Lagos Island is the principal island as well as the central local government area, located in the Lagos Metropolitan Area, within the Lagos State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Serving as a federal capital city of the Republic until December 1991, it was replaced by Abuja, and also it was replaced by Ikeja as the state capital.

Nowadays, even though it is not the capital city, there are still some unofficial seats of many government agencies located within the city.

Lying in the large protected harbor on the coast of Africa, at the beginning was only a fishing village of the Yoruba people named Eko (Oko), that later grew up and became what today is known as Lagos.

The first Europeans that arrived on the island were the Portuguese in 1472, where they slowly developed the trade. One century later, the Portuguese due to their great relations with the local kings, were granted a slaving monopoly and established a flourishing slave trade.

British attempts to suppress the slave trade culminated in 1851 in a naval attack on Lagos and the deposition of the local kings.

Up until 1861, the slave trade continued to grow, and once (between 1866 and 1874) it became a part of the United Kingdom’s West African Settlements, when it became part of the Gold Coast Colony, nowadays Ghana.

Receiving again in 1886 a separate status under a British Governor, the country had to wait until 1906 when the North and South part of Nigeria were united and Lagos made as a capital city of Colony and Protectorate.

Officially Lagos became the capital city of the Federation in 1960 when Nigeria gained its independence, and by 1975 it was suffering greatly from slums, environmental pollution, and traffic congestion.

Nowadays, Lagos Island holds most of the population of the city, and it is Nigeria’s largest city and one of the largest ones in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Connected to the mainland by three large bridges which cross Lagos Lagoon to the district of Ebute Metta, it is also linked to the neighboring island of Ikoyi and to Victoria Island.

The different religions that are represented in Nigeria, have their temples on the island, and historically seen, the majority of the slave trade returnees settled on the island.

The eastern side of Lagos Island is poorer, however, the problem with traffic congestion and overcrowding that were big problem for the island in the past still poses a problem.

Even though there were some attempts made for building new roads, still no improvements can be seen.

Nonetheless, as a major educational and cultural center, Lagos Island is the home for most of the Nigerian banks, which have their head offices on the island, where most notable is the First Bank of Nigeria, which head office is located in Marina. It is a real feeling of a “lost lamb” for any visitor who is going to the island, since if he or she is not a local, it would be quite difficult and interesting getting around the streets.

Cities in eastern China suspended ferry services and classes and flights were canceled in Japan on Sunday as Typhoon Hinnamnor, the strongest global storm this year, blew its way past Taiwan and the Koreas with fierce winds and heavy rains.

Shanghai grounded ferry services and deployed more than 50,000 police officers to aid with rescues and guide traffic away from danger areas. The eastern business hub of Wenzhou ordered all classes suspended on Monday.

Hinnamnor is forecasted to move gradually northward into the East China Sea with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.

Evacuations and flight cancellations have been ordered in Japan’s southern Okinawa Island.

The typhoon is also expected to bring intense rainfall to the Korean Peninsula, bringing the possibility of flooding.

China’s National Meteorological Center issued a yellow typhoon warning at 10 a.m. Sunday, and warned of heavy rains in northeastern Zhejiang, Shanghai and self-governing Taiwan.

Ships were told to return to port to take shelter from the wind, and the center also urged people against large gatherings both indoors and outdoors.

In Japan, the typhoon lashed Okinawa and nearby islands with heavy rain and fierce winds, threatening flooding and grounding more than 100 flights connecting the islands and parts of the main southern island of Kyushu.

About 1,000 people in the rural Northern California community of Weed were still being kept from their homes Sunday as firefighters worked to contain a blaze that had sparked out of control at the start of the holiday weekend.

Power outages, smoky skies and uncertainty about what the day would bring left a feeling of emptiness around the town the morning after evacuation orders were lifted for thousands of other residents.

“It’s eerily quiet,” said Susan Tavalero, a Weed city councilor, who was driving to a meeting with fire officials.

She was joined by Mayor Kim Greene, and the two hoped to get more details on how many homes had been lost.

A total of 132 structures were destroyed or damaged, fire officials said Sunday, though it wasn’t clear whether they were homes, businesses, or other buildings.

Crews kept the flames, known as the Mill Fire, from growing overnight.

As of Sunday morning, the fire covered about 6.6 square miles (17 square kilometers) and was 25% contained, numbers unchanged since Saturday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s morning report.

Arno Atoll is a coral atoll comprised of 133 islands in the Pacific Ocean, which forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands.

All these islets are about 15 kilometers by boat from the main economic center of the Marshal Islands, the island of Majuco.

In other words, they are the closest atoll to Majuro, and only ones that are served by regular public boats.

But, it could be like a thousand kilometers away. On the way to the atoll, you can always encounter dolphins and whales, blue pelagic and tuna.

In the past, in 1884 the atoll was claimed by the German Empire together with the rest of the Marshall Islands.

After World War I, the island became part of the South Pacific Mandate of the Empire of Japan, where following World War II, Arno Atoll came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

The island has been part of the independent Republic of the Marshall Islands since 1986.

As soon as you arrive on the atoll, you’ll notice that there are three enclosed different lagoons.

The central one is bigger, compared to the other two in the north and the east.

The big lagoon has an area of 338 square km (130 square mi). The people who live on the atoll have difficult life, since they are living like in they are on the most isolated island of the Marshall Islands.

Nevertheless, they are well known for their productivity on making copra, which is the dried out meat of the coconuts, from which the coconut oil is extracted.

The federal government has halted the construction of the Port Harcourt-Maidugiri Eastern rail line due to insecurity and vandalism of railway infrastructure on the corridor.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Transportation, Engr. Mu’azu Sambo, during the inspection of the project, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria’s South-south.

According to the minister, China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCEC), the contractor handling the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the project, had complained of attacks on its workers along the Abia State axis.

Sambo, who was obviously very displeased by the acts, condemned them in strong terms, pointing out that in the history of Nigeria, no administration has invested more in rail infrastructure like the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He used the opportunity to call on the media and the judiciary to collaborate with the Ministry to ensure that economic saboteurs are not only exposed but prosecuted and sentenced speedily to serve as deterrence to others.

On the report that the funds meant for the Eastern rail line is diverted to other projects, the Minister said it was fake news as the progress made so far is from the 15% of the counterpart funding by Nigeria while the 85% to be provided by foreign parterners was still being negotiated.