A seabed mapping expedition in the Arctic region has returned evidence that suggests Denmark has a strong claim to the North Pole thanks to its continued sovereignty over Greenland, whose Home Rule does not entirely remove it from the Danish kingdom. At present, no nation has sovereign rights over the North Pole, even though many covet the idea now that the Arctic appears to be warming up. Read the full story

Lewis Gordon Pugh, a 38 year-old environmental activist from the UK, has begun the extraordinary challenge of kayaking 1,200km from Svalbard, Norway to the North Pole. His purpose is to raise global awareness about the rapid disappearance of sea ice within the Arctic region.

This won’t be Pugh’s first trip to the North Pole, however. In 2007 he claimed the distinctive honour of being the first person to swim one kilometre in the frigid Arctic Ocean at the geographic North Pole wearing only swimming trunks. It took Pugh nearly 19 minutes to complete the feat in -1.7 degrees Celsius waters.

Pugh contends that he should not be able to paddle his kayak in the Arctic sea during summer, but since the ice pack is so thin he believes he now can. “I hope I don’t get all the way to the North Pole because Read the full story