“What in the World?” Quiz – Week of September 16-22, 2018

Don’t forget to sign up as a World Affairs Council member (TNWAC.org/join) to be eligible to win the monthly quiz prize.

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

***Alternate Link to Quiz***

QUIZ WINNERS FROM LAST WEEK

Yezzie Dospil, Nashville, TN

Charles Bowers, Nashville, TN

David Durham, Nashville, TN

Patricia Pavia, Nashville, TN

Rudolf Mittermeier, Cookeville, TN

(If you’re a weekly winner you’ll be entered for the monthly prize drawing but you must be a TNWAC member to win.  TNWAC.org/join)

SEPTEMBER 2018 MONTHLY PRIZE

A bracing assessment of U.S. foreign policy and world disorder over the past two decades, anchored by a major new Pentagon-commissioned essay—from the renowned geopolitical analyst and bestselling author of The Revenge of Geographyand The Coming Anarchy.

“Elegant and humane . . . [a] prophecy from an observer with a depressingly accurate record of predictions.”—Bret Stephens, The New York Times Book Review

In the late thirteenth century, Marco Polo began a decades-long trek from Venice to China. The strength of that Silk Road—the trade route between Europe and Asia—was a foundation of Kublai Khan’s sprawling empire. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the Chinese regime has proposed a land-and-maritime Silk Road that duplicates exactly the route Marco Polo traveled.

In the major lead essay, recently released by the Pentagon’s Office of Net Assessment, Robert D. Kaplan lays out a blueprint of the world’s changing power politics that recalls the late thirteenth century. As Europe fractures from changes in culture and migration, Eurasia coheres into a single conflict system. China is constructing a land bridge to Europe. Iran and India are trying to link the oil fields of Central Asia to the Indian Ocean. America’s ability to influence the power balance in Eurasia is declining.

This is Kaplan’s first collection of essays since his classic The Coming Anarchywas published in 2000. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience as a foreign correspondent and military embed for The Atlantic,as well as encounters with preeminent realist thinkers, Kaplan outlines the timeless principles that should shape America’s role in a turbulent world: a respect for the limits of Western-style democracy; a delineation between American interests and American values; an awareness of the psychological toll of warfare; a projection of power via a strong navy; and more.

From Kaplan’s immediate thoughts on President Trump (“On Foreign Policy, Donald Trump Is No Realist,” 2016) to a frank examination of what will happen in the event of war with North Korea (“When North Korea Falls,” 2006), The Return of Marco Polo’s Worldis a vigorous and honest reckoning with the difficult choices the United States will face in the years ahead.

“These essays constitute a truly pathbreaking, brilliant synthesis and analysis of geographic, political, technological, and economic trends with far-reaching consequences. The Return of Marco Polo’s World is another work by Robert D. Kaplan that will be regarded as a classic.”—General David Petraeus (U.S. Army, Ret.)

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 September 9-15, 2018

1. The leaders of North and South Korea announced what will be their third meeting since April of this year. THIS will be the main topic of the next summit, to be held September 18-20:

A. Denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula
B. Ending the Korean War
C. Reunifying the two Koreas
D. Reuniting families separated by the conflict

Correct Response: A. Denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/06/645191786/korean-leaders-to-meet-this-month-about-a-nuclear-free-korean-peninsula

2. In a landmark, unanimous decision India’s Supreme Court struck down a law, dating back to the colonial period, which prohibited THIS:

A. Women’s suffrage
B. Gay sex
C. Divorce
D. Pay equity

Correct Response: B. Gay sex
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/06/644970751/indias-supreme-court-strikes-down-ban-on-gay-sex

3. The leading candidate in THIS nation’s upcoming presidential election is in stable condition after being stabbed at a campaign rally. The candidate, whose far-right positions have garnered support and drawn sharp criticism, may spend up to two months in the hospital, casting doubt over the rest of his campaign:

