A global affairs awareness service provided by the
Tennessee World Affairs Council
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Thanks to quiz master Keira Larson for this week’s quiz.
LAST WEEK’S QUIZ WINNERS
Pete Griffin, Nashville, TN
Charles Bowers, Nashville, TN
Joseph Mendenhall, Bedford, TX
Basil G. Smith, Jacksonville, FL
Christine Laemmar-Faber, Brookfield, WI
David Hillinck, Huntsville, AL
Peter Sharadin, Blandon, PA
Bernie Drake, Peoria, IL
Yezzie Dospil, Nashville, TN
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July 2021 – Quiz Prize
MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman
Ben Hubbard
Ben Hubbard has spent more than a dozen years in the Middle East, reporting from Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. He is the currently the Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times.
Finalist for the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Financial Times • Foreign Affairs • Kirkus Reviews
MBS is the untold story of how a mysterious young prince emerged from Saudi Arabia’s sprawling royal family to overhaul the economy and society of the richest country in the Middle East—and gather as much power as possible into his own hands. Since his father, King Salman, ascended to the throne in 2015, Mohammed bin Salman has leveraged his influence to restructure the kingdom’s economy, loosen its strict Islamic social codes, and confront its enemies around the region, especially Iran. That vision won him fans at home and on Wall Street, in Silicon Valley, in Hollywood, and at the White House, where President Trump embraced the prince as a key player in his own vision for the Middle East. But over time, the sheen of the visionary young reformer has become tarnished, leaving many struggling to determine whether MBS is in fact a rising dictator whose inexperience and rash decisions are destabilizing the world’s most volatile region.
Based on years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, MBS reveals the machinations behind the kingdom’s catastrophic military intervention in Yemen, the bizarre detention of princes and businessmen in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, and the shifting Saudi relationships with Israel and the United States. And finally, it sheds new light on the greatest scandal of the young autocrat’s rise: the brutal killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, a crime that shook Saudi Arabia’s relationship with Washington and left the world wondering whether MBS could get away with murder.
MBS is a riveting, eye-opening account of how the young prince has wielded vast powers to reshape his kingdom and the world around him.
LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What in the World? Quiz – Week of July 5-11, 2021
1. Beijing celebrated THIS event with great fanfare, military parades, and patriotic shows. Chinese President Xi Jinping told thousands assembled in Tiananmen Square that nations trying to bully China will “get their heads bashed” and will meet a “great wall of steel.”
A. 75th anniversary of defeat of Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist forces
B. 100th anniversary of the “Nine-Dash Line” marking Beijing’s South China Sea claim
C. Communist Party founding centennial
D. Final adjudication of the transition of Hong Kong from Britain to China
Correct Response: C. Communist Party founding centennial
https://abcnews.go.com/International/china-marks-communist-party-centennial-warning-xi/story
2. The United Nations said Ethiopia was blocking food aid to THIS embattled region where about 350,000 people face famine amid a crisis that has driven more than 60,000 refugees into Sudan and 1.7 million more internally displaced.
A. Tigray
B. Eritrea
C. Somaliland
D. Djibouti
Correct Response: A. Tigray
https://www.vox.com/22545382/tigray-famine-ethiopia-abiy-war
3. U.S. troops in the eastern part of THIS country were targets of rocket attacks following American strikes on Iran-backed militia UAV facilities.
A. Iraq
B. Libya
C. Syria
D. Yemen
Correct Response: C. Syria
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-syria-iran-middle-east-iraq-47774c2b5a6862353c8c6751738e7ba0
4. American troops handed over control of THIS strategic airbase to Afghan security forces and completed withdrawal from a facility that was key to the 20-year fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Meanwhile, some officials warned the Taliban might defeat the Afghan government following the American withdrawal expected to be finished by September.
A. Bagram
B. Kandahar
C. Peshawar
D. Shindand
Correct Response: A. Bagram
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/07/02/us-military-vacates-bagram-airfield-full-afghanistan-withdrawal-near/7832148002/
5. Allegations of Healthy Ministry corruption over Covid-19 vaccines led tens of thousands of protesters to take to the streets across Brazil. Demonstrations targeted THIS president in a country that has suffered over 500,000 pandemic deaths.
A. Evo Morales
B. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
C. Mauricio Funes
D. Jair Bolsonaro
Correct Response: D. Jair Bolsonaro
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-57709301
6. OPEC+ will continue talks resolve an impasse between the UAE and usual ally Saudi Arabia over crude oil output quotas. OPEC+ is a 2016 amalgamation of OPEC and ten additional oil exporters, led by THIS producing nation.
A. Libya
B. Mexico
C. Russia
D. Venezuela
Correct Response: C. Russia
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/opec-resumes-oil-policy-talks-amid-saudi-uae-standoff-2021-07-05/
7. The former President of South Africa (2009-2018) was sentenced to a 15-month jail term by a constitutional court for failing to appear at a corruption inquiry. THIS president, whose term was mired in corruption charges, is fighting the sentence saying, “South Africa is fast sliding back to apartheid rule.”
A. Jacob Zuma
B. Cyril Ramaphosa
C. Zach de Beer
D. Thabo Mbeki
Correct Response: A. Jacob Zuma
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/defiant-ex-leader-jacob-zuma-compares-safrican-judges-apartheid-state-2021-07-04/
8. A giant mudslide demolished dozens of buildings and left over 80 people unaccounted for in a resort town in THIS Asian nation.
A. Indonesia
B. India
C. Japan
D. Cambodia
Correct Response: C. Japan
https://apnews.com/article/japan-business-25e4dd5028156127471bdbfd3de551db
9. The state-run KCNA news agency in THIS country aired a report from a “concerned citizen” who said people there were “heartbroken to see the respected General Secretary looking thinner.” Meanwhile, he publicly upbraided senior leaders for failures in dealing with COVID-19, despite the fact the country has not acknowledged a single infection.
A. Myanmar
B. Venezuela
C. North Korea
D. Cuba
Correct Response: C. North Korea
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-kim-jong-un-weight-loss-covid-great-crisis/
10. Azerbaijan’s state energy company said its offshore gas platforms were safe after reports of a large fire in the area. The offshore fields are Baku’s main gas production source for exports to Europe. These fields are located in THIS sea which washes the shores of Azerbaijan.
A. Black Sea
B. Sea of Azerbaijan
C. Caspian Sea
D. Sea of Azov
Correct Response: C. Caspian Sea
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/azerbaijan-says-caspian-gas-platforms-safe-amid-reports-fire-2021-07-04/
Copyright 2021, Tennessee World Affairs Council
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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.
