Connecting the Where,
Col Rabih Alenezi, who went into exile in the UK last year, told BBC News he was ordered to evict people living on the land to make way for a part of the project called The Line.
Business Insider story
Map
Fighting and bombardment continued on the outskirts of the southern Gaza city of Rafah as Israel said the key Kerem Shalom crossing had reopened for aid. The Israeli military said troops had killed Hamas fighters in eastern Rafah as part of a "precise" counterterrorism operation. Hamas also reported battles.
BBC story
Map
Protest encampments have been set up on more than 80 campuses across the US over the Israel-Gaza war, with unrest flaring at some after police moved in to clear out protesters.
The Guardian article
Maps
A missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels damaged a ship in the Red Sea on Monday, authorities said, the latest assault in their campaign against shipping in the crucial maritime route.
AP article
Map
Saudi Arabia took its Neom road show to China amid speculation about the scope of the project and its finances. Neom officials visited Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong last week to court Chinese investors and shed more light on the mysterious megacity.
Business Insider article
Map
A decades-long shadow war burst out into the open overnight as Iranian drones and missiles lit up the night sky in Israel and the occupied West Bank. Tehran’s operation was highly choreographed, apparently designed to minimize casualties while maximizing spectacle.
CNN Story
Map
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels are stepping up their strikes on ships in the Red Sea, which they say are revenge against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.
CNN Story
Map
When U.S. and U.K. warships and aircraft launched waves of missiles at Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen early Friday in Sanaa, it capped weeks of warnings to the group to cease their drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea or face severe consequences.
AP article
Map
"To the residents of Al Qarara, Khirbet Khaza’a, Abadan and Bani Suheila. You have to evacuate immediately and head to the shelter in [the] Rafah area. Khan Younis city is a fighting zone," the leaflet said in Arabic.
CNN story
Map
A container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire came under attack by a suspected Iranian drone in the Indian Ocean as Israel wages war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, an American defense official said Saturday.
AP article
Map
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have confirmed that the Israeli hostages freed from Gaza are now in Israel and have undergone medical checks.
The Guardian article
Map
Paris embassy official says video of massacres committed by terrorists has been screened for select groups in over 30 countries, helping dispel claims atrocities didn’t happen
The Times of Israel article
Map
A man who survived a mass shooting at a Maine bowling alley Wednesday night said he ran and hid while the gunman was shooting.
Scripps News article
Map
Map
The tragedy at al-Ahli Arab hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip provoked bitter recriminations that reverberated across the Middle East and beyond. Israel has said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which has denied blame.
The Guardian article
Map
At least 260 people were killed in a massacre at an Israeli music fest, which included Israeli officers getting blown away while acting as human shields and hostages having their legs shot so they couldn't run, survivors say.
New York Post article
Map
Map
Gaza Satellite image
The official death toll has reached 99 in the wildfires on Maui and is expected to increase "significantly" in the coming days, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said on CNN. The blaze that devastated the historic town of Lahaina is now the deadliest US wildfire in over 100 years, officials said.
CNN News story
Map
An amusement park visitor in North Carolina spotted a crack in the support pillar of a roller coaster while people were on the ride. Jeremy Wagner posted to Facebook on Friday that he discovered the crack in the Fury 325 giga roller coaster at the Carowinds amusement park and notified officials, who temporarily closed down the ride.
Fox News story
Map
The Chinese balloon that flew across the U.S. before being shot down by the military in February used American-made components on board to conduct surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, throwing more light on the incident that sharply escalated diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Forbes article
2023 Chinese balloon incident Wiki
Map
The fighting around Bakhmut continues. A month after Russian forces claimed to have taken the city after the longest and bloodiest battle of the war in Ukraine so far, Ukrainian forces have reported modest gains along the nearby frontline.
Reuters article
Map
The shutdown of Interstate 95 outside of Philadelphia is causing massive delays for drivers on Sunday, and the slowdown is sure to persist into the work week. Traffic reports from around Philadelphia show large backups in side streets surrounding the collapsed freeway. I95Exitguide provides live updates to traffic conditions around the city, and areas of stop-and-go traffic are littered around the freeway.
Fox News story
USA Today story
Map
Russia's air defence systems destroyed several drones as they approached the Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region near the Black Sea, local officials said on Sunday.
Reuters article
Map
Russia moved ahead on Thursday with a plan to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, whose leader said the warheads were already on the move, in the Kremlin's first deployment of such bombs outside Russia since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.
Minsk Belarus capital
Reuters article Map
Tropical Cyclone Mocha rapidly intensified into a strong Category 4 on Saturday making for a stunning sight in satellite imagery as it closed in on Myanmar. Mocha's winds jumped from 105 MPH to 150 MPH in the 24 hours ending early Saturday morning (U.S. time). That easily meets the criteria for the rapid intensification of a tropical cyclone, which is a wind speed increase of at least 35 mph in 24 hours or less.
Weather.com story
Map
Millions of people across the UK and beyond have celebrated the coronation of King Charles III - a symbolic ceremony combining a religious service and pageantry.
BBC Story
Westminster Abbey Map
Buckingham Palace Map
When you think about airports in the United States at high altitudes, your focus is almost immediately drawn to Denver International Airport (DEN) in Colorado. At a height of 5,434 feet, Denver is undoubtedly well up there, but you may be surprised to learn that it ranks number 20 in the nation's highest commercial airports.
Telluride Regional Airport
East Palestine residents were cleared to drink village water on Wednesday, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said, over a week after a fiery train derailment caused toxic chemicals to be released in the village. An eastbound Norfolk Southern Railway freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, causing damage to about 50 cars, 11 of which contained hazardous materials. Vinyl chloride, a gas contained in five of the cars, was released and burned to prevent an explosion, causing toxic fumes to be released in the area. Residents were allowed to return home last week.
Cincinnati.com article
Map
Once again, the force of nature is getting the better of airline schedulers, with Cyclone Gabrielle inflicting another day of pain on New Zealand. While Air New Zealand was able to resume some flying today, strong and gusty winds played havoc with the airline's recovery.
Simple Flying article
Cyclone tracker Feb 14 12:00AM
Map
Moldova's Civil Aviation Authority confirmed it had briefly shut down air traffic after a weather balloon-like object was spotted in skies over Soroca
Simple Flying article
Global Hawk loitering over the Black Sea
Global Hawk
P8 aircraft patrolling the Baltic Sea
P8 Poseidon
Map
So far, the Russian offensive is largely a "grinding battle of attrition" in and around Bakhmut, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley said. There is bloody fighting going on as Russia has unleashed its offensive in the Donbas, but little has changed across the battlefield, Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday.
The Drive article
International Business Times article on "Ukraine: Lessons For War In The Middle East And Taiwan"
Map
The scenes are chaotic: Russian tanks veering wildly before exploding or driving straight into minefields, men running in every direction, some on fire, the bodies of soldiers caught in tank tracks. Russian military bloggers are calling it a fiasco, and worse. These scenes have been recorded by Ukrainian military drones over the past two weeks around the town of Vuhledar in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, where successive Russian assaults have failed.
