What in the World?
Test yourself on the week of Nov. 11: Political shake-ups rock the U.S. and U.K., APEC diplomacy gets underway, and wars continue in Gaza and Ukraine.
The colors of autumn leaves are changing dramatically, and so is the news. Did you keep up with this week’s most important international headlines?
Have feedback? Email whatintheworld@foreignpolicy.com to let me know your thoughts.
The colors of autumn leaves are changing dramatically, and so is the news. Did you keep up with this week’s most important international headlines?
1. Which U.S. presidential candidate dropped out of the Republican Party’s primary race on Sunday?
Scott, already a long shot against former President Donald Trump, was considered soft on China—a position that did little to win him favor with the GOP base, Foreign Policy’s Jack Detsch reported in August.
2. In other political shake-ups, which U.K. cabinet official was removed from their position by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday?
Braverman was fired after writing an opinion piece in the London Times last week that asserted police were being too soft on pro-Palestinian protesters, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief.
3. Voters went to the polls for a presidential runoff election in which African nation on Tuesday?
The contest is a rematch of Liberia’s last election in 2017, in which former Vice President Joseph Boakai lost to incumbent President George Weah, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi writes in Africa Brief. As of the publication of this quiz, votes are still being counted.
4. On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met face-to-face for the first time in how many years?
The two leaders promised to restore military-to-military talks, among other initiatives, FP’s Robbie Gramer reports.
5. Israeli forces on Wednesday stormed which major structure in Gaza in pursuit of Hamas militants?
The Israeli military has claimed that Hamas is using the hospital as an operational command center. Whatever weapons or evidence of Hamas’s presence Israel might find in the hospital, it hardly justifies the human toll that the Israel Defense Forces have exacted in pursuit of erasing the militant group, FP’s Howard W. French writes.
6. Which Latin American leader had their first-ever bilateral meeting with Xi on Thursday at the APEC summit?
High up on the agenda was discussing the fentanyl trade, which has strained both Beijing’s and Mexico City’s relations with Washington in recent years, FP’s Catherine Osborn writes in Latin America Brief.
7. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set off to meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Friday to discuss their differences over what issue?
Jason Pack recently argued that Turkey could be a possible mediator in the conflict. But recent incendiary comments about Israel have opened a rift between Ankara and its Western allies that Scholz hopes to ameliorate.
8. As of Friday, Ukrainian forces had established multiple strategic positions in which war-torn region of their country?
Michael McFaul argues that reducing or withdrawing support for Ukraine at this critical moment—when its military is finally making advances against Russian forces—would be a huge mistake.
9. Which comedian caused a delay in New Zealand’s annual Bird of the Year vote due to their foreign interference?
This year, the contest—held annually to raise awareness about the struggles of New Zealand’s native birds—was renamed to Bird of the Century. Despite the delay, the puking puteketeke ended up winning the contest by a landslide, Smithsonian Magazine reports.
10. A Nigerian wigmaker this week set the new world record for longest handmade wig. Approximately how long was the hair piece?
Helen Williams used 1,000 bundles of hair, 12 cans of hair spray, 35 tubes of hair glue, and 6,250 hair clips to bring her vision to life, Africa News reports.
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Drew Gorman is a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy.
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