2022 World Affairs Council of the Year
Network of Independent World Affairs Councils of America

“What in the World?” Quiz – Week of Aug 27-Sep 2, 2017

Check your global affairs awareness with these ten questions taken from the week’s news reports provided via @TNWAC #TNWACquiz.

The only rule is to use the ‘honor system.’

Click on image for Quiz

Alternate Link to Quiz
***

Keep up with global current events by following the World Affairs Council on Twitter @TNWAC. #TNWACquiz

QUIZ WINNERS FROM LAST WEEK

Jessica Howard, Nashville, TN
Pete Griffin, Nashville, TN
Pat Miletich, Nashville, TN
Roberta Elliott, Nashville, TN
Julia Lydon, Nashville, TN
Charles Bowers, Nashville, TN 

AUGUST “WHAT IN THE WORLD?” QUIZ PRIZE *

ASIA’S RECKONING

Richard McGregor

Richard McGregor’s Asia’s Reckoning is a compelling account of the widening geopolitical cracks in a region that has flourished under an American security umbrella for more than half a century. The toxic rivalry between China and Japan, two Asian giants consumed with endless history wars and ruled by entrenched political dynasties, is threatening to upend the peace underwritten by Pax Americana since World War II. Combined with Donald Trump’s disdain for America’s old alliances and China’s own regional ambitions, east Asia is entering a new era of instability and conflict. If the United States laid the postwar foundations for modern Asia, now the anchor of the global economy, Asia’s Reckoning reveals how that structure is falling apart.

With unrivaled access to archives in the United States and Asia, as well as to many of the major players in all three countries, Richard McGregor has written a tale that blends the tectonic shifts in diplomacy with bitter domestic politics and the personalities driving them. It is a story not only of an overstretched America, but also of the rise and fall and rise of the great powers of Asia. The about-turn of Japan—from a colossus seemingly poised for world domination to a nation in inexorable decline in the space of two decades—has few parallels in modern history, as does the rapid rise of China—a country whose military is now larger than those of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and southeast Asia’s combined.

The confrontational course on which China and Japan are set is no simple spat between neighbors: the United States would be involved on the side of Japan in any military conflict between the two countries. The fallout would be an economic tsunami, affecting manufacturing centers, trade routes, and political capitals on every continent. Richard McGregor’s book takes us behind the headlines of his years reporting as the Financial Times’s Beijing and Washington bureau chief to show how American power will stand or fall on its ability to hold its ground in Asia.

About the Author

Richard McGregor is a journalist and an author with extensive experience in reporting from east Asia and Washington. A 2015 fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., his work has appeared in the International Herald Tribune and Foreign Policy and he has appeared on the Charlie Rose show, the BBC, and NPR. His previous book, The Party, won numerous awards, including the 2011 Asia Society book of the year and the Asian book of the year prize from Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun.

More information and ordering

*Must be a TNWAC Member to win.  See www.TNWAC.org/join for membership info.


To get in on the quiz make sure you’re getting TNWAC emails (here’s the free subscription link: http://eepurl.com/gt6dn) and make sure you’re following @TNWAC on Twitter.

We’ll post the answers and the names of the winner(s) in next week’s quiz.

Here’s last week’s questions and answers:

WHAT IN THE WORLD? QUIZ

Week of Aug 20-Aug 26, 2017

1. The Security Consultative Committee met last week in Washington, D.C., to affirm commitment to extended deterrence, or the pledge to protect allies and retaliate on their behalf if they are attacked. This particular committee meeting focuses on protecting which U.S. ally from possible attack by North Korea?

A. South Korea
B. Japan
C. China
D. India

Correct Answer: B. Japan
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/US-to-reaffirm-nuclear-umbrella-over-Japan

2. Saudi Arabia and Iraq have reestablished THIS link between their countries, 27 years after it was first closed.

A. Diplomatic relations
B. Trade talks
C. Open border for trade
D. Daily flights from Jeddah to Baghdad

Correct Answer: C. Open border for trade
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-iraq-diplomacy-idUSKCN1AV11E

3. Hundreds are dead or missing after Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown was hit by THIS natural disaster

A. Mudslides
B. Wildfires
C. Earthquake
D. Flooding

Correct Answer: A. Mudslides
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-40944540

4. 14 people were killed and over 100 injured as a van rammed into a crowded tourist area in THIS city in Spain. Hours later, another car also ploughed into pedestrians in the resort town of Cambrils, about 70 miles away.

A. Bilbao
B. Barcelona
C. Valencia
D. Seville

Correct Answer: B. Barcelona
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40973439

5. Millions of people face food shortages and disease due to severe seasonal flooding in THESE three nations.

A. Ghana, Togo, Benin
B. Nepal, Bangladesh, India
C. Italy, Slovenia, Croatia
D. Belize, Guatemala, Honduras

Correct Answer: B. Nepal, Bangladesh, India
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-40975232

6. Australia’s High Court will have to decide whether or not of a sixth duly elected Member of Parliament will be able to keep her office because of a law prohibiting politicians from doing what?

A. Holding more than one office at once
B. Being younger than 35
C. Being convicted of a serious crime
D. Holding dual citizenship

Correct Answer: D. Holding dual citizenship

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40970963

7. Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai announced that she will be attending THIS elite university, where she’ll study philosophy, politics, and economics.

A. Harvard
B. Oxford
C. Yale
D. Cambridge

Correct Answer: B. Oxford
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/17/544191839/once-shot-for-advocating-for-girls-education-malala-is-going-to-oxford

8. Venezuela’s newly elected Constituent Assembly voted to give itself powers that essentially supersede those of THIS opposition-led branch of government.

A. Chief Executive
B. Congress
C. Supreme Court
D. Republican Moral Council

Correct Answer: B. Congress
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-politics-idUSKCN1AY1VM

9. Despite border posts being on red alert to prevent her exit, Zimbabwean First Lady Grace Mugabe returned home from South Africa under diplomatic immunity. Mrs. Mugabe is accused of having committed what crime in South Africa?

A. Assault
B. Theft
C. Forgery
D. Reckless driving

Correct Answer: A. Assault
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-mugabe-idUSKCN1B007S

10. Finnish authorities are classifying a series of stabbings by an 18-year old Moroccan man Finland’s first terrorist attack. Two people were killed and eight others were injured; based on the victims’ identities, authorities have stated that he appeared to be targeting whom?

A. Men
B. Women
C. The elderly
D. Young people

Correct Answer: B. Women
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-finland-stabbing-idUSKCN1AZ00G


We need and appreciate your support of 

the World Affairs Council.

Donate_Button1

join_button

 


FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @TNWAC

THANKS TO THE TNWAC WEEKLY QUIZ PARTNERS

Tennessean-Logo-3

cmhof-logo-round

tnwac logo jan15 150

THANKS TO THE SPONSORS OF THE TENNESSEE

ACADEMIC WORLDQUEST PROGRAM – FEDEX

fedex-logo1

The Tennessee World Affairs Council is a nonprofit (501c3), nonpartisan educational charity based in Nashville that works to build understanding of global issues in our communities. Learn more about the Council and find how you can join, donate and volunteer at: www.TNWAC.org  — 

Join / Donate / Volunteer

tnwac logo jan15 300