CNN Story
yahoo!news article
Map
An F-16 fighter jet shot down an unidentified object Sunday over Lake Huron on the U.S. side of the border with Canada that flew over Michigan and other parts of the country, the fourth incident over North American airspace during the past eight days, prompting one lawmaker to call the situation "disturbing."
F16 shot down this object
The Detroit News article Business Insider article C-130 search track Map Map
Why would the mission to take down that Chinese balloon have to utilize the most expensive
China is getting ready to take down an unidentified object flying over waters near the port city of Qingdao, which is home to a major naval base for the People’s Liberation Army, Chinese news outlet The Paper reported.
Stars and Stripes article
Jianggezhuang Naval Base - Wiki
Map
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) temporarily shut down airspace over part of Montana as the Defense Department sent a fighter to investigate an "anomaly" that was spotted on radar, officials said. The North American Aerospace Defense Command [NORAD] said in a statement Saturday that the central Montana airspace was closed after it "detected a radar anomaly" but a jet that was sent up found nothing.
New York Post article
Daily Mail article
Map
The U.S military shot down an unidentified object flying over Canada on Saturday under orders from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau—the third aerial object shot down over North America over the last week, though it’s unclear if the latest incident was connected to the suspected Chinese spy balloon destroyed off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.
F22s have been used to down the three objects
Forbes article The Guardian article
A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile has been test launched by the U.S. Space Force less than a week after a Chinese spy balloon was shot down after it floated over a sensitive nuclear site in Montana. The unarmed missile, equipped with a test reentry vehicle, was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara, California, at 11.01pm on Thursday night.
Daily Mail article
Vandenberg Map
Kwajalein Atoll Map
Marshall Islands Guide
Battle of Kwajalein
Chinese-owned Fufeng Group paid $2.3 million to purchase North Dakota land. Officials in Grand Forks, North Dakota, have voted to strike down a Chinese company's proposed corn mill after the U.S. Air Force said its proximity to a military base would pose a national security risk.
Fox Business story
Map
Another intruder has breached one of the nation's most sensitive military bases — the home of Air Force One — and this time a resident opened fire on the trespasser, Joint Base Andrews said in a statement late Monday.
CBS News story
Joint Base Andrews-Naval Air Facility Washington In-depth Overview
Map
The death toll surpassed 2,300 and was rising Monday after a powerful, pre-dawn earthquake and series of strong aftershocks collapsed thousands of buildings along the Turkish-Syrian border. The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.8 quake struck at 4:17 a.m. local time. Scores of aftershocks followed, authorities said. Hours later, a 7.5 magnitude quake struck more than 60 miles away.
USA Today article
USGS Summary
USGS Map
Map
"So, we've been tracking this high-altitude balloon for some time," a senior defense official told a press briefing on Saturday, February 4. Here is the timeline laid out by the Pentagon.
CNS News article
Yahoo article
heavy.com article
Path Map
Chinese balloon shot down over Atlantic caught on video
Near landing site Map
A graph circulating on social media that purports to show the reverse trajectory of a suspected Chinese spy balloon has raised questions as to why it wasn't shot down, since weather data shows it would have originated from mainland China.
Newsweek article
Ballon track map
Montana Map
10 airlines operate with an average of 132 daily flights.
Simple Flying article
Map
Southwest makes 52% of the total flights on 10 separate routes
For the first time in three years, the Burning Man arts festival has announced a design for a new temple, which acts as a healing space for festival-goers before it's burned down along with the famous "Man." 2023's temple will be designed to resemble an "upside-down desert flower," according to a blog post written by Katie Hazard, the associate director of art management for Burning Man.
SF Gate article
Background info
Map
For 51 weeks of the year, Davos is nothing more than a popular ski resort in the lofty Swiss Alps. But for one week in January, billionaires, world leaders, and global elites descend on the small alpine town for the annual meeting of the exclusive World Economic Forum (WEF), to discuss pressing issues of the day. However, many see it as elitist, celebrating the one per cent, usually male, who are mainly responsible for the world’s problems.
Evening Standard article
Map
CAPITOLA — This charming seaside village was ravaged Thursday by ferocious ocean swells that destroyed a 40-foot section of the historic Capitola Wharf, inundated the once-lively beachfront restaurants and flooded the picturesque painted bungalows that line the beach, ripping off the facade of one of them.
East Bay Times article
Mercury News article
Weather.com explains "What Is An Atmospheric River? Explaining The Blessing And Curse"
Storm Map
Power Outages Map
Map
Croatia is embarking on a historic year as it joins the border-free Schengen zone and ditches its own currency, the kuna, adopting the euro. The country committed to joining the eurozone when it became the EU's newest member in 2013.
BBC Story
Map
Bryan Christopher Kohberger is in custody in connection with the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, capping nearly seven weeks of fear and frustration for the families of the students who were killed.
CBS News story
Map
Southwest Airlines' woes began after extreme winter weather paralyzed much of the United States starting late last week, stranding holiday travelers and creating a ripple effect of chaos at airports across the country. Other airlines have also had issues, but Southwest's problems have been cataclysmic—with the airline canceling 10 times as many flights as other carriers.
Forbes article
KansasCity Business Journalarticle
Southwest airlines misery map at the time
Normal weekday afternoon SWA flights
At least two people died and 12 were injured after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake rocked Northern California early Tuesday, local authorities said. The temblor, which is the strongest earthquake the area has seen in years, also damaged infrastructure and cut off power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses around Humboldt County, about 250 miles north of San Francisco.
USA Today article
USGS info page
Map
The island nation is now trying to claw back these properties, including a $16M vacation home he bought for his Stanford Law professor parents
Daily Mail article
Map
The season produced 14 named storms, eight of which became hurricanes and two of which reached at least Category 3 status. None of those figures stand out, especially considering the entire hurricane name list was used up in 2021, and 2020 had more than double the storms of 2022, smashing a record for any season.
Weather Channel story
Map
Fighting dragged on for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut this weekend, as troops on both sides of the conflict returned to trench warfare in the prolonged struggle for the Donbas city. The Russian push for the nearly vacant city has drawn on for months, even as Kremlin forces have pulled back from the rest of the fighting.
NY Post article
Map
Ukraine's president said Friday that special military units have entered Kherson, a major regional capital that Russian forces had captured early in the war. Residents took to the streets to celebrate Russia's withdrawal, the latest pullback by Moscow as it faces intense resistance.
ABC News story
Map
South Korea is searching for answers after Halloween celebrations in the capital Seoul turned into one of the country's worst disasters, with authorities declaring a national mourning period as they investigate how a chaotic crush left at least 151 people dead. Tens of thousands of costumed partygoers, mostly teenagers and young adults, had poured into the popular nightlife neighborhood Itaewon to enjoy South Korea' first Halloween celebration since it lifted Covid restrictions such as crowd limits and face mask rules.
