Taiwan
Same-Sex Marriage Legalized
On Friday, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. Lawmakers debated three different bills before passing the most progressive, which the government passed with a 66 to 27 vote in favor. The bill will allow same-sex couples to enter into “exclusive permanent unions” and gives couples many of the tax, insurance, and child custody benefits available to male-female married couples. In 2017, the island’s constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry and parliament was given a two-year deadline to amend or enact new laws. The bill will take effect on May 24 after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen signs it into law.
This map depicts where same-sex marriage is legal. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Reuters
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Australia
Polluted Paradise
Scientists estimate that there are 414 million pieces of plastic pollution, weighing 238 tons, littering the beaches of Cocos (Keeling) Islands in Australia. Some identifiable items were shoes and toothbrushes, and it is believed that around 93% of it is buried under the sand. Researchers found that ocean currents are depositing the plastic because the island is too small to produce that much waste. The study concludes that global plastic pollution of the oceans “highlights a worrying trend in the production and discharge of single-use products.”
This map depicts the location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: USA Today
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United States
Military Jet Crash
On Thursday afternoon, an F-16 military fighter jet crashed into a nearby commercial warehouse on its return to the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California. The pilot ejected from the armed aircraft moments before the crash and landed in a field on the military base. A possible cause of the crash is hydraulic failure. Twelve people on the ground and the pilot were taken to the hospital, but there were no life-threatening injuries.
This map depicts the location of the jet’s crash near Moreno Valley, California. Click on the map to expand.
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Q: How many islands are located in Albania’s Narta Lagoon?
A: Two
Zvernec Island and one unnamed island. Albania has ten islands in the Adriatic Sea, and most are uninhabited or too small to be so.
Source
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Q: What country was originally called the Pepper Coast, and how did it get that name?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
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