Places in the News Quiz, 2004
On April 22, 2004, a train carrying explosives touched a live power cable and set off a massive explosion in the city of Ryongchon. The explosion killed more than 150 people, injured more than a thousand, and caused the normally insular government to ask for international help.
In August 2004 a referendum on recalling this country's controversial president was held. Which president caused such an uproar and survived the referendum with an overwhelming 58% of the vote?
- Venezuela's firebrand president Hugo Chavez was deeply unpopular among business, labor, and media circles, but retained his charismatic hold on Venezuela's poor, who were responsible for defeating the referendum to oust him.
After years of relative calm, tension between Serbs and Albanians resulted in widespread violence in March, 2004. NATO deployed an additional 1,000 peacekeepers to help the 18,000 already there stem the violence in this region.
In the biggest expansion in its 55-year history, NATO admitted seven new countries in March 2004. The newest members of NATO are:
- NATO, which now comprises 26 member states, maintains headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
In February 2004, the president of this country resigned and fled to the Central African Republic after armed rebels entered the capitol and French and American leaders pressured him to leave.
- President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who claimed that U.S. soldiers had abducted him and forced him to resign, had been criticized for failing to combat poverty and government corruption.
In an incredible political upset, India's ruling BJP party lost to the National Congress Party in May, 2004, elections. In another surprise, the leader of the Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, turned down the role of Prime Minister. She had been criticized as unsuitable for the position because she was not born in India. Where was she born?
- Sonia Gandhi is part of a powerful political dynasty—she is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi.
On the eve of national elections President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu were hit by bullets and slightly injured while campaigning. On March 20, 2004, Chen was reelected by a slim margin. His rival, Lien Chen, called for a recount and suggested the assassination attempt was a ploy to win sympathy votes. Where did this bizarre election intrigue play out?
On March 11, four commuter trains were bombed in this European capitol. More than a thousand were injured and 191 people were killed. Officials initially blamed the E.T.A., a separatist group, but focus soon turned to al-Qaeda.
On January 4th, 2004, Mikhail Saakashvili won his nation's presidential election in a landslide. The election was held after the former president, Eduard Shevardnadze, stepped down after weeks of peaceful protests. In which country did this "Rose Revolution" take place?
- Eduard Shevardnadze was the leader of the Georgian Communist Party. In 1992, Shevardnadze became head of an interim government in Georgia and later that year he was elected parliament chairman. He won the presidency in a popular election in 1995. By 2003, however, the Georgian public was quite unhappy with his continued rule and flawed elections.
In April 2004 residents of this divided island voted on a UN reunification plan. About 75% of the Greek population voted against the plan while 65% of Turkish residents approve it. The island is:
- The Greek side of Cyprus joins the European Union in May, 2004.