CNN story
Map
Nearly a third of Ukraine's power stations have been destroyed by Russian attacks since Monday last week, prompting Nato's secretary general to announce that new counter-drone defences would be delivered within days.
The Guardian article
Map
China's 20th Communist Party Congress began on Sunday, with Xi Jinping poised to clinch his third five-year stint in charge - a mandate that would secure him as the country's most powerful ruler since founding leader Mao Zedong. Xi opened the week-long, twice-a-decade session with a speech touting China's fight against COVID-19, the party's safeguarding of national security, maintaining social stability, protecting people's lives and taking control of the situation in Hong Kong, which was rocked by anti-government protests in 2019. He also called for accelerating the building of a world-class military.
Reuters article
Map
In a major blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a huge explosion early Saturday severely damaged the only bridge connecting the annexed Crimean Peninsula with the Russian mainland, crimping a key supply route for Moscow's faltering war in Ukraine. The blast collapsed part of the roadway on the Kerch Strait road-and-rail bridge, opened by Putin himself in 2018, images and video from the scene showed. At least three people were killed in the explosion, Russian officials said, citing preliminary information.
CNN Story
NBC story
Daily Wire article
Map
Russia has withdrawn its troops from the strategic Ukrainian town of Lyman, in a move seen as a significant setback for its campaign in the east. The retreat came amid fears thousands of soldiers would be encircled in the town, Russia's defence ministry said. Recapturing Lyman could let Ukrainian soldiers reach more contested territory in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
BBC story Maps:
Lyman, Donetsk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast
Zaporizhia Oblast
Kherson Oblast
Crimean Peninsula
The remnants of Ian are charging up the East Coast on Saturday after making landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in South Carolina on Friday afternoon. The monster storm made its first U.S. landfall on Wednesday on Florida's west coast as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, shredding homes with ferocious winds topping 150 mph. Florida's death toll has climbed to at least 81, according to information from local officials.
ABC News story
National Weather Service summary
Map
Images from areas hit by Hurricane Ian show how quickly the historic storm swamped Florida. Ian, now a tropical storm, submerged a hotel pool in Sanibel Island, Florida, in under an hour, as seen in video taken by WFTX reporter Elyse Chengery.
Fox News story
Washington Examiner article
Lee County Map
PBS Tracking map
Hurricane Tracking Maps
The suspected sabotage was a "premeditated act using underwater explosives" aiming to cripple Europe's gas supply, a defence source has claimed. It comes as German security services said three of four tubes have already been damaged beyond repair, with officials reckoning the €35billion project may never be fully operational again.
The Sun article
Map
Retreat will prove difficult for Russian forces contending with Dnieper River in Ukraine's Kherson region. Russian troops have become boxed in between advancing Ukrainian forces in the southern Kherson region and the Dnieper River, with access to supplies and eastern routes blocked. Ukrainian forces sank a Russian barge transporting troops, equipment and weapons across the major river crossing, Ukraine's Operational Command South said, according to Pravda Tuesday.
Fox News story
Newsweek article
Map
Small airports serving small communities have been especially badly hit since the pandemic struck. According to consultancy Ailevon Pacific, 59 airports across the USA have been dropped (or soon will be) by American, Delta, and United since April 2020. While several airports were Essential Air Service markets and another operator has materialized, most airports haven't been so lucky. Similarly, while some facilities have another airport relatively close by, lessening the blow, that's not the case for others.
Simple Flying article
Map
76,788 Acres, in El Dorado and Placer counties
Wild Fire Today article
Article that mentions the fires inpact on the Reno Air Races
Air race airport map
Wiki Article
Map
Area Map
Russia has given up on rebuilding bridges destroyed by Ukraine in the Kherson counteroffensive, a Kremlin-installed leader of the occupied southern region said on Tuesday. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-appointed military-civilian regional administration, told Russian state-owned news agency Tass that it does not make sense for Russia to restore the Antonovsky Bridge, which has been targeted for weeks by Ukraine. "So far, no one is restoring the Antonovsky Bridge, because there is no point, there is no expediency," he said.
Newsweek article
Area Map
Kherson Map
The Russian occupation administration of Ukraine's Crimea decided to close the bridge from the Ukrainian peninsula to Russia until 6.00 a.m. on Aug. 17, Ukrainian news station Channel 24 reported.
New Voice of Ukraine article
Map
The National Park Service said that a California highway and park roads would remain closed after a rare 1,000-year rain event that caused devastating flooding. State Route 190 will remain closed through next week as Caltrans crews continue to clean up after the flash floods. The agency said that around 30 miles of the highway were partially or fully buried under flood debris within Death Valley National Park after Friday's storms.
Fox News story
Map
On Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, former President Donald J. Trump's home in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, was raided by the FBI. As reaction continues to come in about this event. What is Mar-a-Lago? Where is it, exactly? How big is it, and how long has he owned it?
Fox News story
Mar-a-Lago website
Map
More than 320,000 people were tracking the flight path of a U.S. military plane that may be carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and could be taking her to Taiwan. Flight tracking site Flight Radar 24 showed that 321,000 people were monitoring SPAR19 as of early Tuesday morning and it was the most tracked flight in the world, though it is not known if Pelosi is currently on board the aircraft.
Newsweek article
Pelosi's plane
Flight Map
Taipei Songshan Airport
Across most of the western half of the U.S., electric companies are bracing for a heightened risk of blackouts during high usage periods due to rising temperatures and lower-than-expected energy production, according to a recent report by an energy industry watchdog. The North American Energy Reliability Corporation's (NERC) 2022 Summer Reliability Assessment raised the alarm on five electric utility corporations across seven regions that are at an elevated or heightened risk of having "insufficient operating reserves."
Fox News story
Current U.S. Power Situation Map
NATO leaders invited Finland and Sweden to become the alliance's 31st and 32nd members on the first day of their 29–30 June summit in Madrid. Speaking to journalists on 29 June, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described the invitation as a "historic decision."
Janes Defence article
NATO Countries
Map
Within hours of the attack on a shopping centre in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, false and unproven claims began circulating online. Stories were spread by Russian Telegram channels and by Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy ambassador to the United Nations. They included rumours that the attack was "false" or "staged," and were repeated on Russian television.
BBC story
The Japan Times article
Site Map
Kremenchuk Map
The detention of an Aeroflot Airbus 330, the Russian national carrier, by court order on June 2 could have far-reaching consequences; the hurried release of the aircraft by the intervention of the Attorney General might have spared the country from the worst of them, though some damage would be hard to repair.
