THE new edition of the Times Comprehensive Atlas Of The World has turned an area of Greenland the size of Britain and Ireland “green”, as it charts the retreat of once-permanent ice cover.

A US-Russian crew stranded in space by the shuttle tragedy were found alive and well yesterday after losing radio contact on re-entry and landing 300 miles off target in the steppes of Kazakhstan.

After landing in their capsule way off-course in an alarming end to their return from the international space station, the three-man Russian-American crew opened the hatch today and emerged in good health, officials at Russian Mission control said.

Kazakhstan is forming a special government commission to deal with a massive anthrax dump.