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Germany
CDU Wins German Election
In Germany’s election, held on Sunday, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), won the most votes with 28.6% of the overall tally, positioning CDU leader Friedrich Merz to become the country’s next chancellor. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) received its highest vote share to date at 20.8%, making it the second largest party. As the CDU/CSU did not win an ouright majority, Merz will have to negotiate with the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), which drew 16.4%, in order to form a coalition government, as he’s ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD. This election saw the country’s highest voter turnout in decades.
This map depicts the results of Germany’s federal election and which political party received the largest vote share in each district. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Reuters
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World
Internet Shutdowns Break Record
The year 2024 saw the highest number of government-imposed internet shutdowns on record, with at least 296 outages across 54 countries, according to a new report from digital rights group Access Now. The majority of internet shutdowns came from four countries: India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Russia, which accounted for a combined 210 shutdowns, or more than 70% of the global total. The military government in Myanmar tops the list, regularly blocking access to the internet since it seized power in February 2021. The findings also reveal that 21 shutdowns impacted 15 countries in Africa — the highest number of shutdowns ever recorded in a single year for the region. Conflict was the main trigger for internet disruptions, accounting for 103 of the documented shutdowns across 11 countries: Ethiopia, Bahrain, Chad, India, Israel, Myanmar, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Sudan, and Ukraine. Protests and elections were also behind a significant number of shutdowns. Global shutdowns were achieved through tactics like damaging devices, cutting cables, destroying infrastructure, and orders to telecommunications companies.
This map depicts internet shutdowns in 2024. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Access Now
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United States
Bird Flu “Endemic” in Cattle
Virologists are now characterizing highly-pathenogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as “endemic” in cattle herds following a newly identified cluster of infections in dairy cattle in Nevada and Arizona. To be called “endemic” an infection must progress from being rare or exceptional to being regularly expected within a particular population, though not necessarily at a crisis level. The H5N1 variant of influenza commonly known as the “bird flu” has been steadily advancing across the United States. This wave is remarkable for the variety of animals – birds and mammals, wild and domestic – to which the virus has spread. The range of new infections still has researchers trying to understand all the pathways through which the virus can travel. Veterinarians are being found to have been infected with H5 without knowledge of themselves having handled infected animals, and some Michigan dairy workers are even believed to have infected their indoor pet cats. Complicating the tracking of the bird flu is the worst overall influenza season in 15 years, meaning many of the bird flu infections are being lost in the backdrop of other influenza variants causing illness.
This map depicts the latest count of confirmed HPAI (“bird flu”) infections in wild and captive wild mammals across the United States through February 21, 2025 . Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What is the mountain range known as the “spine of Greece?”
A: Pindus Mountains
The Pindus Mountains is the principal range and backbone of mainland Greece, trending north-northwest–south-southeast from Albania to central Greece north of the Peloponnese peninsula. Geologically, it is an extension of the Dinaric Alps, which dominate the western region of the Balkan Peninsula. The range runs along the border between Epirus and Thessaly, includes two national parks, the second-longest gorge in Greece, and some of the highest mountain peaks in the country. The mountain range is roughly 100 miles (160 km) long, with a maximum elevation of 8,651 feet (2,637 m) at Mount Smolikas. Forested with oak, fir, beech, and pine, the Pindus creates a barrier for the westerly weather fronts, which puts the Thessalian plain to the east in a rain shadow.
Source
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Q: What country is home to Africa’s highest concentration of biodiversity?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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