NewsTracker Answers for week of Feb. 20, 2012

Q: Most inmates of an overcrowded Honduran prison where 355 prisoners died in a fire last week had never been charged, let alone convicted, according to an internal government report. Where is Honduras on this map?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The U.S. State Department has criticized the Honduran government for harsh prison conditions, citing severe overcrowding, malnutrition and lack of adequate sanitation. Which nation has the largest percentage of its population in prison?

A. Honduras

B. Russia

C. China

D. United States

D. The United States has the highest prison population rate in the world, some 714 inmates for every 100,000 people. It is followed by Belarus, Bermuda and Russia all at 532. With more than 2 million inmates, the United States also has the most prisoners in the world.

Q: Two-thirds of Hondurans live in poverty, but their southeastern neighbors are even poorer. Which nation is on Honduras' southeastern border?

A. Nicaragua

B. Belize

C. Canada

D. Guatemala

A. Honduras is bounded by the Caribbean Sea on the north and northeast, Nicaragua on the southeast, the Pacific Ocean and El Salvador on the southwest and Guatemala on the northwest. Honduras is the third-poorest nation in the Americas followed by Nicaragua and then Haiti at the bottom.

Q: A four-day "Soccer War" between Honduras and El Salvador followed World Cup qualifying games and fan rioting in the nations' capitals in 1969. What is the capital of Honduras?

A. Havana

B. Managua

C. Tegucigalpa

D. San Salvador

C. While the name "Soccer War" implies the war was fought over the games held in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and San Salvador, El Salvador, the deeper causes of the conflict were tensions over land reform, immigration and borders.

Q: After living in Honduras at the turn of the last century, American writer O. Henry coined a much-used pejorative term to describe nations operated solely to profit foreign companies and a country's wealthy elite. Which term is it?

A. Socialist utopia

B. Banana republic

C. Mob rule

D. Kleptocracy

B. Banana exporters dominated Honduras and neighboring countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They controlled a much of the land and workers and even hired mercenaries to overthrow an unfriendly government.