Maps101 -- Current Events Articles

GITN Article: NATO AND RUSSIA SQUARE OFF

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The ex-Soviet republics and independent countries of Ukraine and Georgia have bid to join the world's premier security organization, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Russia, hoping to block the bid, has threatened to take military action and other steps along its borders

GITN Article: COMOROS ISLANDS CHAOS

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Comoros archipelago is located 186 miles (300 km) off Africa's east coast. Seemingly always in crisis, the country of Comoros has experienced 20 coups d'états, or attempted coups, since its independence from France in 1975. The political chaos in this remote and t

GITN Article: TIBET AND CHINA CLASH AGAIN

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

On March 10, anti-China protests began in the Tibetan city of Lhasa. Once an autonomous country, Tibet has been occupied by China for more than 50 years. Now, as the summer Olympic Games in Beijing approach, all eyes are on the Chinese government and its response to the Tibetan upr

GITN Article: AMERICAN EXPATRIATES IN MEXICO

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Illegal immigration, mostly from Mexico, is a hot issue in U.S. politics, particularly as the national election approaches. It may surprise many readers to learn, however, that an estimated 4.5 to 5 million registered U.S. citizens live outside our country as expatriates.

GITN Article: GEOCACHING

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A new kind of hunter is lurking in our woods and parks, in our parking lots and shopping malls. This hunter is called a geocacher and is usually part of a team (most likely his or her own family) using a hand-held global positioning system (GPS) unit to locate a hidden stash

GITN Article: COLOMBIA CHASES THE FARC

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Tensions are rising in South America again. In early March, Colombian military troops crossed the border into Ecuador violating a principle of international law forbidding cross-border invasions. The troops were searching for members of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colom

GITN Article: DOOMSDAY SEED VAULT

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, nicknamed the "doomsday seed vault" by some, has opened its doors and begun accepting seeds. The seed vault was created to preserve samples of seeds from around the world to protect the earth's crop diversity.

The seed vault is located nor

GITN Article: ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS IN EAST TIMOR

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

In mid-February, East Timor was rocked by assassination attempts on its president and prime minister. Since then, the small Southeast Asian country has been under a state of emergency. Now, police are hunting the rebels, renegade soldiers with grievances dating back to 2006, who ar

GITN Article: BLACK PEPPER FROM MALABAR

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A recent article in Saudi Aramco World magazine details the Malabar Coast, an area on India's spice coast where black pepper is native. This pepper has been a highly prized spice since ancient and medieval times.

The Malabar Coast is located on a narrow slice of land

GITN Article: LA NINA BRINGS THE SNOW

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Even as global warming continues to top the environmental news, this year's snowfall events have been exceptional throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Intense snow events have occurred i

MOTW Article: Mothers

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Canadian Cowboys

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Glory on Ice

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Cutting Down the Nets

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Fields of Soy

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Tree Tappers

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Paying the Bills

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Canadian Egg Hunt

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Space Travellers

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MOTW Article: Water Game

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0700

MITN Article: Blind bowler scores perfect game in Iowa.

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A blind Iowa man scored a perfect 300 game at the Century Lanes bowling alley on Saturday, The Storm Lake Times reported. The Times said the bowler, 78, of Alta, called the game "quite a thrill." He rolled 12 back-to-back strikes, the first-ever perfect game at the Century Lanes, The Times reported.

MITN Article: 1st big foreign aid flights finally let in by Myanmar junta.

Fri, 09 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Myanmar's military regime allowed in the first major international aid shipment Thursday, but it snubbed a U.S. offer to help cyclone victims struggling to recover from a tragedy of unimaginable scale. Five days after the storm, the junta continued to stall on visas for U.N. teams and other foreign

MITN Article: Survey shows US honey bee deaths increased over last year

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the nation's commercially managed hives lost since last year. Last year's survey commissioned by the Apiary Inspectors of America found losses of about 32 percent. As beekeepers travel with their hives this spring

MITN Article: Chinese team takes Olympic torch to top of Mount Everest

Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A Chinese mountaineering team took the Olympic flame to the top of the world Thursday, a spectacular feat dreamed up to underscore China's ambitions for the Beijing games. The Mount Everest climbers could be heard struggling for breath in a live television broadcast as five torchbearers each shuffle

MITN Article: 12 killed in air strikes in north Darfur, aid group says.

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The peacekeeping force in Darfur said Tuesday it was still trying to evacuate those wounded in airstrikes two days earlier that an aid group reported left 12 people dead, including six children. U.S.-based Darfur Diaries said six children, ages 4 to 11, were killed in an airstrike Sunday on a school

MITN Article: Vog, volcanic smog, kills plants, casts a haze over Hawaii.

