Iraq
Top Iranian General Killed
Major General Qassim Suleimani, Commander of Iranian Forces, was killed by a U.S. airstrike at Baghdad International Airport early this morning. The drone strike was authorized by U.S. President Donald Trump following a siege on the American Embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iranian militia supporters earlier this week. Maj. Gen. Sulemani headed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps elite Qud Force and is credited with leading Iranian intelligence and military strategic operations for the past twenty years. At least five others were killed in the airstrike, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy leader of the Iran-supported Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces.
This map depicts the location of Baghdad’s International airport, where Suleimani was killed by an airstrike, and the location of the U.S. Embassy, in Baghdad, site of a siege earlier this week. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
Graphic Source: CNN
__________________________________________
|
|
Australia
Bushfires
On Friday, the Australian navy ships MV Sycamore and HMAS Choulesan evacuated an estimated 1,000 people after devastating bushfires trapped them in the town of Mallacoota on the Victoria coast. The evacuation came after a state of emergency had been declared across much of Australia’s heavily populated southeast states of Victoria and New South Wales. With temperatures expected to rise above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and strong winds are expected to exacerbate fire conditions over the weekend. Since September, an estimated 20 people have died, dozens have gone missing, more than 1,300 homes have been damaged and an area about 12.35 million acres of land have burned. Fires are also burning in Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania.
This map depicts the areas in southeast Australia that are on fire. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
Graphic Source: AFP
__________________________________________
|
|
Mediterranean Sea
Historic Gas Deal
Greece, Israel and Cyprus signed a deal Thursday to bring natural gas into Europe from the eastern Mediterranean’s quickly developing oil fields. The undersea Eastern Mediterranean Pipeline, or EastMed Pipeline, will stretch 1,900 km (1,180 miles) from the coast of Israel into Europe and will be completed by 2025. As the project currently stands, it is set to be the longest undersea pipeline by completion. Italy is expected to sign into the deal at a later date and will be the largest purchaser of Israeli gas.
This map depicts the EastMed pipeline. Click on the map to learn more.
|
|
|
|
 |
Q: Which archipelago is home to the world’s only mid-oceanic granite islands?
A: Seychelles
Situated in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles islands’ unique geology of granite rocks are a result of their once-connected past to the supercontinent, Gondwana about 150 million years ago. Ocean islands, like those of Hawaii, are typically formed of volcanic rock; granite foundations found on oceanic islands are highly unusual.
Source
|
|
|
|
|
Q: On what continent can you find the number one diamond producing country?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
|
|
|
|
AGS is accepting DailyGeo GeoQuestion suggestions.
Write to ags@americangeo.org with any ideas!
Please include GeoQuestions in the subject line, along with your answer and source.
|
|
|
DailyGeo is a daily digital communication created by AGS for the geography community. Feel free to share and encourage others to become part of the community too!
Copyright © 2019 American Geographical Society, All rights reserved.
We understand this might not be for everyone. Although we would hate to see you go, you can unsubscribe here.
How are we doing? We want to hear your feedback on the DailyGeo – what are we doing right and what should we be doing differently. Talk to us by emailing ags@americangeo.org. |
|
|
|
|
