The days are getting shorter in the Northern Hemisphere. The list of important news headlines is not. Have you been following them all?
1. Which country became the latest to recall its ambassador from Israel on Monday?
So far, at least eight countries have withdrawn their top diplomats from Israel since the war began. Chile and Colombia pulled their ambassadors out last week, FP’s Catherine Osborn wrote in Latin America Brief at the time; Bolivia went a step further, completely severing diplomatic ties with Israel.
2. Giant pandas departed from which U.S. zoo for China on Wednesday?
Giant pandas have been a fixture at the national zoo in Washington, D.C., for more than five decades. Their recall now comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, FP’s Rishi Iyengar reported in August.
3. About 3,000 migrants blocked traffic on a major Mexican highway on Wednesday to demand what?
Some U.S. politicians have advocated invading Mexico to stamp out drug cartels and slow immigration. Antonio De Loera-Brust recently debunked what he called a “crazy idea.”
4. The European Commission on Wednesday recommended that member states consider granting candidate status to which country?
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also urged the EU to open formal membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief.
5. As of Wednesday, at least how many people had died in intense flooding in Somalia?
The flooding was in part a result of an unusually strong El Niño, which Cullen Hendrix predicted in FP in August.
6. The defense minister of which European nation on Thursday pledged to make their country the “backbone” of defense on the continent?
The pledge comes more than a year after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s speech promising to make Germany a military leader in Europe. Scholz has so far failed to keep that promise, John Kampfner wrote in August.
7. The United States held wide-ranging talks to expand its global strategic partnership with which country on Thursday and Friday?
At the top of the agenda during the annual 2+2 ministerial meeting was how to counter China in the Indo-Pacific, in addition to topics such as clean energy and collaboration on higher education, Michael Kugelman writes in South Asia Brief.
8. The Gaza Health Ministry said on Friday that the enclave’s death toll had surpassed which number, four weeks into the war between Israel and Hamas?
The announcement comes as Israel intensifies its ground war in Gaza, which Israeli military officials expect to last for many months, Joe Buccino writes in Foreign Policy.
9. The Kenyan government this week announced a surprise public holiday on Nov. 13. What is the purpose of the new holiday?
The Kenyan government has set aside more than $80 million this fiscal year to expand the country’s forest coverage from 7 percent to 10 percent, The Associated Press reports.
10. Fights erupted on Wednesday outside of which Los Angeles museum during a screening of footage depicting Hamas’s attack on Israel?
Actress Gal Gadot was said to be involved in organizing the viewing. Supporters of the Palestinian cause accused her of supporting genocide, while Israel’s advocates came to her defense, KABC reports.
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