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World
COVID’s Impact on Small Business
Many small businesses have struggled to stay open during the COVID-19 crisis and related travel restrictions, including tourism companies, retail shops, and restaurants. A group of researchers from Facebook, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Bank recently published the Global State of Small Business Report analyzing results of an international survey of small and medium businesses from May to October 2020. More than 25,000 businesses and 150,000 business leaders were surveyed across 50 countries on factors including sales, employment, and cash flow. According to the report, 55% of businesses surveyed reported lower sales when compared to the same month in 2019 and many were forced to shutter. Closure rates for small businesses were highest in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Though many businesses reported slow rebounds after initial shocks in the spring, 43% anticipate lack of demand, and 35% expect reduced cash flow in the coming months.
This map depicts the closure rates for small and medium businesses surveyed. Click on the map to learn more.
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Saudi Arabia
Easing Relations
On Tuesday, representatives of several Gulf states signed an agreement at a regional summit meeting in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, to end a three-year embargo against Qatar. The announcement comes after months of work by the Trump administration and fellow Gulf state Kuwait, to mediate an end to the crisis. However, the contents of the agreement, including if Qatar has agreed to make any significant concessions toward shifting its policies, were not immediately released. Kuwait was the first to announce the diplomatic breakthrough on Monday, reporting Saudi Arabia had agreed to reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar for the first time since the blockade began. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt had severed diplomatic links with Qatar in mid-2017 over Doha’s support for Islamist groups and ties with Iran.
This map depicts the Gulf states that had cut ties with Qatar in 2017. Click on the map to expand.
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Graphic Source: BBC News (2)
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Niger
Deadly Militant Siege
At least 100 citizens are reported to have been killed and an additional 75 injured in attacks on two villages in southwestern Niger, according to government officials. Armed militants arrived on motorcycles and opened fire on men and boys in the villages of Tchoma Bangou and Zaroumadareye in the region of Tillabéri on Saturday. The attack is believed to be revenge for a recent lynching of two militant group members. No group has formally claimed responsibility, though the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara has been making inroads in the region. The massacre is considered to be one of the deadliest in Niger’s history, though the region near the western border with Burkina Faso and Mali, and the southeastern border with Nigeria has been recording increasing numbers of attacks on civilians in recent years.
This map depicts the two villages targeted in the recent military attack, 75 miles (120 km) north of the capital, Niamey. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Reaching an estimated 3.5 km (11,500 feet) below sea level, the deepest point on continental Earth is located under which glacier?
A: Denman Glacier
The 20 km (65,616.8 ft) wide Denman Glacier is located in Queen Mary Land, Eastern Antarctica. Using data including ice movement measurements, seismic measurements, radar, and other data points, scientists released a new map of Antarctica’s topography called BedMachine. By studying how much ice flowed through a particularly narrow region known as the Denman trough, researchers were able to calculate the trough’s depth to be an estimated 3.5 km (11,500 ft) below sea level. Making it far deeper than the Dead Sea which is the lowest exposed region of land at 432 meters (1,419 ft) below sea level.
Source
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Q: Which country is the only island-state in the Middle East?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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