“What in the World? Weekly Quiz" | November 23-29, 2020

A global affairs awareness service provided by the
Tennessee World Affairs Council

CLICK IMAGE FOR QUIZ

Thanks to quiz master Prof. Debbie Barnard, Tenn Tech U, for this week’s quiz.

LAST WEEK’S QUIZ WINNERS

Jay, Nashville, TN
Joe Vitagliano, Nashville, TN
Jim Shepherd, Nashville, TN
Derek Hughey, Nashville, TN
Angela Weck, Peoria, IL
Rich Buck, Peoria, Il
Roger French, Washingotn, IL
Charles Bowers, Nashville, TN
Ari Brock, London
David Hillinck, Huntsville, AL
Yezzie Dospil, Nashville, TN
Joseph Mendenhall, Bedford, TX
Melissa Davis, Nashville, TN

WELL DONE!

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November 2020 – Quiz Prize

A prominent authority on China’s Belt and Road Initiative reveals the global risks lurking within Beijing’s project of the century

China’s Belt and Road Initiative is the world’s most ambitious and misunderstood geoeconomic vision. To carry out President Xi Jinping’s flagship foreign-policy effort, China promises to spend over one trillion dollars for new ports, railways, fiber-optic cables, power plants, and other connections. The plan touches more than one hundred and thirty countries and has expanded into the Arctic, cyberspace, and even outer space. Beijing says that it is promoting global development, but Washington warns that it is charting a path to global dominance.

Taking readers on a journey to China’s projects in Asia, Europe, and Africa, Jonathan E. Hillman reveals how this grand vision is unfolding. As China pushes beyond its borders and deep into dangerous territory, it is repeating the mistakes of the great powers that came before it, Hillman argues. If China succeeds, it will remake the world and place itself at the center of everything. But Xi may be overreaching: all roads do not yet lead to Beijing.

Jonathan E. Hillman is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and director of the Reconnecting Asia Project, one of the most extensive open-source databases tracking China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Hillman has testified before Congress, briefed government officials and Fortune 500 executives, and written on economics, national security, and foreign policy issues for the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and other outlets. His first book is THE EMPEROR’S NEW ROAD: China and the Project of the Century (Yale University Press, 2020).

Prior to joining CSIS, Hillman served as a policy adviser at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where he contributed to the 2015 U.S. National Security Strategy and the President’s Trade Agenda and directed the research and writing process for essays, speeches, and other materials explaining U.S. trade and investment policy. He has also worked as a researcher at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Council on Foreign Relations, and in Kyrgyzstan as a Fulbright scholar. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was a presidential scholar, and Brown University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and received the Garrison Prize for best thesis in international relations.

LAST WEEK’S QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What in the World? Quiz – Week of Nov 16-22, 2020

1. Forces in the Tigray region of Ethiopia have expanded fighting beyond its conflict with the national government by launching a rocket attack on an airport in THIS neighboring country, formerly part of Ethiopia and sparking concern of wider war in the Horn of Africa.

A. Djibouti
B. South Ethiopia
C. Socotra
D. Eritrea

Correct Response: D. Eritrea
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-conflict/in-escalation-of-ethiopia-war-tigray-leader-says-his-forces-fired-rockets-at-eritrea-idUSKBN27V05M

2. The number two among Al Qaeda leaders, nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Masri, was killed in a drive-by shooting on a street in Tehran, Iran in August according to news reports last week. Suspicion fell on Israeli operatives working at the request of the United States to kill Masri who is believed to have been mastermind of THIS Al Qaeda operation.

A. 9/11
B. Killing of Daniel Pearl
C. 2000 attack on USS Cole
D. 1998 attack on US embassies in East Africa

Correct Response: D. Attack on US embassies in East Africa
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-security-qaeda/israeli-operatives-killed-al-qaedas-no-2-leader-in-iran-in-august-new-york-times-idUSKBN27U02H

3. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has been resolved through peace-making efforts of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow’s solution, which locks in gains by Azeri forces positions 2,000 Russian peacekeepers in the region, effectively checked the advance of influence in the Caucasus by THIS country.

