Tuvalu, population 11,000, was the world's third-poorest state until an internet deal made it rich overnight. Then came dire warnings that global warming would soon flood the islands. So what did the natives do with their windfall? Lay new roads and start building discos. By Daphna Baram In 1999, Tuvalu, with its population of 11,000, was the third-poorest state in the world. But all of a sudden, salvation...
In 1999 Tuvalu, with its population of 11,000, was the third-poorest state in the world. But suddenly salvation was found, and from an extremely unlikely direction. Tuvalu received a domain name on the internet, which was none other than the letters .tv. A communication company from California was quick to get in touch buying the domain for the bargain price of $40m. For the Tuvalans, with an average...
If the South Pacific island of Tuvalu goes under as a result of climate change will it lose its seat at the UN and will its current maritime exclusive zone revert to international waters? If the South Pacific island of Tuvalu goes under as a result of climate change will it lose its seat at the UN and will its current maritime exclusive zone revert to international waters? Such questions may be hypothetical...
The Olympic flame will go out tonight in Beijing as the build-up to London 2012 gathers pace, but what will we remember of these Games? Phelps, Bolt and Great Britain, but we should not overlook the achievement of every athlete - even one from Tuvalu These Olympic Games, the strangest and perhaps the most beguiling of the 29 held so far, did not just belong to Michael Phelps. Or Usain Bolt. Nor did...
Global warming could create "ghost states" with governments in exile ruling over scattered citizens and land that has been abandoned to rising seas, an expert said yesterday. ...
t the only danger the islands face. Unless poor policy is addressed, they also risk a homemade environmental and energy crisis A dead pig lolls among the flotsam on South Tarawa beach. No children play in the water – unusual in the Pacific islands, where a childhood spent splashing in the ocean is an age-old rite. In Kiribati's capital, years of poor waste disposal coupled with overpopulation and a...
annual summit, attended by most of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, including the US, China and the EU. The Marshall Islands, a group of 29 atolls and coral islands standing on average only two metres above sea level, and lying halfway between Australia and Hawaii, is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Earlier this year the president declared a state of emergency following...
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge receive a warm welcome in Tuvalu, the last stop on their tour of Asia and the Pacific ...
Outdated' law barring a potential monarch from marrying a Catholic also to be scrapped at Commonwealth meeting Commonwealth leaders will pledge to amend legislation dating back to the 17th century to allow daughters of the monarch to take precedence over younger sons in the line of succession. David Cameron will hail the agreement of the 16 Queen's realms, the Commonwealth countries where the Queen...
freshwater lens – the layer found beneath coral islands – and leaving many Tuvaluans anxious over the viability of their country. Climate change is part of the curriculum at Nauti primary school, where the subject has an obvious resonance. "The pupils talk about it and we discuss it and what it means," says the headteacher, Fanoiga Falasa. The view among the students is that man-made climate change...
s a mere sticking plaster Experts say the past 12 months have been the second driest since records began in Funafuti, the capital of Tuvalu, 78 years ago. No one is claiming climate change is solely to blame, but the line between normal climatic variation and what might be extremes resulting from accelerated climate change has undoubtedly become blurred. This is particularly true of the hydrological...
s been put on hold," Suveinakama said. "We are cautious of the situation given the possible health issues." He said that Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand, had tapped emergency funds to buy desalination machines, which turn salt water into fresh water. He hopes those will be shipped to the islands soon. In Tuvalu, a country made up of low-lying atolls that is home to less than 11,000 people, the...
s earthquake, say Lan Marie Nguyen Berg and Florent Baarsch The radio station broadcast the tsunami warning at 10pm local time last Friday, after the earthquake in Japan. The tsunami was predicted to hit Tuvalu at 1.30am. Although there was no actual drill, in the capital, Funafuti, the police went to people's houses to make sure everybody was aware of the warning. Many people headed to the government...
s islands, in the Pacific, are disappearing and islanders are turning to the outside world to survive On the salted and infertile islands of Tuvalu , hunger is kept at bay by the easy access to fish. But as the climate changes and the islands' lagoons heat up, subsistence fishermen are finding it harder to support their families. Tuvalu, the Pacific island state that is mostly known for its low-lying...
Demonstrators in tiny South Pacific country demand resignation of finance minister The tiny South Pacific country of Tuvalu has imposed emergency rule after protesters marched in the capital to demand the resignation of the finance minister. The emergency was declared yesterday to prevent moves to destabilise the government, the communications minister, Kausea Natano, said. The one naval patrol boat...
s travels, but also the story of their discovery. In 1909 Father Otto Meyer picked up a shard of pottery decorated with angular patterns on a Papua New Guinea beach. Then, in 1950 a French geologist compared Meyer's shards with recent finds from the Isle of Pines, south of New Caledonia , and realised that they belonged to the same tradition. The term "Lapita" was coined in 1952: an American, Edwin...
the end of history' unless action is taken to stop sea levels rising Every country in the Caribbean faces huge economic losses caused by rising sea levels over the coming decades, losing hospitals, airports, power plants, multi-million dollar tourism resorts, roads, bridges and farmland, according to a UN report. Diplomats from the 43 Caribbean, African and Pacific nations grouped as Aosis (Alliance...
s capital. "This is the biggest ship to dock here since the war," he said. "But that time, people here thought they were being invaded." The Canterbury's crew emerged from the bowels with timber, piping, cable, concrete, water tanks and dozens of vehicles. A sparkling French Puma helicopter picked up in Noumea was unveiled on the flight deck. Tuvalu , the world's third smallest nation and perhaps the...
s summit to tackle climate change is a radical, transformative response to the failure of the Copenhagen club It was 11am and Evo Morales had turned a football stadium into a giant classroom, marshalling an array of props: paper plates, plastic cups, disposable raincoats, handcrafted gourds, wooden plates and multicoloured ponchos. All came into play to make his main point: to fight climate change...
s activities are not responsible for the current phase of global warming. "Don't please listen to those who say that there is some kind of choice to be made between looking after human beings and looking after the planet. It is one of the most foolish errors around these days," he said. But last night violence broke out when tens of thousands of people – some dressed as penguins and polar bears, carrying...