Russia claims North Pole ion

"Russia has taken a giant leap for the Kremlin by planting its flag on the ocean floor under the North Pole in a politically charged symbolic gesture to claim the rights to the sea bed which could be rich in oil and gas.
In a dramatic technical feat testing international law, the Russians dispatched two mini-submarines 2.5 miles to the ocean floor in what is believed to be the first expedition of its kind.
Both submersibles, with crews of three on board, completed their dangerous return to the surface yesterday after what was described as a 'smooth landing'.
But the expedition raised the hackles of Russia's neighbours, who also have their eye on the vast mineral deposits that could lie under the Arctic area, and who consider the Russian move as a brazen land grab. 'This isn't the 15th century. You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory',' said Peter MacKay, Canada's Foreign Minister.
Russia has fired the first diplomatic shot in a really cold war. The new oil rush has been galvanised by the accelerated shrinking of the polar ice cap because of global warming, which has allowed exploration that had been previously unthinkable because of the extreme conditions."