The dividends accruing to Nigeria from its 853-kilometer coastline may be reversed as a new report warns that rising seas could affect three times more people and submerge some of the world’s coastal cities by 2050.

In the last days of Barack Obama's administration, US government scientists warned even more sea level rise is expected by century's end than previously estimated, due to rapid ice sheet melting at the poles.

China's efforts to stake its claim to most of the South China Sea should spark fear around the world, Philippine President Benigno Aquino told AFP on Tuesday.