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Afghanistan
Withdrawal of U.S. Troops
Today, U.S. President Donald Trump began the process of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The withdrawal is part of a deal with the Taliban, signed on February 29, with the hope of bringing peace to the nation. U.S. troops have been present in Afghanistan since the weeks following the September 11 attacks in 2001. The reduction in troops from an estimated 14,000 to 8,600 over the next 135 days could be the start of the United States’ longest foreign military campaign coming to an end. As part of the agreement, the U.S. and its allies will withdraw all troops within 14 months if the deal with the Taliban is upheld. Afghanistan currently has the largest number of U.S. troops stationed in the region.
This map depicts the location of U.S. Troops in the Middle East and Afghanistan. Click on the map to expand.
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Graphic Source: Newsweek
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Netherlands
MH17 Murder Trial Begins
Yesterday, the District Court of The Hague began the trial for the murder of 298 people killed on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17, 2014. The flight was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam when it was shot down by an antiaircraft missile in the disputed region of Donetsk, Ukraine. Four defendants, three Russian citizens and one Ukrainian citizen, have been accused of supplying the missile to separatists forces who shot down the plane. After Russia prevented the case from being tried in a United Nations tribunal, the government of the Netherlands took the case, as most of the victims were Dutch. All four defendants waived their right to attend the trail and are believed to be in Russia. They face life sentences in prison if convicted.
This map depicts the flight path of MH17 and the location of its crash in Ukraine. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Graphic News
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World
Sea Turtles Attracted To Plastics
In a new study published on Monday in the journal Current Biology, scientists have determined sea turtles may confuse the smell of plastic with food. The findings were based on an experiment involving 15 young loggerhead sea turtles that had been raised in captivity and were subjected to a series of airborne smells through a pipe. The researchers found the turtles responded almost identically to the smell of their food as they did to the smell of a plastic bag that had been soaked in water. Researchers concluded that this “olfactory trap” might help explain why sea turtles around the world are prone to eating and getting entangled in plastic.
This map depicts the primary locations of the world’s most endangered sea turtles. Click on the map to expand.
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Q: Which South American country lost its coastline in the War of the Pacific, becoming a landlocked nation in 1884?
A: Bolivia
Bolivia lost its 400km (250 miles) Pacific Ocean coastline to Chile after La Guerra del Pacifico, or War of the Pacific (1879-1884). The borders between the two countries officially changed after the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1904. Bolivia continues to mourn the loss and despite having no access to the sea, the country maintains a small navy and observes the Day of the Sea every year. During the event, politicians give speeches and people listen to the recorded sound of seagulls.
Source
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Q: The Caprivi Strip was ceded by Britain in 1890 to give Germany riparian access to which river?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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