Daily Mirror article
Map
June 16th: Aeroflot flights in the air - mostly over Asia
See where Russia's forces are moving within Ukraine's borders
Article by USA Today
For decades the Amur River has separated modern China and Russia – its waters cutting though more than 1,000 of their roughly 2,500 border miles. But it's always lacked one thing: a vehicle bridge. Now as Russia's economic isolation in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine pushes it closer to Beijing, that is changing, with fanfare.
CNN story
Reuters article
Map
Russia's invasion of Ukraine will create a global wheat shortage for at least three seasons by keeping much of the Ukrainian crop from markets, pushing prices to record levels, Ukraine's agriculture minister told Reuters. Ukraine, sometimes known as Europe's bread basket, has had its maritime grain export routes blocked by Russia and faces a maelstrom of other problems, from mined wheat fields to a lack of grain storage space.
Reuters article
10% of the world’s wheat comes from Ukraine, Guardian article
Wheat production map
Map
It has been described by some as a “pseudo-confrontation”, and by others as a diplomatic afterthought. Now, however, the so-called “whisky war”, which was never really a conflict at all, has finally been resolved with the formal division of a tiny barren Arctic island between Canada and Denmark.
Guardian article
Map
Heavy fighting continues in east Ukraine, with key locations under intense bombardment from Russian forces.
Story from the BBC
A little over a month after the opening of commercial operations at the Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU), a controversial (and resisted by the air transport industry) project of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s administration that reconverted the Santa Lucia Air Base and implied discarding the development of the New Mexico City International Airport in Texcoco, a series of harsh warnings have emerged about how air safety has been affected as a result of the redesign of the Mexico Valley airspace, the first phase of which had been implemented in early 2021.
Aviacionline article
Mexico City Airspace Drama, article by Simple Flying
Felipe Angeles International Airport, article by Your Milage May Vary
Map
See how Ukraine's map has changed since Putin ordered its invasion on February 24.
From Radio Free Europe
There is a narrow gap, only about 50 km wide, between Kaliningrad exclave and Belarus. Assuming Belarus would not side with NATO in a war, all Russia needs to do is close this gap and the 1–2 roads through it and the Baltic states are cut off from NATO entirely. Seaborne resupply, even airborne resupply can be successfully interdicted from Kaliningrad and with the help of the Baltic fleet and submarines.
Explanations
Earlier article
Map
While trying to cross Siverskyi Donets on May 11 the Russian army lost 485 military personnel of the 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade out of 550 that were sent there (that is, 88%), as well as more than 80 pieces of equipment from the Russian Federation were damaged.
Ukrainska Pravda
Wiki article
Area Map
Donets battle map
An Iranian satellite placed into orbit earlier this year reportedly has sent back a photo of the U.S. Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain as part of its first batch of high-resolution images. The Noor 2 satellite, which was launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in March, also captured photos of the southern Iranian provinces of Fars and Bushehr, Press TV is reporting, citing the IRNA news agency.
Fox News story
Map
Las Vegas is being flooded with lore about organized crime after a second set of human remains emerged within a week from the depths of a drought-stricken Colorado River reservoir just a 30-minute drive from the notoriously mob-founded Strip. “There’s no telling what we’ll find in Lake Mead,” former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said Monday. “It’s not a bad place to dump a body.”
AZ Central article
Lake Mead plummets to unprecedented low
Hoover Dam - History.com article
Map
The pact between China and Solomon Islands that has sent alarm bells ringing in Australia and the United States, is not the first security agreement Beijing has signed with a Pacific nation. But political analysts say the deal signed by Beijing and Honiara last month is "qualitatively different" and the geopolitical context has changed.
ABC Radio Australia story
Daily Mail - China could have base on the islands within weeks
Area Map
Solomon Islands distance from China
South China Seas and Taiwan Subject Section
See below
Dubai has emerged as a haven for wealthy Russians fleeing the impact of western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
BBC story
Map
Nuclear submarines from three countries were berthed in HMNB Clyde at Faslane near Glasgow in Scotland. The American submarine is of the Virginia class and the French submarine is of the Rubis class. The messaging behind this isn’t going to be lost on the powers that be and while the visits themselves may be routine logistics stops, the symbolic image of nuclear submarines belonging to NATO’s three nuclear powers sailing in and out of the same naval base shows serious unity and collective capability.
UK Defence Journal article
HM Naval Base Clyde
Map
A Ukrainian marine commander in Mariupol has made what he described as his troops' "last address to the world" as they try to resist overwhelming Russian forces in the city.
BBC story
Map
Russia and Ukraine’s battle for Donbas - CNBC story
Thousands of Verizon Wireless customers throughout the United States are reporting outages Wednesday afternoon, with the large majority of reports stemming from the West Coast.
CBS News story
Map
An estimated 2,068 people live in the evacuation area, Patrice Horstman, chair of the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, said Wednesday. "From this, 766 households have been evacuated," along with more than 1,000 animals, Horstman said. The fire, about 14 miles northeast of Flagstaff, was rapidly moving to the northeast, pushed by significant winds, officials said. It had no containment as of Wednesday afternoon.
CNN story
Map
04/20/22 Map
04/23/22 Map
A Mexican judge has suspended construction of part of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's flagship tourist train project in the Yucatan peninsula due to a lack of environmental impact studies. The Mayan Train, a roughly 1,500-kilometer (950 mile) rail loop linking popular Caribbean beach resorts and archaeological ruins, has met with opposition from environmentalists and indigenous communities.
France 24 article
Maya Train – Everything Travelers Need To Know, Cancun Sun
Mexico wants to run a tourist train through its Mayan heartland — should it?, The Conversation
Map
New photos appear to show the doomed Russian Black Sea flagship Moskva ablaze moments before it sank following a Ukrainian missile attack.
NY Post article
Ledger Enquirer article
Ironic location where the ship was built
Map
Authorities in China's biggest city phase out restrictions as public revolt hardens. Shanghai enduring severe three-week lockdown - yet cases remain on the rise. Horrific video shows man throw himself and wife out of a window to their deaths. Americans told not to go to China due to child separations and 'arbitrary rules'
Daily Mail article
'Zero-COVID' strategy story by ABC News
Map
Russia is setting up a "shaping operation" in preparation for a major ground offensive as it concentrates its war efforts in eastern Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Thursday. "They're setting the conditions for what they want to conduct in the Donbas region on the ground and in the air," the official said. "They are setting the conditions for what we believe will be a heavier offensive in the Donbas region."
Fox News story
Ukraine Russian language map
Political Divisions of Ukraine
Donbas Map
Russia says a nuclear-free Baltic region would no longer be possible if Finland and Sweden join NATO, alluding to additional nuclear deployments in Europe. The comments come a day after Finland and Sweden said their decision on whether to apply for NATO membership would come within a matter of weeks. Sweden and Finland are members of the EU, but not NATO, and the latter shares an 830-mile border with Russia.
CNBC story
Foreign Policy article
Map of the Baltic Region
Area Map
Significance of the Karelia region
PUTIN's commanders are "not up to" the experience of Ukraine's eastern forces and will struggle to secure victory in those regions despite "shortening their lines of communication," an expert has claimed.
