by Mingming Shi
1) Kim Kielsen, the head of Siumut, a social democratic party in Greenland, has been removed from his position. Kielsen is also the current Prime Minister of Greenland. Mikkel Schøler has written a commentary to explain the details of this event, as well outlining new questions about the future of mining projects, the relationship with Denmark and the next potential coalition government.
2) According to Canada’s CBC, a new-found deposit of gold and diamonds, which is estimated to be 2.85 billion years old, has been confirmed in Nunavut, Canada. The discovery is not only contributing to further natural scientific understanding of the earth, but may also provide another source of future income for the territory.
3) As Morgunblaðið news service in Iceland reported, the Christmas Cat (Jólakötturinn) has been installed on Lækjartorg Square in downtown Reykjavík, in order to accompany the upcoming holiday and to attract traffic. This frightening character, also known as the Yule Cat, was inspired by traditional Icelandic folklore.
4) KNR reported that new research [in Danish] on glaciers in Greenland demonstrates that the melt rate of said glaciers is faster than previously assumed, which, as is now commonly understood, will have effects such as sea level rise on a global scale. However, as some scientists explain, Greenland itself may probably have an exemption from this consequence, due to the rising of the island caused by decreasing downward pressures from the shrinking glaciers.
5) In light of Estonia’s application for formal observer status in the Arctic Council, an online seminar entitled ‘Estonia as an Aspiring Arctic Council Observer State: Promoting Smart Solutions’ will take place on 30 November on Facebook and YouTube. Further details can be found via this link.
Over the Circle 