The newsquiz ... 25 questions about the week

There were some very impressive scores in last week's newsquiz. The pick of the bunch was a remarkable 20 by Liz Gerard. Hot on her heels was Simon O'Neill ('paying attention for once') with 19. Toby Brown scored 17.5 and Dave Bromage 17. The top teams were the Penman Partnership with 18 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe with 17. Dominic Hurst scored a below par 14 but confessed, as he works for the BBC, he fell asleep half way through! Here's this week's quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week's events. Let me know how you get on. 

The Budget dominated Thursday's front pages (Questions 1-3)

1. Chancellor Philip Hammond pledged in the Budget that stamp duty would be abolished for first-time buyers on properties worth up to how much?
2. The Chancellor froze alcohol duty apart from an increase in tax on what type of drink?

3. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, being heckled by a Tory frontbencher in his Budget response, said: 'The ____, ____ attitude of certain members opposite needs to be called out.’ What are the two missing words?
4. The European Commission cancelled the UK's turn to host which event, saying the UK will no longer be eligible after it leaves the EU in 2019?

5. Why was this week's BBC Question Time cut short to 40 minutes?

6. Philip Hammond, speaking on the Andrew Marr show, said: 'Where are all these _____ people? There are no _____ people.' What is the missing word?

7. Talks to form the next German government collapsed on Sunday after which party walked out of marathon negotiations with Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats?

8. Children in Need raised a record-breaking ‘on the night’ amount of money. To the nearest million pounds, what was the figure?

9. Eurotunnel is preparing for the post-Brexit era with a rebrand to 'mark the group’s passage into an exciting new era for mobility infrastructures’. What is the company’s new name to be?

10. Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took over as president of Zimbabwe, is known by which nom de guerre, acquired during his guerrilla warfare days?

11. What was the chief executive of fashion chain Fat Face referring to when he said ‘it's bad for customers, it's bad for business, it's bad for UK retail’?

12. What happened to Andrew Brady, Anisa Topan and Charles Burns this week?

13. Czech tennis player, Jana Novotná, who died age 49, won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in which year?

14. Who voluntarily agreed not to go on the BBC after accepting that his behaviour over a decade ago was 'occasionally juvenile’?
15. Shares in which company had their biggest fall in a single day after it lost 823,000 customers in four months?

16. Which company paid hackers $100,000 to delete the data of 57 million people - and to keep the breach of security quiet?
17. Former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladić, the ‘butcher of Bosnia’, was sentenced to life after being convicted of genocide by a UN criminal tribunal held in which city?

18. What is the name of the Argentinian navy submarine that has gone missing with 44 crew on board?

19. Which former Manchester City footballer was sentenced to nine years in prison by a court in Milan after being found guilty of sexual assault?

20. The actors who played the characters Keith Partridge and Bob Ferris both died this week. Name the two 1970s' TV programmes. Half a point for each.

21. Why was 19-year-old Rory Farquharson in the headlines?

22. England and Australia began the first Ashes this week at the Gabba. In which city is the famous cricket ground?

23. Who, in his resignation speech, said of his time in parliament: 'I think it’s a small cosy little club. I think it has all of the worst aspects of the old British system. I can tell you, it would fry your head to listen to the nonsense that is talked.’

24. Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to celebrate a 70th wedding anniversary - what element is used to describe the 70th anniversary?

25. Sarah Hall from Tyneside asked for which book to be removed from classes at her son's primary school as it promotes ‘inappropriate' sexual behaviour?

Answers here

The newquiz - 25 questions about the week

The top individual score in last week's newsquiz was Dave Bromage with 13.5, narrowly ahead of Toby Brown and Dominic Hurst who both scored 12.5. It was clearly a tough one which makes the team score of 18.5 by Sophie Jamieson's gang all the more impressive. I suspect this week's quiz is marginally easier - but it is always difficult to judge. Anyway, here it is ... as usual 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

1. Brexit Secretary David Davis, in a speech in Berlin, warned that 'putting politics above ____ is never a smart choice'. What is the missing word?

2. Conservative MP Anna Soubry reported threats against her to the police after she was branded as what on The Daily Telegraph’s front page?

3. Lloyd Blankfein suggested a second EU referendum to confirm there is a consensus in the UK on the 'monumental and irreversible' Brexit decision. Blankfein is CEO of which company?

4. In a speech at the Lord Mayor’s banquet Theresa May said Russia is seeking to weaponise what?

5. What, for the first time in 65 years, did not take place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday? 

6. The final death toll in the Grenfell Towers fire was confirmed as what number by Scotland Yard?

7. Donald Trump tweeted: 'Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me old, when I would NEVER call him ____ and ____?’ What are the two missing words? Half a point for each word.

