Dora wins the newsquiz Champagne

The trainees in Northcliffe House this afternoon. Dora (centre) collected the newsquiz Champagne

The Daily Mail and Evening Standard trainees enjoyed another challenging week. They did, of course, work bank holiday Monday. Sessions this week were by the Mail lawyers, Editor Emeritus Peter Wright, who went through Ipso and the editor's code, and Mail on Sunday journalists Charlotte Wace and Jonathan Bucks. Last night the trainees met senior staff for drinks in the Greyhound.
As always we finished the week with the newsquiz. The joint top scorers this week are Dora Allday and George Bond who both scored an impressive 20 out of 25. Eleanor Sharples and Will Tilbrook both scored 16. It means Dora is the highest scoring reporter over the two weeks and collected the Champagne. 
None of last week's online quizzers came close to George's score of 21, although the drinkers in the Three Legs scored a creditable 17 (there were ten of them). Here's this week's newsquiz. As usual here are 25 questions about the week's events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Today's front pages

1. Alex Salmond resigned from the SNP and launched an online appeal to raise money towards his legal costs. What was his initial target?
2. What did Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson describe as 'a major wake-up call’?
3. Who said his vision for Europe would involve 'concentric circles' with eurozone nations in the inner ring and Britain in a second?
4. Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta rebuked Prime Minister Theresa May because no British prime minister has visited his country for how many years?
5. Theresa May was filmed dancing with school children, on the first day of her tour, and two days later she was dancing again with Scouts and Guides. In which two cities was she? Half a point for each.
6. Public Health Minister Steve Brine said the Government is considering banning the sale of energy drinks with more than how much caffeine per litre to under 18s?
7. Perhaps for the first time ever The Sun and Financial Times carried the same three-word headline this week. The first two words were Crash, bang, what was the third?
8. American war hero and presidential nominee John McCain’s memorial service were held in which American city?
9. Which company did Donald Trump accuse of 'suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good?’
10. On his trip to Ireland Pope Francis visited the Marian shrine, where an apparition of Mary, is said to have appeared in 1879. In which village is the shrine?
11. What name did David Katz, who shot dead two people at an online video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, use as his gaming handle
12. A new device has been credited with saving the life of F1 driver Charles Leclerc in a crash in the Belgian grand prix. What is it called?
13. Mother and daughter Khaola Saleem and Raneem Oudeh were stabbed to death on bank holiday Monday in which town?
14. Lewis Pugh, 48, made history by doing what?
15. The captain of France’s World Cup winning team has been charged with drink-driving in London. Name him.
16. Cliff Richard is to release a new album of original songs - his first in 14 years - which he said was inspired by a ‘bad period’ and its title was poignant because he had broken free of his 'own quagmire'. What is the album’s title?
17. He gained international fame for stage and screen comedies including The Odd Couple and Barefoot In The Park and won the Pulitzer Prize For Drama in 1991 with Lost in Yonkers. Who is he?
18. Ashley Peart was banned from driving for three years by Southend magistrates after he racked up a record-breaking number of points for speeding. How many?
19. What medical condition does Kirsty Young suffer which has caused her to take a break from Desert Island Discs? Correct spelling please.
20. Why was Alize Cornet in the headlines?
21. Whose demise was celebrated by the Church of England and Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis?
22. Which 72-year-old rocker and 54-year-old actress were reported to have married on a yacht near the San Juan Islands in California? Half a point for each.
23. A huge fire broke out at which store in Belfast’s famous Bank Building?
24. Ofcom said it was deciding whether or not to investigate which TV programme after receiving more than 3,000 complaints? 
25. The Alesmith Speedway Stout Hawaiian Special Edition, by the Craft Beer Co, was identified as the most expensive pint of beer in Britain. How much does a pint cost?

Answers here

Trainee George wins this week's newsquiz

I have had an enjoyable week with the new intake of Daily Mail and Evening Standard trainees. There are six reporters, six news subs and two sports subs being put through their paces in Kensington over the next few weeks. This week they had sessions with former managing editor Charles Garside, reporters Christian Gysin, Simon Murphy, Sian Boyle (a former trainee who is now on the investigative team) and sub-editors Lauren Davis and David Feldstein. The reporters also pitched story ideas to chief reporter Sam Greenhill. As usual we finished the week with the newsquiz. The winner with an impressive 21 points was George Bond ahead of Will Tilbrook with 18.
Last week's top solo score submitted online was 19 by Matt Cornish. The top team score was by the Penmans who wrote: 'It’s late, it’s 29C in Pollensa, we’ve had a couple and we’ve scored...20. I think the secret is to be a little drunk.' Not advice I will be passing on to the trainees. Here's this week's quiz. See if you can beat George's score.

