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Israel
US Proposes Temporary Ceasefire
The US has proposed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council which calls for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable. This proposal comes after the US said it would veto a resolution from Algeria calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, which the UN Security Council will vote on today. The US said Algeria’s resolution would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy. The US has also warned Israel against invading the overcrowded city of Rafah, where over 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, around two-thirds of Gaza’s population, are seeking shelter. This southernmost city in the Gaza Strip was home to only 250,000 people before the war. The internally displaced there are living in tents and makeshift shelters in squalid conditions with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.
This map depicts Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip on the Egyptian border. Click on the map to learn more.
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Poland-Ukraine
Farmer Protests Anger Ukraine
Protests by Polish farmers against the importation of Ukrainian grain have sparked anger in neighboring Ukraine. Today’s protests marked an escalation from previous demonstrations, with a near-total blockade of all border crossings and protestors breaking open railway carriages and spilling grain. Polish farmers say they are unable to compete with cheap Ukrainian imports permitted tariff-free into the EU. The intensified Polish protest comes as farmers across Europe demonstrate against EU constraints on agriculture. While Poland has long been a staunch ally of Ukraine, conflict regarding Ukrainian import policy has strained the relationship. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the situation “an erosion of solidarity on a daily basis” on Monday, arguing the blockades harmed the war effort. Poland’s new, pro-EU government has urged protestors to avoid harming the Ukrainian war effort while also expressing sympathy for farmers and seeking an EU agreement with Ukraine to limit imports.
This map depicts the locations of Polish farmer protests planned for February 20, 2024. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: WP (Poland)
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United States
Fin Whales Living in NY Bight
A new paper published by the World Conservation Society (WCS) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the journal Scientific Reports reveals the New York Bight is a year-round habitat for endangered fin whales. The New York Bight is the concave bend of the US East Coast stretching from Cape May, New Jersey, to Montauk Point, at the end of New York State’s Long Island. The research group collected underwater acoustic data via a special buoy to examine periodic patterns in whale song from 2017 to 2020. The collected data showed fin whale activity in the bight every month of the year, with most activity from the fall through the early spring. Fin whales are the second-largest animal known to have ever existed, after blue whales, and are currently listed as “Vulnerable.” The WCS hopes to use the observed patterns to recommend conservation strategies to protect the whales in one of the world’s most active waterways.
This map depicts the location of a buoy that collected data on fin whale song in the New York Bight, along with shipping traffic lanes and a vessel precautionary area. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What body of water is home to the largest port in Southeast Asia?
A: Malacca Strait
The Port of Singapore is the biggest and busiest port in Southeast Asia and the second in the world after Shanghai. Because of its strategic location on the Malacca Strait, Singapore has been a significant trading post for at least two centuries. The Malacca Strait is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, located between the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest and the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) with the Singapore Strait and the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean). As the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea, it is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world.
Source
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Q: What country is home to Africa’s Spice Islands, a historic hub of maritime trade?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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