What in the World?

This week in FP’s international news quiz: vaccine exports, Biden’s big speech, and how world leaders’ words have come back to bite them.

By , a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy from 2018-2022.
People line up to receive COVID-19 vaccines in India.
People line up to receive COVID-19 vaccines in India.
People line up to receive COVID-19 vaccines at a mass vaccination center in Mumbai on April 29. Fariha Farooqui/Getty Images

Think you’ve got your finger on the pulse of global events? Take our quiz to test your knowledge of the latest world news.


1. Facing international pressure to share its vaccine stockpile amid a massive COVID-19 spike in India, the United States agreed to export 60 million coronavirus vaccine doses to other countries. Which vaccine is it shipping off?

Think you’ve got your finger on the pulse of global events? Take our quiz to test your knowledge of the latest world news.


1. Facing international pressure to share its vaccine stockpile amid a massive COVID-19 spike in India, the United States agreed to export 60 million coronavirus vaccine doses to other countries. Which vaccine is it shipping off?

(A) Pfizer-BioNTech
(B) Moderna
(C) AstraZeneca
(D) Johnson & Johnson

2. The Brazilian Senate is investigating President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Which of these is a real comment made by the Brazilian leader during the crisis?

(A) “Go to the streets, OK? What pandemic? This is a media invention to lock you inside your home so you’ll think the world is crumbling.”
(B) “It’s China’s fault. The blame for the global coronavirus pandemic has a name and surname: the Chinese Communist Party.”
(C) “I’m cured of COVID-19, thank God! … Like myself, there are now 3.3 million people recovered.”
(D) “All of us are going to die one day. Everyone is going to die. There is no point in escaping from that, in escaping from reality. We have to stop being a country of sissies.”

3. Global defense spending increased last year, despite the pandemic-induced economic downturn. Which countries are the world’s five biggest defense spenders?

(A) The United States, China, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom
(B) The United States, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and India
(C) China, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France
(D) China, the United States, Russia, Japan, and Germany

4. Iran’s foreign minister is facing pressure from hard-liners to resign after an audio clip of him criticizing the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps leaked. Who is this embattled envoy?

(A) Eshaq Jahangiri
(B) Mohammad Javad Zarif
(C) Amir Hatami
(D) Mahmoud Alavi

5. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has backed off from an unpopular plan to extend his time in office, opening the way for a new election in Somalia. What is the now-outgoing leader’s popular nickname?

(A) Mo-Mo
(B) Farmaajo
(C) Tayo
(D) Marehan

6. Switzerland is one of the few countries in Western Europe that has not yet legalized same-sex marriage. Though the Swiss Parliament has already voted in favor of same-sex marriage, opponents have now gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the matter.

Switzerland was also one of the last European countries to give women the right to vote at the federal level. In what year was women’s suffrage achieved for the Swiss?

(A) 2001
(B) 1952
(C) 1964
(D) 1971

7. U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a joint address to Congress on Wednesday. Which country did he mention by name the most times in his speech?

(A) India
(B) Russia
(C) China
(D) Afghanistan

8. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing public blowback after reports of comments he made late last year as his government debated how to handle pandemic lockdowns. What did Johnson allegedly say—but now denies ever saying?

(A) “I will have order! I will have perfection!”
(B) “I’m not the monster here.”
(C) “Let the bodies pile high in their thousands.”
(D) “Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.”

9. The World Trade Organization’s Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is meeting to consider a proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. Which two countries are spearheading the measure?

(A) India and South Africa
(B) The United States and Germany
(C) China and Russia
(D) Israel and Japan

10. Real Madrid star Marcelo may miss a crucial Champions League semifinal game in London next week—but not because of an injury. What’s keeping him away from the pitch?

(A) Having originally trained as a nurse in Brazil, he’s volunteered to administer vaccines at a mass site.
(B) He’s banned from traveling to the United Kingdom after previously attempting to sneak his pet snake through customs.
(C) He’s been selected for mandatory polling station monitor duty in Madrid’s upcoming assembly elections.
(D) He’s decided to sit this one out and take some self-care time to prevent pandemic burnout.


Answers:

1. (C) AstraZeneca
2. (D) “All of us are going to die one day. … We have to stop being a country of sissies.” (A) was the president’s son Jair Renan Bolsonaro, a Twitch streamer; (B) was his son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a member of the Chamber of Deputies; and (C) was his son Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator.
3. (A) The United States, China, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom
4. (B) Mohammad Javad Zarif
5. (B) Farmaajo
6. (D) 1971
7. (D) Afghanistan
8. (C) “Let the bodies pile high in their thousands.” (All the other quotes were from Shrek villain Lord Farquaad.)
9. (A) India and South Africa
10. (C) He’s been selected for mandatory polling station monitor duty in Madrid’s upcoming assembly elections.


How did you score?

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6-9: Great job! Now, dig deeper by subscribing to Foreign Policy’s one-stop regional newsletters: Africa Brief, China Brief, Latin America Brief, and South Asia Brief.

10: Perfection! You’re a pro who needs the in-depth insights offered in Security Brief, our newsletter on national security and defense.

Have feedback? Email [email protected] to let me know your thoughts.

Nina Goldman was a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy from 2018-2022.

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