Third Briefing
Europe & Russia
Recent events in Georgia have led European media to widely discuss the possibility of a second Cold War. Café Babel has an interview with Georgi Khaidrava, a former minister in the Georgian government. The Euranet radio partnership also covers the similarities of the present situation to Cold War rhetoric. Euractiv also carries an interview with Andrew Stroehlein, of the International Crisis Group.
Regional News
Turkey
Turkish police are reported to have used oppressive tactics against a legal environmental gathering, Ecotopia.
Sweden
The leader of Vänsterpartiet has called for co-operation between his party and the Greens and Socialdemokraterna (Social Democrats) in the run-up to the 2010 election, with the possibility of an alliance.
Germany
Electricity companies, RWE and E.ON are lobbying the government to cancel its planned phase-out of nuclear power.
Baltic Sea Region
Baltic states have been criticised in a report by WWF for failing to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea.
Global
United Nations climate talks are underway in Accra, Ghana. Friends of the Earth International has warned of flaws in the carbon trading system, and of the risk of land-rights abuses from the inclusion of forests in carbon markets. The UN has stated that “modest progress” has been made in the talks.
And Finally...
An elderly woman is reported to have placed herself on the luggage belt at Stockholm Airport, believing she was correctly checking in to her flight. It is not reported if she was flying Ryanair, in which case, she may have been right.