Reuters) - China said it held a video meeting to discuss police cooperation with several Pacific island nations on Tuesday, with at least two nations telling Reuters their ministers and police commissioners were unavailable to attend. read moreThose concerns were first sparked when Solomon Islands struck a security pact with China in April. The video meeting, co-chaired with Solomon Islands Minister of Police Anthony Veke, took place after two powerful earthquakes struck Solomon Islands on Tuesday. A photograph posted to the Twitter account of the Chinese embassy in Fiji showed Veke as the only Pacific islands minister at the video meeting. read moreAt a White House summit in September, the United States pledged to boost aid and step up FBI training for Pacific islands including the Solomon Islands.

☆ From Pacific to Red Sea: climate court action gathers wave of support
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Climate activists stand next to banners as they take part in a protest during the COP27 climate summit, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, November 18, 2022. As climate change has accelerated the rise of sea levels, Vanuatu and other low-lying island states and coastal communities face particular risk from storms and flooding. An advisory opinion by the court would not be binding in any jurisdiction, but could underpin future climate negotiations by clarifying what financial obligations countries have on climate change, and define it as a human rights issue. At a demonstration on Wednesday rallying support for the ICJ to take an advisory opinion, some of the law students were joined by allies from different countries. An ICJ opinion would send a clear signal to governments that hesitate to take decisive action at climate talks, said Solomon Yeo from the Solomon Islands, another Pacific island law student.

☆ 'Profoundly disturbing': The PR firm for the COP27 climate summit has a long history with Big Oil
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"Hill and Knowlton is the main lobbying communications firm for the oil industry," said Duncan Meisel, campaign director at Clean Creatives, a U.S.-based group working to disentangle the PR industry from the fossil fuel sector. "Any PR firm that is actively supporting to promote [a] narrative of continued fossil fuel expansion under any circumstances is a problem," Muffett told CNBC via telephone. watch nowIt comes at a time of growing momentum for calls to end fossil fuel production worldwide. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently called out what he described as the "massive public relations machine raking in billions to shield the fossil fuel industry from scrutiny." "Fossil fuel interests need to spend less time averting a PR disaster — and more time averting a planetary one."

"I know I'm a cockeyed optimist," Biden told reporters in Cambodia, referencing a sunny song from the musical South Pacific, "but I'm not surprised by the turnout." A Democratic victory in a Georgia Senate runoff on Dec. 6 would give the party outright majority control, bolstering its sway over committees, bills, and judicial picks. As of Sunday evening, Republicans had won 211 seats and the Democrats 206, with 218 needed for a majority. World leaders at an East Asia summit of ASEAN nations told Biden they are closely following the midterms results, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One. He has said he will invite Republicans and Democrats to the White House once he returns.

☆ Tsunami warnings issued after 7.3 magnitude earthquake strikes Tonga region
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - The government of Tonga issued a tsunami warning on Friday after an earthquake of magnitude 7.3 struck in the sea around 207 km (128 miles) from the capital, and warned residents to move inland to higher ground. A tsunami advisory was also issued for American Samoa, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). Hazardous tsunami waves from the earthquake are possible within 300 km of the epicentre along the coasts of Niue and Tonga, it said. Tonga's meteorological service warned residents to move inland. "An urgent tsunami advisory is now in force for all of Tonga due to a strong earthquake being felt in the Kingdom tonight.

☆ Sinking Pacific island nation issues historic call for treaty to phase out fossil fuels
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — The South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu on Tuesday urged countries at the COP27 climate summit to establish a global treaty to phase out the use of fossil fuels. "We, therefore, unite with a hundred Nobel Peace Prize laureates and thousands of scientists worldwide and urge world leaders to join the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to manage a just transition away from fossil fuels." Tuvalu follows in the footsteps of its Pacific neighbors in making the call for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty. The statement Tuesday comes at a time of growing momentum for calls to end fossil fuel production worldwide. Oil and gas giants, meanwhile, have reported record profits at a time of high energy costs and a cost-of-living crisis.

