Russia, already a large supplier of nuclear-reactor fuel to Europe and Asia, is expected on Tuesday to sign its first purely commercial contract to supply low-enriched uranium to United States utilities.

Europeans started over-exploiting freshwater fish at least 1,000 years ago, according to historical studies that could help manage depleted modern fish stocks worldwide.

Whales teemed in waters off New Zealand in the 19th century and a now almost non-existent cod stock in the Gulf of Maine totalled a huge 70,000 tonnes a year in the mid-19th century, according to historical records.

As energy markets shrink, the same tactics that the Kremlin used to build Gazprom, the giant energy company, into a fearsome economic and political power that could restore Russian influence in the world are now backfiring, slashing both its profits and its influence.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has launched its first project in Turkey, providing a 45 million euro (US$29 million) loan to build the country's largest wind farm, the bank said on Monday.

Most businesses are keeping up efforts to improve the energy efficiency of their information technology, despite having less available capital due to the slowdown, a survey by research group Gartner Inc. shows.

Chief executives from Europe

GALABOVO, Bulgaria: An energy crisis brews as potential hydropower is largely misused

While Russia and Ukraine sparred over natural gas supplies in January, leaving swathes of Eastern and Central Europe shivering in the winter chill, another energy crisis was brewing in the Balkans.