Oceans

Beyond the antagonistic statements of Turkish government official on issues of sovereignty, former military officers and former officials are now claiming that five Greek islands belong to Turkey.

The claims are directly related to the delineation of the Exclusive Economic Zones of countries in the wider region.

Almost 92 million euros has been earmarked for aid to Crete, which suffered serious infrastructure damage from the torrential storms that struck the southern Aegean island in February and March, local reports said on Monday.

Photos of Turkish navy divers holding a Turkish flag under the sea in Greek island Crete's Souda Bay have stirred reaction in Greece, local media has reported.

Abdullah Kurdi sits in front of the German NGO "Sea-Eye" rescue ship named after his son Alan Kurdi, during the ship's inauguration in Palma de Mallorca, Spai, Sunday.

The bodies of four Turkish sailors, who died on two ships which caught fire in the Kerch Strait, have arrived in Istanbul by plane.

Russia and Japan's leaders meet for talks in Moscow Tuesday (Jan 22) over the disputed island chain that has long prevented a peace treaty to end World War II. But recent rhetoric has dampened hopes of a breakthrough, writes Channelnewsasia.

AFP - United Nations member states on Tuesday kick off long-awaited talks on a 2020 treaty that would regulate the high seas, which cover half the planet yet lack adequate environmental protection.

Four sessions of talks, each lasting two weeks, are planned to take place over two years, with the goal of protecting marine biodiversity and avoiding further pillaging of the oceans.

The discovery of potentially millions of tons of valuable "rare earth" elements in sea sludge off Japan has raised hopes that Asia's number-two economy can reduce its dependence on Chinese supply.

Turkey is among the 20 countries responsible for 83 percent of the bad plastic waste management in the world, Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TÜDAV) head Prof. Dr. Bayram Öztürk has said, adding that microplastic pollution of the marine environment is of increasing concern to human health, as microplastics have even been observed in the city’s water supplies.

A 54-year-old Polish sailor was found in the Indian Ocean near the French island of Reunion (east of Madagascar) after he took a lifeboat trip seven months ago and lost his orientation and management, France press reported.

The shipwrecker, called by the media only with the name Zbigniew, survived by eating half a pack of Chinese soup a day and a little fish that he could catch.