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Vatican City
Pope Francis Dies
The head of the global Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, died today at the age of 88, only one day after making a final Easter Sunday appearance at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Francis suffered from chronic lung disease and had spent 38 days from late winter into the early spring in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian immigrants, and his election by the College of Cardinals in 2013 to be the first pope from the Americas reflected the ongoing changes to the make-up of the church, which is growing most strongly in Africa, the Americas, and Asia, but is declining in its long-time stronghold of Europe. In the coming weeks, Cardinals – senior church authorities from around the world, many of whom were appointed by Francis himself – will assemble in Rome to elect his successor.
This map depicts the demographic changes in the global Roman Catholic Church during the term of Pope Francis, who died earlier today. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Sky News
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Kenya
Lioness Kills 14-Year-Old Girl
A 14-year-old girl was killed by a lioness on Saturday night in a residential compound bordering Nairobi National Park, Kenya. According to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the animal jumped over a makeshift fence into the compound, entered a house, and attacked the girl. There is no evidence that the animal was provoked before the attack. KWS rangers and local authorities have set a trap for the lioness and deployed teams to locate it. The attack occurred just one day after a separate incident in Kenya’s Nyeri County, where a 54-year-old man was killed by an elephant while he was tending livestock in a forest. KWS officials are still investigating both attacks and emphasize the need for continued investment in human-wildlife conflict mitigation, especially as ecological pressures and human encroachment on wildlife habitat lead to more aggressive animal behavior.
This map depicts the location of two recent wildlife attacks on humans in Kenya, by a lioness and an elephant. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: CNN
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United States
Marine Area Opened to Fishing
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation allowing commercial fishing in Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIH), a massive marine protected area home to threatened fish, sea turtles and marine mammals. The proclamation says U.S.-flagged vessels may now fish within 50-200 nautical miles (90-370 km) inside PIH’s boundaries. PIH was established in 2009 by then-president George W. Bush and expanded under Barack Obama in 2014 to cover about 490,000 square miles (1.27 million sq km), mostly around uninhabited U.S.-controlled islands and atolls. Industrial fishing was, until now, banned in PIH. The proclamation says banning commercial fishing has been detrimental for U.S. fishers, who have had to fish farther away and compete against poorly regulated foreign fleets. The move was condemned by local conservation groups, who called Trump’s order a blow to the effort to protect critical pockets of biodiversity across the Pacific. PIH includes 165 known seamounts and is recognized as one of the world’s most pristine tropical marine environments.
This map depicts the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIH) in the Central Pacific. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: In what country does the Zambezi River drain into the Indian Ocean?
A: Mozambique
The Zambezi River Delta, where it empties into the Indian Ocean, is located entirely in Mozambique, but the course of the river and the overall basin which feeds it includes several other countries. The river rises in northwestern Zambia, flows south across eastern Angola and western Zambia to the border of Botswana, then turns east and forms the Zambia-Zimbabwe border. It then crosses central Mozambique and empties into the Mozambique Channel at Chinde. The river, Africa’s fourth-longest is southern Africa’s longest trans-boundary river, crossing or forming the boundaries of six countries. With its tributaries, it drains an area of more than 500,000 square miles (1,300,000 sq km). Given its numerous natural barriers—sandbars at the mouth, shallowness, and rapids and cataracts—the Zambezi is of little economic significance as a trade route.
Source
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Q: What mountain range represents the northernmost region affected by the tectonic collision of India into Asia?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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