1. Russian Energy Trading

Russia has ordered a detailed environmental order of Royal Dutch Shell's Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project, and has threatened to sue the company for "hundreds of millions" of dollars. Japan has warned that the failure to restart the project could hurt bilateral relations.

2. China Energy Strategy

Xinhua reports that China is developing a white paper on its energy policy to inform overseas researchers more about its approaches to procuring energy. The National Development and Reform Committee announced plans to raise energy prices, with a portion of the additional proceeds being devoted to financing renewable energy development. Premier Wen Jiabao said that China's energy strategy was focused on continuing to supply 90% of its energy need through domestic supplies through increased conservation and development.

3. South Korean Energy Procurement

South Korea will buy 200 tons of uranium over five years starting in 2010 to avoid a shortage of reactor fuel.
South Korea to buy 1000 tons of Australian uranium

4. Japanese Energy Security

Dr. Ken Koyama of Japan's Institute of Energy Economics presents Japan's new national strategy for energy security.

5. Nuclear Power

In the introduction to her new book, Helen Caldicott argues that nuclear power is not the answer to global climate change, but instead countries should invest in new, non-polluting technologies.

6. Japanese Satellites

Japan launched two satellites; one is an intelligence gathering satellite that will monitor North Korea, while the other will study the sun's magnetic field.

7. Climate Change

A study by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies found that the global temperature is now the highest in the latest inter-glacial period, which began around 12,000 years ago.

8. Pandemic Diseases

Bill Bowtell of Australia's Lowy Institute writes that the emergence of extreme drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis, combined with the global HIV pandemic, could spell disaster if more urgent measures aren't taken to combat the spread of AIDS.

9. Nanontechnology

Demos released a report on a study of how scientists can engage the public in developing strategies for governance of nanotechnologies.