In light of recent wildfires, should the Australian government revise its “stay and defend” policy?
Were Australian officials prepared to deal with recent wildfires?
Is the U.S. government willing to accept the reality of a nuclear North Korea?
Will the Kadima Party suffer significant losses in upcoming Israeli elections?
How did the Israel-Gaza conflict shape this week’s elections?
What effect would Benjamin Netanyahu’s return to prominence in Israeli politics have on the country?
Was China successful in defending its human rights before the UN Human Rights Council?
Can George Mitchell do for the Middle East what he did in Northern Ireland?
Will Europe support the call for additional Western forces in Afghanistan?
What group has benefitted the most from passage of the Schengen Agreement?
Why is Ukraine’s financial state going from bad to worse?
Is Iran ready to reverse its anti-American stance?
Was Prime Minister Erdogan’s recent statement a setback for Turkey’s emerging role as Middle East peace broker?
Will Venezuelans vote to lift term limits?
How will the world receive an China-sponsored international TV news channel?
What is wrong with Britain’s military?
Why does Thailand’s government worry about refugees?
Were foreign complaints about the U.S. economic stimulus package valid?
Should China quit using GDP growth figures to judge local officials’ performance?
Will Qaddafi be able to accomplish his pan-African goals as leader of the AU?
Due to recent political developments in Zimbabwe, should sanctions be lifted against the country?
Will Ukraine’s economic woes negatively impact the development of its democracy?
Is the latest criticism about the Vatican overblown?
Will Canada’s latest budget save the Conservative government or did it just temporarily put it on life support?
Why is isolationist sentiment rising in Switzerland?
Was the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of China’s human rights record thorough?
What is the state of press freedom in Sudan?
Did Israel commit war crimes in Gaza?
Is Bangladesh’s democracy slipping back into corruption?
Why is Russia scrapping plans to station short-range missiles in Kaliningrad?
Tag: international extemp questions Page 40 of 43
Are recent protests against the Russian government only a sign of things to come?
Will a Likud victory in the Israeli parliamentary elections make war with Iran imminent?
How will Mexico’s recession impact elections there this July?
Are free speech rights being eroded in the Netherlands?
Is there too much political meddling in the trial of Chen Shui-bian?
Will Thailand’s lese-majeste laws be abolished soon?
Should the U.S. force Pakistan to hand over terror suspects to India?
Does the world have al-Qaeda on the defensive?
Is the fighting in Gaza over?
Will rising unemployment in China threaten the position of the Communist Party?
Who should be NATO’s new secretary general?
Why did Zimbabwe’s opposition agree to join Robert Mugabe’s government?
Is the ICC mishandling the prosecution of Thomas Lubanga?
Who was the big loser in the recent Iraqi elections?
What is the most important outcome of the recent Iraqi provincial elections?
Should Iceland join the EU?
Is Iraq finally taking control of its future?
What will be the legacy of Umar S. Israilov?
Is a coup on the horizon for Madagascar?
How can the European Central Bank ensure equal benefits in a bailout?
How will the naming of Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed as president affect Somali politics?
How will Bolivia benefit from the global push for hybrid vehicles?
Can the government of Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis regain credibility?
Why has the recent snowstorm in London ground the city to a halt?
Will other nations agree to Qaddafi’s plans for a single African state?
