Free Republic

A popular honeymoon destination is the site of the Pacific’s fastest-growing HIV epidemic, with officials pointing to rising meth use as a key driver. In Fiji, HIV/AIDS cases are projected to double this year to more than 3,000, according to UNAIDS and Fiji’s Ministry of Health. Officials say drug use is fueling the surge across the Pacific island nation. In December, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a rapid assessment detecting unsafe injecting practices.

A powerful typhoon is expected to land somewhere between the Kii Peninsula in the Kinki region and the Kanto region on Thursday night. The approaching typhoon was already affecting air and ferry services. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled a total of 12 flights between Tokyo and the Izu Island chain as well as the Kii Peninsula in the morning. Passenger ferries between Tokyo and Izu as well as between Nagoya and Tomakomai, Hokkaido, were also canceled. Waves hit a highway as Typhoon Mawar approaches the Japanese mainland, in Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo, August 25th, 2005. The typhoon was...