Here this week’s news quiz! Good luck!

1. Who was named as the new pope last week and why was it historically significant?

Spoiler
Robert Francis Prevost, who took the name Leo XIV. Born in Chicago, he is the first American to be named pope. He became a cardinal in 2023 and did extensive missionary and parish work in Peru, making him a citizen of that country via naturalization. He is fluent in six languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Quechuan.

2. The United Nations’ aviation council (the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization) ruled that Russia was guilty of what incident in 2014?

Spoiler
The downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. The plane was shot down by a Russian-made BUK surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 passengers and crew. Russia has repeatedly denied responsibility for the incident and rejected the Civil Aviation Organization’s conclusions, saying they were biased.

3. Which famous French actor was found guilty in a sexual assault trial this week?

Spoiler
Gerard Depardieu. The 76-year-old actor was found guilty of assaulting two women on a film set in 2021. He was placed on a sex offender registry and ordered to pay €1,000 to each victim. The trial garnered a lot of publicity in France and was seen as a #MeToo-like reckoning for the French film industry.

4. Who was named as the new leader of Australia’s Liberal Party this week?

Spoiler
Sussan Ley, who becomes the first woman to lead the conservative political party. Ley narrowly defeated Angus Taylor, who ran as leader on a promise to pivot the party in a more conservative direction. Ley takes over from Peter Dutton, who led the party to a recent defeat in which the party lost at least 16 seats.

5. President Trump generated controversy this week due to his decision to accept a luxury jet from which country?

Spoiler
Qatar. Qatar offered a version of the Boeing 747-8, worth $400 million that could be retrofitted into a new Air Force One. Trump says he would be “a stupid person” not to accept it, although Qatar has said that it is only giving the plan to the U.S. for temporary use and not as a gift. Critics of Trump have argued that it is a constitutional violation for a president to accept gifts from a foreign government.

6. Who won the first round of the Romania presidential election?

Spoiler
George Simion, a leader of the right-wing Alliance for the Union of Romanians. He garnered 40% of the vote in the first round of voting on May 4. He will face Nicusor Dan, the Mayor of Bucharest, who is an independent candidate and received 21% of the vote. The European Union (EU) is watching events closely because Simion represents a nationalistic and Eurosceptic stance whereas Dan embraces a more pro-Western platform. The runoff election will take place on May 18.

7. What ultimatum did the European Union (EU) and the United States deliver to Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning the war in Ukraine last week?

Spoiler
The EU and the U.S. demanded that Putin agree to a 30-day ceasefire or face “massive sanctions” and increased military support for Ukraine with more tanks, drones, ammunition, and long-range missiles. The sanctions would be levied on the Russian energy and banking sectors. The Trump administration was optimistic that it could broker a peace in Ukraine but has grown frustrated over Russia’s terms, which it says are too much.

8. Which former Supreme Court justice passed away last week?

Spoiler
David Souter. Appointed to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush as a supposed conservative, Souter’s views were exposed as liberal after he was confirmed and began ruling on cases, notably siding with moderate forces in Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) that preserved national abortion rights. He retired from the Supreme Court after Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election and his seat was filled by the first Hispanic justice, Sonia Sotomayor.

9. In the lead up to trade negotiations with China, U.S. President Donald Trump floated what level of tariffs on Chinese goods?

Spoiler
80%. Currently, the Trump administration has levied Chinese imports with a 145% tariff and China has responded in kind to 125%. The situation has placed economic stress on each side and there are fears of U.S. supply chain shortages by the summer if the trade war between the two continues.

10. What legal safeguard has the Trump administration floated that it might use to speed up detainment and deportation of migrants?

Spoiler
Habeas corpus. It is the legal principle that someone should be able to challenge their detention and find out what they are being charged with following an arrest. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, told reporters last week that the executive branch could suspend it because it is a “privilege.” Migrants and foreign students who have been arrested by federal authorities have attempted to use habeas corpus to secure their release. Article I of the U.S. Constitution does state that “the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it”. President Abraham Lincoln famously suspended habeas corpus rights during the U.S. Civil War. The Trump administration argues that the U.S. border is being invaded and hence it could suspend the right. This would likely invoke a challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.