Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW: Russia has reached agreement with South Korea to supply 10 billion cubic metres (BCM) of natural gas a year. The deal will help Russia diversify gas exports away from Europe, which seeks to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

Melbourne, September 19

Fearing that Russia may use the uranium from Australia for its nuclear weapons programme, the Federal Parliament

Climate change is changing all the rules in the Arctic. The polar ice cap is smaller by some 700,000 square miles than it was in the two decades before 2000. The annual melting of northern ice this year may well surpass last year's - the furthest retreat of Arctic ice in a single year since it was first measured.

The fight against global warming is in danger of being downgraded on more urgent fears over energy security, heightened by a Russian war with Georgia, and a global economic slowdown.

Added to the mix -- politicians are faced with a rising clamour of complaints from voters over record fuel bills, and racing gas and oil prices have sparked new interest in high-carbon coal as well as cleaner alternatives.

Tatyana Sinitsyn

It was a historic event. On July 29, humans reached the bottom of Lake Baikal, the world's deepest and cleanest fresh water lake, for the first time ever.

Even if it had not reached the lake floor, the dive would deserve an entry in the Guinness Book of Records

The world's largest gas company, Gazprom of Russia, and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) have signed an agreement for the development of Iran's oil and gas fields. This will give Gazprom access to the world's second-largest gas reserves.

NIOC and Gazprom will cooperate in developing Iran's oil and gas fields, the transfer of oil from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Oman, and the construction of a refinery in northern Iran.

"Based on the agreement, we will form working groups, and one month after the signing of the deal we will start the work,' said

A clean-power colossus hopes to grow even bigger

www.radicalcartography.net/nuclear_full.png North Korea was at the receiving end of global condemnation after it announced that it carried out its first underground atomic weapons test in 2006. The US, Japan, China and Britain were the first to criticise and demanded action by the United Nations Security Council. Barring Japan, all these countries have conducted several nuclear tests of

Vladimir Radyuhin Russian scientists deny that the Kyoto Protocol reflects a consensus view of the world scientific community. As western nations step up pressure on India and China to curb the emission of greenhouse gases, Russian scientists reject the very idea that carbon dioxide may be responsible for global warming.