Clinton: Arctic Council enters new era

The Arctic Council - a forum of eight countries with territory in the polar region - has agreed its first legally-binding agreement, marking it out as a burgeoning decision-making arena at a time when global interest in the region is spiraling.

Climate change, melting icecaps, offshore oil and new shipping routes are among the issues attracting an increasingly heavy-weight crowd, evidenced at a ministerial meeting in Nuuk, Greenland, on Thursday (12 May) by the attendance of US secreta...