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UNDERWATER VOLCANO ERUPTS Spectacular columns of smoke, steam and ash shot up hundreds of metres into the sky over the last week of March from an underwater volcano that erupted off the coast of Tonga, an archipelago nation on the Pacific Ocean. Authorities said the eruption does not pose any danger as most of the volcano's nearby islands are uninhabited.

Liberia launched its first anti-hunger strategy since the war broke out in 1989. About 37 per cent of the country's children under five suffer from chronic malnutrition.

Nigeria earmarked US $60 billion to develop its gas sector over the next five years. The investment is meant to boost indigenous oil companies to give them an edge over multinationals.

Ugandan dairy product exporters accused Kenya of imposing non-tariff trade barriers, such as insisting on unrealistic protein levels in milk powder, to block their produce. This contravenes the free trade pact within eastern African countries.

Namibia declared emergency in districts bordering Angola after floods killed at least 90 people.The floods have displaced 25,000 in Angola.

Citing public safety concerns, the Philippine government ordered an immediate ban on the import, distribution and use of endosulphan. Over 55 countries, including the EU, have banned the insecticide, an endocrine disrupter.

Thailand's air force will employ 15 fighter planes this summer to help the agriculture ministry make rain by cloud seeding. In 2008, it used 900 tonnes of chemicals to trigger rain.

China rejected a US $2.4 billion bid by Coca-Cola for its biggest fruit juice company, Huiyuan Juice, after the Nationalist Party called on Beijing to ban foreign companies from buying popular brands.

Green groups in Israel are opposing oil exploration inside a nature reserve nearby the Dead Sea. The company, Ginko oil exploration, claims up to 6.5 million oil barrels lie two km beneath the ground.

The Afghan government has been able to distribute only 30 per cent of the 166,000 tonnes of wheat it promised to deliver to people during the winter. The government said it does not have a reliable census on which to develop appropriate distribution policies.

At least 257,800 animals died in winter storms in Mongolia in January and February.

Measles is spreading in several provinces in Iraq where health services have collapsed because of war and violence. The government plans to launch a nationwide vaccination campaign.

Lack of safe drinking water resulted in an unusually early outbreak of diarrhoea across Dhaka. The International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases and Research, Bangladesh, set up three emergency camps to cope with the patient inflow.

Russia banned the hunting of baby seals aged under one year terming the act a "bloody practice". An earlier ruling banned hunting of seals less than a month old.

HEAT EXCHANGE

Japan signed a deal to buy emissions rights from Ukraine, marking its first government-to-government deal to meet its target under Kyoto protocol. The proceeds will go to renewable energy projects in Ukraine.

Greece plans to cover all energy needs of Ai Stratis by renewable energies. About 250 inhabitants on this small island, where Greece used to exile its political opponents, need 1,500 megawatt-hours of energy a year.

European Space Agency launched the satellite goce to study Earth's gravitational force. The data will help scientists understand Earth's interior structure and how the oceans move.

Shell said it would no longer invest in renewable technologies such as wind, solar and hydropower because they are not viable. Instead, it plans to invest in biofuels and carbon capture and storage technologies.

Mexico imposed tariffs on 90 items, mostly agricultural products, from the US, in retaliation to Congress' recent decision not to allow Mexican long-haul trucks. Mexico contends this violates the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mexico began work on diverting of Santiago river to allow construction of La Yesca dam, projected to be the world's second highest. Green groups say it would inundate large forest areas.

A deadly fish virus, ISA, has hit Chile's US $2.4 billion salmon industry. The output could fall by 30 per cent in 2009.

A baby tuatara--considered living fossil because of its dinosaur-age lineage--was found near Wellington, New Zealand. The last recorded hatching occurred about 200 years ago.

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