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Myanmar
Military Rule Extended
This week, Myanmar’s military junta government extended the state of emergency imposed after the 2021 coup, delaying promised elections which had been dismissed as a “sham” by the United Nations. Violence flared after the coup as former President Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters demanded her release and restoration of the elected government. Some of her supporters formed the National Unity Government, with armed units known as the People’s Defense Force. The current state of emergency allows the military, known as the Tatmadaw, to control all government functions. The military has continued to escalate its brutal campaign of violence against opposition groups, including the National Unity Government, which controls a significant portion of the country. The military’s tactics include airstrikes on schools, hospitals, and public events to punish civilians suspected of supporting the opposition. These efforts to suppress resistance to the government have led to large-scale displacement, caused countless deaths, and created an atmosphere of fear and instability.
This map depicts airstrikes by the military in red, almost doubling drone strikes by the opposition in blue. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: New York Times
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Belarus-Poland
Helicopters In Polish Airspace
Poland has deployed more troops on its eastern border after reporting two Belarusian helicopters violated its airspace yesterday. Tensions between Warsaw and its Moscow-allied neighbour have been rising in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After originally denying the helicopters had violated its airspace, Poland has now confirmed the incursion and notified NATO. People living around the eastern Polish village of Białowieża, close to the Belarus border, shared accounts on social media of the low-flying, under-the radar helicopters before the defense ministry issued its statement. The arrival of these helicopters comes after Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, raised concerns about Wagner forces stationed in Belarus moving towards the border, describing the situation as ‘increasingly dangerous’ this past Saturday. The Belarusian military denied the airspace violation and accused Poland of making the allegation to justify further build-up of its troops.
This map depicts the route into Poland taken by Belarusian military helicopters. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Yahoo News
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Space
‘Heartbeat’ of Voyager 2 Heard
For the first time since contact was lost with Voyager 2 on July 21st, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) picked up a “heartbeat” signal from the distant probe on August 1st. The spacecraft, originally launched in 1977, tilted its antenna two degrees away from Earth after a wrong command was sent to the probe. The error resulted in the probe being unable to receive commands or send back data. Voyager 2 is more than 12.3 billion miles (19.9 billion km) from Earth, losing contact while in the direction of the Pavo constellation. Due to its distance from Earth, the “heartbeat” signal heard would have taken approximately 18 hours to reach Earth. Voyager 2 is programmed to reset its orientation multiple times a year. The next reset should occur on October 15th, when NASA says full communication should be reinstated. Voyager 1 is still in communication with NASA, now nearly 15 billion miles (24 billion km) away from Earth.
This map depicts Voyager 2’s location in the outskirts of the solar system, where NASA lost contact with the craft. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Described as a “cultural passport,” through what artistic expression have Aboriginal Australians historically navigated vast distances across deserts of Australia’s interior and through the territories of diverse peoples, cultures, and languages?
A: Singing
Songlines, known as navigational tracks, are part of an ancient memory code tradition tied to Aboriginal Australian spirituality. Elders and trained Indigenous people will sing the landscape and therefore be able to move from location to location through it and teach each other important knowledge, cultural values, and wisdom related to each place. At every location, each sacred site within that sung track, rituals of repeated songs are performed, and those songs encode the information. Songlines link positions in the landscape, with each location acting as a memory aid, so the knowledge shared through the songlines is literally grounded in the landscape. Songlines provide important knowledge about the thousands of species of animals and plants in Australia as well as land formations and seasonality. Indigenous Australians have the longest continuous cultural history of any group of people on earth. To this day, their history is preserved and passed down through intricate song, dance, art, and stories, which reinforce belonging, social connection, and strength of identity, as well as care and respect for land.
Source ABC Australia
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Q: Which mountain range is historically considered the dividing line between Europe and Southwest Asia, and also is the home of the earliest evidence discovered yet of winemaking from grapes?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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