What in the World?

Test yourself on the week of Jan. 28: Czechs vote on a new president, Bolsonaro extends his Florida exile, and a Chinese balloon causes chaos.

By , a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro poses for photos in Florida.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro poses for photos in Florida.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro poses for photos with his supporters outside the home he is staying in at Encore Resort in Kissimmee, Florida, on Jan. 22. Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Have you been paying attention to the world this week? See what you can remember with our weekly international news quiz!

Have feedback? Email whatintheworld@foreignpolicy.com to let me know your thoughts.

Have you been paying attention to the world this week? See what you can remember with our weekly international news quiz!


1. Who won the Czech Republic’s presidential runoff election on Saturday with more than 58 percent of the vote?

Pavel, a former NATO general, promised to support Central and Eastern Europe in combating Russian aggression, Petr Tůma writes.


2. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced another wave of embarrassments this week. Which is not one of the scandals Sunak has dealt with in the last 12 months?

In addition to Sunak’s scandals, Britain faces a devastating economic crisis—and recession is on the horizon, Liz Cookman reports from Penrith, England.


3. Rights activists this week protested a new bill in Venezuela that would require what?

Despite Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s growing stranglehold on his country’s opposition and civil society, Western leaders are focusing less on regime change and more on dialogue, FP’s Catherine Osborn reported in Latin America Brief in December 2022.


4. A lawyer for Jair Bolsonaro confirmed on Monday that the former Brazilian president has applied for what kind of U.S. visa?

Bolsonaro has been holed up in Florida since late last year. He is facing scrutiny at home in Brazil, where the new government is investigating the Jan. 8 insurrection on Brasília, Oliver Stuenkel writes.


5. A Transparency International report published Tuesday found that 95 percent of countries have made little to no progress in tackling corruption since 2017. Which nation ranked as the world’s most corrupt?

Somalia also faces destabilizing extremist violence. This week, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti issued a joint plan with Somalia to destroy the terrorist group al-Shabab once and for all, FP’s Jack Detsch and Robbie Gramer highlight in Situation Report.


6. Also on Tuesday, which nation became the first in the Western Hemisphere to respond to the Haitian government’s October 2022 request for foreign military intervention to quell unrest in the country?

Haiti has a long, fraught history with foreign intrusion. A military intervention today is unlikely to bring security to the country, John D. Ciorciari argued in October 2022.


7. Which country on Wednesday marked the two-year anniversary of a military coup with a silent protest?

As military crackdowns on civilian political dissenters continue, local resistance groups are advocating for decentralized governance in Myanmar, Emily Fishbein writes.


8. U.S. defense officials on Thursday said a Chinese spy balloon was spotted over which U.S. state, home to several military installations?

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his trip to Beijing in response to China’s spycraft, FP’s James Palmer explains.


9. A British charity was locked out of its Twitter account for eight days this past week after tweeting a survey about what?

Twitter has not explained why the account was suspended, but the charity suspects algorithms may have confused the bird’s name with an obscenity.

“Most ironic thing I’ve read in a while,” Twitter CEO Elon Musk posted on Tuesday in response to a BBC report about the ban. “How much wood could a woodcock …”


10. This week, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. uncovered what internet lie about the country?

Of the restaurant’s 85 reviews, all rewarding five stars, the top one says it all: “Can’t believe this place really exist.” Yep, neither can we.

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Alexandra Sharp is a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @AlexandraSSharp

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