Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland  - In folk festivals around the Arctic island, Greenlanders on Sunday celebrated a new chapter in their history with expanded autonomy removing them a further step from Denmark's colonial rule.

Participating in the festivities in the capital Nuuk were Danish Queen Margrethe II and Greenland's new premier, Kuupik Kleist, as Greenlanders celebrated the upgrading of their political status from "hjemmestyre" (home rule) into "selvstyre" (self-rule).

Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland - The leftist Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) has won a landslide victory in elections for the self-rule parliament in Greenland, according to tallies Wednesday.

The IA scored 43.7 per cent of the vote, almost double its share in the 2005 elections.

Turnout in Tuesday's vote was some 71 per cent of 39,900 eligible voters.

Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland - Voters on Greenland, the world's largest island, went to the polls Tuesday to elect a new self-rule parliament.

Opinion polls prior to the elections suggest a possible shake-up of Greenlandic politics with the Siumut party losing its hold on government.

The island, with a population of just under 60,000, is part of the kingdom of Denmark.

The Social Democratic party has dominated the political scene for the past three decades, but has been impacted by a series of claims scandals and abuse of public funds that could result in a loss of power.

Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland  - Judging by fresh opinion polls, Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen may well come to regret his recent decision to call for early elections.

A survey published less than a week before the vote on June 2 suggested a poor showing for Enoksen's Siumut party and its conservative allies Atassut. The two parties had just 38 per cent according to the poll by Ilisimatusarfik.

Copenhagen - Danish Crown Prince Frederik, Norway's Crown Prince Haakon, and Swedish Crown Princess Victoria are due to visit Greenland at the end of May to study the effects of climate change on the world's largest island.

The May 27 to June 1 visit to Greenland was aimed at helping raise awareness about climate change and global warming, and the three were to be briefed by researchers, the Danish palace said Monday.

Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland  - Voters in Greenland are to vote for a new home rule government June 2, the leader of the current home rule government said Wednesday.

The island territory is on June 21 set to gain more autonomy within Denmark under an agreement that coincides with the 30th anniversary of the existing home rule bill.

"I feel it is right to ask the people who should rule during the new era," Hans Enoksen of the ruling Siumut party said, according to the Sermitsiaq newspaper.

London, March 23 : A team of scientists is planning to dig up ice dating back more than 100,000 years in Greenland, to shed light on how global warming will change the world over the next century.

According to a report in The Times, the ice, at the bottom of the Greenland ice sheet, was laid down at a time when temperatures were 3 degree Celsius to 5 degree C warmer than they are today.

With temperatures forecast to rise by up to 7C in the next 100 years, the ice more than 8,000ft (2,400m) below the surface is thought by researchers to hold valuable clues to how much of the ice sheet will melt.

Washington, Feb 28: A new study has suggested that Greenland is lagging behind rest of the northern hemisphere's warming trend and that it's bound to catch up soon.

Air temperatures have been rising steadily in the northern half of the planet since about 1975, when scientists think the effects of human-induced global warming began to dominate the climate.

But, Greenland was left behind, perhaps kept cool when dust released from the eruptions of Mount St. Helens, El Chicon and Mt. Pinatubo reduced the amount of sunlight hitting the ice.

Around 1985, the icy island started to thaw, and has continued apace ever since.

Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland  - Greenland is set to gain more autonomy within Denmark after a strong majority of voters approved an enhanced self-rule plan, election results showed Wednesday.

Roughly 75 per cent of voters voted "aap," or "yes," Tuesday to the plan that would give Greenland partial control over its natural resources and take greater charge of justice and legal affairs.

"Looking back over history, this is the first time we've been asked," Greenland Premier Hans Enoksen said after the results were declared. "I'm extremely moved because now, like other peoples, we will be recognized as a nation."

Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland - Voters in Greenland went to the polls Tuesday to vote in a referendum on gaining more autonomy within Denmark.

A clear majority of the approximately 39,000 voters was expected to approve the plan, by voting "aap" or "yes" to the plan.

The Arctic island has had home rule since 1979. If the referendum is approved, Greenland aims to secure partial control over its natural resources and take greater charge of justice and legal affairs.

Copenhagen/Nuuk, Greenland  - Voters in Greenland, the world's largest island, are widely expected to approve a plan to gain more autonomy within Denmark in a referendum on Tuesday.

The Arctic island has had home-rule since 1979, and under the new terms Greenland aims to secure partial control over its natural resources and take greater charge of justice and legal affairs.

"We know Greenland has big resources," economics professor Christen Sorensen of the University of Southern Denmark and an expert on Greenland's economy said.

Washington, October 1: Based on a new method for creating an accurate picture of Greenland’s shrinking ice cap, it is now estimated that the country is accountable for a half millimeter-rise in the global sea level per year.

The method was developed by researchers from TU Delft, in joint collaboration with the Center for Space Research (CSR) in Austin, Texas, USA.

The research was based on data from the German-American GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites, two satellites that have been orbiting the earth behind each other since mid-2002.

Washington, August 21 : Scientists monitoring satellite images have discovered the continued breakup of two of Greenland’s largest glaciers, which have lead them to predict disintegration of the glaciers in the near future.

A massive 11-square-mile (29-square-kilometer) piece of the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland broke away between July 10th and by July 24th.

Washington, August 20 : A new research has found that pollution in southern Greenland was higher 100 years ago than today.

The study, titled “Coal Burning Leaves Toxic Heavy Metal Legacy in the Arctic,” was conducted by the Desert Research Institute (DRI), Reno, Nevada, and partially funded by the National Science Foundation.

Detailed measurements from a Greenland ice core showed pollutants from burning coal - the toxic heavy metals cadmium, thallium and lead - were much higher than expected.

The catch, however, was the pollutants weren’t higher at the times when researchers expected peaks.

Copenhagen/Ilulissat, Greenland - The five states bordering the Arctic on Wednesday deliberated how to abide by international rules to avert conflicts over the potential oil and other riches in the region that will open up in the wake of global warming.

Norway, the United States, Canada and Russia attended the meeting along with Denmark and self-governing Greenland.

Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller told news agency Ritzau he expected that "the struggle for the North Pole that is talked about so much, will be solved within the framework of the United Nations."