1. The African Union on Sunday called for international intervention in Mali over an ongoing blockade of what resource by an al Qaeda-linked group?
The blockade in the capital, Bamako, has also led to the temporary closure of schools and businesses, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi writes in Africa Brief.
2. Employees of Venetian opera house Teatro La Fenice protested on Monday following the appointment of a new music director who has ties to which right-wing figure?
Meloni has presided over one of Italy’s longest-lasting governments since World War II and has shaped domestic and European politics in her image, Michele Barbero wrote last month.
3. The United Nations Climate Change Conference began on Monday in Belém, Brazil. How is this year’s event commonly abbreviated?
Brazil’s plan to focus on reducing global hunger overlooks a main culprit: conflict, Mauricio Vazquez and Habib Mayar argued last week.
4. What was the result for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s political bloc in Iraq’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday?
Some of Sudani’s former political allies said they hoped to form a coalition to prevent him from obtaining a second term, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief.
5. A new Pakistani constitutional amendment caused a firestorm of criticism on Tuesday for changes to the courts and military that gave the Pakistan Army chief significantly more power. Which capability or protection did he not receive?
Pakistan’s military is more dominant in politics and policy than during any other period of the country’s civilian rule, FP’s Michael Kugelman writes in South Asia Brief.
6. The U.S. government shutdown ended on Wednesday night after 43 days. Despite its record-breaking length, Democrats were unable to secure an extension of expiring benefits for what program?
The legislation reopening the government included language that prevents the Trump administration from using any of the appropriated funding to conduct mass layoffs at government agencies, FP’s Rachel Oswald reports.
7. Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn began a visit to China on Thursday. Beijing was quick to claim that this trip was the king’s first to a “major country” since he assumed the throne in what year?
Vajiralongkorn’s visit was the first by a sitting Thai monarch to China since the two countries established diplomatic relations 50 years ago, FP’s Joseph Rachman writes in Southeast Asia Brief.
8. Ukraine’s prime minister announced on Thursday that Kyiv would begin an audit of all state-owned enterprises following the revelation of an embezzlement scandal in which sector of Ukraine’s economy?
Anti-corruption watchdogs accused at least a dozen people of involvement in the conspiracy to embezzle at least $100 million from the nation’s energy sector, including a former business partner of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, FP’s John Haltiwanger and Rishi Iyengar write in Situation Report.
9. On Saturday, Egypt announced the name of its new administrative capital, which was inaugurated last year. What name did officials choose?
Plans for the city include a theme park, solar farms, and an electric railway connecting it to Cairo, according to Egyptian Streets.
10. A Turkish prosecutor on Tuesday accused Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of running a criminal organization. How many years in prison could he face if convicted? (Hint: It’s more than you could possibly think.)
Imamoglu and his political allies have called the case a political hit job meant to remove one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top rivals, the New York Times reports.
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