Maps101 -- Current Events Articles

GITN Article: THE DISPUTED DURAND LINE

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Many of the problems occurring in Pakistan and Afghanistan today result from Islamic extremism. Ethnic tensions also play a key role in the conflicts. Were it not for the Durand Line, a political boundary between Afghanistan and Pakistan imposed by the British in 1893, Pakistan mig

GITN Article: KUWAIT RISES

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In mid-May, the tiny country of Kuwait elected four women to its parliament for the first time in the country's history. In 2005 Kuwaiti women were given the right to vote and run for election to Kuwait's parliament, the oldest in the Persian Gulf. Certainly, Kuwait has progressed

GITN Article: NATIVE AMERICAN CRISIS

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A recent story on National Public Radio (NPR) details how the Tohono O'odham Nation is facing a crisis. The Native American reservation in southern Arizona reaches into northern Mexico. Drug smuggling across the border is increasing every year and some of the tribal members have been involve

GITN Article: WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES MADE?

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

According to a recent National Geographic article, more than 90 percent of clothing sold in the United States is made in other countries. Nearly a third of those apparel imports came from China in 2008. How did an industry located in New England in the 1800s wind up on the opposite

GITN Article: PAKISTAN TO SWAT THE TALIBAN

Fri, 29 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Taliban lost its stronghold in Afghanistan in 2003. Now the radical Islamic group has set its sights on Pakistan—and it seemed to be gaining ground—creating plenty of problems for Pakistani President Asif Ali Zadari and his U.S. counterpart, President Barack Obama.<

GITN Article: ANGOLA AND THE POPE

Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Near the end of March, Pope Benedict XVI made a weeklong tour of Africa. His last stop was Angola, a country with a Catholic population of more than 55 percent. Marked by extreme poverty and one of Africa's highest infant mortality rates, Angola also boasts some of the most substan

GITN Article: THE DEATH OF FROGS

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A deadly fungus is attacking Earth's amphibian species. Unfortunately, the disease seems to be winning and its price may be the extinction of frogs, toads and salamanders. The disease, called chytridiomycosis or chytrid for short, has been decimating amphibian populations since the

GITN Article: ITALY'S EARTHQUAKES

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In early April, Central Italy suffered the most devastating earthquake in 30 years. The magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed at least 272 and left more than 28,000 homeless, according to Associated Press reports. Numerous aftershocks rocked the region even as rescuers tried to reach sur

GITN Article: PANDEMIC INFLUENZA THREAT

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Influenza outbreaks cause real concern for world leaders who fear a global pandemic. The most recent flu virus first found in Mexico brings particular concern to health officials around the world as it has metamorphosed into a triple threat. This flu virus contains the genetic mate

GITN Article: PERU'S LAND RIGHTS CONFLICT

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A fight for land is occurring in the San Martín region of northern Peru. Peru's government is granting land concessions to private investors in the area. Unfortunately, those land grants often include land in towns, farms and natural parks. This action has infuriated local p

MOTW Article: Tickets?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Liveability

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: 2009 Men's College World Series

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Potholes

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Farm Fresh

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Strawberry Patch

Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Southwestern Spice

Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Sunscreen

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Swine Flu

Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: At Home in the Arctic

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

MITN Article: New map shows 99 percent of Earth's terrain.

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

NASA and Japan improved our world view this week, or at least our view of the world. The American space agency and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have released a new digital topographic map of Earth that accurately portrays more of our planet than ever before. The new map consists o

MITN Article: Ancient DNA used to map extinct bird's colors in New Zeland.

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Wellington, New Zealand -- Australian and New Zealand scientists have used prehistoric feathers to help map the color of giant extinct birds and said Wednesday they believe their method could help reconstruct the appearance of other extinct bird species. The researchers retrieved ancient DNA from fo

MITN Article: Oldest known granaries found near Dead Sea.

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

More than 1,000 years before humans began domesticating grains for food, they were building sophisticated storage buildings to hold the wild grains they were cultivating, researchers reported Monday. Collecting large quantities of grains and other foods is a prerequisite to establishing sizable comm

MITN Article: In wake of coup, Honduran Congress names provisional president.

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Hours after the sitting president was deposed by a military-led coup, a new president of Honduras was sworn in Sunday. But the former president was not ready to give up his powers. The political developments that swept Honduras over the past weeks and led up to Sunday's coup had the makings of a cri

MITN Article: Sophisticated weather satellite rockets into orbit.

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A sophisticated new weather satellite rocketed into orbit Saturday, giving forecasters another powerful tool for tracking hurricanes and tornadoes. An unmanned rocket carrying the nation's latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite blasted off early Saturday evening, a day late because

MITN Article: The United Kingdom expands wind power potential.

