| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| This man gained his post in a 2019 snap election which saw the continued rule of the Nur Otan party, which was renamed to Amanat under his watch in 2022. This man implemented a fuel cap of 50 tenge per litre and nominated (+) Älihan Smaiylov to serve as prime minister after the removal of Asqar Mamin. This man renamed his country's capital to Nursultan after his predecessor from Astana in 2019. (*) For the point, name this current president of Kazakhstan. | Kassym-Jomart Tokayev |
| This man led coalitions challenging the Obama administration's DAPA and DACA immigration policies and used the independent state legislature theory in a lawsuit against Pennsylvania following the (+) 2020 U.S. Presidential election. This politician sued the city of Austin for its COVID- 19 restrictions, and his 2023 impeachment followed allegations of obstruction of justice and false statements. (*) For the point, name this controversial Attorney General of Texas. | Ken Paxton (or Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr.) |
| In May, 2023, this man faced controversy for allegedly paying a man to remove references to his work in the Ohio COVID-19 Response Team and his receiving of a Soros Fellowship to appear more favorable to conservatives. This man has founded companies such as Roivant Sciences and (+) Strive Asset Management. This man, who is currently the youngest candidate in the 2024 Republican Primaries, is also one of two with Indian descent, alongside Nikki Haley. (*) For the point, name this entrepreneur who has been dubbed "The C.E.O. of Anti-Woke, Inc." | Vivek Ramaswamy (or Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy) |
| This company's operations in the Prirazlomnoye field were interrupted by Greenpeace activists on the MV Arctic Sunrise in 2013. In 2022, this company replaced Sberbank (+) as the largest of its country. The shooting-down of a Sukhoi Su-24 over the Black Sea temporarily halted this company's TurkStream Project, and its Nord Stream pipeline was sabotaged in 2022. (*) For the point, name this company that controls most of Russia's oil production. | Gazprom (or PJSC Gazprom) |
| This media organization includes an English-language program known as The Spark, which faced controversy for its stereotypical depictions of Indians during a standoff over the Doklam Plateau. Mark Bourrie resigned as a Canadian correspondent (+) for this organization after being asked to gather intel on the Dalai Lama. This organization has faced criticism for promoting the Ukraine bioweapons conspiracy theory and Uygur Genocide Denial. (*) For the point, name this official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. | Xinhua News Agency (or New China News Agency) |
| This term was coined by political scientist Zhang Weiwei in a debate against Francis Fukuyama on whether he believed the Jasmine Revolution would successfully take hold in China. This term described a series of events which included the (+) "Bloody Thursday" raid at Manama's Pearl Roundabout as well as an interim presidency by Adly Mansour. A part of this phenomenon saw Mohamed Morsi being overthrown by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. (*) For the point, identify this term describing a resurgence of authoritarianism in the Middle East and North Africa. | Arab Winter (do not accept or prompt on "Arab Spring") |
| This woman was the first from her country to be elected into the International Labor Organization. This woman was the Speaker of the Parliament of her country from 2013 until 2017, representing the (+) People’s Action Party. This woman, who campaigned under the slogan “Do Good Do Together,” was referred to as "Madam President" twice by Chan Chun Sing in February 2017, before she won the election later that year. (*) For the point, name this first woman and first ethnically Malay president of Singapore. | Halimah Yacob (or Halimah Binti Yacob) |
| This organization, headquartered in the town of La Hulpe in Belgium, is currently headed by Yawar Shah, and organizes the annual Sibos conference. This organization was the target of the largest cyber heist in history, orchestrated through a (+) Bangladesh Bank account. The SPFS was established as an alternative to this system after the invasion of Crimea. (*) For the point, name this cooperative society which facilities secure financial transactions between banks worldwide, and from which some Russian banks were removed in 2022. | SWIFT (or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication; or S.W.I.F.T. SC) |
| This facility is the current base of R. Nicholas Burns, who presented his credentials to Wang Yi in 2022. Ambassadors such as former governors Gary Locke and Terry E. Branstad have served at this facility where "barefoot lawyer" (+) Chen Guangcheng sought refuge in 2012. This facility operates in conjunction with consulate generals in cities such as Guangdong and Wuhan. (*) For the point, name this diplomatic facility representing America in the capital of the world's most populous country. | United States Embassy in Beijing (accept clear-knowledge equivalents of an Embassy to the People's Republic of China) |
