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Greece
Migrant Shipwreck Lawsuit Filed
Forty survivors of the sinking of a fishing boat filled with migrants travelling from Libya to Italy have filed a lawsuit aginst Greek authorities. The sinking, which happened in June, left 500 of 750 migrants missing, and the lawsuit alleges Greek authorities failed to protect the migrants. The lawsuit, supported by lawyers from the Network for Refugee and Migrant Rights and the Greek Council for Refugees, among others, allege that Greek authorities were aware of the boat for hours before it sunk, attempted to tow the boat right before it capsized, and ignored three offers of assistance made by Frontex, the EU’s coastal and border agency.
This map depicts the route of a migrant-filled fishing boat from where it sailed from Tobruk, Libya to where it sank near the southwest coast of Pylos. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The Guardian
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India
Nipah Outbreak in Southern India
The Indian state of Kerala is taking precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the Nipah virus after two people died from an outbreak of the disease. Kerala has shut down some schools and has determined 700 people to be close contacts who will be tested for the virus. Nipah can be transmitted from animals to people, specifically through bodily fluids of certain fruit bats and pigs. Nipah can also be passed through food and between people. With a 70 percent mortality rate and no vaccine available, Nipah poses a significant threat to public health. Since 2018, India has reported four outbreaks of Nipah. The first appearance of this disease was in 1998 in Malaysia.
This map depicts the range of bats in the genus Pteropus and areas where outbreaks of the Nipah virus have been reported. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: CDC
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Space
Astronomers Mapping Dark Matter
Astronomers are using new methods to locate and quantify dark matter, about which very little is understood. In one development, researchers from Japan used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to observe the gravitational effects of “clumps” of dark matter sitting between Earth and a bright quasar 11 billion light years away. These effects, first proposed by Albert Einstein over 100 years ago, are referred to as “gravitational lensing” – the bending of light via the force of gravity. In another recent advancement, another group of Japanese scientists found that the weight of the visible matter of observed ancient galaxies is insufficient to hold the galaxies together as they rotate, which allowed the researchers to calculate the amount of dark matter surrounding the galaxies necessary to offset the disruptive effects of the galaxies’ rotation.
This map depicts the way that scientists can observe the gravitational effects of dark matter on the light emitted towards Earth by a quasar billions of light years away. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What present-day country is home to the island of Tortuga, a major center and haven of Caribbean piracy?
A: Haiti
In the early 1600’s, French colonists settled on the island of Tortuga off of largely Spanish-occupied Hispaniola, with the island becoming divided between French and English colonists from 1630 onwards. During this period, ‘buccaneers’ hunted wild boars and cattle in uninhabited parts of Tortuga, and the name was later applied to describe the privateers who were authorized to conduct raids on Spanish ships and outposts in the Caribbean. Frenchman Jean La Vasseur raided the island in the early 1640’s, taking control of the island’s major ports and establishing himself as governor, building Fort de Rocher to prevent further encroachment by the Spanish. The official lawlessness of Tortuga under his governorship made the island an appealing base for pirates to operate freely. He opened the port to privateers of all nations, in exchange for a percentage of the wealth of every vessel anchored there. During this time, the Brethren of the Coast, a loose coalition of pirates and privateers made up of French and Englishmen, emerged in the Caribbean, operating from Tortuga and in the town of Port Royal, Jamaica. By 1670, the buccaneer era was in decline.
Source Heritage Daily
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Q: What island country had the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting in 2009 to raise the alarm about rising sea levels?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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