>> Avian flu was confirmed in Togo, the seventh West African nation to have reported the outbreak on June 22. The virus caused the deaths of 2,000 chicken in June near Togo's capital Lome.

>> Authorities detected polluted water in the Warragamba Dam situated near Sydney in Australia, after rain lashed the city in the last week of June. It posed a threat to the city's drinking water supply.

>> On June 22, the Perth Magistrate's Court fined aluminium company Alcoa US $20,000 over a caustic solution spill at its Wagerup refinery. The spill happened in July 2005 when a tank overflowed, releasing more than 50,000 litres of residue containing caustic soda onto Alcoa's property.

>> The US will remove the iconic bald eagle from its list of endangered species. Legislation to save the birds from extinction has resulted in their numbers soaring to 10,000 breeding pairs.