Wed, 07 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

For eight years, Tony and Sam Bayaoa have grown thousands of bright red, yellow and pink protea flowers on their farm. Then in March, Kilauea volcano opened a new vent and began spewing double the usual amount of toxic gas. Now about 70 percent of their crop is dried, brown and brittle. Big Island c

MITN Article: US to return Argentine dinosaur eggs.

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Buenos Aires, Argentina -- A senior U.S. Homeland Security official is in Argentina to discuss money laundering, human trafficking - and dinosaur eggs. The assistant secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday that she plans to hand over to Argentina's government a cache of more th

MITN Article: Idaho team readies artificial beak for wounded bald eagle.

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

St. Maries, Idaho -- She has been named Beauty, though this eagle is anything but. Part of Beauty's beak was shot off several years ago, leaving her with a stump that is useless for hunting food. A team of volunteers is working to attach an artificial beak to the disfigured bird, in an effort to kee

MITN Article: Protected sea lions found shot dead on Columbia River.

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Authorities are investigating the deaths of six sea lions on the Columbia River. At least some of them appear to have been shot. The carcasses of four California sea lions and two Steller sea lions were found Sunday about noon. The discovery comes a day after three elephant seals were found shot to

MITN Article: Chilean volcano town nearly deserted after eruption.

Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Chaiten volcano spewed light ash on a nearly deserted village Saturday, two days after its first eruption in thousands of years. No more than 45 of Chaiten's 4,500 residents remained in what looked like a ghost town, its streets, houses, cars and trees draped with a thick layer of light-colored

MITN Article: Islanders pop the tabs as P.E.I.'s 'can ban' ends.

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A new era begins on Prince Edward Island Saturday as retailers can once again legally sell canned carbonated beverages for the first time in almost a quarter-century. The lifting of P.E.I.'s so-called "can ban" is being viewed by Islanders as either a cause for celebration or a day to lament. Prince

MITN Article: China on alert over deadly child virus.

Sat, 03 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

China's Health Ministry strengthened surveillance and dispatched specialists to the eastern Anhui province as the death toll from a virulent virus climbed to 22, the Xinhua News Agency reported. The number of reported cases of the virus in children rose to 3,736 early Saturday in the hardest-hit cit

MITN Article: Treasure trove found in 500-year-old shipwreck off Africa.

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Johannesburg, South Africa -- The ship was laden with tons of copper ingots, elephant tusks, gold coins - and cannons to fend off pirates. But it had nothing to protect it from the fierce weather off a particularly bleak stretch of inhospitable African coast, and it sank 500 years ago. Now it has be

MITN Article: Goat surprises owner by giving birth to quintuplets.

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Mechanicsville, Iowa -- Ralph Burge had to count three times to make sure what he saw was real. His reliable nanny goat, Honeybear, had given birth to five baby goats, or kids. Burge, a longtime goat owner, says he's never seen anything like it. A year or so ago Honeybear had another litter - with j

MITN Article: Pittsburgh surpasses Los Angeles as nation's sootiest city.

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A city outside California has for the first time been named the sootiest in the nation, one of the categories the American Lung Association uses to determine the most polluted cities in the country. Los Angeles still took the all-around pollution title, though. Pittsburgh overtook Los Angeles in the

MITN Article: Scientist rediscovers rare plant unseen since 1985.

Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A scientist with the Missouri Botanical Garden has rediscovered and identified a rare parasitic plant that hasn't been seen by botanists in more than 20 years. A single specimen of the plant was found in Mexico in 1985, but the plant wasn't seen again until a St. Louis botanist and a colleague foun

MITN Article: European Union global positioning satellite satellite in orbit.

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

An experimental satellite for a much-delayed European Union rival to the United States' GPS navigation system blasted into orbit Sunday after a successful launch atop a Russian rocket, the Russian and European space agencies said. The Giove-B satellite shot into space atop a Soyuz-FG rocket launched

MITN Article: Judge orders federal government to decide polar bear listing.

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A federal judge has ordered the Interior Department to decide within 16 days whether polar bears should be listed as a threatened species because of global warming. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken agreed with conservation groups that the department missed a Jan. 9 deadline for a decision. She rej

MITN Article: 3 tornadoes rip through Virginia, hundreds of people hurt.

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Suffolk, Virginia -- Three tornadoes ripped through Virginia on Monday, with one hop-scotching across the southeastern part of the state and leaving behind a 25-mile trail of smashed homes, tossed cars and more than 200 injured residents. The twister in this city outside Norfolk cut a fickle, zig-za

MITN Article: Golfer hits two holes-in-one in the same round.

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Muscatine, Iowa -- Luck doesn't even begin to describe golfer Ted Kemp's round on Monday. Kemp, a 12-handicapper, knocked in holes-in-one on back-to-back par 3s at the Muscatine Municipal Golf Course. Kemp used a pitching wedge to sink his tee shot on the 3rd hole from 130 yards out. Then, after rem

MITN Article: Study says humans nearly extinct 70,000 years ago.