| This event caused Carsten Spohr to call it the "darkest day" of his company's history. This disaster caused the aviation regulatory agencies of countries such as Canada and Australia to implement a (+) "two man rule." Reinforced cockpit doors made after the 9/11 attacks caused captain Patrick Sondenheimer to be unable to stop co-pilot Andreas Lubitz from causing this disaster. (*) For the point, name this 2015 tragic event where a suicidal pilot of a budget airline owned by Lufthansa veered his aircraft into the Alps. | Germanwings Flight 9525 (accept any answer relating to the Crash of a Germanwings Plane) |
| This author won a 2022 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for her adaption of "The Wife of Bath's Tale" into a play set in Jamaica. This author, who appeared on Jon Batiste's album We Are, (+) created a character whose great-grandfather fired the first shot of the Sepoy Mutiny and who sends his son from England to Bangladesh. Marcus Chalfen creates the "FutureMouse" and Samad Iqbal befriends Archie Jones in a novel by this author. (*) For the point, name this British author of White Teeth. | Zadie Smith |
| In 2021, a former president of this country was charged with conspiracy and terrorism, as well as illegally assuming presidency of its Senate. That president of this country served during the Sacaba and (+) Senkata massacres and rose to power after the OAS found irregularities in an election won by the Movement for Socialism. (*) For the point, name this South American country where Jeanine Áñez became president in 2019 following election fraud allegations against Evo Morales. | Plurinational State of Bolivia |
| This structure's replacement is currently being constructed in the village of Dhannipur after the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board was allotted a plot of land there, as part of a decision rendered by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. (+) The site of this former structure was determined by the Allahabad High Court to be mostly allotted to a temple which would honor the birthplace of Rama. (*) For the point, name this mosque in Ayodhya which was controversially demolished by a Hindu mob in 1992. | Babri Masjid |
| One member of this family made a surprise qualification into the second round of a 2002 presidential election, leading to many protests against him using the phrase "a crook is better than a fascist." That man of this family eventually lost in a landslide against (+) Jacques Chirac, and his daughter has tried to "de-demonize" her party, the Front National. (*) For the point, name this right- wing French political family, a member of which lost two elections against Emmanuel Macron. | Le Pen Family (accept Jean-Marie Le Pen; accept Marine Le Pen) |
| This artist evoked the street grids of Los Angeles in three "quarantine paintings" made atop sanded layers of colored paper. He used recovered plywood for his Mithra ark displayed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and his (+) Tulsa Gotdamn memorializes the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Car windshields destroyed in riots may be the inspiration for this man’s work A Truly Rich Man is One Whose Children Run into His Arms. (*) For the point, name this African-American abstract artist known for collage paintings. | Mark Bradford |
| Henk Vanderhorst helped preserve a historic neighborhood in this city that was named after Jack Deighton, a talkative saloon owner. Apartments at a density of 500 units per acre are being built in this city's (+) Sen̓áḵw [[SNAWK]] development, part of its Kitsilano neighborhood. This city's harbor includes False Creek and Burrard Inlet, part of the Salish Sea, and its other neighborhoods include Strathcona and Gastown. The Squamish people have a reservation in, (*) for the point, what Canadian city also home to Stanley Park? | Vancouver |
| This disaster triggered the "cladding scandal," along with a similar incident at Bolton Cube two years later. An inquiry into this disaster was headed by Sir Martin Moore-Bick. This disaster, which occurred in North Kensington, (+) placed extra stress on the Metropolitan Police Service, due to it occurring right after the Finsbury Park attack. An electrical fault in a refrigerator caused, (*) for the point, what fire, which caused the deaths of 72 people in a London high-rise in 2017? | Grenfell Tower Fire |
