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December 12, 2003

Joe Handley wins NWT's top job

Newly-elected members of the Northwest Territories legislative assembly saw their easiest premiership vote in many years this week, when Weledeh MLA Joe Handley walked into the premier's job unnopposed.

Like the Nunavut assembly, the 19-member NWT legislature elects a speaker, premier and cabinet from among themselves after each election.

This time, no one wanted to run against the well-respected Joe Handley, a veteran bureaucrat who was first elected to the NWT legislature in 1999, and who served as finance minister in the last government.

Two other MLAs, Floyd Roland and Victor Allen, withdrew from the premier's race before the Dec. 10 vote.

Handley, a Metis from northern Saskatchewan, first moved to Yellowknife in 1985 to serve as deputy minister of education under Dennis Patterson, who was then the MLA for Iqaluit and the NWT's education minister.

December 12, 2003

Finns dreaming of White Christmas

SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE

People employed in the winter tourism industry in Rovaniemi, Finland, are concerned because there has been almost no snow to date — and that's what the 70,000 visitors who fly in from other snowless places in Europe expect this time of year.

A Christmas without snow would be disastrous, hitting a multi-million-dollar industry hard — particularly the huge Santa Claus shopping mall not far from the city and the many hotels that serve tourists looking for the "real" Christmas experience.

"If I went to Hawaii, and it rained I would be disappointed too, but we are doing the best we can," Rami Korhonen, whose company Lapland Safari takes tourists on husky and reindeer rides, told Reuters news service.

This winter, Korhonen's firm has been taking tourists for sleigh rides 300 kilometres north of Rovaniemi, where there is snow, and has tried making artificial snow.

December 12, 2003

Australia joins missile defense

Australia has joined the U.S. national missile defense scheme, saying its cooperation could include sites for missile detection and missile sensors. It ruled out a ground-based missile defense system.

Last week the Australian foreign minister said the shield system could deter rogue states from acquiring missile technology.

But Australia's move to join the NMD may anger its Asian neighbours who already see Australia as the U.S. "sheriff" in the region.

December 12, 2003

Radon poses danger in northern Russia

Russian scientists think they have discovered the reason for illness and premature aging among the population of the Russian Far North. Researchers say that, apart from the difficult climatic conditions, people from the Russian Arctic regions are being harmed by the radioactive gas called radon.

Scientists are even suggesting that some people should be moved from the most radon-filled areas.

The majority of cities and towns are built on rocks, layers of granite that actively emit radon — a gas eight times heavier than air.

In mining towns, where explosives are often used, the level of radon exceeds healthy levels.

Double doors and hermetically sealed windows help to keep out cold air, but help radon to accumulate in rooms, especially on lower floors.

Doctors in the Murmansk region of northern Russia say high radon levels in residential buildings may have a negative effect on people's health, by affecting their immune system and energy levels. When ingested, the gas causes dizziness and is carcinogenic.

December 12, 2003

Inuit singers win big

SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICE

The Alaskan Yupik/Greenlandic Inuit quartet Pamyua took top honours at the recent Native American Music Awards in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when a live album they recorded in 2002, called "Caught in the Act," was named record of the year.

The quartet includes Phillip and Stephen Blanchett, Greenlander Karina Moeller and Ossie Kairaiuak.

The award is the first Nammy for Pamyua and the first for an Alaskan group in the six years of the award. More than 140 recordings were submitted for 2003 Nammy consideration.

"Caught in the Act" was released in April. Pamyua's CD debut was "Mengluni" in 1998. The title is a Yupik word meaning "the beginning." Pamyua's second album, "Verses," was released in late 2000 and earned the group a 2001 Nammy nomination for best world music recording.

Philip Blanchett and Karina Møller have performed at Kuujjuaq's Aqpik Jam.

December 12, 2003

From Greenland to Canada

The Great Canadian Travel Company of Manitoba and Nuuk Tourism of Greenland are hoping to relaunch air travel between Greenland and Canada. "The plans are ready, we are just waiting to get answer from air traffic officials in Greenland," said the director of Nuuk Tourism, Flemming Nicolaisen.

The Great Canadian Travel Company hopes the route between Canada and Greenland will open early in 2004. This winter the company is offering charter flights from Winnipeg to Kulusuk in East Greenland.

December 5, 2003

Alaskan village gets free gas

SIKU CIRCUMPOLAR NEWS SERVICES

Next winter, residents in the North Slope village of Nuiqsut hope to be heating their homes with free and clean-burning natural gas instead of the pricey, dirty oil they use now.

The gas would be piped in from the Alpine oil and gas field, eight miles north of the Inupiat village of about 450 people. The field is operated by Conoco Phillips Alaska Inc., the state's largest oil and gas producer.

Nuiqsut residents negotiated for the gas to offset the inconvenience of having industry move in to their neighborhood.

When the Alpine field was discovered in 1996 and began pumping oil four years later, partially occupying village land, the villagers made getting gas a priority.

The Barrow-based North Slope Borough, on behalf of Nuiqsut, is advertising for a contractor to build a distribution system that will hook in the village's 90 to 100 homes. Plans are to bring gas to the village's schools, electric power plant and government buildings later.

Construction is expected to cost $2 million to $3 million. A 3.5-inch pipeline from the Alpine field to Nuiqsut has been built.

Saami battle Norwegian military

More than 100 owners and herders of reindeer in northern Norway have launched a legal battle against the military.

A military shooting range called Halkavarre is at the heart of the conflict because it sits on the Saami's traditional reindeer grazing lands. Military officials said they intend to stay in the area and even want to expand their activities there, using it for bombing exercises.

