What in the World?
Test yourself on the week of Feb. 4: Iran pardons some prisoners, Turkey and Syria confront a devastating earthquake, and Hong Kong holds a big trial.
Think you remember this week’s headlines? Take our international news quiz to find out!
Have feedback? Email whatintheworld@foreignpolicy.com to let me know your thoughts.
Think you remember this week’s headlines? Take our international news quiz to find out!
1. Over the weekend, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pardoned tens of thousands of Iranian prisoners, though inmates from some groups were excluded.
Which of the following groups of prisoners was denied a pardon?
Though Iran also has a president, the ayatollah still calls the shots, Alex Vatanka argued in August 2022.
2. The Middle East’s worst earthquake in almost a century hit Turkey and Syria on Monday morning. What was its magnitude on the Richter scale?
Even before the disaster, 90 percent of Syria’s population was dependent on humanitarian support. But getting aid into the country is a gargantuan effort, Charles Lister writes.
3. Hong Kong’s largest-ever national security trial began on Monday. How many democracy activists stand accused of “conspiracy to commit subversion” against the government?
Since the passage of the 2020 national security law, protesting in the former British colony has arguably become more dangerous than in the mainland Chinese cities of Beijing or Shanghai, Simon Elegant wrote in December 2022.
4. India is preparing to launch a major aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean to combat China’s growing naval power. What is the vessel’s name?
India needs more aircraft carriers to deter China from challenging its maritime territory, Harsh V. Pant and Yogesh Joshi wrote in September 2022.
5. Meanwhile, on India’s mainland, protesters are calling for the Modi administration to investigate which multinational conglomerate after a U.S. investigative research firm accused it of accounting fraud?
The controversy has spotlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close ties to the Adani Group’s founder, FP’s Ones and Tooze podcast analyzes.
6. Two mayoral candidates were killed in which country over the last several weeks, ahead of Feb. 5 local elections?
Ecuador is experiencing growing gang violence. In the past, some Latin American nations have negotiated with gangs in an effort to achieve peace, FP’s Catherine Osborn highlighted in Latin America Brief in April 2022.
7. Human rights activists condemned which country on Wednesday for closing its local United Nations human rights office?
Uganda’s host-country agreement with the U.N.’s human rights body ends in August. The country has a history of using torture, kidnappings, and killings to suppress dissent, Liam Taylor wrote in August 2022.
8. Beijing accused Washington of “information warfare” on Thursday over which incident?
The United States’ delayed response to China’s spy balloon may convince Americans to rank Chinese aggression as their top foreign-policy priority, Richard Fontaine writes.
9. On Wednesday, New Zealand Police found more than $300 million worth of what item floating at sea, held together by netting?
The drugs were believed to be bound for Australia, and the bust was one of the biggest illegal drug seizures in New Zealand’s history, Reuters reported.
10. Last week, a Spanish court ruled in favor of annulling a fine that had been issued to a man for what infraction?
Public nudity has been legal in Spain since 1988, Reuters reported. The 29-year-old who was issued the fine also attempted to attend a court hearing naked.
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Alexandra Sharp is the World Brief writer at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @AlexandraSSharp
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