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Iran-Lebanon
War Drives Mass Displacement
Escalating hostilities across the Middle East continue to drive civilian casualties, mass displacement and mounting humanitarian needs. Between 600,000 and 1 million Iranian households are now temporarily displaced inside Iran as a result of the ongoing conflict, according to preliminary assessments, representing up to 3.2 million people. Most of them are reportedly fleeing from Tehran and other major urban areas towards the north of the country and rural areas to seek safety. Also affected are refugee families hosted in the country, mostly Afghans, who are particularly vulnerable, given their already precarious situation and limited support networks. The majority of the 830,000 displaced in Lebanon come from Beirut’s southern suburbs as well as the country’s south, where the Israeli military has enforced sweeping evacuation orders while launching strikes on the region, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah. The strikes have driven thousands of Lebanese families to cross the border into an already-devastated Syria.
This map depicts population displacement in the Middle East. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Relief Web
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Russia
Russia to Stop Luring Kenyans to Fight
Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, has reached an agreement with Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, that Kenyan citizens will no longer be recruited to fight for Russia’s war on Ukraine. Russia has recruited men to fight in Ukraine from numerous African nations, with allegations that many men are coerced, tricked, or forced into signing military contracts before being sent into combat with minimal training. Mudavadi’s trip to Moscow was prompted by allegations that over 1,000 Kenyans were reportedly lured by false civilian job offers. Inpact, a Switzerland-based nonprofit, obtained records of a Russian list of 316 deceased African recruits who, on average, died less than six months after being deployed. Russia reportedly has recruited between 18,000 and 24,000 foreign nationals from Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. The Russian government, while agreeing to stop accepting Kenyan recruits, also denies any illegal recruitment practices.
This map depicts the number and location of Africans recruited by Russia. Click on the map to learn more.
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Ethiopia
‘Lucy’s Hunter’ Crocodile Fossil
Scientists have determined that Australopithecus afarensis, one of humanity’s earliest ancestors known for the fossilized 3.2-million-year-old skeleton, Lucy, was hunted and eaten by a giant ancestor to modern-day crocodiles. An in-depth analysis of 121 catalogued remains excavated from the Hadar site in the Afar region of Ethiopia suggests that the ancient crocodile species, named Crocodylus lucivenator, or ‘Lucy’s hunter,’ could represent one of many other extinct species from this era. This giant prehistoric crocodile ranged between 12 and 15 feet (3.6 to 4.6 m) long, with full-sized adults likely weighing between 600 and 1,300 pounds (272 to 590 kg). The study determined it was the largest predator in the Afar region’s ecosystem, more so than lions and hyenas, and the biggest threat to our ancestors who lived there during that time.
This map depicts the Hadar Formation in the Afar region of Ethiopia, where the specimens were recovered. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Averaging only about 4 inches (100 mm) of rainfall per year, which West Asian country has no permanent bodies of fresh water within its borders?
A: Oman
Oman is bordered by three countries, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, and by three bodies of water, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and a small portion of the Strait of Hormuz. The country’s geography includes its long narrow coastal plain, the Al-Bātinah, its Hajar Mountains which run parallel to the Gulf coast, and the Rub’ al-Khali desert, which is shared with Yemen and Saudi Arabia. While there are no permanent bodies of fresh water in the country, intermittent streams are produced from seasonal storms. In recent years, efforts have been made to construct dams to preserve some of the runoff. Because of low precipitation levels, vegetation throughout the country is sparse, except where the ancient irrigation system known as aflāj is available. Oman’s aflāj is an ancient system of water channels, dating back to 2500 AD, that run underground and originate in wells near the base of the country’s mountains.
Source
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Q: Where can you find the tallest waterfall in North America and the fifth highest in the world?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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