Happy Halloween, Diwali, Día de Muertos, and more! Do you remember which stories haunted the week’s headlines? Enlighten yourself with our international news quiz.
1. Which long-ruling Japanese political party lost its parliamentary majority in general elections over the weekend?
The loss is particularly bitter for new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who finally became the party’s leader in September after his fifth try at the job, William Sposato writes.
2. Which European leader arrived in China on Monday to meet with President Xi Jinping?
During the meeting, Stubb raised the issue of Russian aggression. China’s relationship with Russia is on a stronger footing than ever, Jo Inge Bekkevold writes.
3. Torrential rain and flooding decimated Spain’s Valencia region on Tuesday. In the town of Chiva, roughly how much rain fell in just eight hours?
That’s equivalent to a typical year’s worth of rainfall for the area. Between scorchingly hot temperatures and extreme precipitation, infrastructure around the world is buckling under the effects of climate change, FP’s Christina Lu wrote last year.
4. On Tuesday, Somalia announced the expulsion of a diplomat from which country?
The move is the latest development in a spat between the two countries over Ethiopia’s recognition of the self-proclaimed state of Somaliland, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi writes in Africa Brief.
5. Botswanans voted out the long-ruling Botswana Democratic Party in an election on Wednesday. One of their top concerns was a downturn in the price of which top export?
The party had been in power for 58 years—ever since the country gained independence from the United Kingdom, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief.
6. Which Argentine minister did President Javier Milei fire on Wednesday?
The move came after Argentina voted at the United Nations to condemn the U.S. embargo on Cuba, a move taken by every country except the United States and Israel. Cuba is currently facing a humanitarian crisis aggravated by hurricanes and frequent electrical grid blackouts, William M. LeoGrande writes.
7. Roughly how much money did a Russian court fine Google on Thursday for restricting Russian state media companies on YouTube?
That’s a 2 followed by 34 zeros. The fine is worth significantly more than the entire world’s GDP, which is a measly $110 trillion, FP’s Amy Mackinnon reports.
8. On Thursday, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile test that broke the country’s record for flight time. How long was the missile in the air?
Western analysts fear that Russia has been aiding North Korea with the development of its intercontinental ballistic missile program, Doug Bandow wrote in June.
9. A United Nations summit held in Cali, Colombia, wrapped up on Friday. It was attended by parties to which international convention?
Although Colombian President Gustavo Petro was able to showcase some regional environmental victories, the summit’s overall fundraising efforts were underwhelming, FP’s Catherine Osborn writes in Latin America Brief.
10. A long lost story by a famous horror fiction writer was shared publicly this week for the first time after being rediscovered last year. Which author was republished from beyond the grave?
Stoker is best known for his 1897 novel Dracula. “Gibbet Hill,” on the other hand, was published in 1890 but left out of Stoker bibliographies until now, according to RTE News. Let’s hope that it’s the only one of Stoker’s creations that rose from the dead this week.
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