What in the World?
Test yourself on the week of Oct. 31: Russia and Ukraine hack each other, Americans vote in midterm elections, and Indonesia deploys troops to its capital.

The U.S. midterm elections took place this week. Did you remember to keep tabs on the rest of the world? Find out with our international news quiz!
Have feedback? Email [email protected] to let me know your thoughts.
The U.S. midterm elections took place this week. Did you remember to keep tabs on the rest of the world? Find out with our international news quiz!
1. Residents in Ukraine and Russia received phony emergency alerts late on Sunday and early Monday, part of hacking efforts undertaken by each country. Which of the below was not one of the false warnings sent?
High radiation levels
Ballistic missile attacks
On-the-ground fighting
Poison in the water system
As the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, Russia has continued its mobilization to restock its ravaged military ranks, Alexey Kovalev writes.
2. Ethiopia on Sunday ordered Sudan’s consulate in the city of Assosa to close. Six Sudanese consular staff were also expelled from the country. The move came following the Sudanese government accusing Ethiopia of what?
Stealing humanitarian aid from Sudanese refugees
Sending weapons to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)
Cutting off access to water from the Nile River
Allowing the RSF to launch drone attacks from Ethiopian territory
Hundreds of foreign fighters have swelled the RSF’s ranks throughout the war. A lasting peace must be driven by the Sudanese people, Sudanese leader Abdalfatah Alburhan argued in September.
3. Ahead of U.S. midterm elections, President Donald Trump on Monday delivered his final public remarks, where he spent more than 15 minutes focused on what effort undertaken by his administration?
The construction of the White House ballroom
Renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool
The U.S.-Israeli war in Iran
His One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Democrats trounced Republicans at the ballot box, thanks in part to Trump’s corruption and the Iran war. But that doesn’t mean that voters want to go back to a pre-Trump status quo, FP’s Emma Ashford argues.
4. Among the Democratic victories in the midterms on Tuesday, James Talarico became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since when?
1994
2002
1988
1972
Despite Democrats’ firm rebuke of Trump, no one should kid themselves that the next two years are going to be anything but ugly, chaotic, and brutal, FP’s Michael Hirsh writes.
5. Brazil on Tuesday approved legislation that strengthened the government’s ability to do what?
Fight criminal gangs
Cut back on deforestation
Prosecute Flávio Bolsonaro
Overcome presidential vetoes
Although he is fresh off an electoral victory, 81-year-old President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will need to start cultivating a successor as soon as possible, Oliver Stuenkel writes.
6. Indonesia’s military on Wednesday announced that it would deploy more than 20,000 troops and personnel to the capital, Jakarta, amid an investigation into an alleged wiretapping operation targeting whom?
Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka
Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin
President Prabowo Subianto
Gerindra Party Secretary-General Sugiono
Prabowo has made anti-corruption a central part of his agenda, ordering high-profile investigations into politically connected businesspeople, former ministers, and state-owned enterprises, which Michael Neilson wrote about in August.
7. Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to sow distrust in recent parliamentary elections, President Isaac Herzog took what action on Wednesday?
He demanded recounts in Arab-majority districts.
He tapped Netanyahu to form a new government.
He ordered an investigation into election interference.
He accepted the election’s results.
Herzog will now begin meeting with party leaders to determine who will be named prime minister-designate, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief.
8. Pope Leo XIV began an 11-day tour of Latin America on Friday, less than a month after he underwent surgery to do what?
Repair a torn meniscus
Remove a cancerous tumor from his lung
Remove several cancerous moles
Receive a coronary artery bypass grafting
The trip features a homecoming of sorts for Leo, who spent years living and working in Peru, Gene Kuleta writes.
9. The Collins English Dictionary this week announced its word of the year. The definition for the word is “the act of outshining or outperforming someone or something.” What is it?
Mogging
Bixie
Friendslop
Rizz
The word is often traced back to the acronym AMOG, meaning “Alpha Male of the Group,” which arose from bodybuilding culture in the 2010s, the BBC reports.
10. An exhibition that opened on Saturday at a German museum explores the history of a certain dog breed in art. What breed is the focus of the exhibition? (Hint: Think German.)
Akita
Basset hound
Great Dane
Dachshund
The exhibition displays paintings, drawings, photographs, and videos, as well as stuffed dog toys and other dachshund-themed objects, The Associated Press reports.
You scored
It’s a big world out there! Brush up on global goings-on by subscribing to World Brief, Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter.
You scored
Great job! Now, dig deeper by subscribing to Foreign Policy’s one-stop regional newsletters: Africa Brief, China Brief, Latin America Brief, South Asia Brief, and Southeast Asia Brief.
You scored
Perfection! You’re a pro who needs the in-depth insights offered in Situation Report, our newsletter on national security and defense.
Have feedback? Email [email protected] to let me know your thoughts.
Drew Gorman is a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy.
Stories Readers Liked
U.S. Midterm Election













