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

“What In The World? Weekly Quiz” – Jan 27-Feb 2, 2020

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

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

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ WINNERS

David Hillinck, Huntsville, AL
Himanshu Manchanda, Nashville, TN
Yezzie Dospil, Nashville, TN
Jacob Williams, Franklin, TN
Jaclyn Sheridan, Nashville, TN
Allan Ramsaur, Nashville, 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

Volunteers make the World (Affairs Council) go round!


JANUARY 2020 MONTHLY QUIZ PRIZE WINNER

Campbell Lahman, Nashville, TN

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World

Tim Marshall


FEBRUARY 2020 MONTHLY QUIZ PRIZE

The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

by Peter Frankopan

From Amazon

Far more than a history of the Silk Roads, this book is truly a revelatory new history of the world, promising to destabilize notions of where we come from and where we are headed next. From the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts.

Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the twentieth century—this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.


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 JAN 20-26, 2020

1. More than a year in the making, THIS event taking place in Vancouver is being closely monitored for its potential repercussions on US-China-Canada relations.

A. A National Hockey League exhibition game featuring the Chinese national team
B. The first of a series of military exercises between China and NATO
C. The signing ceremony for a renewed China-North America trade pact
D. The extradition hearings of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou

Correct Response: D. The extradition hearings of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51126901

2. The UN World Food Programme announced that a record 45 million people in THIS 16-nation inter-governmental organization face growing hunger due to drought, flooding, and economic disarray. Some member states, like Mozambique and Malawi, are still recovering from natural disasters, while others, like Zimbabwe, are experiencing soaring inflation and food and fuel shortages.

A. Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
B. Southern African Development Community (SADC
C. Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
D. Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)

Correct Response: B. Southern African Development Community (SADC)

3. As tensions between the US and Iran persist following the assassination of a top Iranian general, the two countries are engaged in a heated fight on THIS unusual platform. In Chinese and in plain view of China’s hundreds of millions of internet users, the US and Iranian embassies in Beijing have been exchanging barbs back and forth.

A. Chinese video-sharing service TikTok
B. Chinese newspaper People’s Daily
C. Chinese state television CCTV
D. Chinese microblogging site Weibo

Correct Response: D. Chinese microblogging site Weibo
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/world/asia/china-iran-us-weibo.html

4. Shock waves have resulted from THIS comment by India’s top military commander at an international affairs conference in New Delhi. General Bipin Rawat was answering a question about fighting terrorism in Kashmir, which was India’s only predominantly Muslim state until August when the government summarily erased its statehood.

A. “These people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some deradicalization camps”
B. “It is time to acknowledge that sharing Kashmir [with neighboring Pakistan] is an untenable situation”
C. “[Terrorism] will never be solved in Kashmir until [the Indian government] steps up to provide adequate resources for the Kashmiri people.”
D. “It is political radicalization, not religious radicalization, that make Kashmiri people incompatible with Indian democracy.”

Correct Response: A. “These people need to be taken out separately, possibly taken into some deradicalization camps”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/world/asia/india-kashmir-camps.html?fbclid=IwAR20JMln38G5H8VxeeDt8TDy_FNhs1zCwAaiUe_dzypyjarWg6cDimVkc34

5. THIS action by President Trump brings to a close the first chapter of the protracted fight between the US and China. It comes after more than two years of tense negotiations and escalating threats between the two countries.

A. The placing of sanctions on Chinese companies operating out of mainland China
B. The creation of a permanent bilateral economic council between the US and China
C. The signing of an initial trade deal between the US and China
D. The revocation of $360 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods

Correct Response: C. The signing of an initial trade deal between the US and China
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/business/economy/china-trade-deal.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&fbclid=IwAR2Ul096vKcEmsGSTZ-kqCL3ljyjfDJmU5ckOACydyHHaR63JmisXyigKUk

6. Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed sweeping changes to the country’s political system that would broadly have THIS effect. The changes, triggered by the resignation of the prime minister and government, are widely seen as giving Putin greater scope to extend his grip on power once he leaves the presidency in 2024.

A. Shift power from the presidency in favor of parliament and the prime minister
B. Eliminate presidential term limits and extend time between elections
C. Create a formal advisory position for past-presidents within the executive branch
D. Expand seats on the parliament to reduce the democratic voice of Russian citizens

Correct Response: A. Shift power from the presidency in favor of parliament and the prime minister
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-politics-explainer/explainer-how-putins-shake-up-of-russian-politics-could-pan-out-idUSKBN1ZF1PW

7. A leaked cache of over 700,000 documents, referred to as THIS, has revealed how Isabel dos Santos built a business empire worth an estimate $2 billion through exploiting Angola’s wealth with the assistance of several US firms. The daughter of Angola’s former president, dos Santos had her assets frozen earlier this month in what she called a “politically motivated” move by her father’s successor.

A. Diamondgate
B. Luanda Leaks
C. Petroleum Papers
D. Angolan Laundromat

Correct Response: B. Luanda Leaks
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/19/world/africa/isabel-dos-santos-angola.html

8. Germany has announced a plan to phase out THESE by 2038, having agreed with regional leaders to a $45 billion compensation scheme. The scheme will go towards new infrastructure projects and retraining programs in the German states most effected by the phase-out: Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Brandenburg.

A. Mandatory emissions-testing of commercial vehicles
B. Shipments of industrial waste to global South countries
C. Coal-fired power plants
D. Diesel car production plants

Correct Response: C. Coal-fired power plants
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51133534?ocid=global_bbccom_email_16012020_top+news+stories

9. A criminal investigation has been opened in Ukraine, following reports that allies of President Trump did THIS, which the Internal Affairs Ministry of Ukraine stated could be “possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state.”

A. Hacked the records of the KyivPost to leak information about Russian activities in Ukraine
B. Placed former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch under surveillance while stationed in Kyiv
C. Blackmailed Ukrainian politicians into investigating Joe Biden’s business ties in Ukraine
D. Advocated for President Trump to appoint a diplomatic representative to the proto-state Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine

Correct Response: B. Had former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch under surveillance while stationed in Kyiv
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/world/europe/ukraine-yovanovitch-investigation.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR1WNN3EF0m2N4vZuKFnYHfrExKatXGYHjR375mEXKFAlsYXWWpL_qkvd2g

10. THIS Venezuelan opposition leader has defied a travel ban to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. THIS figure, who it is rumored will then travel on to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is recognized as the rightful president of Venezuela by the United States and nearly 60 other countries.

A. Juan Guaidó
B. Nicolás Maduro
C. Simón Bolívar
D. Iván Duque Márquez

Correct Response: A. Juan Guaidó
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/guaido-leaves-venezuela-defying-travel-ban-to-meet-pompeo-in-colombia-rally-support-in-europe/2020/01/19/e1c9cc4a-3acb-11ea-afe2-090eb37b60b1_story.html

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