A huge plume of ash thrown out of Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland on April 14 drifted east and caused airlines all over Europe to ground planes. Cargo shipments piled up in warehouses, and stranded travelers scrambled to find hotel rooms and make alternate arrangements. Flights resumed on April 21.

The immediate loss to airlines was more than $2 billion. In addition, airlines based in European Union countries must, by law, reimburse passengers not only for the difference in...

Torrential rains in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro region caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 230 people, April 5-7. In the city of Niteroi, across the bay from Rio, 60 were killed in a single mudslide when the Morro Bumba slum, built on a giant, unstable garbage dump, was swept down the mountain. 

Throughout the region, about 14,000 people were displaced by the flooding. Thousands more may be evicted from unsafe houses.

Violent antigovernment demonstrations in the Kyrgyz Republic on April 7 resulted in 85 people dead and hundreds wounded when police opened fire on protesters outside the presidential offices in Bishkek.

President Bakiyev fled and later resigned, and an opposition government took power. The interim government announced plans to hold a referendum in July on a new constitution that would limit centralized power. The situation remains unstable.