Drew’s News
COVID Update
Final Jeopardy
100
This Italian soccer club has been knocked out of the Champions League by FC Porto, the third year in a row it has been eliminated by a team that would not be welcome in the European Super League that the club’s executives are working to create
What is Juventus
100
This Middle Eastern dictator and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus, as the war-torn nation struggles to fight the pandemic with limited testing capacity and only half of its hospitals fully functioning
Who is Bashar al-Assad (a reminder that, although its not in the news much anymore, the 10th anniversary of the Syrian Civil War is next week on the Ides of March)
100
1. This British Overseas Territory is on the verge of fully vaccinating its population thanks to a steady stream of supplies from the UK and, despite the territory’s disputed status, has begun distributing vaccines to workers from the neighboring nation 2. NASA has completed the assembly of two booster rockets that will power its next-generation launch system, which will return astronauts to the moon under this aptly-named project
What is Gibraltartemis
200
A supreme court judge in Brazil has annulled the corruption convictions of this popular ex-president who had been implicated in Operation Car Wash, clearing the way for him to challenge Jair Bolsonaro for the presidency in 2022
Who is Lula (Luiz Inácio da Silva)
200
This European nation’s Test and Trace system, created to prevent future lockdowns, has been found to have made no clear impact in helping combat the pandemic, with two lockdowns put in place since its launch and much of its $50 billion budget used on questionable spending
What is the United Kingdom
300
An undercover operation organized by the BBC has found that parts of the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil are being illegally sold on the marketplace of this social media network, with the tech company saying it was ready to work with local authorities but would not take independent action, even though their “commerce policies require buyers and sellers to comply with laws and regulations”
What is Facebook (you can still find these plots of land on Facebook Marketplace by searching forest, native jungle, or timber in English or Portuguese and picking one of the Amazonian states as the location; for example I found a 200 hectare plot (~500 acres) for R$150,000 (~$25,000 USD) in Rondônia State)
300
Hospitals and health systems in the largest cities of this South American country are on the verge of collapse, with 15 of the 27 state capitals reported to have ICUs more than 90% full, all while the president tells citizens to “stop whining” about the surge in cases and deaths
What is Brazil
400
Using declassified military documents, researchers have determined that this nation concealed the true impact of its nuclear tests in the Pacific from the 1960s to the 1990s, with around 110,000 people in Polynesia affected by radioactive fallout, far more than the 63 people the government has compensated
What is France
400
The prime minister of this Southeast Asian country deflected questions about a cabinet reshuffle at a recent news conference by picking up a bottle of sanitizer and spraying it at reporters
What is Thailand
500
A pair of velvet slippers and a brandy glass that belonged to this 20th century world leader and are monogrammed with his initials, sold for $55,000 and $25,000 respectively at auction this week (further proving that money and value aren’t real)
Who is Winston Churchill
500
The president of this South American nation has fired three of his ministers and another has resigned as violent protests continue against the government’s handling of the pandemic, with health care workers saying hospitals have run out of medicine to treat patients
What is Paraguay