What in the World?

Test yourself on the week of Oct. 31: Russia and Ukraine hack each other, Americans vote in midterm elections, and Indonesia deploys troops to its capital. Supporters listen as Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa in Austin, Texas. Supporters listen as Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a campaign rally with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 2. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Politics November 6, 2026, 1:20 PM The U.S. midterm elections took place this week. Did you remember to keep tabs on the rest of the world? Find out with our international news quiz! Have feedback? Email [email protected] to let me know your thoughts. The U.S. midterm elections took place this week. Did you remember to keep tabs on the rest of the world? Find out with our international news quiz! 1. Residents in Ukraine and Russia received phony emergency alerts late on Sunday and early Monday, part of hacking efforts undertaken by each country. Which of the below was not one of the false warnings sent? As the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, Russia has continued its mobilization to restock its ravaged military ranks, Alexey Kovalev writes. 2. Ethiopia on Sunday ordered Sudan’s consulate in the city of Assosa to close. Six Sudanese consular staff were also expelled from the country. The move came following the Sudanese government accusing Ethiopia of what? Hundreds of foreign fighters have swelled the RSF’s ranks throughout the war. A lasting peace must be driven by the Sudanese people, Sudanese leader Abdalfatah Alburhan argued in September. 3. Ahead of U.S. midterm elections, President Donald Trump on Monday delivered his final public remarks, where he spent more than 15 minutes focused on what effort undertaken by his administration? Democrats trounced Republicans at the ballot box, thanks in part to Trump’s corruption and the Iran war. But that doesn’t mean that voters want to go back to a pre-Trump status quo, FP’s Emma Ashford argues. 4. Among the Democratic victories in the midterms on Tuesday, James Talarico became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Texas since when? Despite Democrats’ firm rebuke of Trump, no one should kid themselves that the next two years are going to be anything but ugly, chaotic, and brutal, FP’s Michael Hirsh writes. 5. Brazil on Tuesday approved legislation that strengthened the government’s ability to do what? Although he is fresh off an electoral victory, 81-year-old President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will need to start cultivating a successor as soon as possible, Oliver Stuenkel writes. 6. Indonesia’s military on Wednesday announced that it would deploy more than 20,000 troops and personnel to the capital, Jakarta, amid an investigation into an alleged wiretapping operation targeting whom? Prabowo has made anti-corruption a central part of his agenda, ordering high-profile investigations into politically connected businesspeople, former ministers, and state-owned enterprises, which Michael Neilson wrote about in August. 7. Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to sow distrust in recent parliamentary elections, President Isaac Herzog took what action on Wednesday? Herzog will now begin meeting with party leaders to determine who will be named prime minister-designate, FP’s Alexandra Sharp reports in World Brief. 8. Pope Leo XIV began an 11-day tour of Latin America on Friday, less than a month after he underwent surgery to do what? The trip features a homecoming of sorts for Leo, who spent years living and working in Peru, Gene Kuleta writes. 9. The Collins English Dictionary this week announced its word of the year. The definition for the word is “the act of outshining or outperforming someone or something.” What is it? The word is often traced back to the acronym AMOG, meaning “Alpha Male of the Group,” which arose from bodybuilding culture in the 2010s, the BBC reports. 10. An exhibition that opened on Saturday at a German museum explores the history of a certain dog breed in art. What breed is the focus of the exhibition? (Hint: Think German.) The exhibition displays paintings, drawings, photographs, and videos, as well as stuffed dog toys and other dachshund-themed objects, The Associated Press reports. You scored It’s a big world out there! Brush up on global goings-on by subscribing to World Brief, Foreign Policy’s flagship daily newsletter. You scored Perfection! You’re a pro who needs the in-depth insights offered in Situation Report, our newsletter on national security and defense. Have feedback? Email [email protected] to let me know your thoughts. Politics Drew Gorman is a deputy copy editor at Foreign Policy. OTHER SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS Stories Readers Liked Go to slide 1 Go to slide 2 Go to slide 3 Go to slide 4 Go to slide 5 Go to slide 6 Go to slide 7 Go to slide 8 Go to slide 9 Go to slide 10 Three people rest on a sandy beach while a large, partially submerged and tilted ship sits out in the water in the background. The sky above is a hazy gray with cloud cover. A Taiwanese crowd protests while waving flags of the Republic of China. U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, left, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, right, stand during a press conference at NATO headquarters. Rutte is looking over at Colby, whose fingers are pressed together in a steeple gesture in front of him. Both men are wearing dark suits and ties, standing in front of a blue backdrop and U.S. and NATO flags. 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Light radiates from the far end of the tunnel behind them A statue of a seated, bearded man with a bare torso and draped cloth around his waist, holding a scroll in one hand, positioned in front of a row of large classical columns. Negotiators from the United States, Canada, and five European countries converse after finishing the draft of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington on March 18, 1949. Trans-Atlanticism Isn’t Dead—It’s Being Renegotiated By Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer An aerial photo shows Doha in the booming petrostate of Qatar. U.S. Midterm Election Sen. Chuck Schumer is seen standing next to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries. Where Democrats Can Thwart Trump’s Foreign Policy From the Iran war to boat strikes to Ukraine, Democrats now have powerful leverage. A large monument of a female figure holding a raised sword and a shield against a dark night sky, illuminated with projected blue and red lighting displaying patterns of stars and stripes. People gather on a stage behind a podium labeled "Fighting for an Affordable America," with a woman clapping on the left, two men smiling toward each other in the center, including Jeffries, and two people embracing on the right in front of a blue backdrop. Supporters of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Texas state Rep. James Talarico, cheer as they watch midterm election returns during a party in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 3.