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Afghanistan
Taliban Left to Govern
Sticking to the deadline established by President Biden, the last flight carrying U.S. forces departed Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport yesterday. The Taliban now has to navigate the challenges of governing a devastated country while also facing international scrutiny on respect for human rights. After four decades of war, over 570,000 Afghans are internally displaced, while current estimates place the number of food-insecure at 14 million. With the number of U.S. citizens wishing to leave Afghanistan estimated to be 100 to 200, U.S. military officials have made assurances that diplomats will continue efforts to work with the Taliban to allow for their departures, as well as for the thousands of Afghans who wish to escape.
This map depicts the numbers of Afghan civilians who have been internally-displaced by ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Syria
Oil Spill in Mediterranean Sea
An accidental fuel tank leak from a power plant in Baniyas, Syria has led to the spread of an oil slick in the Mediterranean Sea. Although Syrian officials stated the leak was under control, new satellite imagery shows movement of the oil slick as it threatens Syria’s coastlines as well as the entire coastline of Cyprus. Authorities in Cyprus say they are prepared to handle the situation to prevent the spill from becoming an environmental disaster. The large oil slick was seemingly not the result of heavy crude oil but rather a lighter, more refined oil that produces a sheen. This is the second oil spill in Syria in 2021.
This map depicts the spread of an oil slick from Syria’s coastline. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Greek Reporter
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United States
Highway Collapse Kills Two
Rains from Hurricane Ida sweeping through the area destroyed a highway near Lucedale, Mississippi, on Monday night, killing two and leaving another 10 injured. Responders found that both lanes of Highway 26 had collapsed into a hole 50 to 60 feet (15-18 m) long and another 20 to 30 (6-9 m) feet deep. It is believed that drivers might not have seen the hole ahead of them in the driving rain, leading them to drive directly into it and causing a pileup of seven vehicles. Ida has been downgraded to a tropical depression, but still presents a significant threat to lives and property as it continues to move inland.
This map depicts location of a highway collapse caused by rains from Hurricane Ida near Lucedale, Mississippi. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: The world’s longest-living vertebrate species is native to and named for what island country covering 836,300 square miles (2,166,000 km sq)?
A: Greenland
While it may range as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, the Greenland Shark normally calls the of the north Atlantic home. Through carbon-dating of the lenses of their eyes, scientists have discovered that these languid creatures can live upward of 500 years or more. Researchers still don’t know entirely why they live so long, but they believe the frigid waters around Greenland force the sharks’ metabolism to slow down, thus reducing the aging effect.
Source
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Q: Consisting of over 17,000 islands and whose population is also the fourth largest in the world, where is the largest archipelago?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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