Today's front pages

1. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg wrote to the chairmen of local Conservative parties, saying a no-deal Brexit was not to be feared and adding: ‘It is time to ____ ____, respect the referendum, be out of Europe, take back control and believe in Britain.’ What are the two missing words?

2. Chancellor Philip Hammond came under fire from Conservative colleagues after warning that a no-deal Brexit would mean Britain's borrowing could be higher by how many billion pounds by 2033? 

3. Multimillionaire Julian Dunkerton said he was making a £1million donation to the People’s Vote campaign. Which fashion company did Dunkerton co-found?

4. Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced that how many of the Windrush generation, who could have been wrongfully removed or detained, are to receive a formal apology?

5. Who was reported to police over allegations he sexually assaulted two staff at Bute House?

6. Former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan’s home country declared a week of national mourning after he died age 80. Which country?
7. Kay Longstaff was rescued after falling from a cruise liner in the Adriatic. What is the ship’s name?
8. What is the name of Australia’s new Prime Minister?

9. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was granted a three-day release from prison in Iran, was briefly reunited with her four-year-old daughter. What is the daughter called?

10. In an interview with Fox News US President Donald Trump said: 'I don't know how you can ____ somebody who has done a great job.’ What is the missing word?

11. Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger said she felt unwelcome in the party after a video emerged showing Jeremy Corbyn saying British Zionists had no what?

12. Which MP described Jamie Oliver’s jerk rice as 'cultural appropriation'?
13. Which private school’s head teacher resigned after rapper Stefflon Don was filmed showering and appearing to smoke marijuana in a dormitory? 

14. What three words did Pamela Stephenson call Michael Parkinson for saying her husband Billy Connolly couldn’t remember his close friends?
15. Where did inspectors find blood, vomit and rat droppings on the floor, sleeping staff, cockroaches and an overpowering smell of drugs?
16. Prime minister Alexis Tsipras, celebrating the end of Greece’s European Union debt and budget controls, said: 'Ithaca will once again be identified with the end of a modern-day ____’. What is the missing word?
17. A British couple died on holiday in an Egyptian hotel which was later evacuated. What is the name of the hotel? 

18. Why was Karen McDougal in the headlines?

19. A former chief inspector, accused of trying to blame Liverpool fans for the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, had four charges of misconduct in a public office dropped? What is his name?

20. In the first six months of the year in Europe there were 41,000 cases, including 37 deaths, of what? 

21. Who has reportedly told friends that he expects to be offered the Manchester United job if Jose Mourinho is sacked. 

22. Calculations by the Recording Industry Association of America said that The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975 was now the biggest-selling album of all time in the US. Which album did it surpass?
23. A statement on the official 007 website announced that 'due to creative differences Danny Boyle' had decided to no longer direct Bond __’  What is the missing number?

24. Where was Torran MacDonald born?
25. Why has a ward at Epsom Hospital been closed for a 'deep clean'?

Answers here

The newsquiz: 25 questions about the week

Sixteen was the top score in last week’s newsquiz. Well done Gavin Devine who achieved it on his own. It was also the score by Louise Hart’s Team Williams and the drinkers in the Three Legs on Saturday night (Peter Gunthorp, Bryan and Heather Booth and Nicky and Les Castell). Other solid scores were 15.5 by Janet Boyle, 15 by Ginger Elvis and 14.5 by the previous week’s winner Tom Savage who said he would be 'having a word with himself'. As it’s the silly season, the holidays were clearly getting in the way. The Penmans, usually high scorers, blamed the Majorcan sunshine for a lame 13. And news professionals Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe said they were 'too busy with holiday to bother with news blather’ before recording a paltry ten. Here’s this week’s quiz - as usual 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Respect: Aretha Franklin's picture graces every front page today
(Question 4)

1. What was the name of the bridge in Genoa that collapsed killing at least 38 people?
2. Salih Khater was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after what make and model of car was driven into cyclists at Parliament Square in London?
3. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn defended laying a wreath at a cemetery in Tunis, saying he was there to honour innocent people killed in a Israeli air strike that took part in which year?
4. Aretha Franklin, who died age 76, reached No 1 in the UK charts only once with a duet in 1987 called I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me). Who did she sing it with?

5. An all-party select committee on science and technology called for a rethink on banning what product from buses, trains and other public places, as well as a cut on its tax?

6. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced a cap on the rise in rail fares from January 1 of what per cent?
7. A feud between former White House adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman and president Donald Trump erupted over her book attacking his physical and mental health. What is the book called?
8. Ofcom found that Royal Mail had abused its dominant market position against rivals TNT (now Whistl) and handed the company a record fine of how much for breaching competition law?
9. A £100million government strategy, launched by Communities Secretary James Brokenshire on Monday, aims to end what in England by 2027?
10. How many times did a memorial bell toll across Omagh to mark the 20th anniversary of the Real IRA car bombing?
11. Kent police tweeted it was ‘pleased to update no serious injuries with overturned coach at junction 3 M25’. And then added that what had made things 'more interesting'?
12. Which currency slumped to a record low of 7.24 to the American dollar on Monday?
13. Which footballer scored the first Premier League goal of the 2018/19 season?
14. In an attempt to combat the touts, Ticketmaster closed down two secondary ticketing websites. Name them. Half a point for each.
15. Jeremy Clarkson told students not to worry about their A-level results saying: ‘I got a C and 2Us, And I’m sitting here deciding which of my ___ ___ to use today’? What are the two missing words?
16. Who announced that he will fund two black British students to go to Cambridge University, paying for tuition fees and a maintenance grant for up to four years?
17. An American school groundsman was awarded $289million after a jury found the he was not adequately warned about the risks of what product?
18. Great Britain was second in the tally of gold medals at the European Championships with 26 … but which country was top with 31 golds?
19. Ross Edgley, 32, broke the world record for what?
20. Who did Kai Barry and William O’Connor describe as their ‘hero’ who 'stuck for us when we were vulnerable’?
21. During the 73rd minute of a football match at which club did the crowd chant 'To Me, To You’?
22. What will social media personality Joe Sugg, former cricketer Graeme Swann and campaigner and author Katie Piper be doing in September?

23. England rugby international Danny Cipriani was fined £2,000 after admitting an assault at a nightclub in which town?
24. According to Forbes magazine who was the best-paid actress in the world, earning $40.5million (£31.9m), last year?
25. Why were Prince William, Justin Beiber, Barack Obama and Emma Thompson among the millions of people celebrated on Monday?

Answers here

Test your knowledge with the newsquiz

The runaway top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Tom Savage with a score of 20, well ahead of second placed Ginger Elvis on 15. Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe and a House Full of Penmans were the joint top teams with 16, narrowly ahead of Louise Hart and Joe on 15. Here’s this week’s quiz - as usual 25 questions about the week's events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

Today's front pages

1. In his Daily Telegraph column, Tory MP Boris Johnson said of women wearing face-covering veils: ‘I would go further and say it is absolutely ridiculous people should choose to go around looking like____ ____.’ What are the two missing words?
2. Which former Conservative minister said of Boris Johnson: 'If he were to become leader of the party, I for one wouldn’t be in it. I don’t regard him as a fit and proper person to lead a political party and certainly not the Conservative party’?
3. Twitter users mounted a campaign with what hashtag after Labour’s deputy leader warned that the party faced a 'vortex of eternal shame' unless it got to grips with the anti-semitism issue?
4. Vandals spray painted ‘posh scum’ on windows at the home of Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg and left what on the bonnet of his car?
5. In a letter to the Home Office, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners said that what will put public safety at risk and reduce policing capacity in Britain? 
6. DUP MP Ian Paisley is facing a possible by-election after he was suspended from the House of Commons for failing to register family holidays which were paid for by which country?
7. Three members of a Rochdale grooming gang face deportation to which country after court of appeal judges upheld a decision to strip them of their British citizenship?
8. England cricketer Ben Stokes and two men he brawled with outside a nightclub, Ryan Ali and Ryan Hale, appeared in court in Bristol facing charges of what offence?
9. NHS data showed that admissions to hospital by girls afflicted by what had almost doubled in the last 20 years - 7,327 in 1997, compared to 13,463 in 2017? 
10. A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck which Indonesian island killing more than 340 people?
11. Why was 22-year-old Georgia Hall from Bournemouth in the headlines?
12. Which retail chain is to file for voluntary insolvency with the closure of between 60 and 80 stores and the likely loss of about 1,000 jobs?
13. Britain’s richest man, petrochemical engineer Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is reported to be leaving the UK and moving to where?
14. The Duke of Cambridge and Prime Minister Theresa May attended commemorations in northern France to mark the centenary of which battle?
15. Dina Asher-Smith set a new British record to win a European Championships' gold medal in which event?
16. A nine-year-old girl died when rocks fell from a cliff at a beach in which North Yorkshire seaside village?
17. What did doctors say was partly to blame for a record number of people, 2.2 million, seeking emergency help from the NHS in July?
18. Spain's defence ministry is investigating after one of its fighter jets accidentally fired a missile over which country during a training mission?
19. Joël Robuchon, who died age 73, had more Michelin Guide stars than any chef in the world. How many did he have?
20. Which company announced it is to increase prices for 3.5 million customers by 3.8 per cent? 
21. Surrey police apologised for 'fundamental failures’ which led to the collapse of whose trial?
22. Three players joined Premier League clubs during the transfer window for a reported fee of £60 million or more. The players are Kepa (£71m), Alisson (£66m) and Riyad Mahrez (£60m). Name the three clubs they joined. Half a point for two, one point for all three.
23. Which company announced it has received a £10million emergency cash injection from a consortium of high-profile technology shareholders to save it from going bust?
24. Comedian Barry Chuckle died at the age of 73. What was his real surname?
25. Actor Brad Pitt’s lawyers denied claims by estranged wife Angelina Jolie that he has failed to support their children, saying in court he had paid more than $1.3m in costs and loaned how many dollars to help her buy a house?

