Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.
1. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued some health bulletins warning about the spread of which virus?
Spoiler
Monkeypox, which is a viral disease that comes from Western Africa and Central Africa. It was first identified in 1958. The WHO has identified more than ninety cases in more than a dozen countries. Early evidence suggests that the outbreak may have been spread by sexual activity at two European rave events.
2. This week President Biden suggested that the United States would use military force to defend what country?
Spoiler
Taiwan. In answering a reporter’s question in Tokyo, President Biden said that the U.S. would defend Taiwan from an attack on China, departing from America’s official policy of “strategic ambiguity” on the issue that has been in place since the late 1970s. Biden’s administration has tried to backtrack the remarks.
3. Who is the new Australian prime minister?
Spoiler
Anthony Albanese, the leader of Australia’s Labor Party. It was just the fourth time since World War II that the Labor Party dispatched the Liberal Party from leadership. The election was seen a repudiation of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s combative leadership style. Albanese has promised to do more on climate change, increase renewable energy in the country, and develop a less confrontational policy toward China.
4. What is the Davos World Economic Forum?
Spoiler
Davos is a gathering of global financial elites, leaders of non-governmental organizations, and academics that discuss the world’s problems. It has met since January 1971. Recent topics of discussion included fears about a global recession and the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
5. Which condition is affecting children around the world and is baffling medical experts?
Spoiler
A liver disease. More than 170 children have been affected around the world, with most cases happening in Britain. Eleven countries have reported cases as of the end of April, with one child dying and seventeen needing liver transplants. Medical experts are baffled as to what is happening, but some are speculating that COVID isolation policies might be a contributing factor.
6. What is the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework?
Spoiler
It is an effort by the Biden administration to create greater economic ties with a dozen countries such as Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The deal encompasses countries that represent 40% of the world’s GDP and is seen as a way to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific. However, it falls short of a free trade deal that is desired by other Pacific powers like Japan.
7. The number of forcibly displaced persons in the world recently reached what number?
Spoiler
100 million. The United Nations recently reported the number, the highest ever. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said that the number was due to growing numbers of conflict and persecution in places like Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Ukraine.
8. In the past week, Russia cut off gas exports to what country?
Spoiler
Finland. Russia did so after Finland submitted its application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with Sweden. Finland has also refused Russia’s demand to pay for the gas in roubles. Less than 10% of Finland’s gas imports come from Russia.
9. Which state will have to delay the tallying of its primary results in one county because of blurred barcodes on ballots?
Spoiler
Oregon. The blurry barcodes, the result of a printing error, have delayed the counting of ballots in Pennsylvania County. This affects seven-term Democratic incumbent Representative Kurt Schrader, who is in a bruising primary battle. All ballots in Oregon are done by mail, a system that started twenty-three years ago.
10. Which leftist candidate is considered the frontrunner in the Colombian presidential election?
Spoiler
Gustavo Petro, a current member of the Colombian Senate. He was also the Mayor of Bogota from January 2012-March 2014 and April 2014-December 2015 and as a teenager he was a member of the M-19 revolutionary organization. Opponents have tried to cast him as a Colombian Hugo Chavez, but Petro argues that if he wins the presidency he will pursue the incremental social reforms that Colombia needs.