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Human beings may have had a brush with extinction 70,000 years ago, an extensive genetic study suggests. The human population at that time was reduced to small isolated groups in Africa, apparently because of drought, according to an analysis released Thursday. The report notes that a separate study

MITN Article: 100 homes evacuated as California wildfire creeps toward town.

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Authorities were evacuating 100 homes as a 100-acre wildfire crept closer to neighborhoods near Pasadena on a hot, dry Saturday in Southern California. The fire about broke out Saturday afternoon and earlier forced the evacuation of a scout camp and left hikers temporarily stranded. Firefighters had

MITN Article: Man survives 500-foot fall into Pennsylvania strip mine.

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A man survived a 500-foot fall into a strip mine Friday, astounding rescuers who spent hours on a risky descent into the abyss to bring him back out. Police said the man was trespassing on coal company property around 1 a.m. Friday when he slipped and fell into the Springdale Pit, an inactive mine a

MITN Article: Border virtual fence project scrapped for not catching enough illegals.

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The government is scrapping a $20 million prototype of its highly touted "virtual fence" on the Arizona-Mexico border because the system is failing to adequately alert border patrol agents to illegal crossings. The move comes just two months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announc

MITN Article: South Korean convicted for ancient gate fire.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A South Korean court sentenced an elderly man to 10 years in prison Friday for setting a fire that destroyed a 14th-century gate considered one of the country's most treasured landmarks. The blaze at Namdaemun gate in Seoul horrified South Koreans and drew international attention. The gate once for

MITN Article: Michigan wildfire burns 6 homes, forces I-75 closed.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Authorities say a wildfire in northern Michigan has burned six homes and forced part of Interstate 75 to close. About 50 homes have been evacuated. No injuries have been reported. Authorities say a patrolling U.S. Forest Service helicopter spotted the fire after it started Thursday near Grayling abo

MITN Article: Latin American leaders in food price pact.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Four Latin American leaders, meeting in Caracas, have agreed on a $100m (£50m) scheme to combat the impact of rising food prices on the region's poor. The presidents of Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela and Cuba's vice-president also agreed on joint programmes to promote the development of agricultur

MITN Article: Anne Frank greetings card found in Amsterdam.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A greetings card signed by the Jewish diarist Anne Frank has been found in an antique shop near Amsterdam. The card was sent in 1937, when Frank was eight, and was addressed to one of her best friends, Samme Ledermann. The Anne Frank museum has authenticated the card, which shows a clover-covered be

MITN Article: U.S. hybrid car sales up 38% in 2007.

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Kim Fenske drives a bus in Colorado by day, but when he's not working, he zooms around the mountains in a 2007 Toyota Prius. Fenske, an attorney by training who has also worked as a forest ranger, was an environmentalist long before hybrid cars like the Prius hit the market. In the early 1990s, he

MITN Article: Aviation heads to act on climate change, but set no targets.

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Aviation chiefs pledged Tuesday to address the industry's impact on climate change but shied away from setting concrete targets for reducing emissions of global-warming gases. A declaration signed by trade bodies and aircraft makers commits the industry to develop new technologies with the eventual

MITN Article: Australia extends continental shelf.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Canberra, Australia -- The world's largest island just got larger. Australia extended control of its continental shelf by nearly 1 million square miles under an agreement with the United Nations, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson announced Monday. Ferguson expressed hope that the area would yield o

MITN Article: Bull jumps over wall at N. California rodeo, injures 6 people.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Red Bluff, California -- A 3,000-pound bull jumped over an eight-foot fence during a Northern California rodeo and injured three children and three adults. Authorities say the rodeo fans' injuries aren't considered life-threatening. The bull made its bid to escape Sunday in Red Bluff, Calif., near t

MITN Article: Magnitude-4.5 aftershock reported from Midwest earthquake.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A strong aftershock shook Southern Illinois on Monday, three days after a magnitude 5.2 quake rattled the region. Geologists say the temblor just before 12:40 a.m. registered 4.5 magnitude at its epicenter about 5 miles northwest of Mount Carmel. The location is in the same area as Friday's early mo

MITN Article: Yi describes frightening return to Earth.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

South Korea's first astronaut said Monday she was "really scared" when the Russian space capsule she was in made an unexpectedly steep descent to Earth over the weekend. "During descent I saw some kind of fire outside as we were going through the atmosphere," said Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old bioengine

MITN Article: Second person dies after Saskatchewan gas explosion.

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A second person has died as a result of a massive natural gas explosion that rocked a quiet Saskatchewan community Friday. Health officials haven't released any details about the two victims or three other people who were injured in the blast, which heavily damaged a handful of buildings in downtown

MITN Article: Smoke chokes Argentina's capital.