1. Will the recession change America’s dismal savings rate?
2. Why was 2008 a bad year for the FARC?
3. Should Senate Republicans block the economic stimulus bill?
4. Is Muammar Qaddafi’s goal of creating a single African state realistic?
5. What do tax problems by some of his cabinet appointments say about the Obama administration?
6. Should the international community be worried about Iran’s successful launch of a satellite?
7. Can Michael Steele reverse the GOP’s decline?
8. Should Pope Benedict XVI step down over the lifting of the excommunication of Richard Williamson?
9. Will economic problems bring about a political transformation in Russia?
10. Is the nomination of Judd Gregg as the new commerce secretary a shrewd political move by Obama?
1. Is it too late to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon?
2. Has Michelle Rhee done a good job so far in changing the Washington D.C. school system?
3. Is the stimulus bill just a pork bill in disguise?
4. Can Rwanda successfully root out the FDLR in the DRC?
5. Will Bolivia’s new constitution heal the nation’s divisions?
6. Why are sexual discrimination complaints falling?
7. Will Obama’s stance on fuel emission standards create more trouble for Detroit’s automakers?
8. Will the Obama administration be more confrontational with China than the Bush administration?
9. Will closing Gitmo be a setback in the war on terrorism?
10. How would the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as the next Israeli prime minister affect the Middle East peace process?
1. Can the U.S. solve its energy crisis in the next 40 years?
2. Will the recently brokered truce between Israel and Hamas hold?
3. Why did the Dow plunge on inauguration day?
4. How should the Chinese government deal with rising unemployment rates?
5. Why is the Likud Party benefiting from the Gaza offensive?
6. Should the world cut off aid to Rwanda after its incursions into the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
7. Will the Fiat-Chrysler strategic alliance benefit both sides?
8. Can U.S. airlines see a turnaround in 2009?
9. Is America more or less safe than January 2001 when President Bush first became president?
10. Will Obama face more trouble from the left or the right in his first term?
1. Will the Democrat’s decision to seat Burris cost them votes in 2010?
2. How will the federal governments projected deficit impact Barack Obama’s spending priorities?
3. Should Rudy Guiliani run for governor of New York?
4. What does the collapse of Satyam Computer Services say about Indian corporate governance?
5. Is President Bush responsible for the U.S. recession?
6. Will Taro Aso still be Japan’s prime minister by the end of 2009?
7. Would a successful Israeli invasion of Gaza bring the Israelis and Palestinians close to a peace accord?
8. Should Alvaro Uribe seek a third term as Colombia’s president?
9. What impact will Dr. Steven Chu have on America’s energy policy?
10. How can Europe best reduce its dependency on Russian natural gas supplies?
1. Can Israel win in Gaza?
2. Should the U.S. change the way it handles unemployment benefits?
3. Why has Blagojevich not been impeached?
4. Was Bangladesh’s vote fair?
5. Ten years on, has the euro achieved what it was supposed to?
6. Will the coup in Guinea bring positive change to the country?
7. Was Obama’s choice of Leon Panetta as the next CIA director a good one?
8. Should Obama take a stand in the Israeli-Hamas war?
9. Why are the Conservatives faltering in British political opinion polls?
10. How can U.S. schools get more math and science teachers?
1. Which country will be the biggest threat to international security in 2009?
2. Should the Senate refuse to seat Burris?
3. Is Caroline Kennedy a qualified candidate for U.S. Senate?
4. Will the Israeli offensive in Gaza help or hinder future Middle East peace talks?
5. Should the EU intervene in the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute?
6. Will the winner of the Minnesota Senate race have a tainted victory?
7. Do Bulgaria’s problems mean that the EU should cease expansion plans for the near future?
8. Should China change its export driven economic model?
9. Are “obesity taxes” a good idea?
10. Will OPEC’s production cuts save the global economy from deflation?
1. How should Obama’s Senate seat be filled?
2. Can the Congress of the People Party successfully challenge the ANC in the 2009 South African elections?
3. Are higher cigarette taxes a good idea for tobacco growing states?
4. Would it be wise for Obama to overturn the Cuban embargo?
5. Will the Blagojevich scandal ruin Obama’s economic stimulus plan?
6. Can Michael Ignatieff guide the Liberal Party of Canada back to power?
7. Should U.S. policymakers be more fearful of hyperinflationary or deflationary pressure in the economy?
8. Why are communal tensions in the Philippines on the rise?
9. Should the Big 3 automakers be allowed to go bankrupt?
10. How will Obama’s counter-terror strategy differ from President Bush?
1. Is Somalia the next Afghanistan?
2. Does the print news industry deserve a government bailout?
3. After an outbreak of violence by Zimbabwe’s army, is Mugabe’s regime in its final days?
4. Is the world closing in to becoming victorious over the AIDS virus?
5. Will the raid by British authorities over Damian Green make the British public resistant to future laws that encroach on their civil liberties?
