This week’s headlines highlight rising tensions in the US election as Kamala Harris accuses Donald Trump of being a fascist, while in the UK, Keir Starmer faces increasing pressure over paying £200 billion in slavery reparations. Elsewhere, a suspected terrorist attack targets an aerospace firm in Turkey.
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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. What antiquated disease is seeing a resurgence in the developed world, according to reports from Australia?
PolioRicketsScurvyScarlet fever
2. The Labour government is to ban what in England and Wales from June 2025?
E-scootersGambling advertsDisposable vapesAlcohol multibuy discounts
3. Vladimir Putin welcomed world leaders to a Brics group summit in which Russian city?
Rostov-on-DonMurmanskKazanNizhny Novgorod
4. The former CEO of which clothing retailer was arrested over sex-trafficking allegations?
TopshopHollisterAbercrombie & FitchCalvin Klein
5. A plan spearheaded by the UK and Chile is calling for what to be given an elevated conservation status?
FungiTreesBeesMoss
6. Members of which group are suing Donald Trump for defamation?
Central Park FiveThe Birmingham SixThe West Memphis ThreeThe Chicago Seven
7. The London Film Festival cancelled a screening of a documentary on what subject, citing safety fears?
Animal welfareScientologyFar-right extremismSex offenders
8. Which Caribbean nation spent much of the week without power after the collapse of its electrical grid?
The BahamasCubaAntiguaPuerto Rico
9. What profession took to the streets of Athens in a 24-hour walkout calling for better pay and conditions?
TeachersDoctorsCivil servantsBus drivers
10. An amateur historian discovered a previously unknown short story by which author?
Mary ShelleyJules VerneEdgar Allan PoeBram Stoker
(Image credit: The Week)
1. Scurvy
Doctors from the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth, Australia said scurvy is a “re-emerging diagnosis” after it was found in a patient who “hardly ate any fruit and vegetables” and “survived mainly on processed foods”, according to The Times. Cost-of-living pressures and access to fresh food have been suggested as fuelling a rise in vitamin-deficient diets.
2. Disposable vapes
Keir Starmer’s government is to take up its predecessor’s proposal to ban single-use vapes. They are a growing source of plastic waste and the bright colours of disposable vapes are reportedly appealing to children, one in five of whom have vaped before the age of 16.
3. Kazan
Putin’s role as host of the summit was a far cry from the last Brics meeting in South Africa, which he had to attend via video link due to the international arrest warrant against him. Dozens of countries are apparently keen to join the emerging power bloc.
4. Abercrombie & Fitch
The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries, was arrested after a grand jury indicted him and two associates for allegedly running a sex trafficking ring from 2008 to 2015. Prosecutors accused Jeffries, 80, of using force and coercion to exploit men at sex parties.
5. Fungi
The Fungal Conservation Pledge, submitted to this week’s UN conference on biodiversity in Colombia, calls for the “funga” kingdom to be granted equal status to flora and fauna in international conservation agreements.
6. Central Park Five
The Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted of the rape of a jogger in 1989, sued Donald Trump for making false claims about their case during his presidential debate with Kamala Harris. The group, now known as the “Exonerated Five” is seeking damages for reputational and emotional harm.
7. Far-right extremism
“Undercover: Exposing the Far Right” follows a journalist and a researcher who infiltrated Britain’s right-wing extremist networks, including proponents of eugenicist “race science”. Havana Marking, the director of the film, said she understood the need to prioritise staff safety but said the last-minute cancellation was “a very unfortunate outcome”.
8. Cuba
Cuba’s power grid collapsed, leaving much of the island in darkness as Hurricane Oscar made landfall. The country’s decades-old power plants have been struggling for years, with residents saying the rolling blackouts reminded them of the “Special Period” in the early 1990s.
9. Teachers
The schoolteachers’ strike has fuelled broader discontent among the Greek workforce, with other sectors also blaming the conservative government for austerity measures and restrictions on labour unions dating from a series of international bailouts between 2010 and 2018.
10. Bram Stoker
Brian Cleary came across the “Dracula” author’s forgotten story in a Dublin library archive. The story, titled “Gibbet Hill”, was uncovered in a Christmas supplement of the Dublin edition of the Daily Mail from 1890.