This week’s headlines have ranged from the truly shocking attempted assassination of Slovakia’s prime minister to the all-too-predictable closure of a livestreaming ‘portal’ between New York City and Dublin following complaints of ‘lewd’ acts.
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And now, find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.
1. Critics described a controversial portrait of whom as “demonic” and a “monstrosity”?
King CharlesMelania TrumpTaylor SwiftPope Francis
2. Smoke from Canada’s wildfires this week threatened the air quality of which US state?
WashingtonMinnesotaNew York Maine
3. Who is taking over as Russia’s defence minister after Sergei Shoigu steps down?
Dmitry GrigorenkoAndrei BelousovTatyana GolikovaSergei Lavrov
4. Google is introducing what new feature to its search engine in the US?
AI Overviews AI SummariesAI Insights AI Assist
5. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom and London Mayor Sadiq Khan attended a climate change summit in which city-state?
SingaporeMonaco Vatican CitySan Marino
6. Who did Maryland Democrats nominate to replace retiring senator Ben Cardin?
Angela AlsobrooksDavid TroneLarry HoganWill Jawando
7. Which film got a standing ovation lasting almost eight minutes at its premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival?
“Megalopolis””The Apprentice””Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga””The Second Act”
8. Joe Biden and Donald Trump agreed to how many televised presidential debates?
OneTwoThreeFour
9. Protests erupted in which country over a “foreign influence” bill that critics say will scupper the country’s hopes of joining the EU?
Armenia SerbiaKosovoGeorgia
10. Which comedian is facing criticism for complaining about political correctness in comedy?
Dave Chappelle Jerry SeinfeldBill BurrLouis C.K.
(Image credit: The Week)
1. King Charles
The portrait depicts the king in the red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a backdrop of vivid red brushstrokes. Queen Camilla was not among the critics however, reportedly telling beleaguered artist Jonathan Yeo: “Yes, you’ve got him.”
2. Minnesota
More than 140 fires in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories have burned at least half a million acres this spring, and fine particle levels tied to the wildfire smoke are expected to affect the air quality in states such as Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and the Dakotas.
3. Andrei Belousov
The announcement came as a surprise, not just because Shoigu was seen as a close ally to President Putin, but also because Belousov was an economist before entering politics. Analysts have suggested the move indicates that Russia is keen to rein in the mounting costs of its operations in Ukraine.
4. AI Overviews
Users of the Google search engine in the US will start getting AI-generated answers at the top of the search results. The tech giant anticipates that AI overviews will be accessible to “over a billion people by the end of the year”.
5. Vatican City
Pope Francis addressed delegates at the “Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” conference, which is being held at the Pontifical Academies of Science and Social Sciences. Find out more with this week’s episode of The Week Unwrapped podcast.
6. Angela Alsobrooks
Maryland Democrats nominated Angela Alsobrooks over three-term congressman David Trone to succeed retiring Senator Ben Cardin. Meanwhile, Republican Larry Hogan secured his party’s nomination for the Senate race, setting up a competitive race in a state that hasn’t had a Republican senator since 1987.
7. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
George Miller’s frenetic prequel to 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road”, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, was met with a 7min 50s ovation from the Cannes crowd – a welcome headline for organisers, who have battled a series of off-screen controversies in the run-up to the festival.
8. Two
Biden and Trump have agreed to participate in two debates before the November US election. CNN will host the first on 27 June and ABC will host the second on 10 September. Neither will have a live audience.
9. Georgia
On Tuesday, the nation’s parliament passed the controversial legislation, which will oblige organisations to disclose foreign funding. Critics say the “draconian” laws will hamper Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU, and move the country instead towards Russia’s sphere of influence.
10. Jerry Seinfeld
Seinfeld declared there has been a scarcity of funny TV sitcoms due to “the extreme left and PC crap, and people worrying so much about offending other people”. In response, far-right influencers praised the former “Seinfeld” star, while others called him out of touch, a grump or just plain wrong.