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India
Modi’s BJP Wins, Loses Majority
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has secured a third consecutive term in office, but his ruling alliance has failed to win a large majority. India’s election authority confirmed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition led by his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 seats in the lower house of India’s Parliament. This is a far reach from winning the supermajority of 400 seats the BJP had promised, and short of the 272 needed for a one-party simple majority the BJP secured in the past two elections in 2014 and 2019. Together with allied parties, the BJP has enough seats to form a coalition government. Leaders of the Indian National Congress (INC), the main opposition party, said the BJP had made the election a referendum on Modi’s decade in office, and the setback by voters dealt him a “moral loss.” These results mean Modi will have to rely on smaller parties in the NDA to push through his agenda.
This map depicts India’s general election results, with BJP seats in the election in orange, and INC seats in blue. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Reuters
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Argentina
Bird Flu Detected in Mammals
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in mammals across the Western Hemisphere, displaying a wider geographic spread than in previous waves of infection. The H5N1 viruses responsible for the illness can cause severe disease and, in some cases, death. A recent study organized in Argentina reported an unprecedented mass mortality event of approximately 17,000 elephant seals in South America, which they believe may be the first multinational transmission of avian influenza in mammals ever observed. The findings support the occurrence of mammal-to-mammal transmission, likely resulting from close contact with infected birds. Experts warn the increasing evolutionary flexibility of H5N1 viruses and their adaptation to mammals could have significant consequences for wildlife, humans, and livestock.
This map depicts the spread of avian influenza across species in South America, leading to a massive outbreak in elephant seals in the continent’s southern region. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Science Cast
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United States
Largest Stegosaurus Fossil Ever
The largest fossilized stegosaurus skeleton ever found is set to go to auction in New York City in July. The remains of the dinosaur, nicknamed “Apex,” are estimated to eventually sell for upwards of $6 million, according to the auction house Sotheby’s. The current owner, a commercial paleontologist, discovered the fossil during a walk on his property in appropriately-named Dinosaur, Colorado, in 2022. He has spent the last two years unearthing it and making 3D scans of the pieces retrieved. The 150-million-year-old specimen is 11 feet (3.35 m) tall, 27 feet (8.23 m) long, and approximately 70 percent complete, and also includes skin impressions. Apex was discovered in a fossil-rich geological zone known as the Morrison Formation, which is centered in Wyoming and Colorado and has outcrops through much of the Central Plains and Mountain West.
This map depicts the town of Dinosaur, Colorado, where the world’s largest-ever stegosaurus fossil was discovered in 2022. The fossil is set to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in New York City in July. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What state is home to the hydrological apex of North America, where water can flow from the same spot into three oceans?
A: Montana
Triple Divide Peak (8,025 ft or 2,446 m) is located in the Rocky Mountains. The peak is a feature of Glacier National Park in the state of Montana. The summit of the peak, the hydrological apex of the North American continent, is the point where two of the principal continental divides in North America converge, the Continental Divide of the Americas and the Northern or Laurentian Divide. A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side feeds into a different ocean or sea. Water that falls at the summit can flow to the Pacific, Atlantic, or Arctic oceans.
Source
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Q: What is the world’s largest inland brackish sea?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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