Although a proposed Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal dominated headlines this week, it wasn’t the only global news. Test yourself on (almost) everything else with our international news quiz.
1. Which country announced on Saturday that it had captured two North Korean soldiers?
The entry of North Korean troops into the Russia-Ukraine war has worried Western leaders, but it suggests that Russia is getting weaker, Kori Schake wrote last November.
2. On Monday, Lebanon’s new president named the leader of which international organization to become the country’s next prime minister?
ICJ President Nawaf Salam wasn’t Hezbollah’s first choice for the role, so the choice may indicate the group’s waning influence in Beirut, FP’s Alexandra Sharp writes in World Brief.
3. U.S. defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth drew criticism during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday when he failed to name a single member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Which of the following nations is not a member of the group?
Hegseth is one of President-elect Donald Trump’s more controversial cabinet picks, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t be confirmed. The Senate has only rejected nine cabinet nominees in U.S. history, Julian E. Zelizer wrote last month.
4. The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it was removing which nation from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism?
The path toward U.S.-Cuba normalization has severely lagged since President Barack Obama announced the initiative 10 years ago, William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh wrote last month.
5. On Wednesday, negotiators announced that Israel and Hamas had nearly reached a cease-fire and hostage release deal. How many phases does the plan entail?
The agreement isn’t across the finish line just yet. If finalized, it would free 33 hostages and surge humanitarian aid into Gaza, FP’s John Haltiwanger and Amy Mackinnon report.
6. After several unsuccessful attempts, South Korean authorities finally detained President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday. Roughly how many police officers were mobilized for the operation?
Yoon will face questioning over his decision to impose martial law, which has sent South Korea into a period of constitutional chaos, Michelle Kim wrote last month.
7. Also on Wednesday, why did hundreds of protesters gather in Mozambique’s capital, Maputo?
Opposition figures allege that Chapo won through vote-rigging and fraud, Tendai Marima wrote last October.
8. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Ukraine on Thursday to sign an agreement vowing deeper bilateral cooperation between the two countries. How many years is the deal set to last?
The United Kingdom’s Labour Party government was quick to signal its intent to boost Ukraine ties when it came to power last year. Defense Secretary John Healey made a trip to Ukraine within 48 hours of being appointed, FP’s Elisabeth Braw wrote last July.
9. What type of workers did Mexico and Canada send to California this week?
Climate change-driven heat and other human activities have fueled record wildfires in recent years, FP’s Christina Lu and Robbie Gramer wrote in 2021.
10. Whose grave did climate activists deface in London’s Westminster Abbey on Monday?
In response to news that temperatures in 2024 had hit 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the two activists argued that the 19th-century scientist would be “as upset as us with the government for ignoring the science,” Smithsonian magazine reports.
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