Putin Threatens Return to the Cold War
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: In an interview with the Globe and Mail, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to target Europe with missiles, including potentially nuclear weapons, in a dramatic escalation of his Cold War-style showdown with the United States.

Mr. Putin, in an interview at his country residence outside Moscow, said he considers U.S. plans to build an eastern European anti-missile site to shoot down Iranian missiles a provocation aimed at Russia.

Asked what he might do to retaliate, he said he would return Russia to the Cold War status where missiles were aimed at European targets. Exclusice: Putin threatens to target Europe with missiles (more) By Doug Saunders

Mark Alexander

There’s a Chill in the Air
BBC: Even as they struggle to find common ground on Iraq, are America and Iran locked in the escalating tensions of a new Cold War?

Many analysts saw their meeting in Baghdad on 28 May as a sign of a thaw.

The US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, described his four hours of talks with his Iranian counterpart as "positive".

But look at the bigger picture and there are serious and growing tensions on several fronts. Iran and the US: A new cold war? (more) By Roger Hardy

Mark Alexander

Is a New Cold War Looming on the Horizon?
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The Russian list of grievances with the West is growing: the planned US missile shield in Eastern Europe, plans for an independent Kosovo, NATO overtures to former Soviet Republics, and now Estonia moving a Soviet war memorial. As president of the EU, Germany is desperately trying to keep the peace between East and West. German Foreign Minister Warns against a New Cold War (Read on)

Mark Alexander