April Fools’ Day provided us with a litany of joke headlines. We only wish our rising energy bills were a joke, too. Find out if you can tell fact from fiction with this week’s international news quiz!

Have feedback? Email [email protected] to let me know your thoughts.

April Fools’ Day provided us with a litany of joke headlines. We only wish our rising energy bills were a joke, too. Find out if you can tell fact from fiction with this week’s international news quiz!

1. As the war in Iran drives up the price of food and fuel, a Philippine government council endorsed a plan on Saturday that would impose a 30-day ceiling on the cost of which good?

Combustion-engine vehicles

Manila has rolled out a raft of programs intended to curb food and energy costs since the Iran war began, including fuel subsidies and the expansion of public transportation, FP’s Joseph Rachman writes in Southeast Asia Brief.

2. A monthlong policy took effect in Egypt on Saturday. What is the policy meant to do?

Direct resources to Palestinians in Gaza

Restrict access to wireless internet

The policy includes dimming streetlights and roadside advertisements, as well as the early closure of cafes, shops, restaurants, and malls amid the energy crisis sparked by the war in Iran, FP’s Nosmot Gbadamosi reports in Africa Brief.

3. The conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan continues to intensify. Each side took the escalatory step of doing what on Sunday?

Deploying artillery and heavy weapons

Launching cyberattacks on financial institutions

Sending drone swarms to attack residential areas

Massing ground troops along their shared border

The violence comes at an awkward time for Pakistan, which has positioned itself as a possible peace broker in the U.S.-Israel-Iran war, FP’s Michael Kugelman writes in South Asia Brief.

4. Russia expelled a British diplomat on Monday over accusations of what?

Having forged credentials

Having an affair with a government minister

The expulsion comes alongside a broader crackdown in Russia that has seen access to the internet severely curtailed, Alexey Kovalev wrote last week.

5. For the first time since 2022, the average price of a gallon of gas in the United States crossed which notable threshold on Tuesday?

War-related disruptions to the energy market could worsen as the Houthis enter the fray and threaten Red Sea shipping, FP’s Keith Johnson reports.

6. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was considering doing what, in response to U.S. allies’ reluctance to enter the war against Iran?

Withdraw the United States from NATO

Cut off military aid to European allies

Withdraw support for Ukraine in its war against Russia

Stop shipping oil and gas to allies

Despite the apocalyptic headlines, the war in Iran is going reasonably well for Israel and the United States, Raphael S. Cohen argues.

7. Mexico’s president on Wednesday tapped Roberto Velasco, a lawyer, to be the country’s new foreign minister. Velasco is considered a leading expert in what field?

International trade and energy policy

Bilateral relations with the United States

Latin American history and culture

Velasco’s appointment comes at a time of increased tension in U.S.-Mexico relations, with Washington’s economic blockade of Cuba serving as another pressure point for Mexico City, as Oscar Lopez wrote in February.

8. Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was elected president on Friday following a parliamentary vote, formalizing his hold on power after he led a coup ousting a democratically elected government in what year?

The election followed a highly stage-managed parliamentary election in December and January, which Hunter Marston wrote about at the time.

9. People marched through the streets of Bolivia’s capital on Monday to protest a government decree limiting school extracurricular activities. How were the demonstrators dressed?

In anime cosplay outfits

In various sports uniforms

As video game characters

A mandate for 200 days of lessons a year has effectively banned schools from hosting special events, where clowns often perform, The Associated Press reports.

10. Turkey qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2002 by defeating Kosovo in a match on Tuesday. The last time the Turkish squad qualified, it made it all the way to the semifinal round, where it lost to which team?

Turkey will face Australia, Paraguay, and the United States in Group D of the World Cup, Reuters reports.

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