Answers here

The newsquiz - 25 questions about the week

The top scorer in last week's newsquiz was Louise Hart's team with a runaway 19. The top solo score was 15 by Gavin Devine. Other good scores were 16 by Heather and Pete Clifton and 15 by The Penmans. Here is this week's quiz - as usual there are 25 questions about the week's events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Today's front pages

1. Prime Minister Theresa May cut short her summer break in Italy for a meeting on Friday (today) aiming to persuade who to sign up to her Chequers vision for Brexit?

2. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted: 'As said in Vienna this morning, we want the EU to prosper but there is a real risk of a messy divorce which would be a ____ mistake'. What is the missing word?
3. On an official meeting to China, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt confessed to making a 'terrible mistake’. What was it? 

4. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn apologised for hosting an event in the Commons at which a Holocaust survivor compared Israel to Nazism. In what year did the event take place?
5. The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Labour Movement called for the suspension of which Labour NEC member after he reportedly blamed Jewish 'Trump fanatics' for accusations of anti-Semitism in the party?

6. Which court ruled that legal permission will not be needed to withdraw treatment from patients in permanent vegetative state when families and doctors are in agreement?

7. The Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee reported that some of the UK's national parks could become burial sites for what?

8. The Bank of England raised the interest rate to what per cent … the highest level since March 2009?

9. US president Donald Trump told a Make America Great Again rally in Tampa that: ‘If you go out and you want to buy ____, you need a picture on a card, you need ID.’ What is the missing word?
10. The future of which retailer was thrown into doubt after C.banner, which owns Hamley's, announced it would not proceed with a proposed £70 million investment?

11. The chairman of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission urged the country to 'move on beyond the blemishes of Wednesday' when the army opened fire on protestors in Harare, killing how many people?

12. Weather forecasters are predicting that Europe's all-time temperature record could be broken this weekend. The current record is 48C (118.4F) set in July 1977 in which city?

13. He was born in Southend in 1939, sailed a third of a million miles including crossing the Atlantic 30 times and survived for four days in an air pocket during a solo round-the-world race. Who is he?

14. The former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson walked free from which prison after being released on bail by appeal judges?
15. Which county celebrated its special day on Wednesday with leading figures calling for devolution?

16. Who had a 'crazy 24 hours’ which included a congratulatory phone call from Arsène Wenger and video messages from Sir Elton John and Gareth Bale?

17. Which company issued a recall of some of its brands after finding that a 'limited number are not passing our stringent shelf-life durability tests’?

18. Passengers fled from the cabin of a Ryanair flight when a mobile phone burst into flames minutes before take-off from which airport?

19. Who became the world’s first trillion-dollar public company on Thursday, meaning its value is now more than a third the size of the UK economy and larger than those of Turkey and Switzerland?

20. The Football Association confirmed that it is researching the feasibility of hosting the World Cup in which year?

21. What was the stage name of the drill music rapper, a member of Moscow17, who was stabbed to death in Camberwell, south London?

22. Midwife Samantha Eastwood disappeared after finishing a night shift at the Royal University hospital in which city?

23. What did a British stag party pay a 34-year-old homeless man in Benidorm €100 to do?

24. Why were Fred and Lesley Higgins, from Aberdeenshire, in the headlines?

25. Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham won this year’s Love Island but what are the full names of the couple who came second. Half a point for each.

Answers here