Tennessee World Affairs Council What in the World? Weekly Quiz – August 2-8, 2021

Covid-19 vaccines are urgently needed in poorer countries but shortfalls in getting doses and difficulty reaching people with doses that are available is being seen across the Global South. THIS UN agency is charged with getting vaccines to poorer countries, which will not only protect their citizens but also reduce the danger that new, possibly vaccine resistant, Covid variants will emerge. (#WACquiz)

The State Department will begin processing hundreds more “Priority Two” visa applicants from THIS country where having affiliation with the U.S. Government makes them targets for deadly violence. The new pool of applicants adds openings to refuge in the U.S. On top of the “Special Immigration Visa” program available to interpreters and other U.S. Government workers. (#WACquiz)

Chinese diplomats gained promises that the Taliban will not allow militants to use Afghan territory to attack inside China. Afghanistan shares a narrow border with China’s Xinjiang province, home to THIS Muslim population said to be subject to genocide according to the U.S. State Department. (#WACquiz)

President Biden, in a meeting with THIS Prime Minister of Iraq, said the U.S. Combat mission in that country would conclude by year’s end but the American military would continue to support Iraq in the fight against ISIS. (WACA WWNU)

Two crewmen were killed in an attack in the North Arabian Sea on THIS tanker managed by an Israeli-owned company. The United States, Britain and Israel charged Iran with the drone strike. (#WACquiz)

A second missile silo field has been reported under construction in Western China as the Pentagon warned Beijing planned to double its 200 warhead nuclear weapons stockpile. This comes as Russia and the U.S. Pursue strategic arms talks, follow on to THIS agreement, that often include reference to Chinese nuclear weapons. (#WACquiz)

North and South Korea restored “hotline” communications between their governments, that were cut when relations deteriorated in recent years. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and THIS South Korean President reached agreement on the confidence building measure through an exchange of letters. (#WACquiz)

Kristina Timanovskaya was granted a humanitarian visa after she sought refuge in the Polish Embassy in Tokyo. The Olympic sprinter was forced to the airport to return home by THIS country’s team officials after she criticized them. (#WACquiz)

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani approved laws for the first election of the Shura, or legislative, council in THIS capital, permitting Qataris to vote for two-thirds of the advisory body in October. (#WACquiz)