What in the World? Weekly Quiz - November 25-December 1, 2019 | Take the Quiz

In district council elections in Hong Kong, widely seen as a test of support for the territory’s embattled Chief Executive Carrie Lam, THIS group of candidates and their supporters made strong gains, taking almost 200 of the first 236 seats declared.

Incumbent pro-Beijing councilors

Candidates from the “Hong Kong Establishment.”

The opposition pro-democracy movement

Cantonese nationalist organizers

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced THIS major reversal of longstanding U.S. policy, the latest of several recent pro-Israeli moves that many speculate will inflame tensions between the Trump administration and Palestinians and widen the divide between the United States and its traditional European allies.

Withdrawing all military assistance to Egypt due to allegations of corruption in the President al-Sisi regime

Returning a U.S. carrier fleet to the Israeli port of Eilat in order to deter piracy in the Red Sea

Rejecting a 1978 State Department legal opinion that called West Bank settlements “inconsistent with international law”

Instituting new regulations barring federal employees from participating in BDS (Boycott-Divest-Sanction) movements against Israeli companies and interests

Renegade Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar has declared a “no-fly zone” over THIS capital city, a spokesperson of the Libyan National Army (LNA) proclaimed last weekend. The LNA has been fighting for months to take the city from the Government of National Accord (GNA) and its allied forces.

Tripoli

Cairo

Benghazi

Tunis

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised a new vote on his Brexit deal by Christmas, as well as a raft of funding pledges, if THIS happens, in a statement made while officially launching the Conservative Party’s manifesto on Sunday. Currently, the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union (referred to as Brexit) by a deadline of January 31, 2020.

EU leadership agrees to a hard land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

The Conservative Party wins the general election on December 12

The U.S. agrees to an interim trade deal to help the UK economy stay stable during Brexit

The Labour Party votes out Jeremy Corbyn and replaces him with someone “[Johnson] can work with”

Pope Francis made an impassioned appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons during a visit to THIS Japanese city, one of two targeted by atomic bombs during WWII. The second papal visit to Japan, the Pope’s four-day visit included attending a meeting at the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima, the site of the other atomic attack.

Fukushima

Kyoto

Tokyo

Nagasaki

U.S. National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien warned that President Trump would not do THIS with regards to China’s activity in Hong Kong, the South China Sea, and other areas of concern, while reiterating that the Trump administration would like to see phase one of a trade deal with China finalized by the end of the year.

“Intervene unless there’s a grave violation of human rights”

“Turn a blind eye to what’s happening”

“Burn bridges, with China or with other ASEAN nations”

“Allow [President] Xi [Jinping] to set the agenda”

The Taliban took THIS action last week, a gesture that some predict could pave the way for renewed peace talks among the United States, the Taliban, and the Afghan government. Making the decision in consultation with international partners, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani attributed it to the desire to “facilitate direct peace negotiations” as talks among the actors have broken down in recent weeks.

Released two Western professors and later ten Afghan soldiers in a prisoner exchange

Sent a representative to participate in a new Track II dialogue with NATO forces and humanitarian organizations operating in the region

Agreed to a ceasefire in the volatile Wakhan Corridor

Invited U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad to participate in the organization’s annual summit

A report out by the World Trade Organization (WTO) slammed barriers placed on G20 economies in the last six months, citing THIS as having a clear impact on economic growth, job creation and purchasing power around the world. The WTO also called for leadership from the world’s 20 leading economies to avoid increased uncertainty, weaker trade growth, and lower investment.

Increasing political violence within and between G20 states

A lack of dialogue among economically secure nations

A failure to provide adequate levels of economic assistance in the global South

Historically high levels of trade-restrictive measures

As in many of its neighboring countries, THIS Latin American nation has seen escalating unrest with anti-government demonstrations bringing a quarter-million people out to march in national strikes. In addition to angst around possible changes to minimum wage, pension and tax reforms, and the privatization of state companies, protestors are also angry about what some see as the government failure to honor a 2016 peace deal with the nation’s FARC rebels amidst escalating violence.

Brazil

Colombia

Argentina

Suriname

In a surprise visit to Iraq to greet U.S. troops ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Vice President Mike Pence took a side-trip to the northern Iraqi city of Irbil to reiterate THIS to a key group of American allies. This follows widespread criticism for President Trump’s abrupt announcement to pull U.S. forces out of northern Syria.

The “strong bonds forged in the fires of war between the people of the US and the Kurdish people across the region.”

The “importance of working with Muslim allies from across religious and cultural divides”

The “need for wider recognition of the strong ties between US forces and their Ba’athist allies”

The “American commitment to alleviating the plight of Hazara people across the Middle East”

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What in the World? Weekly Quiz - November 25-December 1, 2019