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Sudan
Thousands Flee Besieged Camp
Since mid-April, when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched an assault on the Zamzam camp in Sudan’s Darfur region, over 400,000 people have fled the camp. The RSF took control over Zamzam after days of shelling, drone attacks, and ground assaults that left over 300 people dead, according to estimates by the United Nations. For the past two years, the Sudanese armed forces and the RSF have been fighting for control of Sudan, with the RSF gaining dominance over much of Darfur. Zamzam, one of the largest settlements for those displaced by over two decades of intermittent conflict in Sudan, lies near al-Fashir, the last major area in Darfur still held by the Sudanese armed forces. Prior to the assault, the RSF had cut off aid to the camp for several months. Since the takeover, the United Nations reports that Zamzam has been nearly emptied, with most people fleeing to either al-Fashir or Tawila to the west.
This map depicts the location of Zamzam and the regions in Sudan that are controlled by the RSF and the Sudanese armed forces. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Reuters
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Romania
Nationalist Simion Leads Vote
George Simion, leader of the nationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, took the lead in the first round of voting in Romania’s presidential election on Sunday, with 40.96%. The election will now move into a runoff on May 18 between Simion and Nicusor Dan, who narrowly defeated the governing coalition’s Crin Antonescu for second-place. Yesterday’s vote was a reset from a presidential election held in December that ended in confusion and scandal. Simion’s political ally, Calin Georgescu, won the vote but the result was annulled over allegations of campaign fraud and Russian interference. Simion has rallied Georgescu’s supporters and promised to include him in a prominent leadership position.
This map depicts the results of the first round of voting in Romania’s presidential election, with most districts being won by nationalist candidate George Simion. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Digi24.ro
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Dominican Republic
Giant Croc-like Fossil Found
New fossils unearthed in the Dominican Republic suggest athletic, crocodile-like reptiles with bladed teeth went extinct 4.5 million years ago, millions of years later than previously thought. The Age of Reptiles came to a close 66 million years ago with the abrupt extinction of non-avian dinosaurs and other major reptile groups. Mammals then diversified and became dominant in the aftermath. In South America, things were more complicated at the top of the food chain. There, reptiles called sebecids, relatives of crocodilians, survived the mass extinction and were top predators on the continent for tens of millions of years after dinosaurs went extinct. Unlike their modern alligator and crocodile cousins, sebecids had relatively long limbs positioned directly under their bodies and likely prowled for prey on land. This is the first record of sebecids in the Caribbean, and the finding suggests that sebecids held on in the Caribbean long after their South American counterparts died out.
This map depicts South America and the Caribbean during the (a) Palaeogene (66.0 – 23.03 million years ago), (b) Neogene (23.03 – 2.58 million years ago) and (c) late Quaternary (1.0 – 0.5 million years ago) with the generalized distribution of Sebecidae in circles. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What country is home to the world’s largest man-made forest?
A: China
The Saihanba (SHB) region, located at the north margin of the North China Plain, connects with the vast inland arid areas of Central Asia. Saihanba, which covers 227,337 acres (92,000 ha) and borders the southern edge of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, had by the 1950s become barren due to excessive logging, allowing sand to blow into Beijing from the northern deserts. In 1962, hundreds of foresters began planting trees in the area. The Chinese government implemented the prominent Three-North Shelter Forest Program to cope with land degradation and soil erosion. As the largest afforestation program in the world, this project is a tremendous accomplishment that has promoted ecosystem services and economic benefits. However, it also faces a series of challenges, such as the low silviculture preservation rate and a high risk of decline.
Source
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Q: What is the largest city in the Amazon basin?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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