A. Argentina
B. Peru
C. Colombia
D. Brazil

Correct Response: D. Brazil
https://www.npr.org/2018/09/07/645445886/brazils-presidential-frontrunner-is-seriously-wounded-in-attack-at-campaign-rall

4. THIS Asian nation is reeling from two natural disasters that struck this week. First, Typhoon Jebi, the strongest in 25 years, pummeled the country in question. Next, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake happened a few days later, triggering landslides and widespread power outages:

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

Correct Response: A. Japan
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45443188

5. A “sophisticated” hack of THIS airline’s app and website resulted in the theft of over 380,000 customers’ credit card and personal information. The airline’s CEO has pledged to compensate any financial trouble customers may experience as a result of the breach:

A. Air France
B. Delta
C. Ryan Air
D. British Airways

Correct Response: D. British Airways
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/sep/07/ba-british-airways-chief-alex-cruz-compensate-customers-after-data-breach

6. Relations between Paraguay and Israel became tense this week after Paraguay’s new government announced WHICH of the following:

A. New aid to the Palestinian Authority
B. Unconditional support for Iran
C. A new embassy in Gaza
D. The return of its embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv

Correct Response: D. The return of its embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/09/05/paraguay-moves-israel-embassy-back-out-jerusalem.html

7. Officials in New York quarantined Emirates Flight 203 from Dubai to JFK after over 100 passengers reported feeling ill; 10 ended up in the hospital because of their symptoms. The New York City mayor’s office confirmed that the passengers had THIS illness:

A. Chicken pox
B. Influenza
C. SARS
D. Whooping cough

Correct Response: B. Influenza
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/emirates-flight-jfk-new-york-dubai-flu-influenza-sick–492592551.html

8. Fire destroyed 90% of the collections in Brazil’s National Museum this week. Protestors, who held hands and gathered around the burnt-out remains of the museum in Rio de Janeiro, blame the government for the amount of destruction, citing THIS:

A. Traffic snarls that kept firefighters from arriving promptly
B. Unstaffed fire stations near the museum
C. Years of funding cuts that led to inadequate preservation of artefacts
D. A malfunctioning sprinkler system

Correct Response: C. Years of funding cuts that led to inadequate preservation of artefacts
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-45404310

9. Amnesty International is criticizing the government of Moldova for deporting seven teachers, claimed to be, “threats to national security.” The teachers were all Turkish nationals, and taught at schools founded by THIS U.S.-based Muslim cleric, accused by the Turkish government of organizing the attempted coup that rocked Turkey in 2016:

A. Fethullah Gulen
B. Andrew Brunson
C. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
D. Faruk Gül

Correct Response: A. Fethullah Gulen
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-moldova-turkey/amnesty-criticizes-expulsion-of-turkish-nationals-from-moldova-idUSKCN1LM2PI

10. Sightings of a kangaroo on the loose have astonished residents in a small, northern town in THIS country, thousands of miles away from Australia. Inquiries at nearby zoos and breeding facilities turned up no reports of a missing marsupial; how the errant animal got to the rural area in question remains a mystery:

A. Germany
B. Switzerland
C. Poland
D. Austria

Correct Response: D. Austria
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45407767

COPYRIGHT 2018, Tennessee World Affairs Council

We need and appreciate your support of 

the World Affairs Council.

THANKS TO BELMONT UNIVERSITY’S CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

THANKS TO THE AWC FAMILY FOUNDATION

THANKS TO THE NASHVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS COUNCIL

THANKS TO THE TNWAC WEEKLY QUIZ PARTNERS

THE MISSION of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Tennessee World Affairs Council is to promote international awareness, understanding and connections to enhance the region’s global stature and to prepare Tennesseans to thrive in our increasingly complex and connected world.

THE VISION of  the Tennessee World Affairs Council is a well-informed community that thinks critically about the world and the impact of global events.   

Learn more about the Council and find how you can join, donate and volunteer at: www.TNWAC.org  — 

Join / Donate / Volunteer