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

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

1. This educational reform pursued by South Korean President Park Geun-hye is sparking controversy.

[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”]President Park has stated her desire to revise the nation’s history textbooks used by middle school and high school students that conservatives allege are leftist.  South Korea’s conservatives say that dictators of the past kept the nation safe, while leftists argue that dictators suppressed democratic rights.  President Park is moving to require all public middle and high schools to use history textbooks that are written by a government-appointed panel, thereby removing the power of schools to choose from several different textbooks.[/toggle]

2. This Syrian rebel group was formed in the past month to attack the Islamic State in northeastern Syria.

[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 Democratic Forces of Syria.  The group is working with U.S.-backed Kurdish militia to besiege Islamic State positions in northeastern Syria.[/toggle]

3. Islamic extremists in Bangladesh are suspected of targeting this group of individuals for attack over the past 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”]Secular voices in the media.  One journalist and three other writers and publishers were wounded in a machete attack last week.  The Bangladeshi branch of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack, while the Islamic State said that it played a role in killing an Italian aid worker and Japanese national in the country last month.  The attacks are another sign of religious tensions in Bangladesh between Muslim nationalists and those who favor a secular state.[/toggle]

4. An airplane from this country crashed in Egypt on Sunday.

[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”]Russia.  The aircraft reportedly broke apart in mid-air after taking off from an Egyptian resort city, killing all 224 people aboard.  Investigators are examining whether the aircraft’s condition was the cause or whether terrorism is to blame.[/toggle]

5. New Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is the youngest Speaker of the House since this individual in 1869.

[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”]James G. Blaine of Maine.  Blaine served as Speaker of the House from 1869-1875.  Blaine was thirty-nine years old when he was elected to the post, whereas Ryan is forty-five.[/toggle]

6. A recent budget deal passed by Congress suspends the nation’s debt limit until this time period.

[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”]March 2017.  The deal, the last one brokered by outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner and the White House, also includes raising sequestration spending caps and increases military spending.  Boehner argues that the deal should give new Speaker of the House Paul Ryan some breathing room with regards to conservative members of the House Republican caucus.[/toggle]

7. The Republican National Committee (RNC) suspended plans with this news network, which has planned to host a debate in February.

[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”]NBC.  The RNC noted that last week’s CNBC debate was a “bad faith” performance that caused candidates to launch personal attacks on each other rather than explain their stand on major issues.  The February debate is scheduled for February 26 at the University of Houston.  NBC says that they will work with the RNC to resolve their concerns.[/toggle]

8. Which party secured the largest number of votes in the Turkish parliamentary elections on Sunday?

[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 governing Justice and Development (AK) Party.  After the AKP lost its majority in June’s elections, it turned around and won nearly 50% of the votes in the recent elections, thereby bolstering the power of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  Erdogan argues that the result will help Turkey’s fights against ISIS and Kurdish militants.[/toggle]

9. When will Argentina hold its presidential runoff?

[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”]November 22.  Although Daniel Scioli, an ally of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was thought to have a chance to win the election outright, he fell short of the 40% threshold needed to avoid a runoff in the first round.  As a result, Scioi will face opposition leader Mauricio Macri in the November 22 election to determine who will lead Latin America’s third-largest economy.[/toggle]

10. This former Republican presidential candidate and TV celebrity passed away on Sunday.

[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”]Fred Thompson.  Thompson was a former U.S. Senator from Tennessee and sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.  He also starred on the television drama “Law and Order.”  He passed away after a recurrence of lymphoma, which he was first diagnosed with in 2004.[/toggle]