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Venezuela
Voters Approve Annexation
Venezuelans on Sunday voted in a referendum to approve a proposal by President Nicolas Maduro’s government to claim sovereignty over a large part of its oil-rich neighbor Guyana. Voters were asked if they supported the establishment of a new state in the contested area, known as Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana and holds enormous oil reserves off its coast. Other questions in the referendum included whether or not to grant citizenship to current and future residents in the region, as well as whether the state should be incorporated into the map of Venezuelan territory. Venezuela’s local media state that the country’s National Electoral Council said voters chose “yes” more than 95% of the time on each of the five questions on the ballot. It remains unclear, however, how Maduro’s government will enforce these results. Guyana has called the move a step towards annexation and an “existential threat.”
This map depicts the disputed territory of Essequibo, over which Venezuelans have voted to claim sovereignty in a referendum held on Sunday. Click on the map to learn more.
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Mali
Potential Sahel Confederation
The foreign ministers of military-ruled Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger on Friday agreed to advance the process of creating a confederation of their countries. This is part of a long-term goal of uniting the West African neighbors with an institutionalized and permanent coordination framework. Mali and Burkina Faso, ruled by juntas who seized power in coups in 2020 and 2022, respectively, rushed to back Niger’s military rulers when they ousted elected president Mohamed Bazoum in July. All three countries were suspended from West Africa’s main economic and regional bloc, ECOWAS, and the Africa Union. They created a pact, the Alliance of Sahel States, setting up closer economic ties and mutual defense assistance if the sovereignty or territorial integrity of a member is threatened. This proposed regional partnership, the Sahel Confederation, will be the basis for fuel and electricity exchanges, transport links, cooperation on mineral resource extraction, rural development, and trade.
This map depicts the potential confederation of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Click on the map to learn more.
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United States
Alaska and Hawaii Airlines Merger
In a deal valued at $1.9 billion, Alaska Airlines agreed to advance a proposal to merge with Hawaiian Airlines. After months of negotiations, the acquisition will also include Hawaiian Airlines’ $900 million debt. The deal will take between nine months and eighteen months to finalize. The agreement between Alaska Airlines’ CEO Ben Minicucci and Hawaiian Airlines’ CEO Peter Ingram means both airlines will continue to keep their brands. However, the new headquarters will shift to Seattle, the former’s current location. In order for the deal to be completed, it needs to be approved by federal antitrust regulators. The deal has potential to alleviate financial problems for Hawaiian Airlines, which has faced competition from Southwest Airlines since 2019 as well as increased labor costs. The competition has decreased the revenue from passengers for every seat Hawaiian Airlines flies. This merger follows others that have now allowed 4 major airlines to control 80 percent of the country’s air traffic.
This map depicts the routes of Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, which are working through a proposed merger. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: The oldest textiles yet identified by archaeologists were found in what country?
A: Georgia
In 2009, a team of archaeologists and paleobiologists discovered flax fibers that are more than 34,000 years old, making them the world’s oldest textiles. The fibers were discovered in Dzudzuana cave in the Southern Caucasus of Georgia, a country at the crux of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The flax fibers, which would have been collected from the wild, could have been used to make linen and thread. This fiber might have been used for garments, ropes, packs, or baskets. Some of the fibers were twisted and knotted, indicating they were used to make ropes or strings. Others had been dyed. The items created with these fibers increased early humans’ chances of survival and mobility in the harsh conditions of this hilly region. Buffered by the Caucasus Mountains and next to the Black Sea, the region appears to have served as a biogeographical refuge during the Pleistocene, also known as the Ice Age. These geographical features spared the Southern Caucasus from the severe climate oscillations and allowed humans to prosper in the region for millennia.
Source
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Q: What country is home to the world’s largest karst area, a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone, gypsum, and dolomite?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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