1. This year is on track to be the hottest year of climate temperatures ever on record. Among the worrisome trends are warmer ocean waters feeding stronger, more frequent storms. THIS Eastern Pacific climate pattern is making that problem worse.

A. El Niño
B. Taylor’s Thermocline
C. El Sierra Cucapa
D. El Pinta Maria

Correct Response: A. El Niño
https://www.reuters.com/graphics/CLIMATE-UN/WEATHER-EXTREMES/zdvxrmeakvx/

 

2. The Congress faces a fast-approaching holiday recess as negotiations continue on a Ukraine aid package, as U.S. resources for the embattled nation are running out. The hitch is an effort to tie THIS measure to funding for Kyiv.

A. Changes in southern border policy
B. Amount of aid to Israel
C. Restrict DoD policy on reproductive healthcare travel for service members
D. Reduction to funding for United Nations activities

Correct Response: A. Changes in southern border policy
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democratic-us-senator-says-republican-border-security-demands-are-currently-2023-12-10/

 

3. The year 2024 will be a reelection year for THIS autocrat who is seeking his sixth term in office after changing the constitution in 2020 permitting him to serve through 2036.

A. Victor Orban
B. Vladimir Putin 
C. Aleksandr Lukashenko
D. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Correct Response: B. Vladimir Putin  
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/08/europe/putin-president-election-2024-intl/index.html

 

4. The Constitutional Court of THIS country essentially reinstated a 2017 pardon of former President Fujimori who had been sentenced to a 25-year prison term for human rights abuses during his decade-long rule in the 1990s.

A. Thailand
B. Peru
C. Japan
D. Korea

Correct response: C. Peru
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/perus-ex-president-fujimori-awaits-release-prison-after-contentious-pardon-2023-12-06/

 

5. Following a referendum on the issue, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has threatened to annex nearly three-quarters of THIS oil-rich neighbor.

A. Columbia
B. Guyana
C. Ecuador
D. Brazil

Correct response: B. Guyana
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/07/venezuela-guyana-esequibo-map-border-dispute/

 

6. Moody’s ratings agency downgraded THIS country’s credit outlook to negative, citing the country’s lower than expected economic growth and an ongoing property crisis.

A. Germany
B. The United Kingdom
C. The United States
D. China

Correct response: D. China
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/moodys-cuts-chinas-credit-outlook-negative-2023-12-05/

 

7. A group of 117 countries rejected the final agreement on climate at THIS annual summit, hosted by petrostate Qatar, over failure to call for phasing out of fossil fuels.

A. Cop 28 UN Climate Summit
B. Paris Accord Summit 
C. UN Summit on Global Warming
D. Conference on Climate Change Measures

Correct Response: A. Cop 28 UN Climate Summit
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/09/failure-to-agree-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels-at-cop28-will-push-world-into-climate-breakdown

 

8. An election is certain to return the autocratic president of THIS Arab Spring disrupted nation who took power in a 2013 coup. His advice to his countrymen who have seen food prices rise 70% in a year, “If the price of the nation’s progress and prosperity is hunger and thirst, then let us not eat or drink.”

A. Tunisia
B. Syria 
C. Egypt
D. Morocco 

Correct Response: C. Egypt
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231210-egypt-election-offers-more-of-the-same-despite-crisis

 

9. The Supreme Court in New Delhi upheld a government decision to remove the special status – semi-autonomy and a separate constitution – of THIS Muslim majority region that has been central to conflicts between nuclear armed India and Pakistan.

A. Jammu and Kashmir
B. Mayotte 
C. Chagos
D. Ilemi Triangle

Correct Response: A. Jammu and Kashmir
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/india-supreme-court-upholds-decision-remove-kashmir-special-status-rcna128982

 

10. Beijing’s 2019 national security law for the Hong Kong special administrative unit included prohibitions on opposition electoral candidates, allowing “patriots” only. The crackdown goes against the 50-year 1997 agreement for the region’s autonomy when it was handed over by THIS colonial power.

A. Belgium
B. Portugal 
C. Japan
D. The United Kingdom

Correct Response: D. The United Kingdom
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/hong-kong-patriots-only-election-falls-flat-with-record-low-turnout-2023-12-11/