Quiz of the week 18 – 24 July

1. How did China retaliate to Washington’s order to shut China’s Houston mission after the US alleged it was being used for “economic espionage” in the latest tit-for-tat attack between the two?

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a. Beijing imposed a tariff on import products
b. Beijing imposed visa restrictions on American diplomats travelling to China
c. Beijing banned US foreign correspondents from entering the country
d. Beijing ordered the US to close their consulate in Chengdu

2. Which South American country delayed its presidential election for a second time due to the coronavirus pandemic?

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a. Colombia
b. Peru
c. Chile
d. Bolivia

3. The UK is launching its most expansive flu vaccination programme in September. How many people are set to be inoculated?

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a. 25 million people
b. 45 million people
c. 30 million people
d. 35 million people

4. Which country this week launched its first independent mission to Mars?

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a. China
b. Russia
c. United States
d. UAE

5. Why did the Duke and Duchess of Sussex file a lawsuit this week?

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a. Paparazzi took pictures of them shopping
b. A drone took pictures of their son inside their home
c. They were stopped by police who asked for an autograph
d. They had their address leaked to the media

6. According to new research, what percentage of New Delhi residents could have developed Covid-19 antibodies?

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a. 23.4%
b. 33.3%
c. 55%
d. 15.5%

7. What did rapper Kanye West say he would do in his campaign rally this week if he becomes the next US president?

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a. Make billionaire Elon Musk his vice president
b. Arrest incumbent president Donald Trump
c. Colonise the Moon
d. $1m for everyone who has a baby

8. The euro celebrated a 21-month peak against the dollar this week. What was behind its rise?

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a. Decreasing Covid-19 cases in the eurozone
b. The European Union agreed on a recovery plan deal for the bloc
c. Investors turned to the euro because of the dollar’s volatility
d. EU economies are following a V-shaped recovery

9. An investigation by The Guardian revealed which high street retailer may be paying warehouse workers less than minimum wage?

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a. JD Sports
b. Argos
c. Sports Direct
d. TJ Maxx

10. Why are US tech investors reportedly trying to buy a majority stake in Chinese-owned social media app TikTok?

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a. The White House has security concerns over the video-sharing app
b. It’s upping parent company ByteDance’s market value
c. They are rivalling a bid from UAE tech investors
d. They are seeking to move the company to the US

Answers

1. d. Beijing ordered the US to close their consulate in Chengdu. The consulate closures were "yet another twist in deteriorating relations between Washington and Beijing, perhaps the gravest one yet”, say Keith Bradsher and Steven Lee Myers in The New York Times.

2. d. Bolivia.

3. c. 30 million people. The vaccine will be offered to over-50s in England for the first time as ministers seek to prepare for the impact of a feared second wave of Covid-19 in the winter.

4. a. China. “China successfully launched its first independent mission to Mars, which will attempt to land an exploration rover on the red planet, the latest market in its ambitious programme to outpace the US,” say Christian Shepherd and Nian Liu in the Financial Times.

5. b. A drone took pictures of their son inside their home. The couple sued to prevent the sale and publication of a picture they claim shows their son, Archie, inside their family home in Los Angeles.

6. a. 23.4%. A random sample of 20,000 residents by India’s National Centre for Disease Control found 23.4% had antibodies to the virus, though it appears the majority were asymptomatic, says Hannah Ellis-Petersen in The Guardian.

7. d. $1m for everyone who has a baby. West spoke to an audience in South Carolina about abortion, religion, and trade, saying abortion should be legal, but financial incentives for struggling mothers could “lower the demand for it”, says Sky News.

8. b. The European Union agreed on a recovery plan deal for the bloc. EU leaders reached a deal on a €750bn plan to mend the region’s pandemic-stricken economies, news that lifted the euro.

9. c. Sports Direct.

10. a. The White House has security concerns over the video-sharing app.