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Syria
Military Bases Struck By US
A weapons facility in Deir Ez Zor in eastern Syria used by Iran-backed militias has been struck by the US. The US military’s response follows recent attacks on US military bases, Kharab al-Jir Base and Al-Tanf Garrison. Two American F-15 jets conducted airstrikes on military bases at Boukamal as well. This is a second wave of US strikes on facilities used by groups affiliated with the Islamic Resistance of Iraq. A war monitor for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports nine people were killed in the strike. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the strike was conducted against facilities affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard to disrupt and prevent groups from further attacking the US military in the region. Many US troops have been evacuated from military bases in Syria.
This map depicts the locations of the attacks on US bases across Syria and Iraq. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: The Sun
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Israel
IDF Closing in on Gaza City
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) claim to have encircled Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, and are moving in to take control of the whole of the city, while also continuing airstrikes on Hamas targets. Israel has continued to reject international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. Since the start of Israel’s latest assault on the Gaza Strip, following Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, the IDF is estimated to have killed ten thousand Palestinians, with thousands more missing. While most of the conflict has been focused in northern Gaza, southern Gaza, to which Israel had directed Palestinian civilians to evacuate, has also seen airstrikes. Intense overcrowding, deteriorating hygiene, and lack of access to water, sanitation, and health care are putting Gaza’s two million residents at risk of a rapid spread of infectious diseases, the World Health Organization warned.
This map depicts the widespread damage on northern Gaza by Israeli bombardment since Hamas’s attack on October 7. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: NPR
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United States
Mosasaur Found in North Dakota
A study in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History details the discovery of a fossilized skull and jaw of a previously unknown species of mosasaur near Walhalla, North Dakota. Mosasaurs were a family of sea lizards, and this particular species lived about 80 million years ago. Mosasaurs grew to be as large as 60 feet and went extinct with the dinosaurs, and this new species is believed to have been between 18 and 24 feet long. The species is named Jormungandr walhallaensis, for a Norse legend that describes a sea serpent named Jörmungandr that encircles the world’s waters, and for the nearby town Walhalla, which, due to its Scandanavian heritage, is named for Viking heaven. The new Jormungandr fossil does not match any previously recorded mosasaur fossils, meaning that it may represent a new genus in its lineage, yet not all scientists agree on this point.
This map depicts the location in North Dakota where the fossil of a new species of mosasaur called Jormungandr was discovered. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: What country, which is the world’s second-largest producer of quinoa, is experiencing drought, forest fires, and soil erosion as a result of this year’s El Niño weather pattern?
A: Bolivia
Climate change is affecting glaciers in the Bolivian Andes that provide fresh water to the surrounding wetlands, springs, and dams. The water level at Lake Titicaca on the Peru-Bolivia border, South America’s largest lake, is edging towards a record low. This will be exacerbated by the weather phenomenon known as El Niño that is set to arrive in December, potentially altering the forecast and turning up the temperature. The drought has jeopardized the food supply, mainly in the Andean regions where agricultural production is being lost and livestock is dying, putting livelihoods of subsistence farmers at risk. Neighboring Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru have also experienced unusual late winter and early spring heat waves. Many are already suffering the consequences of water rationing and fear running out of food and water. The government has allocated US$17 million to address the current drought and is implementing more than 800 water, sanitation, and irrigation projects, as well as emergency programs to deliver water tanks to hundreds of affected municipalities.
Source
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Q: The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the world’s largest supply of what key metal in the production of lithium-ion batteries?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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