Express article
Donbas Map
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, has assured that Russia is trying to divide Ukraine in two after its attempt to invade the entire country failed. "In fact, it is an attempt to create North and South Korea in Ukraine," he said in a statement, adding that Ukraine will soon launch a guerrilla war in the Russian-occupied territory.
Ground Report article
Map
Two superyachts belonging to Russian oligarch docked in Turkey this week, avoiding seizure by Western authorities. The Chelsea FC owner is subject to EU and U.K. sanctions. Turkey, a non-EU country but a NATO member, is opposed to sanctions out of principle, making it an attractive outpost for oligarch assets.
MSN story
Map
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Ukrainian troops had managed to force Russian forces out of the Kyiv suburb of Makariv after a fierce battle. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to retake control of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding Kyiv from the northwest.
The Times of Israel article
Fox News situation map
Map
t’s still far too early to know for certain what caused China Eastern Flight 5735 to crash into hillside in southwestern China’s Guangxi province on Monday, but videos emerging on social media of a huge fire and smouldering wreckage don’t bode well for its 123 passengers and nine crew.
Time article
Aviacionline article
Map
A FLURRY of Russian jets have been tracked leaving for Dubai from Moscow in quick succession this afternoon (Thursday), as speculation grows that Vladimir Putin's oligarchs may be deserting him over the invasion of Ukraine.
Express article
Hot Air article
Map
Flight Aware Map - Sheremetyevo International Airport
Flight Aware Map - Aeroflot operations and range restricted by sanctions
Flight Aware Map - Current worldwide air traffic
Authorities in the besieged port city of Mariupol say Russian forces bombed a theatre where "hundreds" of civilians were taking shelter and share a photo showing the middle part of the building completely destroyed.
AP & IBT
BBC Summary
BBC Map of Refugees
War in Ukraine: Latest developments from Yahoo!
Map
NATO Countries
Maps - Countries that Russia has invaded
Four Russian warships were spotted sailing through a strait in northeastern Japan Wednesday, possibly transporting troops and combat vehicles to Ukraine, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
Kyodo News
Map
NATO military planners have begun weighing options for beefing up the defensive capabilities of vulnerable alliance members following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
Defense News article
Nato rethinks its Eastern Flank article from Intellinews
Map
The Suwalki Corridor article by cepa.org
Suwalki corridor map
Why is Kaliningrad part of Russia?
Area Map
Russian troops have threatened to shoot anyone trying to escape, human rights group said. Residents of Mariupol, Ukraine, have reportedly contacted a human rights organization with complaints that Russian forces have occupied an intensive care hospital.
Fox News story
Map
Russia unleashed a barrage of deadly missiles on a military site just 10 miles from Ukraine’s border with NATO member Poland on Sunday — and shelled a train with 100 refugee kids, Ukrainian officials said.
NY Post article
Map
Less than two weeks into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the country’s people and armed forces have mounted a staunch resistance against Russia’s forces. Russia is seen as having made less progress than it expected. Still, analysts say Russia is likely to “win” in Ukraine, and have drawn out various scenarios for what comes next. As many as 1.5 million people have fled to neighboring countries in Europe for safety. "A rump Ukrainian state" is likely to be led from Lviv.
CNBC story
Map
The attack renewed fears that the invasion could result in damage to one of Ukraine's 15 nuclear reactors and trigger another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident
Firstpost article
Map
Harrowing before-and-after photos have captured the deadly devastation inflicted on Ukraine in the last week as Russian forces continue to lay siege to cities across the country. The Kremlin’s escalating shelling attacks on populated areas of Ukraine have destroyed buildings and left rubble strewn across streets and plazas.
Originally NY Post article
CNN story on 40-mile-long Russian convoy
Map
Russian troops are trying to take Ukraine's two biggest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv, but are meeting stiff resistance. Meanwhile, an estimated half a million refugees have fled Ukraine, and in Russia, heavy sanctions have begun to bite.
BBC story
Map
Russia closed its airspace to airlines from even more countries today, calling it a symmetrical response to the growing list of sanctions imposed on it by governments worldwide over its invasion of Ukraine. There are now 36 countries whose airlines are banned from using Russia's airspace.
Simple Flying article
KYIV BORYSPIL INT'L AIRPORT (BORYSPIL) KBP
Ukraine Airspace
The Ukrainian border guards who told a Russian warship to “go f–k yourself” as they defended Snake Island in the Black Sea are still alive and being held captive by the invading forces, Kyiv’s navy revealed Monday.
NY Post article
Map
Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to put Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert, in the latest signal from the Russian leader that he is prepared to resort to the most extreme level of brinkmanship is his effort to achieve victory in Ukraine.
The Guardian article
Map
Russia's offensive in Ukraine appears to be the beginning of a "large-scale invasion"e; aimed at taking down the capital city of Kyiv, a senior U.S. defense official said Thursday. The official described three "e;main axes of assault,"e; including what looks to be a strong push toward the capital.
Fox News story
Map
Russian President Vladimir Putin's incursion into Ukraine is the latest instance of destabilizing or oppressive behavior at home and abroad by the authoritarian strongman -- who has managed to shrug off pushback and denunciations from foes in his more than 20 years in power.
Fox News story
The Eastern Bloc during the Cold War
Map
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine Wednesday night, launching air strikes and plunging Europe into a nightmare not seen since the darkest days of World War II. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a massive escalation of a conflict that has been simmering since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. At issue are two separatist states — Donetsk and Luhansk — that have been in open, if muted, conflict with Kyiv since 2014, as well as larger questions about Russia's sphere of influence and Ukraine's place in greater Europe.
NY Post article
NY Post Map
BBC story (lots of maps)
The Conversation article
Moscow insists it is not planning to invade Ukraine, but the US says Russia could attack "at any time." On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We think they have a huge preparation ready to go. Everybody can see what the potential routes in are." Military analysts agree that with about 150,000 troops near the Ukraine border, Russia has a range of options, should it decide to strike.
BBC story
Map
American officials have warned of the “very distinct possibility” of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the next few days, after Russia forward-deployed hundreds of tanks, self-propelled artillery and even short-range ballistic missiles from as far away as Siberia to within striking range.
The Guardian article
Area situation map
A Russian anti-submarine destroyer chased off a U.S. submarine near the Kuril Islands, forcing it to leave the country's territorial waters, Moscow said Saturday, amid raging tensions over Ukraine. A Pentagon spokesman, asked by AFP for comment, said only: "We are aware of press reporting about an alleged naval incident in the Pacific. We cannot confirm the details of these reports at this time."
