News Snippets
• 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. "