• Queen Elizabeth has reportedly expressed serious concern over the US policy towards global warming in a communication to UK prime minister Tony Blair. She has asked Blair's office to pressure the US in this regard. Her concerns were triggered after observing the effect of climate change on her estates at Balmoral Castle in Scotland and Sandringham House in east England.
• The European Commission has decided to send a final written warning to Greece regarding its failure to protect the rare loggerhead sea turtle on the island of Zakynthos. The European Court of Justice had held Greece guilty in this regard in January 2002. The warning will be the last step before penalties are imposed.
• More than a thousand residents of a farming village in Peru's northern Cajamarca department, suffering a mercury spill, have filed a lawsuit in a court in Colorado against Newmont Mining Company. The complainants are represented by the same law firm that, along with the famous Erin Brockovich, made Pacific Gas & Electric pay a compensation of us $333 million to a California town.
• Coca-Cola has signed an agreement with the European Commission (EC) in which it has promised crucial changes in its marketing practices in Europe. With this, the company has ended its five-year antitrust battle with the EC. Now, it won't be pronounced guilty or fined for breaking the European competition law. All legal uncertainties regarding its operations in the continent will also end.
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