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Israel-Palestine
Israel-Gaza War Death Toll at 1300
Israel and Palestinian armed group Hamas declared they were at war on Saturday after Hamas fighters launched one of the largest assaults on Israel in 50 years. More than 800 Israelis and some 500 Palestinians have been killed amid heavy fighting and bombardment. This surprise attack – combining gunmen breaching security barriers and a barrage of rockets fired from Gaza – was launched at dawn during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. Hamas fired thousands of rockets toward Israeli cities, and Palestinian militants crossed into southern Israel, killing civilians and holding more than 130 Israelis hostage. Israel retaliated with major strikes across the blockaded Gaza Strip. Israel’s defense minister said the authorities are enforcing a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting electricity and blocking deliveries of food, water and fuel. Fighting is ongoing in Southern Israel along the Gaza border.
This map depicts where the Palestinian armed group Hamas attacked Israeli border towns, and where Israeli Defense Forces struck Gaza. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Afghanistan
Earthquake Kills More Than 2000
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan Saturday morning, devastating the Zindajan rural district. Villagers are still searching for the 500 people reported missing. Aid is slowly starting to trickle in after being delayed by blocked routes and downed communication lines. All of the homes in this area have been destroyed by the quake. The area is also home to communities displaced by war and drought, making it especially difficult for local administration to know exactly how many people have been living there. Hospitals are ill-equipped and struggling to support the injured, who are remaining at the hospitals without homes to return to. The Taliban government has said the earthquake survivors are in urgent need of food, drinking water, medicine, clothes, and tents for shelter. Several aid agencies, including the Afghan Red Cross Society, MSF, and UNICEF, have dispatched help but agencies say the country needs more.
This map depicts the areas in Afghanistan that have been affected by the earthquake, and to what degree. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: BBC News
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New Zealand
Buried Reservoir Found Off Coast
Scientists have found a massive body of water underneath the bed of the ocean in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, where experts say there is a 26% chance of a mega-earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or greater in the next 50 years. The previously undiscovered ‘reservoir’, more than three kilometers below the ocean floor, is revealed in a recently published study as part of an international research project to gain more information about the Hikurangi Trench off Gisborne/Tairāwhiti, where the pressure of two colliding tectonic plates could trigger a large earthquake and subsequent tsunami at any time. There is a one in four – or 26% chance – of such an event in the next 50 years, say scientists.
This map depicts the buried reservoir in the Hikurangi Subduction Zone. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: People in what country invented the compass for divination and fortune-telling in the 2nd century BC, only using it for navigation in the 11th century?
A: China
The compass was invented in China during the Han dynasty between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD where it was called the “south-governor” (sīnán 司南) or “South Pointing Fish” (指南魚). The magnetic compass was not, at first, used for navigation, but for geomancy and fortune-telling by the Chinese. The earliest Chinese magnetic compasses were possibly used to order and harmonize buildings by the geomantic principles of feng shui. These early compasses were made with lodestone, a form of the mineral magnetite that is a naturally occurring magnet and aligns itself with the Earth’s magnetic field. People in ancient China discovered that if a lodestone was suspended so it could turn freely, it would always point toward the magnetic poles. Early compasses were used to choose areas suitable for building houses, growing crops, and to search for rare gems. Compasses were later adapted for navigation during the Song dynasty in the 11th century. Western Europeans soon followed at the end of the 12th century.
Source
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Q: With the 1667 Treaty of Breda, the English gave claim to the Dutch of what modern-day country in exchange for the island of New Amsterdam, present-day Manhattan?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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