CBS News story
Japan and Russia Clash Over the Disputed Kuril Islands; article by the National Interest
Why US pressure for sanctions on Russia leaves Japan cornered on its China policy and the Kuril islands;
article by South China Morning Post and MSN
Map
Three Russian Navy amphibious warfare ships are currently headed for the Black Sea from the Mediterranean and another trio is expected to follow them tomorrow. These six vessels left the Baltic Sea region in January and it has been postulated since then that the Black Sea might be their final destination. Once there, these landing ships would be in an ideal position to support amphibious options as part of a potential new Russian incursion into Ukraine.
The Drive article
Map
A massive ocean wave that was tracked off the west coast of Vancouver Island in 2020 is now considered the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded, according to scientists at the University of Victoria.
CTV News story
Map
NBC sports anchor Mike Tirico opened the network's Olympics coverage with a bang. Tirico cut right to mentioning China's genocide of Uyghur Muslims. The sportscaster also plugged an hour-long NBC special on the genocide. To kick off NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing Thursday night, longtime sportscaster Mike Tirico addressed the elephant in the room.
Business Insider article on MSN
Who are the Uyghurs and why is China being accused of genocide?BBC article from June 2021
NBC Olympics announcers staying stateside for Beijing - WFMY
Map
Ukrainian forces fired at abandoned buildings and launched grenades and mortars on Friday during urban combat drills in the town of Pripyat, which has been deserted since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster caused thousands to flee.
Reuters article
Map (Notice how close the failed reactor is)
Though Russia continues to pour troops into areas surrounding Ukraine, it still remains unready to carry out a full-scale invasion, according to the latest Ukrainian military assessment shared with Military Times. "The Russian military contingent near the Ukrainian border is insufficient to carry out a large-scale armed aggression against Ukraine," said the assessment, the second time in as many weeks Ukraine military officials made that judgment.
DefenseNews article
US alleges Russian plot to fake invasion pretext
Russia/Ukraine Conflict
A single bolt of lightning measuring 477.2 miles has been confirmed as the longest ever – leaping across Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas in 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
New York Post article
Map
With the exception of the occasional aggressive coyote, the animals that roam the hills and gullies of the Bay Area — turkeys, mountain lions, deer, bobcats, foxes and the rest of a veritable Noah’s Ark — find themselves on somewhat laissez-faire terms with the humans around them. Not so for the rampaging feral pigs. They are tearing up lawns, ripping through golf course fairways, threatening the drinking water and disturbing the harvests at Napa vineyards. Many Californians want them dead.
WorldNewEra article
The Clock Is Ticking on America's 'Feral Swine Bomb' - 9-20 The Atlantic article
Map
The Oceanco shipyard in Alblasserdam near Rotterdam has nearly completed the construction of Y721, the former Amazon CEO's yacht, but the vessel is too big to sail out with the bridge as it is. The builders asked the local council to remove the bridge’s central section so the yacht can pass.
Fox Business story
Map
A bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh on Friday morning, sending three people to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. Five cars and a Port Authority bus were on the bridge at the time of the collapse, around 6:39 a.m. local time, city officials said.
ABC News story
Map
In mid-October 2021, social media and news outlets began reporting significant movement by Russian military forces, with limited Russian transparency, on or near the Ukrainian border and within Ukraine’s occupied Crimea region. These movements, which follow a similar military buildup in March-April 2021 and Russia’s Zapad military exercises in September 2021, have come amid increasingly aggressive rhetoric reported from Russian policymakers about the so-called encroachment of NATO near Russia’s borders and the geopolitical status of Ukraine.
Congressional Research Service article
Russia sends fighter jets to Belarus for drills
Area Map
An astronomer has captured footage of the asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1) ahead of its close pass by Earth on Tuesday afternoon. 1994 PC1 is a huge asteroid thought to be around a kilometer or 3,280 feet in diameter. It's classed as "potentially hazardous" according to NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) due to its size and potential to get relatively close to our planet—though it is not expected to hit Earth.
Newsweek article
NASA Eyes on Asteriods
Takes a while to load, but its 3D interactive content is worth the wait!
ussian officials on Tuesday said Moscow is sending troops to Belarus for joint military drills, a move that will place more Kremlin troops and equipment near Ukraine as Western nations fear an invasion. Russia and Belarus will participate in drills involving exercises to "thwart and repel a foreign aggression," according to Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin, as reported by The Associated Press.
The Hill on MSN article
Map
The year's first Full Moon, Wolf Moon, is named after howling wolves, but it's also often called the Moon After Yule in the Anglo-Saxon tradition.
Wolf Moon
Reuters slide show
General full moon info
Full Moon simple facts
An underwater volcano near Tonga violently erupted today, prompting tsunami warnings for the entirety of the Polynesian kingdom. Residents have been urged to evacuate to higher ground, with surges likely to hit the north and east coasts of North Island and the Chatham Islands.
Express article
Yahoo!News article
Volcano Discovery page
Active volcanoes map
Map
The dramatic collapse of Indonesia's Anak Krakatau volcano in December 2018 resulted from long-term destabilising processes, and was not triggered by any distinct changes in the magmatic system that could have been detected by current monitoring techniques, new research has found.
ScienceDaily article
Can the Anak Krakatoa mount erupt again like the Krakatoa mount?
Wiki
Map
Near the Filchner Ice Shelf in the south of the Antarctic Weddell Sea, a research team has found the world's largest fish breeding area known to date. A towed camera system photographed and filmed thousands of nests of icefish of the species Neopagetopsis ionah on the seabed.
Science News article
Map
Operations are back up and running at the Sandia Peak Tramway, after two tram cars were stuck on cable lines, near Tower Two on Dec. 31. Twenty-one employees were rescued. The group was stuck overnight for more than 15 hours.
KOAT article
Map
North Korea said Wednesday its leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful flight test of a hypersonic missile he claimed would remarkably increase the country's nuclear "war deterrent."
CTV News/Associated Press article
Map
The saga of Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline between Russia and Germany running along the Baltic seabed, has been stuck so long it has been likened to a suitcase at an airport without a handle – impossible to abandon, and impossible to carry forward.
The Guardian article
European Gas Pipeline Map and the Ukraine
Area Map
The winter solstice is the shortest day and longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, it takes place between December 20 and 23, depending on the year. (The reverse is true in the Southern Hemisphere, where the shortest day of the year occurs in June.)
History.com article
Almanac.com article
Enlarge -->
The aviation industry is betting on commercial electric flight as part of a portfolio approach to reach its net-zero by 2050 target. However, among the different challenges facing a transition to electric air travel, the torrential increase in demand for lithium and other crucial minerals could prove to be one of the most difficult to overcome.
Simple Flying article
Investopedia article
The Guardian article
Map
Several parts of the West Coast experienced road closures and damage from rain, snow and wind as an impactful storm system came ashore. Many of the passes along eastern California, such as Carson Pass and Sonora Pass, were expected to see several feet of snow. The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Sacramento warned chain controls and road closures would remain possible.
AccuWeather article
Another Accuweather article on Southern California storm
Current northern Sierra road conditions
Difference between high and low pressure weather systems
Another explanation of a Low-Pressure System?
