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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
1. Which Latin American nations are part of the Pacific Alliance?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru are members of the Pacific Alliance, which is a trade bloc that promotes free trade and economic integration among members in addition to free movement. It began in June 2012. Costa Rica recently began the process of becoming a fifth member of the organization, which some say is a right-wing alternative to Mercosur and leftist governments in the region.[/toggle]
2. The island of Cyprus has been divided between Greeks and Turks dating back to what year?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]1974. In July of that year, the Greek military overthew Cyprus’s government, which caused Turkey to send its military and occupy 37% of the island to protect the interests of Turks that lived there. Since this time, the island has been divided into Greek and Turkish sections. The issue has been an excuse for European leaders to halt Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.[/toggle]
3. This U.S. state saw a bipartisan push to stop a bill that would have allowed businesses to deny services to gay couples on religious grounds.
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Kansas. Although Kansas’s House passed the bill 72-49, Senate Republicans worked with Senate Democrats to halt the bill. Both parties were uncomfortable with passing a bill that they think might condone discrimination, which surprised political observers.[/toggle]
4. Why was there a nuclear scare in New Mexico last weekend?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]A nuclear scare was triggered in New Mexico when airborne radition was detected at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s underground site in southeastern New Mexico. The site contains low-grade nuclear waste. No injuries or damages were reported from the incident.[/toggle]
5. What is Venezuela’s inflation rate?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Venezuela’s inflation rate stands at 56%, which is one of the highest in the world. High inflation and high crime rates are creating protests against Nicolas Maduro’s government.[/toggle]
6. Last week the Obama administration delayed elements of the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act until what year?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The Affordable Care Act’s mandate that businesses with more than fifty full-time employees provide workers with health insurance benefits has been delayed until 2016. Republicans argue that the delay is a political ploy to help Democrats avoid negative fallout from the law in the midterm elections, while the Obama administration says that the delay is necessary to ensure a smooth rollout of the law’s provisions.[/toggle]
7. For what reason was South Korean lawmaker Lee Seok-ki was recently sentenced to 12 years in prison?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Mr. Lee, who represents the left-leaning Unified Progressive Party (UPP) was found guilty of plotting an uprising to help North Korea invade South Korea. He is the first parliamentary official to be prosecuted under the nation’s National Security Act since South Korea held democratic elections in 1988.[/toggle]
8. Who could be the new prime minister of Italy if he successfully forms a new government?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The new Italian prime minister could be Matteo Renzi, the leader of Italy’s Democratic Party and the mayor of Florence. Prime Minister Enrico Letta resigned last week after he was ousted in an intra Democratic Party vote. The Democratic Party is politically centre-left. If he can form a governing coalition, Renzi would become the youngest Italian prime minister ever since he would be two months younger than Benito Mussolini, who was 39 years old when he took power in 1922.[/toggle]
9. A United Nations report released on Monday condemned this international leader for “systematic rights violations” that include crimes against humanity.
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Kim Jong-un of North Korea. The UN Commission of Inquiry says that human rights abuses in North Korea are widespread and urged Kim Jong-un’s prosecution, as well as that of his closest deputies, by the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, prosecution of Mr. Kim is unlikely unless he is overthrown and taken into custody.[/toggle]
10. How many House Republicans crossed the aisle to vote with Democrats to pass a clean debt ceiling increase last week?
[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]28. 28 of the 227 House Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling without any preconditions. All 193 Democrats in the chamber voted to pass it. Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor were two of the Republicans that supported the bill.[/toggle]