World Hot Spots in 2010 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Haiti

The epicenter of the earthquake was only sixteen miles from Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Haiti was already the poorest country in the Americas, and the earthquake did unimaginable damage. Aid from around the world started flowing to Haiti immediately after the quake.

Answer: Sri Lanka

Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Fonseka was head of the army during the 2009 victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels, and the accusations against him relate back to that army service.

Answer: Greece

Greece's budget deficit was considerably higher than that allowed by the EU, and when the inevitable collapse occurred, a bailout became necessary. In exchange for the bailout funds, Greece agreed to various austerity measures, including tax increases and a three-year freeze in wages and pensions.

As one of the sixteen EU countries using the Euro as its currency, a Greek financial collapse would have been disastrous for the EU. The other countries listed were EU members, but were not yet using the Euro at the time of the crisis.

Answer: Kyrgyzstan

Bakiev had gained power in an election held after the 2005 Tulip Revolution, and had been re-elected in 2009. However, many problems in Kyrgyzstan led to widespread unrest and he fled the capital city of Bishkek amid bloody rioting.

In June rioting in the city of Osh against ethnic Uzbeks caused a big crisis for the interim government, which sent armored vehicles, troops and helicopters to Osh in a desperate attempt to pacify the situation.

Answer: to approve a treaty to extend Russia's lease on a naval base

At issue was the Russian naval base at Sevastopol, which is the home of the
Russian Black Sea fleet. The debate exposed the deep rift between the pro-Western and the pro-Russian factions in Ukraine. In the end the treaty was ratified with 236 votes out of a total of 450 in parliament.

Answer: David Cameron

Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, finally forged a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, whose leader, Nick Clegg, became Deputy Prime Minister. Cameron replaced Gordon Brown, whose Labour Party had been in power since 1997.

Angus Robertson was the head of the Scottish National Party, which was quite disappointed over the new ruling coalition. Robertson pointed out that the Conservatives won only about 15% of the vote in Scotland.

Answer: red shirts

The formal name for the red shirt movement is The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship. It was formed in 2006 to oppose military rule in Thailand, and has been a significant force ever since.

Answer: Japan

Yukio Hatoyama resigned in the face of polls showing only seventeen percent of the Japanese people supported him. The military base in question was the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, located on the island of Okinawa.

Answer: Turkey

The incident turned into a public relations disaster for Israel, as Turkey was Israel's oldest and best friend in the Muslim world. The actions by Israel were part of its blockade of the Gaza Strip, a controversial action in itself as the blockade has increased the suffering of the Gaza people.

Answer: Afghanistan

President Obama emphasized that he was not relieving Gen. McChrystal because of any policy differences, or because of any sense of personal insult, but the reality is that this sort of insubordination simply cannot be tolerated with a war in progress.