6. What can Hugo Chavez do to reduce Venezuela’s homicide rate?
7. Why is Greece seeing an outbreak of riots?
8. What was President Bush’s biggest foreign policy accomplishment?
9. Is Nepal’s decision to close down its private schools misguided?
10. Will Obama’s economic plan work?
1. Should the Senate intervene in the Minnesota Senate race?
2. Why is California in a fiscal emergency?
3. Should Britain join the euro?
4. To the U.S.: Is Turkey important??
5. Should Obama have campaigned for Martin?
6. What impact will the banning of the PPP have on Thai politics?
7. Are African nations coddling Omar al-Bashir?
8. What impact will the Mumbai attacks have on Indian politics?
9. Why did Obama keep Gates?
10. After eight years, what grade does the Bush administration deserve on its environmental report card?
Over Thanksgiving break, the world was gripped by the coordinated terrorist attacks throughout the city of Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, in India. Mumbai is India’s financial capital and is a city that is gradually representing India’s rise as a global player. The recent violence, though, has shocked Indians to their core and caused doubts in the international community as to the effectiveness of the war against al-Qaeda and its followers.
The attacks, which claimed 174 people as of this briefing, were carried out by ten gunmen. Nine of those gunmen were killed when Indian forces raided the three major targets of the terrorist forces: the Taj Mahal hotel, the Oberi-Trident hotel, and a Jewish community center. The one gunmen who was caught alive and interrogated has said that the group received training in Pakistan, a fact that is bound to upset the already tense relationship between India and Pakistan.
This briefing will give a brief summary of the attacks, the implications for the India-Pakistan relationship, and what these attacks mean for India’s future. It is with these facts that extempers can start to sift through the information that has been published about the attacks and start to create a grounded understanding that can aid them in rounds this week.
1. Do Obama’s cabinet appointments echo his campaign’s message of “change” or do they simply create a Clinton restoration?
2. Why are countries wary of an IMF bailout?
3. Can a resolution to the conflict in Kashmir bring stability to Afghanistan?
4. Was Tom Daschle a better selection for Secretary of Health and Human Services than Howard Dean?
5. How can the U.S. improve civic education?
6. Was the government bailout of Citigroup justified?
7. Should Barack Obama make cuts in the defense budget?
8. Have the Venezuelan local election results provided Hugo Chavez with some needed political momentum?
9. How should the world bring Somali pirates to justice?
10. Will low oil prices now lead to a supply crunch later?
1. Does the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo warrant intervention by neighboring African states?
2. Should the international community launch a joint naval mission to protect commerce off of Somalia’s coast?
3. Why did Jerry Yang leave Yahoo?
4. Should the Republican Party stop its opposition to the auto industry bailout?
5. Is centrism growing in Latin America?
6. What should be Barack Obama’s first priority as President?
7. Is the world forcing Tibetans to become more violent in their struggle with China?
8. Are proposed constitutional changes in Russia necessary?
9. How should the Supreme Court rule in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum?
10. Will the Democrats achieve a filibuster proof majority in the Senate by the end of December?
1. Was the selection of Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff a good decision by Obama?
2. Should the government rescue GM?
3. Why did McCain lose?
4. Is the EU’s policy toward Russia too weak?
5. Should Michael Steele become the next RNC chair?
6. Will China’s economic stimulus plan work?
7. Should the British government expand Heathrow?
8. Why is Pakistan struggling to dislodge the Taliban?
9. Is Google emerging as Big Brother?
10. What should the Republican Party do to gain seats in the 2010 midterms?