NewsTracker Answers for week of Feb. 25, 2013

Q: Armed with automatic weapons and disguised as police, robbers seized diamonds worth $50 million from a passenger plane preparing to depart Belgium for Switzerland. Where is Belgium on this map?

Circle the area on this map

Q: The robbery took place in "a gap of only a few minutes" between the loading of the valuable cargo and the moment the plane starts to move. It took place at the airport in Belgium's capital and largest city . . .

A. Amsterdam

B. Brussels

C. Calais

D. Dresden

B. Police believe the robbers must have had inside information to carry out the heist which took only two minutes and 50 seconds. It is estimated that gems worth nearly $200 million are shipped through the Brussels Airport every day.

Q: Antwerp has been a leading diamond center for centuries, with about eight in every 10 rough diamonds and five in every 10 polished diamonds passing through it. The province of Antwerp is on the Belgium's northern border with . . .

A. The Netherlands

B. Germany

C. Luxembourg

D. France

A. Belgium seceded from The Netherlands in 1830 and has since been overrun in wars between France to the south and west and Germany to the east. Tiny Luxembourg is on Belgium's southeast border.

Q: The robbers spoke French, which is one of Belgium's official languages. What language do about 60 percent of Belgians speak?

A. German

B. Belgian

C. French

D. Dutch

D. Belgium straddles the boundary between Europe's Germanic and Latin languages and cultures. Tensions between majority Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.

Q: Belgium hosts the headquarters of international organizations like the European Union and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). Which of Belgium's neighbors hosts the International Court of Justice, commonly referred to as the World Court?

A. The Netherlands

B. Germany

C. Luxembourg

D. France

A. The court is based in The Hague in the Netherlands. The court was established by the United Nations to settle legal disputes between nations. The United States withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction of the court in 1986 after the U.S.'s covert war against Nicaragua was ruled in violation of international law.