World News

Good to hear

But those supplies have long dried up, and researchers today estimate 80 percent of Nauru has been rendered uninhabitable by mining.

Bad to hear

It is especially vulnerable to climate change and has high rates of unemployment and health issues, a recent World Bank assessment said.

Unusually pure phosphate deposits -- a key ingredient in fertiliser -- once made Nauru one of the wealthiest places, per capita, on the planet.

But those supplies have long dried up, and researchers today estimate 80 percent of Nauru has been rendered uninhabitable by mining.

7.7 square mile nation that's 80% uninhabitable due to mining phosphates with approximately 10,000 people in the middle of nowhere finally makes the news again after decades of nothing happening.