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Israel
Refugee Camp Raid Kills Nine
An Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank has killed at least nine Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The raid occurred in the Jenin refugee camp, one of several locations in the northern West Bank where Israel has intensified efforts in the past year to curtail growing armed Palestinian resistance. The raid’s death toll is the highest for a single event in occupied West Bank since 2005. The United Nations with Arab mediators have been working to prevent the violence from escalating after six rockets fired from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel were intercepted early Friday morning. The United Arab Emirates, China, and France have also asked the UN Security Council to hold a meeting later today to address the violence after international backlash over the raid.
This map depicts Jenin, a refugee camp located in the occupied West Bank where Israeli military forces carried out a raid Thursday morning, killing nine Palestinians. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Barron’s
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Myanmar
Opium Cultivation Increases
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime opium survey found opium cultivation in Myanmar has increased significantly since the Myanmar military seized power in 2021. Production has increased 33% in the past year as the cultivation area has grown to 99,090 acres (40,100 hectares). The average price paid to farmers has also increased by 69% to about US $280/kg, pushing more people into the drug trade. The overall value of the Myanmar opiate economy is the second largest in the world and ranges between $660 million and $2 billion. Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand make up the “Golden Triangle” – a historic production area for opium, and host many of the labs that convert opium to heroin, where it is exported around the world. Drug eradication raids have decreased by 70% since 2021, as the military increasingly exploits the illicit resources for income, even as the country’s civil war has escalated with increasing numbers of civilian deaths and detentions.
This map depicts opium poppy cultivation density in Myanmar in 2021 and 2022. Click on the map to learn more.
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Space
Lucy Mission Adds Destination
Officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced this week the expansion of the Lucy probe. Lucy’s original mission plan was to visit nine asteroids, mostly in the grouping known as the ‘Trojan asteroids,’ which travel in Jupiter’s orbital path. However, scientists found Lucy’s path through our solar system’s main asteroid belt offered an opportunity to test the probe’s maneuvering and tracking systems. With millions of asteroids in the main belt, which sits between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, NASA began with a list of 500,000 candidate asteroids before settling on one roughly .4 miles (700 m) wide, known only as 1999 VD57. The maneuver to track and scan 1999 VD57 is planned for this May, roughly two years before Lucy’s originally-planned first asteroid encounter.
This map depicts the flight path of NASA’s Lucy probe toward the asteroid 1999 VD57, where Lucy will expand its probe. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: With a maximum depth of only about 46 feet (14 m), which sea holds the title of being the shallowest sea in the world?
A: Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov, an inland sea surrounded by Russia and Ukraine, is an extension of the Black Sea. It is fed by several rivers, the largest of which are the Don and the Kuban, which carry into the Sea of Azov a large volume of silt which has gradually raised Azov’s seafloor, with the Taganrog Gulf in the northeast only around 3 feet (1 meter) deep, and the rest of the Sea of Azov’s seafloor being mainly level. Despite its general shallowness, the Sea of Azov is still an important shipping route, making it strategically important in the current conflict caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Source
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Q: What tiny island in the Persian Gulf, also referred to as “Rainbow Island,” is known for its red beaches and even the reddish hue of its sea?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
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