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World
More Recognition of Palestine
Over the past week, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal officially recognized Palestine, with France and other European nations set to follow at the United Nations General Assembly. For the first time, G7 countries have broken ranks, signaling frustration with Israel’s war in Gaza and giving new weight to the two-state solution. Palestinian leaders welcome the move, while Israel and the U.S condemned it as rewarding Hamas. Germany and Italy also argued that the recognition should come only after peace talks.
This map depicts which countries currently recognize, or have plans to recognize, the State of Palestine, with timelines ranging from 1995 to 2025. It highlights both early and upcoming commitments. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: First Post
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United States
New Limits on H-1B Visa
The U.S. government’s move to impose a $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications, the U.S. skilled-worker visa used heavily by tech and healthcare, signals a major reset for cross-border talent flows. Analysts warn the new cost will hit smaller firms, hospitals, universities, and startups hardest while big business will seek exemptions. The new fee could push employers to reserve sponsorship for only the most critical roles, and accelerate offshoring, automation, and growth of “global capability centers” (GCCs) in Canada, Mexico, and India. The shift could also ripple through education as Indian students, who make up about a quarter of international students in the United States, reconsider study destinations.
This map depicts H-1B visa issuance by country. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Reuters
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United States
Most Powerful AI Data Center
A $3.3 billion Microsoft AI data center campus, the world’s most powerful, is set to open next year in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. To meet demand, state regulators approved two new natural gas plants expected to be run for the next 30 years. Environmental groups are expressing concerns regarding the amount of energy and water these data centers will use once construction is finished. Clean Wisconsin conducted an analysis and discovered the Microsoft data center and a Vantage Data Systems data center in the state will consume more energy than all homes in state combined. The projects require a total 3.9 gigawatts of power and hundreds of thousands of gallons of water for cooling maintenance. Midwest Environmental Advocates (MEA) has filed a lawsuit against the city of Racine for records about the Mount Pleasant project’s water usage from Racine Water Utility.
This map depicts the vast nationwide expansion of industries adopting AI use and its resulting over 5,400 AI data centers across the US. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: Bordered by 6 countries, which Middle Eastern state only has a sliver of its border, 36 miles (58 km), on the Persian Gulf?
A: Iraq
Iraq is bounded by 2,403 miles (3,867 km) of borders, and of that, only 36 miles (58 km) are located on the Persian Gulf coastline, making it the Middle Eastern country with the least access to the sea and offshore sovereignty. Iraq shares international borders with Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Its longest international border is shared with Iran along the entire eastern edge of the country. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers both flow through Iraq for over 750 miles before converging to form the Shatt al Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf in Iraq’s southern region. Because of increased upstream use of the Tigris and Euphrates, Iraq implemented a large-scale irrigation project in the 1980s to connect dams and canals to the river system.
Source
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Q: Located on a two-billion-year-old plateau, where can you find the world’s highest waterfall?
Stay tuned for the answer to today’s question in tomorrow’s DailyGeo.
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