As Trump renews Greenland threat, what next for Iceland, Svalbard, and Åland?
The US is still muscling in on Greenland, posing questions if undefended Iceland could be next, or if Russia has designs on demilitarised Svalbard and the Åland Islands.
#H5N5 #Birdflu virus found in polar #bear in #Europe for first time, on #Svalbard , https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/bird-flu-found-polar-bear-europe-first-time-svalbard-2026-05-19/
The Norwegian Veterinary Institute said in a statement it had also detected bird flu in a dead walrus on Svalbard, which is roughly halfway between the North Pole and mainland Europe.
Première détection du virus de grippe aviaire sur un ours polaire et un morse morts au Svalbard .https://www.vetinst.no/en/news/first-detection-of-avian-influenza-in-a-polar-bear-on-svalbard
#svalbard #arctique #arctic #OursPolaire #PolarBear #grippe #influenza

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a one-year-old male polar bear and a walrus at the northern end of Spitsbergen. This is the first time this virus has been detected in a polar bear in Norway as well as a first for Europe for this species.
Svalbard och Island är båda ungefär lika stora som södra Sverige. Svalbard är rättvänt, men jag fick vrida lite på Island. Jämför själv på hemsidan:
For anyone that wondered, as I did, what happens in the Russian community on Norway's Svalbard archipelago, France24 has a great 25 minute report on the community. Spoiler: it's poor, performative, heavily oppressed and they have a South African white woman doing their little social media propaganda.
