Brownsea Island It is within the South Dorset constituency of the House of Commons and the South West England constituency of the European Parliament. Brownsea Island has built up on a bare sand and mud bank deposited in the shallow harbour. Ecological succession has taken place on the island to create topsoil able to support ecosystems. The nature reserve on the island is leased from the National Trust by Dorset Wildlife Trust. This reserve includes a brackish lagoon and area of woodland. Other ecosystems on the island include salt marsh, reedbed, two freshwater lakes, alder carr, coniferous woodland, deciduous woodland and arboretum.
Battle off the coast of Abkhazia Battle off the coast of Abkhazia The Battle off the coast of Abkhazia was a naval engagement between warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and Georgian patrol boats during the Russo-Georgian War. According to Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet left their base in Sevastopol, Ukraine, on the evening of 8 August. On 10 August RIA Novosti – quoting a source in the Russian Navy headquarters – reported that a group of Russian warships had arrived at the maritime border with Georgia in the eastern part of the Black Sea. According