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Bangladesh
Massive Fire Displaces Refugees
A fire that broke out in a refugee camp in Bangladesh on Sunday has left thousands of Rohingya refugees homeless. The fire started at Camp 11 of Cox’s Bazar refugee camp, and has destroyed around 2,000 shelters. Over 740,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar since 2017 following a crackdown by the country’s military, and the Cox Bazar refugee camp has become one of the largest in the world, with over 1 million refugees. Conditions in Myanmar have declined since the military takeover in 2021, with unsuccessful attempts to send refugees back. These camps are extremely prone to fires, as they are constructed with flammable materials such as bamboo and tarpaulin, and fires in camps often spread quickly due to congested conditions. Officials at the International Rescue Committee insist actions must be taken to rebuild camps in a safer way that reduce the likelihood of fires in the future.
This map depicts the location of the fire at Kutapalong refugee camp. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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United States
23 Charged with Terrorism
At least 35 people were arrested for attacking officers and setting construction equipment on fire Sunday night during an on-going protest against a police training facility under construction in an Atlanta forest. Twenty-three domestic and international activists will be facing charges of domestic terrorism for attacking the $90 million Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, referred to by many protestors as “Cop City.” Tensions over the new facility have grown, especially after a protester was killed in January. Protestors object to the facility in the belief that officers there will be trained in methods to suppress dissent and that the construction of the site is damaging to the environment.
This map depicts the construction plan for a police training facility in Atlanta in the middle of a public park. Protests against the facility have been ongoing, leading to an attack by protestors on the construction site on Sunday night. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: NPR
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Argentina
Falkland Islands Agreement Ends
The government of Argentina has formally pulled out of a cooperation agreement with the United Kingdom and is demanding new talks on the status of the Falkland Islands. Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, known as Islas Malvinas in Spanish, which lie 300 miles (480 km) off its coast and are home to about 3,500 people. Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, leading to a brief war that resulted in the expulsion of Argentine forces and a reassertion of British control. In 2013, residents of the islands voted nearly unanimously to remain a British territory. This led to a 2016 agreement between the UK and Argentina to peaceably cooperate in various sectors while disagreeing on the status of the Falklands. Argentina is now asking the United Nations to help resolve the question of sovereignty over the islands.
This map depicts military movements on the Falkland Islands during the war between Argentina and the UK in 1982, with Argentina still claiming sovereignty over the islands. Click on the map to learn more.
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High school teacher, Han Chung-mei, collaborated with engineers and hundreds of volunteers to create a “Commusidewalk” map, a color-coded map that ranks the safety of pedestrians at specific roadways in cities and counties across Taiwan. The creation was a response to a Facebook page that described Taiwan as a “living hell for pedestrians.” Since its release in December, more than 700 volunteers have submitted over 3,000 photos to help create an effective and complete map. After uploading images with descriptions, volunteers would confirm accuracy of the location and then check the conditions of the road section. Criteria considered when analyzing the space for pedestrians include protection for pedestrians, original width, occupancy situation, maximum dynamic risk, and purpose of use, which is then plugged into a formula to measure the quality score. Differences in the sidewalk quality are represented by their colors – red for very poor, and green for good conditions. The map shows great variance in quality across Taiwan’s cities, counties, villages, and urban areas. Read the full story here.
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Q: Which South Asian country is known for having six seasons instead of four, with its New Year beginning with Summer?
A: Bangladesh
While the majority of people experience two seasons – wet and dry – which is then divided into the four known seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall, land near the Indian Ocean generally experiences three seasons – winter, summer, and monsoon. Bangladesh then divides these three seasons into six: summer (grisma), monsoon (barsa), autumn (sharat), late autumn (hemanta), winter (shit), and spring (basanta). The Bengali year begins with summer around mid-April, when the weather is hot and dry. Monsoon season then spans mid-June to mid-August, which brings the country around 85 percent of its total yearly rainfall. Spring, the final season of the Bengali year, takes place from mid-February to mid-April, bringing warm breezes and the occasional thunderstorm. Due to its low-lying elevation and geographical location, Bangladesh is one of the most disaster prone areas in the world, with cyclones and floods having killed thousands of people and majorly hurting the country’s economic development.
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Q: What mountain range spanning three countries was believed to be the entrance to the ancient Mesopotamian underworld?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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