Coriolis Effect
High and low rotation graphic
There's something exciting about flights that arrive before they leave, obviously because of time zone differences. It's especially intriguing if they involve short (or comparatively short) routes and/or unusually unsociable times.
Simple Flying article
Examples
Tension escalates in the South China Sea (SCS) as China builds military base on disputed Subi Reef. China displays dominance as another installation takes on reefs which are claimed by other nations.
HNGN article
HNGN article
Subu Reef map
Mischief Reef map
See below
South China Seas and Taiwan Subject Section
The largest and most devastating of the four tornadoes that ripped into Kentucky overnight Saturday tore through hundreds of miles and multiple states. The storm originated in Arkansas, according to Kentucky Division of Emergency Management director Michael Dossett, and touched down in Missouri and Tennessee before making its way into the Bluegrass State, where it ripped through the western half of the state before finally weakening in central Kentucky.
Updated Forbes article
Cincinnati.com article
Before-and-after satellite images show destruction of candle factory
Map
From April 09, 2020: What would you consider the worst tornadoes in U.S. history? Former severe weather expert at The Weather Channel, Dr. Greg Forbes, combed through damage costs (adjusted for inflation through 2011) and fatality statistics in order to rank the nation's worst single tornadoes, using a 100-point scale.
Weather Channel article from April 09, 2020
Current NDTV article
Map
Crew launched from the Jeff Bezos-owned rocket company's West Texas Launch Site One facility
Fox Business article
Earlier Bezos' Rocket Launch
Map
America's reliance on semiconductors from overseas hurts national security, Intel exec says
Fox Business article
Wrangler News article
Map
China has its eyes on Equatorial Guinea for a new military base, which would give Beijing a new naval foothold in the Atlantic Ocean, according to a media report that comes following long-standing concerns among U.S. military leaders about China’s ambitions in West Africa.
Stars & Stripes article
Republicworld.com article
What is China's Belt and Road Initiative?
Map
Elon Musk said on Friday that SpaceX is constructing a launch pad for its Starship spaceship in Florida ahead of the rocket's first orbital flight. "Construction of Starship orbital launch pad at the Cape has begun," Musk tweeted.
Yahoo!news article
Earlier Insider article
London Gatwick Airport has historically been the UK’s second-busiest airport by passenger traffic. It retained this ranking in 2020, albeit with a far lower number of passengers due to the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While the crisis has prompted some carriers to reduce their operations at Gatwick, the airport has big plans for the future.
Simple Flying Article
London Area Airports
The frontline of the climate crisis doesn’t always resemble a disaster zone. The nation of Kiribati - deep in the Pacific Ocean - can look on the surface like a tropical paradise. And yet this idyllic country, made up of 33 low lying islands, is destined to become the first victim of climate change, on track to be swallowed by rising sea levels.
The seas are coming for us in Kiribati. Will Australia rehome us?
Our existence might be in jeopardy: How Kiribati is being swallowed by rising seas
THE WORLD FACTBOOK
The Country & Geographic Location
Map
Frightening video captured flames spewing out of a Ryanair plane’s engine after a collision with a flock of herons while on approach to an airport in Italy.The long-legged, long-necked birds were sucked into an engine of the Boeing 737 moments before the flight from London Stansted Airport landed in Bologna about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to the Independent.
New York Post Article
Map
On this day, 30 years ago, Pan Am flew its last commercial flight and ceased operations. The six-decade-old airline has come to symbolize modern international travel, embedding itself in pop culture and the public spotlight. Here’s a look back at the airline’s history and why it has so many fans.
Simple Flying article
History.com article on the Lockerbie bombing
Crash site map
Temperatures in the 50s led to quite the scene outside a power plant discharge station in Central Florida with hundreds of marine animals spotted basking in the warm, sunlit waters. This time of year, manatee spottings near the Tampa Electric power plant are common, but what made Tuesday’s event more unique was the addition of hundreds of other fish, including dozens of sharks.
Fox weather article
Map
U.S. to restrict travel from South Africa, 7 other countries as new Covid variant emerges
The United States will restrict travel for non-U.S. citizens from South Africa and seven other countries starting Monday as a new Covid variant emerges.
CNBC Article
Map
There is 'no certainty' about intentions of Russia, both NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, and the US secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin have warned.
Russia’s well-planned armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014 resulted in Moscow’s annexation of a part of the Ukrainian territory. The
Crimean Peninsula
and certain areas of the
Donetsk
and
Luhansk
regions, which the Russian Ministry of Defence affirms was an attempt at an “unconstitutional coup in Ukraine”. The political takeover of the autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol was the Kremlin’s first military operation aimed at undermining independence and sovereignty of Ukraine
republicworld.com article
Area Map
Additional info
The U.S. Geological Survey says a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.5 has struck in northern Peru at 5:52 a.m. Sunday local time. While the quake was extremely strong, it was relatively deep — measured at 112 kilometers — which usually reduces damage and casualties.
CNBC
USGS Info
Map
South China Sea: China issues warning against US as warship sails through Taiwan Strait
Nations are still at odds against China over the South China Sea, including the Taiwan Strait. Following the passage of a US warship in the narrow region of water, China has issued a warning on the US against making any provocation.
EconoTimes Article
Reuters article - Philippines rejects China's demand to remove grounded navy ship
Map
See article below
South China Seas and Taiwan Subject Section
'Ghostbusters: Afterlife' Release Date Delayed a Week
Spoiler Alert: Sit all the way through the closing credits
September 1st article by Variety
Ghostbusters Shooting Locations
Polar night: Sun sets for last time this year in America's northernmost city
You read that right! Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, Alaska, will watch the sun set for the last time this year Thursday.
Article by WKMG ClickOrlando
US reportedly plans diplomatic boycott of China’s Winter Olympics
The US is going to stage a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China and will not send an official delegation in protest against human rights abuses, according to a report on Tuesday.
Under such a diplomatic boycott, US athletes would take part as normal, but there would be no accompanying political delegation of officials and politicians.
The Guardian article
The venues:
Beijing
The National Stadium, also known as "The Bird's Nest." The stadium also hosted the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics, as well as the athletics competition and men's football final of the Summer Games. Will host ice skating events.
The nearby National Indoor Stadium, nicknamed "The Fan" due to its design that resembles a traditional Chinese folding fan, will share hosting duties for the ice hockey competition with Wukesong Sports Centre.
Also nearby, The National Speed Skating Oval, nicknamed "The Ice Ribbon," is the only new venue built on Beijing's Olympic Green (the Olympic Park constructed for the 2008 Games) for the Winter Olympics. It will host the speed skating competition. The stadium replaced the site of the Olympic Green Hockey Field, and the Olympic Green Archery Field.
