On Monday, ‘The Guardian’ published comments by one of the senior NATO commanders, US Admiral James G. Stavridis, Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, who warned that while the Arctic ices are melting due to global warming, the whole Arctic region can become a scene of new confrontation in the global race for resources. more »

Russia’s two Arctic expeditions have met in the middle of the ocean to share their breakthrough discoveries. more »

Representatives from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States set up a new Arctic Regional Hydrographic Commission on Oct. 6 in Ottawa to develop better nautical charts and improve safety in Arctic waters. more »

Msnbc reports, the search for the Northwest Passage was once the preserve of explorers hoping to find a lucrative new trade route linking Europe with the Far East.

Now the decline in the amount of ice in the Arctic Ocean is turning their failed dream into a reality.

Between 1906 and 2006 only 69 ships made the journey but in 2009 alone 24 vessels made the journey, according to Canadian maritime law expert Michael Byers, Germany’s Der Spiegel newspaper reported. more »

MOSCOW, June 7 (Xinhua) — Russian Emergency Ministry plans to launch a system of search and rescue centers in Russian Arctic territories, a high ranking official said Monday. more »

Putin visited the Russian archipelago of Franz Josef Land, 1,000 km (600 miles) from the North Pole, as part of Russia’s drive to reassert its presence in the resource-rich region, now opening up to commercial exploration because of melting ice. more »

According to nytimes.com, the leaders of Russia and Norway amicably resolved on Tuesday a 40-year-old dispute over dividing the Barents Sea and part of the Arctic Ocean into clear economic zones that extend to the edge of Europe’s northern continental shelf. more »

Canada and Denmark have begun discussions aimed at resolving a decades-old boundary dispute in the Arctic Ocean, Canwest News Service has learned. more »