A. Ukraine
B. Turkey
C. Greece
D. Georgia

Correct Response: B. Turkey
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-armenia-azerbaijan-putin-erdogan-anal-idUSKBN27Q2RL

4. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said he hoped there will be a “spirit of goodwill” with the EU about THIS issue.

A. Disagreements among the P5+1 powers over new American sanctions against Iran in advance of the Biden Administrations plans to restore the nuclear deal.
B. Inevitable trade disruptions when a post-Brexit transition period ends on Jan. 1, 2021
C. International sharing of COVID-19 vaccines developed in the European Union.
D. London’s rejection of EU trade sanctions on Hong Kong.

Correct Response: B. Inevitable trade disruptions when a post-Brexit transition period ends on Jan. 1, 2021
https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-boe-bailey-brexit-idUSKBN27T08Z

5. “The rapidity of the escalation of violence between Tigray and Addis Ababa is concerning in itself, given the stakes for [THIS COUNTRY’S] peace and stability. This conflict has the potential to quickly become more polarized and increase violence throughout [THIS COUNTRY’S] society, according to USIP’s Susan Stigant.

[USIP Question of the Week]

A. Eritrea
B. Ethiopia
C. Sudan
D. Somalia

Correct Response: B. Ethiopia
https://www.usip.org/publications/2020/11/what-ethiopias-brewing-conflict-means-country-and-region

6. America’s election attracted international attention beyond the competition for President of the United States. In Maryland Sarah McBride’s win of a State Senate seat was reported on due to THIS.

A. McBride is the first transgender state senator in U.S. history, and her new office makes her the highest-ranking transgender person in her country.
B. McBride beat her opponent with 99% of the vote.
C. McBride is the first elected official from the Communist Party of the United States elected in 60 years.
D. McBride is the spouse of her opponent.

Correct Response:
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3109846/first-trans-us-state-senator-sarah-mcbride-says-she

7. China forced out four Hong Kong lawmakers last week resulting in the mass resignation of 19 other members of the Legislative Council, leading observers to conclude the demise of THIS so-called status of the former British colony that was supposed to provide Hong Kong autonomy through 2047.

A. “One country, two systems.”
B. “Communism with a market face.”
C. “Belt and Road Initiative”
D. “Harmonious Liberation”

Correct Response:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/world/asia/hong-kong-protest-democracy.html

8. The United States is following up THIS normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE with sales of F-35 advanced fighters and drones as well as munitions which has raised concerns in Congress about Israel maintaining its “qualitative military edge” and the potential for technology transfer to China and Russia.

A. Abraham Accords
B. Jerusalem-Abu Dhabi Letter
C. Sykes-Picot Agreement
D. Beirut Agreement

Correct Response: A. Abraham Accords
https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/11/13/in-f-35-sale-to-uae-senate-seeks-state-depts-guarantees-for-us-technology-and-israel/

9. Brahim Ghali, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, announced last week, “the resumption of armed struggle in defense of the legitimate rights of our people,” ending a 30-year ceasefire between Morocco and THIS region.

A. French Sahara
B. Mauritania
C. Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
D. Western Sahara

Correct Response: D. Western Sahara
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/14/world/middleeast/western-sahara-morocco-polisario.html

10. Crown Prince Akishino was proclaimed next in line to the throne of THIS Asian nation following a series of ceremonies delayed because of COVID-19. Akishino is younger brother to Emperor Naruhito who became monarch last year when his father Akihito abdicated for health reasons.

A. Thailand
B. Japan
C. Myanmar
D. Laos

Correct Response: B. Japan
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-royals-idUSKBN27O02Y

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS AWARENESS AND EDUCATION OUTREACH

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.