Wukesong Sports Centre
was also built for the 2008 Olympics. It is about
8 miles southwest
of the Bird's Nest, and it will serve as the main indoor venue for ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Games alongside the National Indoor Stadium.
Capital Indoor Stadium
is
5 miles southwest
of the Bird's Nest was built in 1968, has staged several important sporting events, including the table tennis matches between China and the United States as part of the ping pong diplomacy exchange program in 1971, and one of the first NBA games in China in 2004. After hosting the volleyball tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics, the Capital Indoor Stadium will stage the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions during the Winter Olympics.
The
Big Air Shougang
was built on a former steel mill site, set against the backdrop of four industrial cooling towers, is
14 miles
southwest of the Bird's Nest. It will stage the freestyle skiing and snowboard Big Air competitions at the Games. Following the Winter Olympics, the venue will be used for various sports competitions and athlete training, as well as cultural and civic events.
While the mountain skiing venues are referred to as
Yanqing
, they are actually 40 miles northwest of there. Two have existed, and one is being built. The two are:
•
Wanlong Ski Resort
, almost
84 miles
northwest of the Bird's Nest as the crow fly's. the Wanlong Ski Resort, oldest of the three, will host slalom snowboarding.
•
Genting Resort Secret Garden
which is adjancent to Wanlong, just to the north,
80 miles
the Bird's Nest as the crow fly's. The snowboarding slopestyle, halfpipe, and some of the freestyle skiing will take place at Genting Secret Garden. The resort opened in 2011.
The new one is
Thaiwoo Ski Resort
and it is still under construction, which will host the snowboard cross and freestyle skiing.
They are a 140 mile drive from Beijing. None of them get much natural snow so snowmaking will be essential.
The one venue near Yanqing is
National Sliding Center
(map shows construction site), which will host the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge competitions.
(Conceptual plan)
Zhangjiakou
City in north China's Hebei Province, will stage the biathlon competition. Following the Games, the centre will be used by the Chinese national team for training, and as a tourist resort. Also in the area the ski jumping competition.
Vietnam is carrying out construction on three islands in the South China Sea at the same time, satellite imagery shows.
Radio Free Asia article
Maps Pearson Reef Namyit Island Sand Cay
South China Sea Map of military outposts See below
Russia dispatched paratroopers to Belarus Friday amid growing tension between the Minsk government and Poland over increasing numbers of migrants along their border — and fears in the West that Vladimir Putin could soon launch an invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin’s Defense Ministry said that forces will parachute from heavylift Il-76 transport planes in Belarus’ Grodno region — which borders Poland — as part of joint war games involving Belarusian air defense assets, helicopter gunships and other forces.
NY Post article
Map
Engineer says doomed Mh270 plane ‘flew in circles for 20 mins before vanishing’
An engineer claims he’s used a computer program to discover flight Mh270 was put into a 20-minute holding pattern before vanishing. Richard Godfrey has been tracking the Boeing 777’s flight path using WSPRnet – which uses radio signals – and claims to have made a major breakthrough. Godfrey says using WSPRnet he is able to track all aircrafts going back as far as 2009.
New York Post Article
Weather balloon goes on 117-mile ride over Lake Michigan
A weather balloon launched in Wisconsin Tuesday took a 117-mile journey across Lake Michigan. Launched in Green Bay, WI, it landed in Traverse City, Michigan.
Fox News Article
Map
The Chinese military has built targets in the shape of an American aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships in the Taklamakan desert as part of a new target range complex, according to photos provided to USNI News by satellite imagery company Maxar.
USNI News article
Map (might take a bit to load)
Saturday was the big protest day at the COP26 climate summit.
Friday's student protests brought about 25,000 people into the streets of Glasgow, Scotland.
Scottish Event Campus
This is an honor typically reserved for presidents.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The United States ordered non-emergency officials to leave Ethiopia on Friday
This is due to the ongoing armed conflict and possible supply shortages. In a security alert, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa said that incidents of unrest and ethnic violence were "occurring without warning.
Ethiopia
Houston authorities are investigating what officials described as a crowd surge that killed at least eight people and injured scores of others, at the Astroworld Festival. The dead ranged in age from 14 to 27, and 13 people were still hospitalized Saturday, Mayor Sylvester Turner said. Dozens were injured.
NRG Park
Fuel tanker exploded on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital of Freetown late Friday
The explosion killed and wounded dozens at a busy intersection, according to local media reports. It happened outside the Choithram Supermarket in the densely populated Wellington suburb in the east of the city.
Choithram Supermarket
Two missing Oregon women were found in an Idaho forest Friday
Two missing Oregon women were found in an Idaho forest Friday, the mother dead from the elements and the disabled daughter alive with their broken down vehicle.
Idaho Panhandle National Forests
Choke Points
As tensions simmer over Taiwan, global semiconductor chip supply hangs in the balance
Tensions between China and Taiwan are escalating, and confusion sparked by President Joe Biden's recent pledge to defend Taiwan has sent his administration scrambling to assure the international community that's not necessarily the case.
It's the latest twist in a longstanding drama that could upend political and economic stability in the region and reframe China's power in the world. But experts warn there could be another casualty in the case of war in the Taiwan Strait: The remaining global supply of semiconductor chips.
After a year of shortages, the prospect of yet another interruption to the chip supply likely is enough to make Detroit's automakers and their foreign rivals shudder. Taiwan produces 65% of all chips globally and is home to the largest semiconductor company in the world, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
The Detroit News article
Taiwan Strait
South China Seas and Taiwan Subject Section
74 Years Ago The Spruce Goose Flew For The First And Last Time
Designed by the Hughes Aircraft Company, the Hughes H-4 Hercules, commonly known as the Spruce Goose, intended to be a strategic airlift flying boat, made its first and last flight 74 years ago yesterday. The Spruce Goose could carry two Sherman tanks.
Simple Flying Article
The original hanger and
what it is being used for today
It spent a number of years under a
dome
at the mouth of the Los Angeles River in Long Beach.
Map
Where it is today
Map
"Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died in an on-set shooting involving actor Alec Baldwin that also left director Joel Souza hospitalized.
It remains unclear how and why a suspected real bullet made it into the prop gun – believed to be a F.LLI Pietta Long Colt .45 Revolver – which Baldwin had allegedly been handed by a crew member moments earlier, according to the sheriff of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
New York Post article
Bonanza Creek Ranch
Challenger 605 Crash in Truckee, CA
Explore what might have caused this tragic crash during approach into an historically demanding airport
Article on Crash in Truckee
Update: Challenger 605 Crash in Truckee
Possible cause
Flight Path
Additional background
More
Aircraft info
Crash Site
Ring camera captures apparent sounds of jet crashing in Truckee
How a container ship blocked the Suez canal
A container ship nearly 100 metres longer than the height of London’s Shard ran aground on Tuesday morning in the Suez canal, blocking one of the most vital arteries of the global economy
Visual Guide article from The Guardian
Updated article
Map
Additional visuals