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The UK government has moved to clear the path for a quarter of the nation's electricity to be powered by wind. Ministers on Wednesday approved new wind power sites for the Crown Estate around the the UK's coastline. They also began the tender process for a £15bn contract for the new cabling needed t

MITN Article: Prehistoric flute in Germany is oldest known.

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Berlin, Germany - A bird-bone flute unearthed in a German cave was carved some 35,000 years ago and is the oldest handcrafted musical instrument yet discovered, archaeologists say, offering the latest evidence that early modern humans in Europe had established a complex and creative culture. A team

MITN Article: Indonesian elephant fossil opens window to past.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Indonesian scientists are reconstructing the largest, most complete skeleton of a prehistoric giant elephant ever found in the tropics, a finding that may offer new clues into the largely mysterious origins of its modern Asian cousin. The prehistoric elephant is believed to have been submerged in qu

MITN Article: Evidence indicates manioc was a major Maya crop.

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Corn was the royalty of Maya food crops, celebrated in religion and cosmology, but archaeologists have long suspected that a different crop, the lowly manioc plant, was the mainstay of Maya life, providing the basic sustenance that allowed their civilization to flourish in densely populated cities.

MITN Article: Ground zero in timber wars shows signs of peace in Oregon.

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Takilma, Oregon - On a steep slope of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, a crew of young men with chain saws and hardhats worked their way through an old neglected clearcut, cutting brush and young trees and piling the remains to be burned later. Freshly trained and closely supervised, the cr

MITN Article: NASA launches unmanned moon shot which is the first in decade.

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

NASA launched its first moon shot in a decade Thursday, sending up a pair of unmanned science probes that will help determine where astronauts could land and set up camp in years to come. The liftoff occurred just one month and two days shy of the 40th anniversary of the first lunar footprints. The

MITN Article: Argentine glacier advances despite global warming.

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier is one of only a few ice fields worldwide that have withstood rising global temperatures. Nourished by Andean snowmelt, the glacier constantly grows even as it spawns icebergs the size of apartment buildings into a frigid lake, maintaining a nearly perfect equilibri

MITN Article: Greece to open new Acropolis Museum this weekend

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

About 1,500 years after Christian zealots vandalized the Parthenon's pagan sculptures, Greece's Orthodox Church Wednesday formally blessed the new Acropolis Museum, set to open this weekend after years of delays. Standing near the remains of an inaugural sacrifice for a 3rd century B.C. town house e

MITN Article: Hawaiian Islands eyed for endangered seal habitat.

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The federal government said Friday it will revise the critical habitat for endangered Hawaiian monk seals for the first time in 21 years, which is likely to significantly expand the protection area to include beaches and waters of the main Hawaiian Islands. Environmentalists say the added habitat is

MITN Article: Can we live on the moon?

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Nearly four decades after astronaut Neil Armstrong planted his boot on the surface of the moon, the U.S. is about to take the first small step toward colonizing Earth's tag-along satellite. On Wednesday, NASA is scheduled to launch a robotic mission aimed at finding the best site for Earth's first o

MITN Article: Oldest known pottery found in China.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Chinese and Israeli archaeologists have discovered the oldest known pottery, remains of an 18,000-year-old cone-shaped vase excavated from a cave in southern China. The shards are about 1,000 years older than the previous record-holder, found in Japan. After flint tools, pottery is one of the oldest

MITN Article: A leak halts the shuttle launching.

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Kennedy Space Center, FL. — The launching of the space shuttle Endeavour on Saturday was called off because of a hydrogen leak similar to one that delayed another shuttle’s departure several months ago. The space shuttle Endeavour, which was to bring up the final pieces to complete the Japanese labo

MITN Article: North Korea may be prepping new nuclear test.

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

North Korea may be preparing for its third nuclear test, a show of defiance as the United Nations considers new sanctions on the dictatorship for conducting an underground nuclear explosion in May, according to a U.S. government official. North Korea conducted an underground explosion on May 25, its

MITN Article: Elderly gunman kills guard at Holocaust Museum.

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington, D.C. – An 88-year-old gunman with a violent and virulently anti-Semitic past opened fire with a rifle inside the crowded U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday, fatally wounding a security guard before being shot himself by other officers, authorities said. The assailant was hospit

MITN Article: Long-lost World War II sub found off Swedish coast.

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A Swedish Lighthouse keeper was the last person to see World War II Soviet submarine S-2 before it sank in January 1940 between Sweden and Finland. As the submarine dove near the island of Market, northwest of Aland, the keeper heard a loud explosion and saw smoke rise from the water. The long-lost

MITN Article: The beavers are back.

