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

1. Who won the Iowa caucuses?

Spoiler
Former President Donald Trump. Trump won 51% of the vote. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finished second with 21.2% and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley won 19.1%. Attendance at the caucuses was below projections due in part to a harsh winter storm. If Trump wins the next content, the New Hampshire primary, it would virtually assure his nomination.

2. Which two Republican presidential contenders dropped out after the Iowa caucuses?

Spoiler
Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Each man had different views of former President Donald Trump as Ramaswamy was a champion of Trump’s policies while Hutchinson was a critic. Ramaswamy finished fourth in Iowa while Hutchinson finished sixth. Neither man saw a path to the nomination after that performance and opted not to continue their respective campaigns.

3. Which Republican presidential contender dropped out of the race last week before the Iowa caucuses?

Spoiler
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Christie was the biggest critic of former President Donald Trump during the primary, taking aim at him for his behavior in office and on January 6. Although polls showed that he had double digit support in New Hampshire, he was never able to become the de facto challenger to Trump, a lane taken in the race by former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. As of the time of this quiz, Christie has yet to endorse another candidate but a hot mic moment showed that he does not think much of the other conenders for the Republican nomination.

4. Who won Taiwan’s presidential election last week?

Spoiler
Vice President Lai Ching-te. Mr. Lai, who is of the Taiwanese nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), defeated Hou Yu-ih of the opposition Kuomintang by a 40.05-33.49% margin. Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) took 26.496% of the vote. Nearly three-quarters of eligible Taiwanese turned out to vote and elected the DPP to a third consecutive presidential term, the first that has happened in the nation’s history. China declared before the election that voters had a choice between war and peace, hoping to shift the election away from the DPP.

5. Which streaming service will begin showing ads on January 29?

Spoiler
Amazon Prime. Starting on that date customers will start seeing ads on Amazon Prime shows and films. Users who do not want to see the ads can pay an extra $2.99 per month, beyond the $15 per month that most members pay. Amazon’s decision to allow for ads follows the path of other streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Max, and Peacock that have ad tiers for extra revenue. Since there are 220 million Amazon Prime subscribers globally, some believe that the use of ads on the platform will give Amazon a competitive advantage over traditional cable outlets in the years to come.

6. The government of the Maldives has recently asked for which country to remove its military forces?

Spoiler
India. President Mohamed Muizzu has called for the 75 troops that India has on the islands to be removed by March 15. Although both nations have enjoyed close ties since the Maldives were given independence from Great Britain in 1965, the election of Muizzu in November has strained ties. The Maldives are part of China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative and Muizzu has spent five days this month in China. In response to Muizzu’s demand, some Indians are calling for a boycott of the islands.

7. Which nation has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice over accusations of genocide in Gaza?

Spoiler
South Africa. Lawyers for both sides have debated at the Hague over whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza since the October 7 attacks. Israel has argued that it would be unfair for the ICJ to order a stop to hostilities in Gaza, which it frames as national defense. However, whatever decision that the ICJ could make would have to be acted through the UN Security Council, which is unlikely to take any action because of a veto from the United States.

8. Which European country got a new king this week? What is the king’s name?

Spoiler
Denmark. King Frederik X took the throne after Queen Margrethe II abdicated for health reasons. She had reigned for 52 years, a record for the country. Queen Margrethe is also the first Danish monarch to voluntarily cede the throne in nearly 900 years. There was no coronation ceremony as Denmark does not have one.

9. When do Argentinian labor unions plan to strike and why are they doing so?

Spoiler
January 24. The country’s trade unions are fighting a plan by newly elected President Javier Milei to require employees to opt into union membership. The unions project that the policy would hurt their political strength, something that Milei has been vocal about to remake the country along libertarian lines to help Argentina pay the $43 billion it owes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

10. Where does British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wish to send asylum seekers?

Spoiler
Rwanada. Sunak has made it a key part of his re-election plan but critics argue that it is inhumane and would cost British taxpayers too much money. The proposal has also fractured Sunak’s support within the Conservative Party as some think the policy is too extreme while others think it does not go far enough. In November the British Supreme Court ruled the plan illegal because Rwanda would not be a safe destination for refugees. More than 29,000 migrants came to Britain in 2023. That was down from the 42,000 that arrived in 2022.