☆ Where's the money? COP27 climate summit opens with a rallying call for rich nations to pay up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The COP27 summit sees delegates from nearly 200 countries gather in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks on how to address the climate crisis. Climate finance, as it has done since the first U.N. climate conference in 1995, will once again play a pivotal role. Climate reparations, sometimes referred to as "loss and damage" payments, are widely expected to dominate the COP27 talks. Indeed, for the first time ever, the topic of loss and damage finance formally made it onto the COP27 agenda. "AOSIS is here to agree to the establishment of a new Loss and Damage Response Fund at COP27 that is operational by 2024.

☆ Tongan volcano eruption unleashed highest plume on record
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The deafening eruption sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and produced an atmospheric wave that traveled several times around the world. The plume extended through the bottom two layers of the atmosphere, the troposphere and stratosphere, and about 4 miles (7 km) into the mesosphere. The plume was far from reaching the next atmospheric layer, the thermosphere, which starts at about 53 miles (85 km) above Earth's surface. A delineation called the Karman line, about 62 miles (100 km) above Earth's surface, is generally considered the boundary with space. Scientists were unable to use their standard temperature-based technique of measuring a volcanic plume because January's eruption passed the maximum height for which this method could be used.

☆ Australia, Fiji militaries to work alongside each other
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Australia and Fiji have signed an agreement to allow the operation of each nation's militaries in the other country, with ministers describing it as a significant step for security cooperation. South Pacific defence ministers met in Tonga earlier this week, with Australia seeking a closer military relationship with the three island nations that have defence forces - Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga - to counter China's security push in the region. Marles said the Status of Forces agreement signed with Fiji on Thursday, giving a legal framework for the presence of one country's forces in another, was rare for Australia and would allow a closer working relationship between the defence forces. Fiji's defence minister Inia Seruiratu said the defence forces trained and deployed together across the region, and the agreement brought "a new height of security cooperation". Australia is also negotiating a defence treaty with Papua New Guinea.

☆ From fly fishing to cycling — the new popular pastimes of the ultra-rich
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

For the ultra-rich, fly fishing is one of the most popular ways to spend time, a new report says. Fishing and cycling are among the ultra-rich's top ten favorite ways to spend their time, according to new research by wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth and investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners. Cycling and mountain biking beat skiing to third place, with only golf and art collecting being more popular. Back in 2000, both cycling and fishing were much lower on the list, ranking seventh and tenth respectively, New World Wealth told CNBC's Make It. Among anglers, fly fishing was especially popular.

☆ The Chase Sapphire Reserve's 80K bonus is effectively a blank airline ticket — here's how to use it to get (almost) anywhere in the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Joseph Hostetler | Credit Cards Reporter | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

By transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to airline partners, you can fly just about anywhere on earth. Show more Regular APR 19.99% - 26.99% Variable Editor's Rating 4.65 /5 A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star A five pointed star 4.65 out of 5 Stars Our editor's ratings analyze fees, bonuses, rewards, and benefits to highlight the simplest and most valuable credit cards available. By transferring 80,000 Chase points to Southwest, you can expect an average value of $1,120 in free flights. You can save quite a few Chase points if you're willing to pay a bit in taxes, however. Bottom lineThe 84,000 Chase points you'll have after opening the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and meeting its minimum spending requirement is basically a blank airline ticket to nearly anywhere on earth's surface.

☆ United announced 7 new international routes for summer 2023 as post-pandemic demand to Europe continues to soar — see the full list
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

United Airlines announced three new destinations and four new city pairs coming to its network in summer 2023. The Chicago-based carrier announced its summer 2023 network on Wednesday, revealing three new destinations in Europe and four new city pairs not flown in 2022. Of the five long-haul routes announced last October, only Newark to Bergen will not return in summer 2023, Quayle told reporters. Captured Blinks Photography/Getty ImagesUnited will fly year-round between Newark and Dubai starting on March 25 using a Boeing 777-200ER. Between Washington, DC and BerlinUnited will fly between Washington DC and Berlin starting on May 25 using a Boeing 767-400ER.

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