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Concord, Mass. — The dozens of public works officials, municipal engineers, conservation agents and others who crowded into a meeting room here one recent morning needed help. Property in their towns was flooding, they said. Culverts were clogged. Septic tanks were being overwhelmed. A biologist wit

MITN Article: Scientists eye glowing volcano crater in Hawaii.

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The summit of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is glowing brightly as molten lava swirls 300 feet below its crater's floor, bubbling near the surface after years of spewing from the volcano's side. The expanding vent of Halemaumau crater helps confirm scientists' belief that the lava is close to the surface

MITN Article: The EPA is sued over claims of air pollution in West.

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was sued Friday by an environmental group that claims the agency has failed to safeguard public health in the West by not limiting the transmission of air pollution across state lines. The EPA requires states to have plans aimed at addressing the interstate t

MITN Article: Mammoth skeleton unearthed in Serbia.

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A well-preserved skeleton of a mammoth that is believed to be about 1 million years old has been unearthed in eastern Serbia, archaeologists said Thursday. The discovery was made during excavation two days ago at an open-pit coal mine near Kostolac power plant, said a spokesman from Serbia's Archaeo

MITN Article: The World's strongest laser has been unveiled at a California lab.

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The world's most powerful laser, created to help keep tabs on the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile while also studying the heavens, has been unveiled. The super laser, known officially as the National Ignition Facility, was unveiled Friday at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory about 50 mil

MITN Article: Debris confirms crash of Air France Flight 447.

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Fernando de Noronha, Brazil – An airplane seat, a fuel slick and pieces of white debris scattered over three miles of open ocean marked the site in the mid-Atlantic on Tuesday where Air France Flight 447 plunged to its doom, Brazil's defense minister said. Brazilian military pilots spotted the wreck

MITN Article: New Research on Malaysia’s Elusive Tapir

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia — In the Malaysian and Sumatran rain forests, tapirs are rarely glimpsed. Ponderous, powerful herbivores, weighing about 650 pounds, tapirs have faces like anteaters, with a incessantly sniffing mobile snout. In dim rain forests, smell and hearing are the importa

MITN Article: Natural gas in the Arctic is mostly Russian.

Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Nearly one-third of the natural gas yet to be discovered in the world is north of the Arctic Circle and most of it is in Russian territory, according to a new analysis led by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey. Russia is already the world's leading natural gas producer. The report, by an inte

MITN Article: Pakistani army retakes largest town in Swat Valley.

Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Taliban have fled the Pakistani army's advance on the main town in the Swat Valley, delivering the military a strategic prize in its offensive against militants in the country's northwest, commanders said Saturday. Taliban fighters had dug themselves into bunkers built into hotels and government

MITN Article: Former United States warship becomes sunken reef off Key West.

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A 13-year project to create a new artificial reef off the Florida Keys for sport divers and anglers culminated Wednesday with the scuttling of a 523-foot-long former U.S. Air Force missile tracking ship. It took just a minute and 54 seconds to sink the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg after demolition expert

MITN Article: Dust storms speed snowmelt in the West.

Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Denver, CO - A series of unusual spring dust storms has left the snow-capped mountains of western Colorado stained brown and red, even a bit pink. The dust is speeding up the runoff to rivers that supply millions of people with water and raising fears of an increasingly arid West. Twelve dust storms

MITN Article: Tasmanian devils listed as endangered in Australia.

Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Tasmanian devil, a snarling fox-sized marsupial made notorious by its Looney Tunes cartoon namesake Taz, was listed in Australia as an endangered species Friday because of a contagious cancer that has wiped out most of the wild population. The upgrade from "vulnerable" under Australian environme

MITN Article: Storms force space shuttle to land in California

Sun, 24 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis finally made it home Sunday after a voyage of more than 5 million miles. The space shuttle Atlantis touched down at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on Sunday. After skirting bad weather at its home port in F

MITN Article: Mixed fates for Mars rovers after 5-plus years

Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The latest news from NASA's robot explorers on Mars today is both good and not so good. Opportunity, one of the pair that landed there more than five years ago, has discovered ancient wind-blown sand dunes and signs of water amid the sedimentary rocks inside the rim of an ancient Martian crater, and

MITN Article: United States officials confirm Iranian missile launch.

Fri, 22 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The missile test-fired by Iran is the longest-range solid-propellent missile it has launched yet, a U.S. government official said Wednesday, raising concerns about whether the sophistication of Tehran's missile program is increasing. The U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss

MITN Article: A survey finds slower decline of honeybee colonies.

