NewsTracker Answers for week of Oct. 30, 2017

Q: The relics and ashes of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej were enshrined in the royal palace and two temples at the end of an elaborate five-day funeral for a monarch who reigned for seven decades. Where is Thailand?

Circle the area on this map


Q: The final stage of the funeral marked then end of a year-long mourning period for  King Bhumibol who was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his father was studying. Criticizing the monarch is a serious crime in the Kingdom of Thailand under what type of law?

A. Blasphemy

B. Divine right

C. Lese-majeste

D. Royal prerogative


C. Lese-majeste is the crime of violating majesty, an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. Lese-mageste cases have increased dramatically in recent years, and critics say it is being used the nation’s rulers to stifle free speech and dissent in the country.


Q: Who now wields the most political power in Thailand?

A. King

B. Military

C. Parliament

D. Rebels


B. The Thai military overthrew the democratically elected government in 2014, and the ruling junta put off new elections. Some observers said they believed the military wanted to be in control when the highly revered King Bhumibol died in October 2016. He has been succeeded by his son King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who has been active in the military.


Q: The military has run the country much of time since 1932 when it forced then-King Prajadhipok to end centuries of absolute monarchy. At that time the country was known by outsiders as . . .

A. Burma

B. Khmer

C. Laos

D. Siam


D. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens. But before 1949, it was known by outsiders as the Kingdom of Siam.


Q: Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation to never have been colonized. What European nation once ruled the land west of Thailand?

A. Britain

B. France

C. Portugal

D. Netherlands


A. Thailand’s monarchy maintained the country’s independence from the British Empire which ruled Burma and India to the west and the French who ruled what is now Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to the east. The kingdom served as a buffer to the colonial ambitions of the European competitors.