Denmark's Voice in the Arctic. Since taking over as Denmark's Arctic ambassador in August, Erik Vilstrup Lorenzen has been making plans for improving ties with other countries in the region. Lorenzen, who previously served as Denmark's ambassador to Canada, is responsible for Arctic matters concerning the Kingdom of Denmark, which includes Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and his primary role is to implement Arctic strategy and ensure the country has a visible position in international discussions about its future. Arctic Journal

Council Examines Domestic Violence Programs. The council charged with making sure Alaska's crisis intervention services met as many needs as possible gathered last week, discussing a myriad of challenges, but celebrating in the successes seen through community and agency collaboration. Among the council's top priorities was deciding how to move forward with the apparently struggling Maniilaq Family Crisis Center, where the number of people using the facility has been steadily dropping. The Arctic Sounder

Report: Aging Aboriginal Canadians Have Harder Time Staying Healthy. First Nations, Metis and Inuit of advancing years often have poorer health than their non-aboriginal counterparts but don't receive the same level of health-care services as other Canadian seniors, a report says. The Health Council of Canada report, released Thursday, says the health of aboriginal seniors can be compromised by poverty, inadequate housing and poor diet, especially for those living in remote areas where nutritious foods may be prohibitively expensive. Alaska Dispatch

House Lines Up Year-End Blitz. The House could act on a flurry of bipartisan deals when it returns in December for the final two legislative weeks of 2013. Or, it could head home for the holidays empty handed. Negotiators are trying to finish House-Senate conference reports on the budget, a farm bill and a water projects bill before the end of the year. Aides say there is a slim chance that all three could be done in time for the House to vote in 2013, but a likelier scenario is one or two of them will be punted into next year. The Hill

Will Canada Claim The North Pole? Arctic Seafloor Claim to be Filed this Week. Some time this week, Canada is expected to make its case to the world to dramatically expand its boundaries by an area equivalent to the size of all three Prairie provinces. Canada's deadline is Friday to apply to a United Nations commission for exclusive rights to what is likely to be another 1.7 million square kilometres of Arctic seafloor. The application under the Convention on the Law of the Sea will be the culmination of a decade of work and more than $200 million in public money. Globe and News

Russian Navy Prioritizes Arctic Region. The Arctic will be a priority region for Russia's naval forces, the Northern Fleet said Monday, with boosted combat training and the scouting of lesser-known areas in the icy territory in 2014. The Northern Fleet will conduct sailing and diving expeditions in the Arctic and develop a series of ice-class patrol ships to protect the country's interests in the region, spokesman Vadim Serga told reporters. Global Times

Washington, Alaska Senators Pave Way for 4 New Icebreakers. The four U.S. senators from Washington and Alaska are seeking to authorize construction of as many as four new heavy-duty icebreakers, vastly expanding the Coast Guard's beleaguered Seattle-based icebreaker fleet. But with a price tag of $850 million or more per vessel, the odds of Congress going along seem about as good as a snowball's chance in the warming polar climate. Seattle Times

NOAA to Have Home with Coast Guard in New London. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is moving in with the U.S. Coast Guard at Fort Trumbull so the two agencies can share resources and work more closely together on the Arctic and other issues. "They have a large maritime role just like we do, and to not leverage each other in these days, with the budget realities we face, would be crazy," said Capt. Alan Arsenault, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Research and Development Center. "They have capabilities we need and vice versa. The bottom line is, it's the right thing to do because we're both federal organizations and there are some synergies with the existing work we're doing." A team from the RDC and from NOAA tested their technologies for the Arctic region north of Alaska in September, during Arctic Shield 2013. The Day

The Battle for the Arctic. Global warming is melting the ice sheet covering the top of the world. The amount of ice during the summer months has declined more than 40 percent since the 1970s, a trend that most climate scientists say is a consequence of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. By as early as 2030, some researchers believe, the Arctic could have ice-free summers. "Climate change is actually doing what our worst fears dictated," said Jennifer Francis, a sea-ice expert at Rutgers University. But for countries that border the Arctic, the melt offers big benefits. New shipping lanes between Europe and the Pacific are opening up. Vast amounts of oil and natural gas that were once locked beneath the ice can now be exploited. The Week