8. Name the television producer, the creator of the ITV series Victoria, who said she was groped by a Government official during a visit to 10 Downing Street.

9. The political ambitions of Robert Mugabe’s wife are believed to have prompted the military takeover in Zimbabwe. What is her name?

10. A 500-year-old painting of Christ, known as Salvator Mundi (Saviour of the World), was sold in New York for a record $450m (£341m). Who is believed to be the artist?

11. Boris Johnson’s father Stanley is the oldest contestant in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. How old is he?

12. Children's author Chris Riddell suggested that who had plagiarised his book Mr Underbed?

13. Who returned his Freedom of the City award in protest over Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi?

14. Hassan Shabbir said he was 'deeply ashamed’ and 'disgusted with himself’ for doing what?

15. Italy failed to qualify for the football World Cup for the first time since which year?

16. What percentage of Australian voters said Yes to same sex marriage?

17. Actor Keith Barron, who died aged 83, was well known as David Pearce, the Casanova husband in which 1980s sitcom?

18. Joy Lofthouse, who died age 94, was the last surviving what?

19. Which organisation said, in advice issued to 5,000 schools, that youngsters should be able to choose the tutu, tiara and heels, as well as or instead of the helmet, tool belt and superhero cloak?

20. Where did the wedding of Charles Bronson and former Coronation Street extra Paula Williamson take place?

21. Why was 25-year-old Arthur Collins in the headlines?

22. A special forces dog who sniffed out Taliban booby traps in Kabul has been awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. What is the dog called?

23. British explorer Benedict Allen went missing during an expedition to track down a tribe of headhunters in which country?

24. What, according to estate agents Strutt & Parker, could save millennials £2,576 a year and help them get on the housing ladder?

25. Greggs apologised for replacing Jesus with what in a promotional image for its advent calendar?

Answers here

Telegraph Jamie wins the newsquiz Champagne

The Telegraph trainees with their certificates in the London newsroom today. Left to right: Jamie Johnson, Luke Mintz, Mark Wray (MD at Press Association Training), Izzy Lyons and Helen Chandler-Wilde

I spent an enjoyable three days at the Press Association's HQ in Howden with the Telegraph trainees this week. On the last week of their eight-week course in East Yorkshire, they put together an excellent 25-minute interactive presentation which they presented to the Telegraph's executives in London today. It was a great job - well done to them. 

Izzy, Jamie with his Champagne prize, Luke and Helen 

Afterwards we rounded off the course by doing the newsquiz over a couple of farewell drinks in the Brass Money in Victoria. Helen Chandler-Wilde, Izzy Lyons and Jamie Johnson all scored 12, with Luke Mintz on 11. The overall winner, by some margin, over the eight-week course was Jamie with an average score of 13.5.  
The trainees now embark on the second stage of their training at PA, The Telegraph and at placements on regional newspapers. They are a bright and likeable bunch who will undoubtedly go far. I wish them well.
The top online scorer in last week's newsquiz was Elly Rewcastle with an impressive 19. Here is this week's quiz ... 25 questions about the week's news. Give it a go and see if you can score higher than the trainees' 12. 

Another day, another crisis. Today's Daily Telegraph

1. Who replaced Priti Patel as International Development Secretary?

2. Cabinet minister Priti Patel resigned after it was revealed she held how many unofficial meetings, including one with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, during a 13-day holiday in Israel?

3. Boris Johnson told the Commons foreign affairs committee that detained British woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been doing what in Iran?
4. The Welsh First Minister faced calls to resign after the death of Carl Sergeant, who was found dead days after being suspended from the party. What is the first minister called?

5. Tarnished actor Kevin Spacey is to be edited out of the Hollywood film All The Money In The World and replaced by Christopher Plummer. Which part was Spacey meant to be playing?

6. According to the Paradise Papers, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton’s advisers recouped £3.3million in VAT by putting his private jet through which island?
7. Who is listed in the Paradise Papers as an investor in a Lithuanian shopping centre via a Malta-based company?

8. What was the name of the Texan town where 26 people were shot dead?

9. A memorial to 12 people killed by a bomb 30 years ago was unveiled this week in which town?
10. England rugby players are considering giving £1,000 each to which bankrupt team?

11. Why was Juli Briskman sacked?

12. Veteran broadcaster Michael Parkinson said that he never imagined he would 'recoil in horror' from what?

13. Celtic broke their own 100-year-old British record by stretching their unbeaten domestic run to how many matches?

14. Matthew Scully-Hicks, who murdered his 18-month-old daughter, two weeks after adopting her, was given a life sentence and told he must serve at least how many years before being considered for release?

