Ever wonder what's happening around the world? This weekly column for Storeboard.com will give you a global perspective of interesting, entertaining, and newsworthy happenings around the planet Earth!
This is the fourth weekly column about events on Earth. Here's what's happening continent by continent this week -- Monday, Nov. 11 through Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013:
Way, way,……………way beyond any of the continents: This might be a one-time only addition to the weekly column. Last week, astronomers announced that there could be "tens of billions" of planets outside the Earth's solar system that could be the site of life. I wrote a blog about this astonishing announcement on Nov. 8.
Africa: East African art is becoming so popular that Nairobi, Kenya, hosted the first commercial auction of East African art last week and Kenyan art is also being sold in London. The AFP (Agence France-Presse) article reported that most of the 47 pieces of art available at the auction were produced by Kenyan artists, but Ethiopian, Sudanese, Tanzanian, and Ugandan art was also auctioned. In recent years, the art world has become more interested in art from western Africa, southern Africa, the Middle East, more eastern parts of Asia, and Latin America and now it’s eastern Africa’s turn, according to the article.
Antarctica: Forests in Antarctica? Yes, researchers last week not only concluded that there were once forests in Antarctica, but that the trees in the forests have “some features of today’s tropical trees,” according to an article in livescience. We think of Antarctica as all ice, but the continent -- and the rest of the world -- was a greenhouse 250 million years ago. However, tropical trees in Antarctica was still a surprise because the continent was dark all day every day during the winter. The article includes an interesting photo of a fossilized tree trunk protruding through the ice.
Asia: Nov. 15 is Independence Day in the Palestinian territories -- the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat made the independence declaration on Nov. 15, 1988. Since then, about 130 nations in the United Nations have recognized the state of Palestine, but Israel and the United States have not. Israel continued to occupy the territories after 1988. It has granted more autonomy to the territories since 1988, but the territories still aren’t fully independent. Last year, thousands of Palestinian Arabs observed Independence Day by protesting Israel’s continued presence in the territories.
Australia: The aborigines, Australia’s dark-skinned indigenous population, suffered the same fate as the USA’s native Americans. Their population declined by about 90 percent after the British came to Australia in 1788 because of epidemic diseases and violence. Many were forced off their land and mistreated by racists. Today, about 3 percent or 670,000 of Australia’s 23 million people are aborigines. In September, Bunjilaka Melbourne Museum began honoring the aborigines’ achievements, culture and history in a permanent exhibit that includes artifacts, artwork, and aborigines telling their own stories.
Europe: Rome has been the site of Romaeuropa Festival since 1986. Today, it is regarded as one of Europe’s best festivals. This year’s festival began on Sept. 25 and ends on Nov. 24. Do you want to see well known and highly regarded entertainers? Are you interested in art, dance, music and theater? Romaeuropa Festival features an incredible variety of performances at several of Rome’s largest venues, including the Auditorium Parco della Musica, the Teatro Palladium, and the Auditorium Conciliazione. This year’s festival also includes a digital festival.
North America: The continent includes six territories controlled by the British, including the Cayman Islands, which are three islands (Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) with about 57,000 people near Cuba and Jamaica. The Cayman Islands are perhaps best known as a haven for people who are seeking to avoid taxes, but from Nov. 7 through Nov. 17 it’s also the site of a national festival called Pirates Week 2013 that includes re-enactments of pirate invasions, street dances, fireworks, parades, sports events, music and food. Here is the schedule.
South America: Policarpa Salavarrieta (1795-1817) is the Joan of Arc (1412-1431) of Colombia. She was executed on Nov. 14, 1817 by the Spanish for spying on behalf of Colombia’s independence movement. Since 1967, Nov. 14 has been celebrated as the Day of the Colombian Woman in honor of Salavarrieta, who is also honored on currency and stamps. Colombia, by the way, became independent in 1819. The nation included Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama. Venezuela and Ecuador became independent nations in 1830 and Panama became independent in 1903.
Storeboard.com is a social media site that combines social, marketplace, directory, classified, and image sharing all into one incredible site. Use Storeboard.com to share media and promote whatever you do! It's free and it makes meeting friends, sharing media, and promoting things easier!
|
