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Qatar
Billion Dollar Deal
A $12 billion deal was signed Wednesday between Qatar and the United States for the purchase of 36 US F-15 fighters jets. Recently, Qatar has been facing severe economic and diplomatic boycotts by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies due to allegations that the country was funding terrorist groups. Despite the controversy, Qatar is home to the largest US air base in the Middle East, and houses an estimated 10,000 U.S. and coalition troops, and plays a key role in the US-led operations against the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq.
This map shows the countries that have severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in yellow and the peninsular country in green. Click on the map to learn more about the story.
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Graphic Source: BBC
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China
Kindergarten Explosion
7 people are confirmed dead after an explosion blasted through a nursery in Eastern China. Parents were picking up their children from the Jiangsu kindergarten around 5 P.M. when the blast occurred, injuring a total of over 70. It is currently unknown what caused the explosion, but police are publicly stating that there is no evidence that this was a deliberate attack.
This map shows the location of the Jiangsu province in Eastern China. Click on the map to learn more.
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Graphic Source: Deutsche Welle
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South America
The Tradeoff
Researchers worry that the currently planned 428 hydroelectric dams combined with the existing 140 dams will likely lead to a catastrophic change in the ecosystems of the Amazon River. The Amazon basin covers an area of 6.1 million square miles making it the largest river system on the planet. Recently, there has been a push in South America for greater initiatives towards renewable energy by harnessing the power of the river flow with hydroelectric dams. However, research now shows that this is likely to have many negative effects upon the sediments and natural movement of the rivers. Researchers also warn that any damage is likely to be irreversible and all risks must be considered before the construction of the planned dams.
This map shows the various dams built and under construction along the Amazon River with a focus on the country of Brazil. Click on the map to learn more.
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Arternative World
"Choose Your Own Adventure" (CYOA) books have always been unique by allowing the reader to interact with the stories and the characters. Although the last CYOA book was written in 1998, Chooseco, a company founded by one of the original CYOA writers, has been republishing versions of the older books. An interesting addition to these republications is that each book comes with a hidden map of the possible flows that a reader could take. The image below shows the map for the adventure titled Balloon to the Sahara where there are 48 decision points, the most of any book in the series of CYOA. As children read these adventures, they can appreciate the complexity of each adventure by looking at these beautifully constructed flow maps. Click on the map to learn more.
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Q: In which country is the deepest drilled hole located?
A: Russia
Located in Russia, the Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest drilled hole on Earth. The drilling was part of a scientific project orchestrated by the Soviet Union in May 1970 with the goal of drilling as deep as possible into the Earth's crust. Although it has the deepest true depth on Earth, the longest drilled hole is in another area of Russia on an island known as Sakhalin.
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Q: Where in the world is the longest freshwater beach located?
Stay tuned for tomorrow's DailyGeo where we reveal the correct answer!
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