Guest Feature: Map of Control in Ethiopia's Tigray Conflict (November 18, 2020)

Update: PolGeoNow now has an in-house map showing territorial control in northern Ethiopia. To find the latest version, view all Ethiopia reports.

Today we're featuring a map created by a friend of PolGeoNow, Daniel from Passport Party, roughly illustrating territorial control in the new conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray state. For further updates to this map, follow Passport Party on Twitter.

Rough map of territorial control in Ethiopia's 2020 Tigray conflict, by Daniel of Passport Party (used with permission).

 

Ethiopia Conflict: Tigray Control Map by Passport Party

On November 4, 2020, a new armed conflict broke out between Ethiopia's central government and the government of Tigray, a regional state within Ethiopia. Details since then have been difficult to track down because of a government-imposed communications blackout in the region, and at PolGeoNow we've been too busy so far to create our own control map. 

Fortunately, our friend Daniel from Passport Party has managed to create a rough map his own, drawing from a carefully-curated network of sources with local ties, along with what scant media reports are available. Though Daniel warns that a map like this can't be completely reliable under the circumstances, this is our pick for best of the maps that we've seen.

Daniel has graciously offered us permission to feature the latest version of his map here, and for further map updates on the rapidly-changing situation, you can check the Passport Party Twitter feed. Keep reading for a brief outline of the situation, and for more details on the sources used in creating this map.

Nagorno-Karabakh Control Map & Timeline: Peace Deal Reached - November 10, 2020 (Subscription)

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Map by Evan Centanni, Djordje Djukic, Bourrichon, and Lesqual

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The six-week war between Azerbaijan and the Armenia-backed, self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh has come screeching to a halt with a new Russia-brokered peace agreement. Azerbaijan has captured ever-bigger sections of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, and will hold onto them under the terms of the new deal.

See all this and more on the latest update to PolGeoNow's concise, professional map of control in the Armenia-Azerbaijan war, which includes a timeline of territorial changes and key events since our previous Nagorno-Karabakh map report of October 25, with sources cited.

This map and report are premium content, available to paid subscribers of the PolGeoNow Conflict Mapping Service.

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Exclusive map report includes:

• Up-to-date illustration of current territorial control in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, including the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. Areas of mixed or unclear control indicated separately. Colorblind accessible. 
  
• Claimed borders of the Republic of Artsakh, as well as the former extent of the Soviet-era Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO).
  
• Indication of town-by-town control along the frontlines.
• Locations of recent fighting and other important events, including Shusha, Qubadli, Lachin, and more.
  
• Detailed timeline of territorial control changes and key military/political developments since October 25, 2020, with sources cited. 

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3 Election Day Referendums that Could Change US Geography (Updated with Results)

Update: All three referendums passed, and as of January 2021 the results of two have gone into effect. Scroll down to the bottom of each section for details of what happened.

The US has 50 states...for now. (Map from Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA)

 

US Voters to Decide in Geography-related Referendums

This Tuesday - November 3, 2020 - is election day in the United States. And while presidential rivals Donald Trump and Joe Biden have dominated the news, Americans will also be voting (or have already voted) in thousands of other elections for national, state, and local politicians, plus referendums on state and local issues.

The US has no process for nationwide referendums, but statewide referendums - often known as "ballot measures", "propositions", or just "questions" - are common. They also exist at many lower levels of government, and in territories that aren't part of any state, like the national capital district and overseas dependencies. This Tuesday, there will be 120 statewide referendums, all held within 32 of the country's 50 states, plus 3 referendums at the top level of government for other territories.

While most of these votes are on issues like taxation, election rules, and drug laws, three are of special interest to geography fans:

Yemen Control Map & Report - October 2020

There are newer versions of this map available. To see them, view all Yemen articles on PolGeoNow.

Map by Evan Centanni and Djordje Djukic, from base map by Koen Adams of onestopmap.com.
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Timeline by Djordje Djukic

Houthi Control Expanding

In the two months since PolGeoNow's previous Yemen control map report, Houthi fighters have continued their gradual advance against forces loyal to the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Most of the changes have taken place in Marib province, east of the capital, where the Houthis have expanded their control of the province's western and southern reaches. Meanwhile, southern separatists and Al Qaeda fighters continue to govern other parts of the country relatively undisturbed.

Puerto Rico: 52nd State of the US? (2020 Referendum - Updated with Results)

In 2012, we reported on Puerto Rico's chances at becoming the a state of the US, after the territory's people sort of voted for that. This is an updated and expanded version of that article, fully revised for next week's new Puerto Rico statehood referendum. 

Continue reading to learn why this time might be different, and why Puerto Rico could become the 52nd state of the US instead of the 51st!

For updates on the results of the referendum, scroll to the bottom of this article.

Puerto Rico Statehood Vote: Different This Time

The US territory of Puerto Rico. (Public domain map from CIA World Factbook)

The US territory of Puerto Rico, made up of one large island and several smaller ones in the Caribbean, doesn't have any say in next week's US presidential election. 

But its people will still have something important to vote on next Tuesday: a referendum on whether to fully join the US as one of the country's states. 

Like in previous votes, the result is non-binding: It can only take effect if approved by the US government. But that doesn't mean it's just a symbolic move.