Russia’s foreign minister has warned of a repetition of its 2008 war with Georgia if the South Caucasus state joins NATO.

Speaking at a news conference after the NATO-Russia Council in Brussels on Thursday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had warned NATO foreign ministers against “pushing the current Georgian regime towards a repetition of their August 2008 gamble.”

Georgia has been pursuing NATO membership but the five-day war in 2008 over Georgia’s breakaway territory of South Ossetia has made the alliance wary of taking it on.

Speaking during a visit to Georgia last month, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the country had “come a lot closer” to joining, but added that Tbilisi should pursue reforms.

“Further reforms will be Georgia’s ticket to membership and NATO is here to help,” Rasmussen told Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.

Source.

Europe Snow Storm Closes Airports: London Heathrow Closed Until Sunday

Blizzards and freezing temperatures shut down runways, train tracks and highways across Europe on Saturday, disrupting flights and leaving shivering drivers stranded on roadsides.

Airports in Britain, Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark reported cancelations or delays to flights.

London’s Gatwick airport reopened late afternoon after 150 employees using dozens of plows worked to clear the runway of 10 centimeters (four inches) of snow, though officials warned flights would be limited and cancelations likely.

Heathrow Airport will remain shut until Sunday after snow and ice forced the closure of runways, according to a statement on its website.

No planes arriving at Brussels [Belgium]

A dozen flights out of Brussels have been cancelled. Others are experiencing delays. Other Belgian airports too are affected by the heavy snowfall of recent hours.

At the moment departing flights are being given “absolute priority. As a result no planes will be able to land at the country’s largest airport at least until 4 PM on Friday.

Charles De Gaulle Airport Paris Evacuated Due To Excess Snow On The Roof

The Charles De Gaulle Airport of Paris has been evacuated, because of the excess snow that has been accumulated on the terminal’s roof. The authorities at the airport state the evacuation is just a precautionary measure for the people, as there is a fear that any incident can take place by the two feet of snow that has been clogged over the airport’s roof.

Major rail link down as travel chaos continues [in Germany]

Germany’s pre-Christmas travel chaos shifted from airports to roads and railways Friday. Frozen overhead wires caused the suspension of the Berlin-Hannover rail link, while ice caused several motorway accidents.

Around 700 passengers were forced to wait hours overnight in five inter-city trains stuck between Berlin and Hannover overnight. The track became passable again on Friday morning, and semi-normal service was resumed.

But a spokesman for German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said the disruptions will continue throughout the day.

Local trains were severely affected by the weather, with services in a 50-kilometre radius around Hannover suspended until Friday morning.

Heavy snowfall paralyses south [Holland]

At least 40 cm of snow has paralysed traffic in much of the south of the country, particularly in Limburg and Noord Brabant.

The transport ministry is advising lorry drivers not to travel because of the risk of their vehicles getting stuck. Parts of the A2 motorway near Eindhoven have been closed in both directions because of the heavy snow.

The ANWB motoring organisation is warning drivers about the slippery conditions and says they should avoid all but non-essential journeys.

WeatherAction World RED WARNING for extreme weather 25-31 Dec

WeatherAction forecasted weeks ahead that there will be many dangerous weather events around the world in the period 25-31 Dec and specified a triple whammy of extreme events for Britain/NW Europe, NE/E USA and South/East Queensland Australia.

The period 25-31 Dec 2010 is a Weather Action Red warning (World) period with top activity expected in sub-periods 25-27th Dec & 29/30th Dec.

“There will be many dangerous weather events around the world in this period”, said Piers Corbyn astrophysicist of WeatherAction long range weather & climate forecasters. “Snow/blizzards/rain (where appropriate) and winds will be much more severe than standard meteorology will predict from 2 days ahead in these periods”

“For Britain/Europe, NE/East USA & East Queensland Australia we have specific long range extreme weather event warnings which we first issued end Nov / early December. The extremes to come are a consequence of Jet stream blockings and changes in both hemispheres caused by predictable solar-lunar effects”.

Billions of people face shortages of food and water and increased risk of flooding, experts at a major climate change conference have warned.

The bleak conclusion came ahead of the publication of a key report by hundreds of international environmental experts.

Agreement on the final wording of the report was reached after a marathon debate through the night in Brussels.

People living in poverty would be worst affected by the effects of climate change, the gathered experts said.

“It’s the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit,” said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Mr Pachauri said those people were also the least equipped to deal with the effects of such changes.

Key findings

Outlining the report’s findings, Martin Parry, co-chairman of IPCC Working Group II, said evidence showed climate change was having a direct effect on animals, plants and water.

“For the first time, we are no longer arm-waving with models; this is empirical data, we can actually measure it,” he told a news conference.

Key findings of the report include:

• 75-250 million people across Africa could face water shortages by 2020
• Crop yields could increase by 20% in East and Southeast Asia, but decrease by up to 30% in Central and South Asia
• Agriculture fed by rainfall could drop by 50% in some African countries by 2020
• 20-30% of all plant and animal species at increased risk of extinction if temperatures rise between 1.5-2.5C
• Glaciers and snow cover expected to decline, reducing water availability in countries supplied by melt water

Read the full article on BBC.