Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

1. Who is the Taliban’s chief political officer?

Spoiler
Mullah Baradar (full name Mullah Abdul Ghnai Baradar Akhund). Baradar was the Taliban’s lead figure in peace negotiations prior to the recent collapse of the Afghan government. He was arrested by Pakistani intelligence and the CIA in 2010, but was released at the request of the U.S. in 2018 because the U.S. thought he could broker a peace deal. Some believe that he will become the new president of Afghanistan.

2. Why did Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently call for an early election?

Spoiler
Trudeau called for early elections – also called a snap election – in order to secure a majority for his Liberal Party in the Canadian Parliament. The Liberals are governing Canada as a minority party, controlling 155 seats. They need to win 170 for a majority. Trudeau is hoping to get the majority to push through more aggressive COVID relief and climate change policies.

3. Which nation recently entered a lockdown due to one COVID case?

Spoiler
New Zealand. The nation has adopted a policy of eradicating COVID and had not had a resident test positive for six months. Only 20% of New Zealand has been vaccinated so far, so the recent lockdown has shut schools and all essential services for the time being.

4. The recent U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan has been compared to which historical event?

Spoiler
The fall of Saigon. In 1975, the United States hastily evacuated its embassy personnel and collaborators from South Vietnam as it fell to communist forces from North Vietnam. The event officially ended the Vietnam War (referred to in Vietnam as “the American War”) and is seen by historians as an indictment of the nation’s foreign policy from that era.

5. This American river experienced its first water shortage, prompting supply cuts.

Spoiler
The Colorado River. Lake Mead, the river’s main reservoir (and the largest in the United States), has been drained at an alarming rate in recent years. It is estimated that 40 million people in the Western United States and Mexico rely on the river for water. Due to the shortage, supply cuts have been ordered in several states.

6. Why does a recent lawsuit allege that California’s recall election next month is unconstitutional?

Spoiler
The argument, put forth by Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky, is that California’s recall election violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause because it is punitive to supporters of Governor Gavin Newsom. A lawsuit alleges that Newsom could be recalled and yet win more votes than his replacement. When California voters head to the polls next month – or vote by mail – they will be tasked with responding to two prompts. One is a yes or no vote on whether Newsom should be recalled and the other is a vote for who should replace him. California Democrats deviated from their strategy in the 2003 recall of then-Governor Gray Davis by not unifying around a replacement candidate, so there are fears that Newsom will lose the recall and a Republican will govern California until 2022.

7. By what percentage did President Biden increase food stamp benefits last week?

Spoiler
25%. The food stamp program, which has the official title of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), will give out an extra $36.24 per person starting on October 1. The program helps to feed more than forty-two million Americans.

8. Last week there were calls on Twitter for governments around the world to sanction which country due to its ties to the Taliban?

Spoiler
Pakistan. Twitter trended last week with #SanctionPakistan, a campaign launched by Canada’s former ambassador to Afghanistan Chris Alexander. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) began backing the Taliban in the mid-1990s to grow their influence in Afghanistan and keep India out of the area. Even after the Taliban were overthrown by the United States and other Afghan warlords in 2001, the ISI reportedly kept assisting the Taliban and even diverted some U.S. security aid in their direction.

9. On August 14, what event added to Haiti’s woes?

Spoiler
A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the poor island nation, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, and killed more than 1,400 people. The country is reeling from the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and has new elections scheduled for November 7.

10. What COVID preventative measure did the CDC approve of last week?

Spoiler
A third dose of vaccine for immunocompromised peoples. This does not classify as a booster shot because, according to the CDC, the shot is part of the existing vaccine series. The measure was adopted after research showed that immunocompromised peoples did not get the same benefits as others who received two doses of vaccine.