Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. Who was elected as the new Speaker of the House last week?
Spoiler
Louisiana Representative Mike Johnson. Johnson is serving his fourth term in the House. He is known as a social conservative who is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, going as far as trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election on Trump’s behalf. Johnson’s candidacy received unanimous support from the GOP caucus after failed voting days earlier on behalf of other candidates. And crucially, he also received an endorsement from Trump.
2. Last week the European Court of Human Rights found Russia responsible for significant rights violations in its invasion of what country in 2008?
Spoiler
Georgia. That war took place over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia and it lasted from August 7-12. The conflict is often regarded as the first cyber war that took place with military action. The Court ruled that Russia tortured Georgian prisoners of war, arbitrarily detained Georgians, and prevented Georgians from returning to their homes in South Ossetia when the conflict ended.
3. Which GOP presidential candidate withdrew from the race last week?
Spoiler
Former Vice President Mike Pence. Pence withdrew from the race while speaking at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pence attempted to lean on his longtime support from social conservatives to catapult him to the nomination but polls showed that his support never cracked 10%. His campaign was also failing to raise enough funding to mount a competitive bid over the long term.
4. Political protesters in Bangladesh clashed with security forces last week. What are their demands?
Spoiler
Political protesters were demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and power to be vested in a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee next year’s general elections. Bangladesh National Party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgi was detained by police during protests, leading opposition figures to call for a nationwide strike starting Tuesday. Opposition parties argue that Hasina is suppressing her opposition and is guiding the country toward an unfiar election.
5. Which Democratic lawmaker announced that they would challenge President Biden for the party’s presidential nomination last week?
Spoiler
Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota. Known as a centrist, Phillips argues that he is running to encourage other Democrats to primary Biden, who he notes is unpopular in recent polls. Most Democratic lawmakers have criticized his bid, arguing that it lacks a clear message and could weaken Biden before next year’s election.
6. Which U.S. state had a deadly mass shooting incident last week, which has renewed calls for more aggressive federal action against gun violence?
Spoiler
Maine. The shooter in the incident killed 18 people and wounded 13 when they opened fire at a Lewiston bowling alley and bar. It triggered a two-day search that ended when the gunman was found dead from self-inflicted wounds. Investigations have revealed that there worries expressed about the shooter’s mental health before the incident but sufficient action to prevent the shooting did not take place in time.
7. What were some of the terms that the United Auto Workers (UAW) won from auto makers General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis?
Spoiler
An immedate 11% pay raise and 14% pay increases over the next four-and-a-half years of the union’s contract with each automaker. Workers will also receive cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) meant to guard against inflation. Economist estimate that the agreements should boost worker pay by as much as 30%. The UAW started its strike against the three automakers on September 15 and the seven-week action was the longest in 25 years.
8. Which African nations is the U.S. seeking to remove from its African trade programme and why?
Spoiler
Uganda, Gabon, Niger, and the Central African Republic (CAR). President Biden announced on Tuesday that the U.S. would remove them from a U.S.-African trade program established via the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in 2000 because of human rights violations and/or insufficient progress toward democratic rule. The trade program allows various African nations to get duty-free access to U.S. markets for more than 1,800 goods.
9. Which nation is likely to host the 2034 World Cup?
Spoiler
Saudi Arabia. FIFA confirmed that Saudi Arabia was the only football association to present a bid to host the 2034 edition of the global soccer competition after Australia withdrew its bid. Per FIFA rules, only members in Asia and Oceania were eligible to put in a bid and observers thought the rules favored Saudi Arabia because members who thought of bidding only had a four week window to do so. Human Rights Watch was critical of the possibility of the Saudis hosting, arguing that inadequate labor standards exist for migrant workers in the kingdom.
10. U.S. military bases in which countries have been attacked by Iranian proxies since hostilities began with Israel and Hamas?
Spoiler
Iraq and Syria. The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that U.S. troops in both countries have been attacked at least 23 times by Iranian-backed militias in each place. 14 drone and rocket attacks have taken place in Iraq while nine have happened in Syria. U.S. forces are in each country to prevent the re-emergence of the Islamic State terrorist group. In response to some of the attacks, President Biden ordered two airstrikes on Eastern Syria on Thursday that targeted a weapons depot and ammunition dump linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.