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Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates
Growing Saudi-UAE Feud
International political analysts are watching carefully as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates appear to take increasingly antagonistic positions against one another. What was formerly a friendly rivalry over Gulf dominance became more direct near the end of 2025, when rival factions in oil-rich Yemen’s civil war supported by the two powers came into direct conflict. The two countries are pursuing contrasting foreign policy strategies in Sudan, Israel, Yemen, Syria, and the Horn of Africa. In Sudan, Saudi Arabia supports the Sudanese Armed Forces, and has thus far refused to formalize diplomatic relations with Israel until Palestinian statehood is recognized. In contrast, the UAE has aligned itself closer to Israel and is funding the Rapid Support Forces, rivals of the Sudanese Armed Forces. Their roles in these conflicts have revealed serious competition for territorial influence, foreign investment, and economic power in the wider region.
This map depicts the areas in the Middle East and North Africa as they are perceived to be aligned with either Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Click on the map to learn more.
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Pakistan
Deadly Mosque Explosion
A bombing during Friday prayers at a Shia Mosque in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad has killed at least 31 people and wounded at least 170 others. The mosque is located southeast of the city center in the Tarlai Kalan area of Islamabad. Witnesses said the bomber was stopped at the gate and then blew himself up. No group has yet to claim responsibility for the explosion, and suspicion is likely to fall on militant groups that have been blamed for previous attacks on Pakistan’s Shia Muslim minority. Shias comprise 10-15% of Pakistan’s population and have been targeted in attacks in the past. There has been a surge in militant violence in Pakistan in recent months, blamed largely on Baloch separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban.
This map depicts the location of the mosque where the explosion occurred. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: RTE News
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Antarctica
Glacial Melt and Algae Growth
Scientists researching how various inputs affect carbon uptake in the Southern Ocean have made a surprising discovery. Previous research has shown how an increase in iron in seawater can spur algae growth, causing it to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide as it grows. Scientists had assumed that iron-rich sediment in glacial meltwater would show these effects. As it turns out, the iron in glacial runoff is “weathered,” having undergone extensive chemical alterations over time that reduce the iron’s bioavailability to be metabolized by the algae. Sediment cores taken from beneath the Pacific zone of the Southern Ocean showed increases in algae were spurred by iron derived from wind-driven dust from the major landmasses of the southern hemisphere, while increased glacier runoff actually inhibited algal growth.
This map depicts the currents and wind patterns surrounding Antarctica, with the dots showing sites where sediment cores were retrieved from the ocean floor. Findings from the sediment core marked in red revealed that glacial meltwater reduces the growth of carbon-absorbing algae. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: The proposed country of Cascadia in the U.S. Pacific Northwest is defined by the watershed of what river?
A: Columbia River
The Cascadia movement is an independence movement based in the Cascadia bioregion of western North America. The Cascadia Bioregion encompasses all or portions of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska, British Columbia, and Alberta. Bioregion is short for ‘bio-cultural region’ and are geographically based areas defined by a physical traits; land or soil composition, watershed, climate, flora, and fauna; as well as the cultural traits of the inhabitants that live within them, and act upon them. The Cascadia Bioregion includes the entire watershed of the Columbia River (as far as the Continental Divide), as well as the Cascade Range from Northern California well into Canada. The Columbia River watershed alone, the largest in Cascadia, includes parts of six US states and one Canadian province.
Source
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Q: The first fossilized dinosaur egg was found in which desert in Asia, the continent’s largest?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
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