» Authorities in Pakistan have confirmed one more polio case in Sindh province, bringing the total number of cases to eight in 2008. The country has reported 19 polio cases in the past six months.

» After more than 9,000 years of silence, Chile's Chaite'n volcano erupted on May 2. It spewed lava and sent ash more than 19 km into the sky, prompting a total evacuation of the Chaite'n town and other settlements. Radiocarbon dating suggests the volcano last erupted around 7420 B C.

» South Africa lifted a 13-year ban on killing elephants after conservationists warned that the ban could encourage ivory poachers to kill elephants elsewhere. The number of elephants, once on the verge of extinction in South Africa, has been increasing over the past few years as a result of well-managed national parks.