| A debate on an immigration bill led to the coining of this politician's namesake rule, which only allowed votes supported by a "majority of the majority." This politician became the "Accidental Speaker" after Hustler Magazine revealed the extramarital affairs of (+) Robert Livingston. In 2016, this man was sentenced to fifteen months in prison for bank fraud conviction, which was linked to his sexual abuse of teenage boys. Newt Gingrich was succeeded by, (*) for the point, what longest- serving Republican Speaker of the House? | Dennis Hastert (or John Dennis Hastert) |
| This man led a government which collapsed due to disagreements over the Global Compact for Migration. This man, in the "Sofagate" scandal, was criticized for sitting on a chair across from (+) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan while his female peer sat on a nearby couch. The FDF left this man's party after his defense of Francophone speakers over the split of the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde district. (*) For the point, name this current president of the European Council, and former prime minister of Belgium. | Charles Michel (or Charles Yves Jean Ghislaine Michel) |
| This man pledged to donate up to one billion dollars in the 2024 presidential race, after he was the second-largest donor to Democrats in the 2022 Midterm Elections behind George Soros. This man spent 135 million dollars for the naming rights of the home arena of the (+) Miami Heat, and he co-founded Alameda Research. This man, who lobbied congress to pass the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act, was extradited from the Bahamas in late 2022. (*) For the point, name this disgraced CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. | Sam Bankman-Fried (or Samuel Benjamin Bankman-Fried; or SBF) |
| This group has denied the claim that they are attempting to institute a government based on the Ten Commandments. This group originated out of Alice Lakwena's (+) Holy Spirit Movement, which used Shea Nut oil to supposedly protect followers from bullets. Acholi people opposed to the government of Yoweri Museveni formed this group, which was the subject of a documentary by the group Invisible Children. (*) For the point, name this Ugandan rebel group whose leader is the namesake of the documentary Kony 2012. | Lord's Resistance Army (or LRA; accept Lord's Resistance Movement) |
| This composer won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her work titled Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, alongside that year's other recipients Fred Lerdahl and Julia Wolfe. This composer's first written opera was based on the (+) 1997 novel Cold Mountain. In 2020, this composer won her third Best Contemporary Classical Composition Grammy Award for her Harp Concerto. (*) For the point, name this American composer who created works such as All Things Majestic and blue cathedral. | Jennifer Higdon (or Jennifer Elaine Higdon) |
| This event Sergei Markov claimed one of his aides was responsible for this event, and another member of Nashi who claimed responsibility for this event resided in Transnistria, shielding him from EU prosecution. The website of a party led by (+) Andrus Ansip was defaced during this event. This event, which was the second largest of its type in history after Titan Rain, emerged from the movement of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn. (*) For the point, name these online attacks which targeted a small Baltic nation in 2007. | Estonian Cyberattacks of 2007 (accept clear-knowledge equivalents) |
| Vladimir Zhirinovsky promised to seek the pardon of a governor of a federal subdivision named for this city. That man governing from this city was accused of (+) killing business rivals there and in nearby Amur Oblast. This city lost its spot as the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District to Vladivostok after the election of a gubernatorial candidate belonging to the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. (*) For the point, name this Siberian city, the capital of a namesake krai formerly governed by Sergei Furgal until his removal. | Khabarovsk |
| This family controls the second-largest privately held company in the United States, based in Wichita. This family has supported the Institute of Humane Studies and the (+) Ayn Rand Institute. The patriarch of this family was a founding member of the John Birch Society, while another member of this family co-founded the Cato Institute. (*) For the point, name this billionaire family known for supporting conservative and libertarian causes such as the Tea Party Movement. | Koch Family (accept Fred C (hase) Koch; accept Charles Koch) |
| This man ordered a county clerk to issue the first same-sex marriage licenses in the United States in 2004, as mayor of (+) San Francisco. This man, who survived a recall election against talk- show host Larry Elder, served as lieutenant governor under Jerry Brown, and he has declared a state of emergency due to his state’s wildfires. (*) For the point, name this current governor of California. | Gavin Newsom |