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Sudan
Amnesty International Report
Human rights group, Amnesty International, released its first report on the civil war that has been raging in Sudan since April. The report details human rights abuses committed by forces of both sides of the conflict, including deliberate targeting of civilians and widespread sexual assault. Fighting broke out on April 15 between Sudan’s regular army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. The violence has displaced around 3.3 million people, including over 750,000 people who’ve fled to other countries. Amnesty International compiled its report from interviews conducted with around 180 Sudanese refugees, mainly in Chad. Amnesty calls for the international community to provide more humanitarian aid, for neighboring countries to remain ready to accept and protect refugees, and for the United Nations to extend the arms embargo currently in place for only the Darfur region to the rest of the country.
This map depicts the numbers of refugees who’ve fled the civil war in Sudan. Amnesty International has released a report detailing widespread war crimes. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Niger
Embassies Evacuated After Coup
The US and UK are evacuating embassy staff from Niger following the recent military coup which ousted key western ally President Mohamed Bazoum. The coup has raised international concerns about the rise of Islamist insurgents in the Sahel region. Both the US and the UK support the democratically elected government but are temporarily reducing embassy staff due to security concerns. The self-declared new leader of Niger has refused to reinstate the ousted president despite pressure from neighboring countries and international organizations. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has imposed sanctions on Niger and is considering the use of force if the coup leaders do not restore the previous government within a week. Niger’s neighbors Mali and Burkina Faso, both run by military juntas, issued a stern warning to ECOWAS against using force to reinstate Bazoum. Several countries, including France, Germany, Italy, and the US have a military presence in Niger to combat extremist groups, but no troop withdrawals have been announced yet.
This map depicts the current and suspended members of the Economic Community of West African States. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Sky News
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Space
Solar Eruption Impact Traced
For the first time, scientists have collected readings from three celestial bodies (Earth, The Moon, and Mars) on the effects of a giant solar eruption. This single solar coronal mass ejection (CME) occurred on October 28, 2021, but the findings of the collected data were released today. The sheer size of the event is highlighted by solar particles being spread over such a wide area that Mars and Earth, although on opposite sides of the Sun and over 155 million miles (around 250 million kilometers) apart, both received an influx of energetic particles. The outburst was detected by an international fleet of spacecraft including the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, and the Chinese National Space Administration’s Chang’e-4 moon lander. This CME was a rare ‘ground-level enhancement,’ where particles released are energetic enough to pass through the Earth’s magnetic field. High doses of solar radiation (above 700 milligray) may induce radiation sickness. Although this particular CME released around 31 milligray of radiation, it has highlighted the threat such events can have on not only astronauts in space but also humans on Earth.
This map depicts the radiation dose that an astronaut would experience due to the 2021 outburst on Earth, the Moon and Mars. Click on the map to learn more.
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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?
A: The Caucasus
The Caucasus, a mountainous isthmus of land between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, is a region that includes Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, and Iran. It is divided into the Greater and Lesser Caucasus Mountains, and home to the highest peak in Europe, Mt. Elbrus, at 18,510 ft (5,642 m). The watershed of the Greater Caucasus has traditionally been part of the line dividing Europe and Asia. The richness in biodiversity includes high-altitude grasslands, snowcapped crags, coniferous and deciduous forests, shrubby plateaus, and swamp forests. Relics of the Persian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires are abundant, due to a long history of invasion and occupation by imperial powers. The region’s position is unique as a major section on the Silk Road trading routes and a major land route to the north for cultural diffusion of the Middle Eastern Fertile Crescent civilizations. The region has a diverse cultural heritage and distinct identity of its own, with the earliest recorded evidence of wine-making more than 8,000 years ago, the first peoples to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion, as well as countless ethnic groups and more than 40 Indigenous languages, a density surpassed only by Papua New Guinea and the Amazon Rainforest.
Source Transcaucasian Trail
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Q: Between which two Himalayan buffer states did mountain warfare and border disputes occur during the 1962 Sino-Indian War?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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