Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Which Portuguese officeholder recently resigned and why?
Spoiler
Prime Minister Antonio Costa. He resigned Tuesday following a police search of his official residence and government buildings, which observers believe is tied to a corruption inquiry about green energy projects. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa can now choose to dissolve parliament and call new elections or choose a new prime miniser from Costa’s Socialist Party. Costa has been prime minister since November 2015.
2. What is the new U.S. unemployment rate?
Spoiler
3.9%. The number is at close to a two-year high and some economists see it as a sign that employers are becoming hesitant about hiring. However, the U.S. economy added a reported 150,000 jobs in October, although this was below the 170,000 jobs that economists expected the economy to add.
3. Which office-sharing company filed for bankruptcy this week?
Spoiler
WeWork. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey federal court on Monday. The company’s reported liabilities ranged from $10 billion to $50 billion. The collapse was quick as WeWork was valued at $47 billion in 2019 before a failed attempt at going public and COVID-19’s impact on commercial real estate.
4. A concept paper produced by the Israeli government greatly alarmed Egypt last week. What did this wartime concept paper call for doing with Palestinians in Gaza?
Spoiler
Relocating Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians to the Sinai Peninsula, which Egypt has owned since the Camp David Accords of 1979. Once the concept paper was made public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu downplayed it as a hypothetical exercise. However, Egyptian officials were angry that Israel was considering making the issue of Palestinians in Gaza their problem, especially when there is an Egyptian presidential election next month. The paper also revived fears that Israel could do another 1948-like expulsion of Palestinians from their present homes, thereby making the regional Palestinian refugee problem worse.
5. Former President Donald Trump has argued that if he is elected in 2024 he wants to impose a tariff policy. How high does he want tariffs to be?
Spoiler
10%. The former president is pushing for a 10% tariff on all imported goods to protect American domestic manufacturers and eliminate the nation’s trade deficit. Critics argue that it would make the prices of goods more expensive for Americans and also harm the global economy by encouraging retaliatory tariffs from other nations.
6. Which Middle Eastern nation recalled its envoy to Israel last week?
Spoiler
Turkey. They did so before U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was to visit. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan said that he was making the decision because of the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza created by Israel’s invasion of the territory. Erdogan has even floated the idea of militarily intervening in the conflict, which would have the risk of fracturing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
7. Which Republican presidential candidate was endorsed by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds this week?
Spoiler
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The endorsement is seen as a big win for DeSantis, whose presidential campaign has become stuck in neutral over the last several months. DeSantis is hoping to win Iowa or have a strong enough showing to push out other rivals, setting up a one-on-one battle with frontrunner Donald Trump in other primary states.
8. Why did FBI agents raid the home of the top fundraiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams last week?
Spoiler
Federal agents are investigating whether Turkish money was illegally funneled into Adams’ mayoral campaign a few years ago via a construction group. The raid took place at the home of Brianna Suggs, a consultant who has earned more than $100,000 from Adams’ campaign since 2021.
9. Which treaty did Russia pull out of last week?
Spoiler
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 1996 but has never gone into force. The United States signed but never ratified. China and India are also outside of the accord. The fears are that Russia’s withdrawal from the treaty signal that it will soon resume nuclear testing, potentially setting off an arms race with Western governments.
10. Last week representatives from 27 countries signed a pact to tackle the risks of what?
Spoiler
Artificial intelligence. Signatories to the agreement were the United States, China, and the European Union, as well as others. The agreement, calld the Bletchley Declaration on AI Safety, pledges to try to identify safety risks associated with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and build “risk-based policies across countries.”