ONE: Thanks to the dictator Robert Mugabe, who can teach quite a few repressive techniques to his counterparts elsewhere in the world, Zimbabwe these days is very much in the news. Formerly known as the Republic of Rhodesia, the landlocked country’s capital is Harare. What is the city’s former name?

TWO: Until recently a part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo is now an independent republic, with more than 90 per cent of its population being Albanians. Though Serbs in Kosovo are in a minuscule minority — slightly more than five per cent — the neighbouring Serbia, once a part of Yugoslavia too, is sour about Kosovo’s break away from their country. By the way, what is the capital of Kosovo?

THREE: This huge country occupies half the area of South America. No prizes for guessing we are referring to Brazil, where far more people speak Portuguese than in the mother country — Portugal. What is the capital of Brazil?

FOUR: The Velvet Revolution is the name given to the peaceful separation of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. When they were one country they were known as Czechoslovakia. The Slovak capital is Bratislava, what is the Czech capital? But before you answer the question let me tell you that it is one of the loveliest cities of the world.

FIVE: Akbar, undoubtedly the greatest of all Mughal rulers, built a walled city near Agra as his capital. But after a few years he shifted his capital to Lahore in 1585. Fourteen years later the emperor took his capital to Agra. Now the question: what is the name of the walled city that Akbar started building in 1571 and jilted it 14 years later?

SIX: The economy of the central American country — Panama, is fuelled primarily by the earnings of the Panama canal, which connects the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean Sea. What is the country’s capital?

SEVEN: Back to Africa, Zambia and the Gambia are two different states. English is the official language of both. Neither of the two has a state religion, even though there are 95 per cent Muslims in the Gambia, while 72 per cent of Zambia’s population are Christians. The Gambia is on the Atlantic coast while Zambia is landlocked. Banjul is the capital of the former, what is the capital of the latter?

EIGHT: The tiny kingdom of Lesotho is geographically an unusual country. It is surrounded on all sides by a much larger country, which you have to name. Its capital is Maseru.

NINE: Namibia, formerly known as South West Africa, became a German colony in 1884 and remained so until the First World War when South Africa took over its administration. Several decades later it won freedom. Now the question: what is the capital of Namibia: (a) Windhoek (b) Rangoon (c) Managua, or (d) Wellington?

TEN: Nearer home, the Republic of Maldives is one of the smallest countries in the world. Comprising several atolls, its total area is 298 square kilometres. What is the capital of the tiny South Asian country?
 

ANSWERS
 

(1) Salisbury (2) Pristina (3) Brasilia (4) Prague (5) Fatehpur Sikri (6) Panama City (7) Lusaka (8) South Africa (9) Windhoek (10) Male — Compiled by AN