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Smoke blanketed the Argentine capital on Friday as brush fires apparently set deliberately consumed thousands of acres in the provinces of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos. The smoke, from about 300 fires, is blamed for at least two fatal traffic accidents this week that left eight people dead. Sections

MITN Article: Group of Gibraltar's Barbary apes to be killed.

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A renegade group of Gibraltar's Barbary apes has annoyed residents so much that authorities announced plans Thursday to kill them. A cluster of 25 Barbary apes - a species of monkey usually weighing about 15-25 pounds - moved to a popular beach-side area some months ago where they have been stealing

MITN Article: Bush and big White House crowd greet the Pope on his birthday.

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

President Bush and Pope Benedict XVI agreed Wednesday that terrorism is an unacceptable weapon for any cause or religion, standing strongly united on that issue but divided on others during a day of substance and symbolism at the White House. The festive White House visit was the highlight of the fi

MITN Article: For sale: Land next to HOLLYWOOD sign.

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The world-famous HOLLYWOOD sign that has been used by TV and movie directors in more scene-setting shots than a film student could ever count was first erected in 1923 to promote real estate in the fledgling capital of celluloid. Eighty-five years later, some fear the sign and the hillside on which

MITN Article: Scientists: Big quake likely in California.

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

California faces an almost certain risk of being rocked by a strong earthquake by 2037, scientists said in the first statewide temblor forecast. New calculations reveal there is a 99.7 percent chance a magnitude 6.7 quake or larger will strike in the next 30 years. The odds of such an event are high

MITN Article: Colombia volcano erupts, prompting thousands to leave homes.

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Colombia's Nevado del Huila volcano erupted in a shower of hot ash, prompting thousands of people to leave their homes on Tuesday. The remote volcano, 150 miles southwest of Bogota, erupted shortly before midnight Monday and appeared less active at daybreak. The extent of the eruption was not clear,

MITN Article: EPA urges Great Lakes residents not to flush old meds.

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

With trace amounts of pharmaceuticals showing up in the drinking water of major cities, authorities are encouraging consumers around the Great Lakes to drop off leftover and expired medicine at collection centers. The Environmental Protection Agency has set a goal of collecting 1 million pills and 1

MITN Article: Bangladesh-India train service resumes.

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Dhaka, Bangladesh -- Train service between Bangladesh and India has resumed after a 43-year hiatus. The inaugural train decorated with garlands and festoons set off Monday from Dhaka's railway station carrying more than 400 passengers. The train is called the "Maitree Express," or 'friendship expres

MITN Article: Clerk throws can of tobacco at robber.

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Des Moines, Iowa -- A cigarette store cashier has snuffed out a robbery. Police said a masked man flashed a knife at the Cigarette Outlet on Friday and forced one employee to the floor, then demanded money from another worker. Instead of cash, the worker threw two cans of chewing tobacco at the robb

MITN Article: Boats collide on Mississippi River.

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A boat carrying state prison employees collided with a barge on the swollen Mississippi River upstream from Baton Rouge on Sunday, injuring 18 people. The crewboat, with 20 people aboard, was taking workers who had just ended their shifts across the river at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angol

MITN Article: Uruguay sizzles up record barbecue.

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

One of South America's smallest countries proved on Sunday it can hold the biggest barbecue in the world. Some 1,250 Uruguayan grillmeisters sizzled up 26,400 pounds (12,000 kilograms) of beef Sunday, beating a 2006 record set in Mexico. The chefs smoked and barbecued their way into the Guinness Wor

MITN Article: Swarm of earthquakes detected off Oregon coast.

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Scientists listening to underwater microphones have detected an unusual swarm of earthquakes off central Oregon, something that often happens before a volcanic eruption - except there are no volcanoes in the area. Scientists don't know exactly what the earthquakes mean, but they could be the result

MITN Article: Somali pirates free hostages.

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Helicopter-borne French troops swooped in on Somali pirates Friday after they freed 30 hostages from a yacht, seizing six of the hijackers and recovering sacks of money - apparently ransom paid by the ship's owners. The pirates boarded the 288-foot French luxury yacht Le Ponant a week ago, capturing

MITN Article: Groups decry Yellowstone bison slaughter in Montana.

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Bison advocates and environmental groups requested a moratorium Thursday on the continued slaughter of bison migrating from the west side of Yellowstone National Park. Since last fall, 1,598 bison seeking food at lower elevations outside the park have been killed or removed under a state-federal liv

MITN Article: Frog without lungs found in Indonesia.

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0700

A frog has been found in a remote part of Indonesia that has no lungs and breathes through its skin, a discovery that researchers said Thursday could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species. The aquatic frog Barbourula kalimantanensis was found in a remote part of Indonesia's K