So as a dedicated Prachatai reader, you think you know what’s going on in the world. You have 7 days to answer these question before your ignorance is revealed in next week’s column. All questions have been pre-tested with Prachatai staff and any question that any of them could answer was eliminated and replaced with something even more obscure.

There is no prize, but even so, all employees of Prachatai are banned from answering (well, there’d be no point, would there?), as is anyone who knows how to use Google.

1.What happened in January in Baghdad for the first time since 1990?

2.Where in January did the koruna disappear, and what took its place?

3.Who crashed his Ferrari in a tunnel under an airport in January and 3 days later was named the best person in the world at his job?

4.Who didn’t hear the parts of President Obama’s inauguration speech in January that talked about communism and silencing dissent?

5.In February a 28-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were acquitted in India of committing an obscene act near a Delhi railway station. What had they done?

6.A British army officer in Afghanistan was put under arrest in February for leaking official secrets. What were the secrets and who did he pass them to?

7.Microsoft offered to pay a quarter of a million dollars in February for a specific piece of information. What did Microsoft want to know?

8.Which Asian capital was attacked in February by planes that, according to the government, the enemy did not have?

9.A tennis match in Malmö, Sweden, in March had to be held behind closed doors because of fear of protests, which instead took place outside the stadium. What were the protests about?

10.The oldest firm in Seattle stopped production in March because of continued losses and a change in consumer preferences. What was its line of business?

11.A painting of the Prime Minister of Ireland was displayed in the National Gallery of Ireland in March but removed after only 20 minutes and the police were called in. Why?

12.Canadian computer researchers claimed in March to have discovered an electronic spying network that has stolen documents from computers in 103 countries. They called the system GhostNet. Where is it based?

13.Which international sporting event in April had to be relocated from one country because it clashed with a general election and took place in another country, which was, er, having a general election?

14.The two remaining Beatles performed together in New York at the beginning of April. One of the songs they sang was ‘Blackbird’. Who did they dedicate it to?

15.The Bishop of Down and Dromore in Northern Ireland called for a boycott on Good Friday, for the benefit of the souls of people in Northern Ireland. What did he want to ban?

16.What measure did the Egyptian government take in April to prevent an outbreak of swine flu?

17.A man with three wives and whose trademark song is ‘Bring me my machinegun’ was sworn in as president in May. Which country does he now lead?

18.A former Miss North Dakota was arrested for buying a bottle of wine, charged with not having a press card and jailed for 8 years for spying in May. She was released on appeal. Who had arrested her?

19.A chauffeur lost his job in May for allowing undercover reporters to look at his employer’s cars. Who did he work for?

20.In May, a Chinese man threatened to commit suicide by jumping from the Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou, causing a 5-hour traffic jam. A passer-by approached him and they shook hands. What happened next?

21.Where were Yahoo and Twitter banned on the June anniversary of an event 20 years ago?

22.Two thousand private colour photographs were published for the first time in June. They cover the last ten years of the life of a man who died 64 years ago. Who was he?

23.Who found out in June that he will be released from prison when he is 222 years old?

24.Someone in Spain spent a world record of 94 million Euros in June. What did they buy? .

25.Thousands of people in Russia were thrown out of work in July after an entire industry was declared illegal. Which kind of business was closed?

26.A wife revealed her family’s address and details about their children on her Facebook page in July. The British government quickly erased them. Why?

27.Construction workers in South Africa ended a strike in July that caused international concern. What were they building?

28.A Sudanese woman went on trial in July charged with public indecency. What did she do that was indecent?

29.About one hundred Algerians and foreigners were involved in street fights in Algiers in August about foreigners being given jobs at a time of high unemployment. Where are the foreigners from?

30.In August, Scots became very upset about a report on haggis. What irritated them?

31.German politician Vera Lengsfeld, running for election in Berlin in August, included in her campaign posters a picture of her party leader, Chancellor Angela Merkel, with the slogan ‘We have more to offer’. What does the poster offer?

32.What reached 3 million on the internet on August 17?

33.Traffic in Samoa in September experienced a problem that prompted the government to declare a 2-day holiday. The last place to have this problem was Okinawa in 1978. What was the problem?

34.When French police moved in to clear away a jungle in September, they were met by protestors who tried to stop them. But these were not environmental activists. What jungle were they protecting? .

35.Last year Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy was criticized for joking that President Obama was ‘suntanned’. Who came back from the G20 summit in September and made the same joke?

36.Who listened to the September UN speech of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for 90 minutes before saying ‘I can’t take any more’ and walking out of the meeting.

37.In October an international prize was won by a woman for the first time since it was instituted 40 years ago. What award is this?

38.An advertisement using a picture of Hitler with the caption ‘Hitler is not dead’ was the subject of a complaint in October by the German and Israeli embassies in which country?

39.Who came out of hiding in October and got his parents into trouble by saying ‘You said we did this for the show’?

40.Who stayed away from court in October, claiming that he needed 9 months to read 1.2 million pages of evidence?

41.Tens of thousands of people poured into a small town in northern India in November to hear a lecture that has been condemned by China. Who gave the talk?

42.In November the mother of a UK soldier who was killed while on duty in Afghanistan rejected a handwritten letter of condolence as a ‘hastily scrawled insult’. Who wrote the letter?

43.Last year, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a formal apology to the aboriginal community. In November he apologized again. Who received the apology this time?

44.In November there was a demonstration outside the French Embassy in Dublin and the Egyptian government recalled its Ambassador to Algeria. What caused both these protests?

45.According to a December letter from the Queen, what does the British Royal Family not want for Christmas this year?

46.As of 2 December, what do France, Mexico, South Africa and Uruguay now have in common?

47.The Nepali cabinet discussed the country’s position ahead of the December Copenhagen climate change conference. What was unusual about the meeting?

48.What 5-metre 40-kilogram object was stolen in Poland in December and later found in 3 pieces?