15. Stalker Mark Revill described himself as a 'public executioner' in a series of tweets to whom?

16. An eight-foot bronze statue of which former BBC employee was unveiled outside of Broadcasting House?

17. British tourist Luke Tang wrote a letter of complaint to the mayor after he and his parents were charged €526 for lunch in a restaurant in which city?

18. Antonio Carluccio, who died this week, became famous for his cookery programme alongside fellow Italian Gennaro Contaldo. What was the programme called?

19. Three languages are excluded from Twitter’s decision to raise its character limit to 280. Name any two of them. Half a point for each.

20. Who said this week: ‘I am here and I am on a job. I am on a mission in my own head … I do have a point to prove. I do’? 

21. Property tycoon Fergus Wilson was ordered to drop his ‘abhorrent’ policy by Maidstone Crown Court. What was his unlawful policy?

22. Drivers from Aslef accepted a deal with Southern Rail, bringing its 18-month dispute to an end. The deal includes a pay rise of what percent over five years?

23. According to the Office for National Statistics which disease is now Britain’s biggest killer?

24. Boxer Tyson Fury is fighting a legal battle with UK Anti-Doping, claiming his positive result for steroids was because he ate what? 

25. Facebook is asking users in Australia to send what so that it can fight revenge porn?

Answers here

Jamie and Luke win the newsquiz

Last week's top online score in the newsquiz was Janet Boyle with an impressive 18. This week I have been with The Daily Telegraph trainees in Howden on their penultimate week. We finished with the newsquiz as usual. This week Jamie Johnson and Luke Mintz tied as top scorers with 15. Here's this week's quiz - 25 questions about the week - see if you can beat their score. 

1. New Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson held which previous position in the Tory Party?

2. Gavin Williamson has a pet called Cronus which he keeps on his desk. What is it?

3. Julia Hartley-Brewer, the journalist who was touched by Sir Michael Fallon, said: 'If this is over _______, him touching my knee 15 years ago and me not having any issue with it today, this is the most insane, absurd and ridiculous resignation of a cabinet minister ever’. What is the missing word?

4. What is the name of the former shadow minister who was suspended from the Labour Party after allegations that he sent inappropriate text messages and touched a young woman after a political event?

5. Labour activist Bex Bailey claimed she was raped at a Labour party event in which year?

6. MRC and Netflix suspended production of which TV series 'to give us time to review the current situation and to address any concerns of our cast and crew’?

7. Dustin Hoffman apologised to Anna Graham Hunter who accused him of sexual harassment when she was 17 on the set of which TV film?

8. New York terror suspect Sayfullo Saipov arrived in America in 2010 through a diversity visa programme from which country?
9. Five of the people who were killed in the New York terror attack were from which country?

10. Spain's chief prosecutor said the eight Catalan politicians, who were remanded in custody, were accused of rebellion, misuse of funds and which other offence?

11. The Bank of England raised interest rates from the 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent - the first increase since which year?

12. Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith blamed her tweet, that named the show's winner before it had been broadcast, on the time difference as she was in which country?.

13. Which phrase was named the word of the year by dictionary publisher Collins?

14. Why was 68-year-old David Cuthbertson in the headlines?

15. Lewis Hamilton collected his fourth Formula 1 world title in Mexico driving for which team?

16. Anh Nhu Nguyen appeared at Southwark Crown Court accused of fraud. What did he do?

17. Senator Angus King told a Washington hearing: 'We know the Russians were involved in the French election. We know that they were involved in the German elections. We are now learning they were involved in the separation of Spain. And my understanding is they've set up shop in ______.’ Which country?

18. After watching Tottenham Hotspur beat Real Madrid in the Champions League, England manager Gareth Southgate included how many Spurs players in his squad?

19. Sydney Hardy sacked his entire staff at Yeovil saying: 'I have had enough and realise I cannot work with you, the people I employ, a moment longer.’  What is the name of the company?

20. Broadcaster and actress Ksenia Sobchak announced her intention to do what next year?

21. England Under-17s footballers came from 2-0 down to beat which team 5-2 and win the World Cup in India?

22. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said it will cut what to between £2 and £50?

23. Prince William told five-year-old Suzie McCash, at the Pride of Britain Awards, that he would talk to Prince George because of what she had done? What did Suzie do?

24. What is the name of the song recorded by Katie Melua as the official single of this year's Children in Need?
25. A gigantic effigy of which ‘villain' will be burned alongside Guy Fawkes at the Edenbridge Bonfire in Kent this weekend?

Answers here