Cubans study oil tanker diplomacy for signs of progress
| | HAVANA, Cuba, 4 April 2026 (Guardian) - When a sanctioned Russian oil tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, docked at Cuba's Matanzas oil terminal on Tuesday, unloading 700,000 barrels of crude, it was not immediately clear why the ship had been allowed to pass through Donald Trump’s oil blockade. Then, on Thursday, came news that Cuba was releasing 2,010 prisoners. The government framed the move as a humanitarian gesture for Holy Week, but observers were quick to link the two events – and see both as evidence that negotiations between Washington and Havana are continuing. |
A disease-free island refuge is being tapped for a koala rescue mission
| | LONDON, UK, 3 April 2026 (BBC) - Kangaroo Island is thought to host the world's largest chlamydia-free koala population, offering something of a living insurance policy for the species. Still, these koalas are under a pressure of their own: more than a century of isolation has left them deeply inbred and genetically fragile. |
Cuba to pardon more than 2,000 prisoners
| | HAVANA, Cuba, 3 April 2026 (AFP) - Cuba has announced plans to pardon 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian” gesture during Holy Week, amid heightened US pressure on the government in Havana. The announcement came days after Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade of Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude oil to the nation. |
World reaches milestone for nature
| | CAMBRIDGE, UK, 2 April 2026 (IUCN) - The international community has reached an important global milestone, with 10.01% of the ocean now officially designated within protected and conserved areas. |
Falkland Islands on the April 2 anniversary of 1982 war, in photos
| | STANLEY, Falkland Islands, 2 April 2026 (AP) - Attention in Argentina returns each April 2 to the Falkland Island, a wind-swept South Atlantic archipelago whose sovereignty Argentina has long claimed. The islands’ ties with the mainland remain limited, decades after the 1982 war with the U.K. ended in a British victory. |
Taiwan to strengthen Pratas islands defences
| | TAIPEI, Taiwan, 2 April 2026 (Reuters) - Taiwan will strengthen its defences of the Pratas as China steps up its activities around the islands which lie at the top end of the South China Sea. The Pratas, an atoll which is also a Taiwanese national park, are only lightly defended by Taiwan, and its coastguard has that responsibility rather than the military. |
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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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SICRI |
| | Island Studies International Conference 25-28 June, 2026, Tacloban City, Leyte Islands, Philippines |
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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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