"Now this is war," said Geir Haugen, a lawyer representing the reindeer herders.

Haugen said in 1996 the military agreed to limit its use of the field until a new law on land rights was in place.

Haugen recently filed documents in a Hammerfest court calling for an immediate halt to the military's target practice at Halkavarre.

Court rules against relocated Inughuit

The Danish Supreme Court has refused to increase an award of 1.7 million kroner ($300,000) to Inughuit as compensation for being relocated from their community 50 years ago.

And the court didn't support their claim for traditional hunting grounds around the current site of Thule Air Base at Uummannaq.

The compensation award was set by a lower court four years ago. Greenlandic Prime Minister Hans Enoksen said he was disappointed by the Supreme Court ruling.

"We had assumed that because the relocation was forced, Hingitaq 53 [an organization representing those affected by the relocation] would get a ruling in their favour. Considering how Denmark, as a democratic country, has always defended human rights, it's a big disappointment that this case ended as it did," Enoksen told Greenland's Radioavis.

Sewers produce caffeine jag

Researchers at the Norwegian Institute for Air Research have found traces of caffeine and other drugs in drainage water and the sea near Tromsø in northern Norway.

Caffeine and drugs flushed into city sewers may take longer to break down in icy Arctic waters than further south, which may explain why the levels of pharmaceutical residues matched those expected for a city three times the size of Tromsø.

Each liter of water discharged from Tromsø contained up to 100 micrograms of caffeine. In the sea the concentration was measured at 100 nanograms per liter.

"The concentration is high. We are surprised that caffeine is not more diluted by the high volume of water," researcher Roland Kallenborn told the Aftenposten newspaper. "Caffeine is not caught by purification plants and there is a high and continuous supply entering the sea."

Caffeine is found in coffee and cola as well as some medicines. Researchers believe that about 80 per cent of caffeine comes from households, offices and cafés, with medicines accounting for the rest.

"We have almost no information about what kind of problems caffeine can cause in nature. It is a poison and at very high concentrations it can affect the nervous system. We don't know the kind of environmental effect caffeine can have on the ecosystem and this is something that should be thoroughly investigated," Kallenborn said.

Some samples taken very close to a sewer outlet near a psychiatric hospital also showed measurable amounts of anti-epileptic drugs and anti-depressants.

Tromsø sea water contained measurable traces of ibuprofen, an anti-inflammatory drug often used to treat arthritis.

Police nab young arson suspects

Iqaluit RCMP have two new suspects in the recent Nakasuk and Inuksuk high school fires.

Police arrested and charged two teenage boys with arson on Dec. 2 after they allegedly lit a plastic thermostat on fire in Building 2223, commonly known as the Ivavik building on Apex Road.

Police said a man found the thermostat in flames and quickly put it out before the emergency crew arrived.

Investigators said they were still reviewing a possible connection between the boys and previous fires but said no evidence has been found so far.

"They're being investigated to see if they have any involvement with other fires in town," said Const. Denis Lambe.

The boys, ages 15 and 13, cannot be named under provisions of the Young Offenders Act.

Suspected arson in Salluit

Four families are homeless after a fire at a four-plex in Salluit.

Kativik Regional Police Force and volunteer firemen responded to the fire at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday. The building was evacuated, and firefighters battled the fire for more than an hour.

The apartment block suffered heavy smoke and water damage, and according to Salluit's town manager, Paulusi Saviadjuk, municipal workers will assess and repair the damage if possible.

With only four new social housing units built in Salluit this year, Saviadjuk said this week's fire means the community won't gain any new housing.

Late Tuesday, police had encountered an intoxicated woman who resided in one of the apartments.

The woman was arrested in conjunction with the fire, which police suspect was deliberately set.

New money for UArctic

Human Resources Development Canada is giving $441,474 to the University of the Arctic for its International Academic Mobility program, called "North2North."

North2North is an international exchange program for students of the North who are studying in the North. It's organized by the University of the Arctic, an international network of educational institutions that provide post-secondary education to northern residents.

To get the project going, Canadian institutions, including Nunavut Arctic College, plan to form a Canadian Circumpolar Mobility Consortium.

Other Canadian participants include the Arctic Athabascan Council, Aurora College, Saint Mary's University, Université Laval, University of Alberta, University of Northern British Columbia, University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan and Yukon College.

Countries participating in North2North are Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United States, Iceland, Russia and now, Canada.

King crabs scare fishermen

Fishermen along Norway's northern coast caught four king crabs in their nets last week, and the catch scared them.

Fishing industry experts believe the king crabs will damage the marine environment around the Lofoten fishing grounds.

The area serves as a spawning ground for the Norwegian and Russian cod industry, and the fishermen worry the crabs will eat up everything in sight. No one knows how the crabs wound up in the nets of brothers Ivar and Henrik Myklebust.

"When we first found one crab in our net, and then three more, it occurred to me that maybe someone planted them," Ivar Myklebust told wire service NTB. He added, "I got shivers down my spine when I saw them come up" from the water.

Tourism officials farther north hope the crabs can lure visitors interested in going after them. Jens Harald Henssen of Finnmark Reiseliv thinks so-called "crab safaris" could be as popular as moose safaris. Two Japanese tour operators already have expressed interest.

Norwegian churches welcome gays and lesbians

Churches in North Norway say they welcome homosexuals. The parishes of Svolvaer and Vagan recently promised no negative words would ever be uttered towards gay churchgoers.

In Svolvaer Church, the rainbow flag used as homosexuality's banner hangs outside. The flag is meant to show gays and lesbians that they are welcome and can worship without fear of finding themselves the subject of a fiery sermon, the newspaper Lofotposten reports.

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