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Sudan
Fatal Fighting in Khartoum
Sudan’s army launched air raids in Khartoum on Thursday to reclaim ground taken by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In the most significant attack in months, Sudan’s army gained control of three major bridges, attacked multiple RSF military sites, and conducted numerous flights over Khartoum. The army is advancing towards the presidential palace, where there are reports of heavy fighting. The army’s artillery and air raid tactics have recently killed four people and injured 14. Since 2023, when a power struggle between the army and the RSF erupted into full-scale fighting, 10 million people have been displaced. This ongoing civil war initiated a humanitarian crisis and threatens widespread famine, as well as a regional conflict spillover. Past diplomatic intervention from international parties has failed despite 18,800 people killed and at least 33,000 wounded.
This map depicts the areas around the Sudanese capital of Kharoum where Sudan’s army launched an offensive against the Rapid Support Forces. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Al Jazeera
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Haiti
Anti-Gang Campaign Underway
Leaders of Haiti and its neighbor the Dominican Republic are issuing warnings that the U.N.-backed campaign against Haitian gangs will require more resources and effort to succeed. At the United Nations this week, President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, warned his country would take “drastic measures” to protect itself should the current anti-gang campaign fail. Gangs control roughly 80 percent of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Across the country, at least 3,661 people were killed in the first half of the year, a 70% increase over the same period in 2023. The international community has made uneven efforts at helping the Haitian government push back against the gangs. Kenya has sent around 400 police to help keep the peace, with other countries contributing much smaller numbers of troops. With pledges of personnel from other countries, the total number for the security mission should come to 2,500, but it’s unclear when the promised troops and resources will actually make their way to Haiti.
This map depicts the number of deaths from gang violence in Haiti from January 2018 through August 2024. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The Economist
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China
World’s Oldest Cheese
Scientists have successfully extracted DNA from ancient cheese for the first time, a breakthrough that sheds light on how probiotic bacteria has evolved over thousands of years. Chinese researchers examined the world’s oldest cheese, which was discovered in 2003 in Xinjiang and dates back approximately 3,600 years. The cheese samples were first found smeared on the heads and necks of Xiaohe cemetery mummies at three tombs in northwest China. The new study identified these substances as a white kefir cheese with cow and goat DNA traces. The team recovered the DNA of Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens bacteria from the ancient dairy samples and traced its evolution by comparing it to modern strains used to make kefir. This study challenges the long-held belief that kefir originated solely in the North Caucasus mountain region of modern-day Russia 2,000 years ago.
This map depicts where remains of the world’s oldest cheese were found in northwest China, and the movement of cheese development through time in east Asia. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What estuary is home to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay?
A: Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and forms a funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America. The estuary receives waters draining from the basin of these rivers, which covers much of south-central South America; the total area drained is about 1.2 million square miles (3.2 million square kilometres), or about one-fifth of the surface of the continent. Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is located on the northern shore of the estuary, and Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is on the southwestern shore. It forms part of the border between Argentina and Uruguay.
Source
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Q: What mountain range lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Anatolian Plateau?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in Monday’s DailyGeo.
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