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The decline of honeybee colonies has slowed slightly since last fall, but a mysterious combination of ailments is still decimating the insect's population, federal researchers say. U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers, based out of Fresno, CA, found that honeybee colonies declined by 29 perce

MITN Article: Blue whales returning to Alaskan waters

Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Anchorage, Alaska -- Blue whales are returning to Alaska in search of food and could be re-establishing an old migration route several decades after they were nearly wiped out by commercial whalers, scientists say. The endangered whales, possibly the largest animals ever to live on Earth, have yet t

MITN Article: Pakistan races to deal with 1.5 million refugees.

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Pakistan was racing Tuesday to help refugees fleeing a military offensive against the Taliban in a northwestern valley - an exodus of some 1.5 million of a speed and size the U.N. said could rival the displacement caused by Rwanda's genocide. The humanitarian challenge comes as the military said mor

MITN Article: Kuwaiti women win first parliamentary seats.

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Kuwaitis elected female parliament members for the first time and rejected a number of Islamic fundamentalist candidates in a weekend vote that many hoped would bring stability to the country's rocky political scene. Women gained the right to vote and run for office in 2005 but failed in two previou

MITN Article: Scientist warn of rise in sunspot cycle.

Sat, 16 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

When the sun sneezes it's Earth that gets sick. It's time for the sun to move into a busier period for sunspots, and while forecasters expect a relatively mild outbreak by historical standards, one major solar storm can cause havoc with satellites and electrical systems here. Like hurricanes, a weak

MITN Article: Obama wants to pump $475M into Great Lakes cleanup

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

A budget proposal from the Obama administration would spend $475 million on beach cleanups, wetlands restoration and removal of toxic sediments from river bottoms around the Great Lakes. The spending represents a first step toward a multiyear campaign to repair decades of damage to the battered ecos

MITN Article: Report warns against Coral Triangle collapse.

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The Coral Triangle is the world's richest marine environment, and includes the coasts, reefs and seas of the six countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. Experts have warned that the richly diverse coral reefs of the Coral Triangle aro

MITN Article: Pope in Bethlehem endorses Palestinian homeland.

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Bethlehem, West Bank -- Standing in the cradle of Christianity, Pope Benedict XVI told Palestinians on Wednesday he understands their suffering and offered the Vatican's strongest and most symbolic public backing yet for an independent Palestinian homeland. To get to Jesus' traditional birthplace of

MITN Article: Shuttle blasts off to repair Hubble telescope.

Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida -- Atlantis blasted off Monday for the Hubble Space Telescope on the most delicate and dangerous repair job ever in orbit - a mission so risky that for the first time a second shuttle stands ready to rescue the seven astronauts if something goes wrong. It will be the last vis

MITN Article: National Guard troops helping flood victims in West Virginia.

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The National Guard is helping residents in West Virginia's southern coalfields recover from weekend flooding that destroyed at least 300 buildings, knocked out power and caused mudslides that flushed trash, debris and at least one mobile home downstream. Gov. Joe Manchin toured the region and activa

MITN Article: Deadly storms rip through Midwest, South.

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Emergency teams on Sunday were assessing damage from deadly storms that devastated parts of Missouri, Kentucky and West Virginia this weekend -- even as the threat of more severe weather continued. The storm that tore through Madison County, Kentucky, on Friday was a category EF-3 tornado, the Natio

MITN Article: Pakistani offensive sparks 'massive displacement' of civilians.

Sat, 09 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The United Nations' refugee agency warned Friday of a "massive displacement" of civilians as Pakistan's military broadens its offensive against Taliban militants in the country's troubled northwest. In the last few days, an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 Pakistanis have fled to North West Frontier Pro

MITN Article: Scientist says volcanic eruption in Congo imminent.

Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Scientists found evidence of intense volcanic activity - including tremors, pools of lava and plumes of smoke - at two volcanoes near a major city in eastern Congo, and said some residents had fled for fear of an eruption. The volcanoes in the central African nation could be about to erupt, threaten

MITN Article: Wildfire burns homes in Santa Barbara, California.

Thu, 07 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Fierce winds blew a wildfire into Southern California homes Wednesday, forcing thousands of people to flee as columns of smoke rose from a scenic coastal enclave. TV news helicopters showed many homes ablaze in Santa Barbara, but the number could not immediately be determined because of thick smoke

MITN Article: European Union takes aim at Canada to ban seal products.

Wed, 06 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to ban imports of seal products, including fur coats and even some omega-3 pills, in an effort to force Canada to end its annual seal hunt, the world's largest. The Canadian government reacted sharply to the move, promising that Ottawa will chall