Jakarta overtakes Tokyo as world's most populous city
| | TOKYO, Japan, 27 November 2025 (Guardian) - Jakarta has overtaken Tokyo as the world’s most populous city, according to a UN study that uses new criteria to give a more accurate picture of the rapid urbanisation driving the growth of megacities. The Indonesian capital is home to 42 million people, according to an estimate by the population division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its World Urbanisation Prospects 2025 report published this month. |
'Extraordinary discovery' at Orkney Neolithic site
| | LONDON, UK, 26 November 2025 (BBC) - Archaeologists are to resume digging at the Ness of Brodgar on Orkney after 3D radar technology led to an "extraordinary discovery". The dig team at the Ness, one of the most important Neolithic sites in the British Isles, are not revealing what they believe the find to be until more work is done. But they say it is like nothing else ever found at the site – and may not even be Neolithic. |
Sri Lanka continues new elephant drive
| | COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, 26 November 2025 (Mongabay) - In Sri Lanka’s southern district of Hambantota, authorities have launched a large-scale elephant drive, mobilizing wildlife officers, armed forces and villagers to push herds from villages into what is known as the Managed Elephant Reserve (MER). Conservationists warn the Hambantota operation could mirror past failed drives, such as the 2006 drive in the south and the 2024 operation in north-central Sri Lanka that left elephant herds stranded. |
Island bird counts reveal mixed picture
| | LONDON, UK, 26 November 2025 (BBC) - The number of puffin breeding pairs on the Farne Islands in Northumberland has dropped by 23% in a year from 50,103 to 38,500 breeding pairs, the National Trust said. However, it cautioned against interpreting the drop as a sudden population decline after the island was hit by bird flu and storms in recent years which killed thousands. The annual count also revealed Arctic terns had increased by more than 26% from 410 to 519 pairs. |
Island-confined reptiles face high extinction risk
| | SAN FRANCISCO, US, 26 November 2025 (Mongabay) - Reptile species found only on islands are significantly more vulnerable to extinction than their mainland counterparts, yet remain vastly overlooked by researchers, according to a recent study. |
Taiwan plans extra $40bn in defence spending
| | TAIPEI, Taiwan, 26 November 2025 (Guardian) - Beijing’s threats to Taiwan are “intensifying” and its preparations to invade are speeding up, Taiwan’s government has said while announcing a $40bn special defence budget and a swathe of measures to counter Chinese attacks. |
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SIDS |
 | | 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States 27-30 May 2024, Antigua and Barbuda |
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NAF |
| | North Atlantic Forum bi-annual international conference 17-21 June, 2024, Connemara, Ireland, |
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IWRA |
| | 1st Islands Water Congress 4-6 Sept, 2024, Torshavn, Faroe Islands |
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ANATOMY OF ISLANDS |
| | 12th Anatomy of Islands symposium 26-28 Sept, 2024, Jelsa, Hvar Island, Croatia |
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CIS |
| | Critical Island Studies 4th international conference 3-4 Oct, 2024, Manila, Philippines |
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CBD |
| | COP16 21 Oct-1 Nov, 2024, Cali, Colombia |
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UNFCCC |
| | COP29 11-22 November, 2024, Baku, Azerbaijan |
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ISLAND DYNAMICS |
| | DARKNESS II conference, 20-23 January 2025, Nuuk, Greenland |
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JICAS |
| | Islands And Island Studies conference 3-7 June, 2025, Jersey, Channel Islands |
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UNITED NATIONS |
| | UN Ocean Conference 9-13 June, 2025, Nice, France |
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UPEI |
| | 3rd international conference on SIS and SNIJs 16-20 June, 2025, Charlottetown, PEI |
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ISISA |
| | 20th Islands of the World Conference 7-11 July 2026, Shinan County, Jeollanam-do, South Korea |
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