Quiz

This week in FP’s international news quiz: extreme weather, Afghanistan’s future, and a new northern discovery.

A home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana A home in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana

A search-and-rescue team checks homes destroyed in the wake of Hurricane Ida in Grand Isle, Louisiana, on Sept. 2. Win McNamee/Getty Images

September 3, 2021, 4:43 PM

Are you a world news nerd? Try your hand at our weekly quiz!

1. Extreme weather hit the eastern United States this week, with Hurricane Ida devastating communities from the Gulf Coast to New England. Ida is now tied as the most powerful storm to ever hit Louisiana, alongside the Last Island Hurricane of 1856 and Hurricane Laura of which year?

2. The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan this week, but it isn’t done conducting airstrikes there. What term does the U.S. military use to refer to strikes originating from undisclosed locations in the Persian Gulf?

3. Now that they are largely in control, who are the Taliban expected to name as the new supreme leader of Afghanistan?

4. To obstruct anti-government protests on Monday, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir sent security forces to arrest demonstrators—and employed what 21st-century tactic?

5. U.S. President Joe Biden met this week with the world leader who in 2020 was caught up in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Think back—who was Trump accused of trying to pressure to investigate Biden and his family?

6. Talks resumed this week between Venezuela’s Maduro government and the country’s opposition. What is the alliance of opposition parties called?

Response text: For more on the Venezuelan opposition’s new engagement, check out this week’s Latin America Brief.

7. According to a new report, air pollution in India could reduce 480 million people’s life expectancy by how long?

8. A restrictive new abortion law took effect this week in which U.S. state?

9. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Friday he will step down later this month after just over a year in office. Of his 10 most recent prime ministerial predecessors, how many made it to the two-year mark?

10. Researchers recently announced they discovered a new islet, thought to be the northernmost island in the world. Which country has laid claim to this far-north outpost?

The tiny spit of land, dubbed Qeqertaq Avannarleq (Greenlandic for “the northernmost island”), “could disappear as soon as a powerful new storm hits,” according to the lead researcher on the team that discovered it.

You scored

It’s a big world out there! Brush up on global goings-on by subscribing to Morning Brief, Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter.

You scored

Perfection! You’re a pro who needs the in-depth insights offered in Situation Report, our newsletter on national security and defense.

Have feedback? Email whatintheworld@foreignpolicy.com to let me know your thoughts.

Are you a world news nerd? Try your hand at our weekly quiz!

1. Extreme weather hit the eastern United States this week, with Hurricane Ida devastating communities from the Gulf Coast to New England. Ida is now tied as the most powerful storm to ever hit Louisiana, alongside the Last Island Hurricane of 1856 and Hurricane Laura of which year?

2. The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan this week, but it isn’t done conducting airstrikes there. What term does the U.S. military use to refer to strikes originating from undisclosed locations in the Persian Gulf?

3. Now that they are largely in control, who are the Taliban expected to name as the new supreme leader of Afghanistan?

4. To obstruct anti-government protests on Monday, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir sent security forces to arrest demonstrators—and employed what 21st-century tactic?

5. U.S. President Joe Biden met this week with the world leader who in 2020 was caught up in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Think back—who was Trump accused of trying to pressure to investigate Biden and his family?

6. Talks resumed this week between Venezuela’s Maduro government and the country’s opposition. What is the alliance of opposition parties called?

Response text: For more on the Venezuelan opposition’s new engagement, check out this week’s Latin America Brief.

7. According to a new report, air pollution in India could reduce 480 million people’s life expectancy by how long?

8. A restrictive new abortion law took effect this week in which U.S. state?

9. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced on Friday he will step down later this month after just over a year in office. Of his 10 most recent prime ministerial predecessors, how many made it to the two-year mark?

10. Researchers recently announced they discovered a new islet, thought to be the northernmost island in the world. Which country has laid claim to this far-north outpost?

The tiny spit of land, dubbed Qeqertaq Avannarleq (Greenlandic for “the northernmost island”), “could disappear as soon as a powerful new storm hits,” according to the lead researcher on the team that discovered it.

You scored

It’s a big world out there! Brush up on global goings-on by subscribing to Morning Brief, Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter.

You scored

Perfection! You’re a pro who needs the in-depth insights offered in Situation Report, our newsletter on national security and defense.

Have feedback? Email whatintheworld@foreignpolicy.com to let me know your thoughts.

Nina Goldman is a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @goldmannk

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