Welcome to Global Islands Network           News Headlines More than half Philippine fauna nearly extinct MANILA, Philippines, 21 July 2008 (AFP) - More than half the birds, amphibians, and mammals found only in the Philippines are either threatened or nearly extinct, the environment and natural resources department said today. Critical condition HONOLULU, Hawaii, 20 July 2008 (Star Bulletin) - More and larger marine conservation areas and stronger enforcement of fishing regulations are needed to protect Hawaii's endangered coral reefs and fish populations, scientists say. Traders scrap over Jamaican metal LONDON, UK, 19 July 2008 (BBC) - There is big money to be made in scrap metal in Jamaica. The trade is an important source of foreign exchange for the country, worth £50m last year. Socotra recognised as World Heritage Site CAMBRIDGE, UK, 18 July 2008 (BirdLife) - The Socotra Archipelago was recently added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Natural Sites because of its rich and distinct flora and fauna and high level of endemism. Aran Islands eye haven status LONDON, UK, 18 July 2008 (BBC) - The mental associations people make with the phrase 'tax haven' are unavoidable. But nobody is trying to persuade anyone that the rocky Aran Islands, wind and rain-swept, 10 miles off the west coast of Ireland in the mouth of Galway Bay, are a tropical paradise. Cuba reforms turn to state land LONDON, UK, 18 July 2008 (BBC) - Cuba is to put more state-controlled farm land into private hands, in a move to increase the island's lagging food production. South Korea metro bans Japanese condom adverts amid islands row TOKYO, Japan, 17 July 2008 (Guardian) - A simmering territorial row between South Korea and Japan today threatened to spill over into Korean bedrooms after transport authorities in Seoul ordered the removal from subway trains of posters advertising Japanese condoms. AICIS 2nd Annual Conference on Islands of Competence - Branding Identities in a Globalized World 10-11 June, 2008, Mariehamn, The Aland Islands SICRI Call for papers 4th International  Conference on Small Island Cultures 17-20 June, 2008, SW Finnish archipelago ISRS 11th International Coral Reef Symposium 7-11 July, 2008, Fort Lauderdale, USA EU ISLANDS IUCN international conference 7-11 July, 2008, Reunion INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHICAL UNION IGU Commission on Islands conference 12-15 Aug, 2008, Tunis ISLAND HERITAGE MANAGEMENT UPEI conference 30 Sept-3 Oct, 2008, Charlottetown, Canada IUCN World Conservation Congress 5-14 Oct, 2008, Barcelona, Spain HYDROGEN ON ISLANDS International conference 22-25 Oct, 2008, Brac, Croatia MarBEF World Conference on Marine Biodiversity 11-15 Nov, 2008, Valencia, Spain UNIVERSITY OF ABERDEEN Taking Shetland Out of the Box conference 7-10 May, 2009, Lerwick, Shetland ISLAND INFORMATION & MAPS Island Directory, Islands of the World, Island Jurisdictions Index, Island Information, Oceandots Island Atlas