• The opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline in the Caspian basin area on May 25, 2005, witnessed much rejoicing as it is expected to end Russia's energy-transport monopoly in the region. The presidents of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey were present in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on the occasion. US energy secretary Samuel Bodman, who was also present, said the pipeline will "defuse the current tension in world oil markets".
• The Australian federal government recently decided to permit cattle grazing in Victoria's Alpine National Park, annulling the state government's decision to impose a ban on the activity. The move followed an appeal made by Victoria's mountain cattlemen.
• The Sri Lankan government has decided to distribute 100,000 plots of land among landless farmers. "...there are 1,39,465 families without land. It is the responsibility of a government to provide lands to those who could cultivate them and boost production," the country's agriculture and lands minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. The National Land Policy and the National Land Use Policy have been drafted and will be placed before the Cabinet for approval soon.
• Farmers in Ho Chi Minh City are to stop raising poultry between November 2004 and February 2005, when bird flu threat is maximum.
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