Here's the last newsquiz of 2019

I hope all you newsquizzers had a lovely Christmas break - while still keeping on top of the news of course. The top solo scorers in last week's quiz were Tom Savage and Alex Richman who both scored 22. Jaymes Bryla scored 19.5, Janet Boyle and Liz Gerard 19 and Toby Brown 18.5. The best team was the bizarrely-named Happy With 39 Points from the @thestagatwalton pub quiz who clocked up a remarkable 24 while out drinking on Friday night. Neil and Jo Benson scored 22, Bruce and Sarah Hayward 21.5, the Roberts Family 20.5 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 19. Below is the last newsquiz of 2019. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. I hope you have enjoyed the weekly challenge this year. I will be back with whatever stories 2020 has in store for us. 

The Boxing Day front pages

1. The Queen, in her Christmas Day speech, said: 'The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite ___, but small steps can make a world of difference.’ What is the missing word?

2. Prince Philip left King Edward VII's hospital in London on Christmas Eve after a four-night stay and was flown by helicopter to where?

3. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex missed the Royal family Christmas and celebrated on which island instead?

4. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn warned that a post-Brexit US trade deal would mean signing up to lower standards including maggots in ____ and rat hairs in ___ ___. What are the two missing foodstuffs? Half a point for each.

5. Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he had not dismissed Boris Johnson’s idea of building what - but insisted that the UK must pay for it?

6. Prime Minister Boris Johnson helped serve a pre-Christmas lunch of turkey and Yorkshire puddings to 850 British troops stationed in which country?
7. European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans wrote a love letter to Britain, expressing his 'deep hurt' over Brexit and concluding with the sentence ‘you will always be welcome to ___ ___’?

What are the two missing words?

8. Which company sacked its chief executive Dennis Muilenburg and put its chairman David Calhoun into the role in an attempt to 'repair relationships with regulators, customers, and all other stakeholders'?

9. At least 12 people were killed and more than 60 injured when a Bek Air passenger jet crashed into a building just after take-off in which country?

10. How did 52-year-old British father Gabriel Diya and his two children die?

11. How many people were sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi?

12. What did six-year-old Florence Widdicombe, from Tooting, south London, discover while writing her Tesco Christmas cards?

13. Who did Liverpool beat 1-0 to become football’s world club champions?

14. What was the name of the typhoon that swept across the central Philippines on Christmas Day claiming at least 28 lives?

15. Barrister Jolyon Maugham was criticised after claiming on Twitter that he killed a fox with a baseball bat in his central London garden while he was wearing what?

16. Why did Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho say, before his side’s Boxing Day victory against Brighton, that his Christmas so far had been ‘very sad’?

17. Swede Flamur Beqiri was shot dead in front of his wife and young child on Christmas Eve just yards from his £1.5million home in which London district?

18. The son of actor Tony Britton, who died age 95 this week, is offering a reward for the return of what which 'went missing’ at Watford General Hospital?

19. Television personality Georgia Toffolo was held in a detention centre in which country after two pages of her passport were found to be missing?

20. All nine Boxing Day Premier League football matches could be watched live via which network?

21. Grammy-winning songwriter Allee Willis, who died age 72, co-wrote the Earth, Wind and Fire hits September and Boogie Wonderland but was best known for which sitcom's theme tune?

22. Who famously described England World Cup scorer Martin Peters, who died age 76, as 'ten years ahead of his time'?

23. Canada’s national public broadcaster CBC upset supporters of President Trump when it deleted a scene, in which he appears, from its Christmas Eve showing of which film? 

24. Who wrote on Instagram: 'Thankfully I know a lot of you will not believe all that you have heard and read following today's court hearing ... thank you for your continued support and love'?

25. What was the most watched TV Christmas special in 12 years, being seen by an average of 11.6million viewers?

Answers here

Let's get the newsquiz done!

The top solo scorer in last week’s news quiz was Hilary Scott with 21, narrowly ahead of Andy Reed with 20.5, Tom Savage on 20 and Janet Boyle and Damon Wake who both scored 19.5. The top teams were Bruce and Sarah Hayward with 20, the same score as my Three Legs drinking pals Bryan and Les with a personal best (they had obviously been glued to the election coverage). Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe scored 19.5. 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.  

Last Saturday's front pages report on a Tory landslide

1. After the Queen’s Speech, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament that a 'new ___ ___ for the UK is now in reach.’ What are the two missing words?

2. The Government enshrined in law its spending on the NHS, with an extra how much per year provided by 2023/24?

3. Zac Goldsmith, who lost his seat in the General Election, has been given a life peerage so that he can keep which Cabinet role?

4. What were Labour MP Stella Creasy and Tory MP Kemi Badenoch holding while being sworn in to take their seats in Parliament?

5. Treasury minister Rishi Sunak said that the Government is reviewing whether to stop making the non-payment of what a criminal offence?

6. Jeremy Corbyn told MPs that he 'took responsibility' for Labour's lowest number seats won since what year?
7. Who attacked the Labour leadership saying the party had 'pursued a path of almost comic indecision’, and 'by its self-indulgence ... was the effective handmaiden of Brexit’?

8. Emily Thornberry, threatening to sue former Labour MP Caroline Flint, said: 'I have better things to think about than people going on television and making up ___. I have no idea what's in her head.’ What is the missing word?
9. Which political party was disbanded after failing to win any seats at the General Election?

10. Donald Trump was the third president in American history to be impeached. Name the previous two. Half a point for each.

11. Whirlpool announced it was recalling which two brands of washing machines 'because of a potential safety concern’? Half a point for each.

12. Who said he had received hate mail claiming that his partner, who died this week, is in hell?

13. Tamara Ecclestone’s Kensington home was burgled while she was visiting where with her family?
14. British businessman Matthew Gibbard was shot dead in which city?
15. According to a Times investigation, hedge funds gained a crucial advantage over rivals by purchasing access to an audio feed of which organisation's news conferences?

16. Who was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year?

17. Clive Lewis became the second person to do what?

18. How did 25-year-old Fallon Sherrock make history?

19. UK grime star Stormzy told pupils at his old primary school in Thornton Heath, south London, that who was 'a very, very bad man’?

20. Who was announced as the Sunday night headliner at next year’s Glastonbury?

21. Spaniard Mikel Arteta said goodbye to the Etihad and hello (again) to where?

22. Who had two UK Top Ten hits, including Up On The Roof, in the early 1960s and also wrote hits for Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield and the Small Faces?

23. Kelvin Fletcher, who won Strictly Come Dancing’s glitterball, joined which TV programme at the age of 10 and stayed for two decades?

24. What did the BBC call 'pseudo-religious nonsense’, Vanity Fair say was 'an ugly stray who smells bad' and the FT describe as 'worryingly erotic’?
25. Why has Michael Barrymore pulled out of Dancing on Ice?

Answers here

Mail looking for trainee subs and reporters

This year's trainee reporters and subs at Northcliffe House

Applications are now open to trainee journalists who want to be reporters or sub-editors on the Daily Mail.

The successful applicants will embark on a year-long programme that involves intense training, assessment and on-the-job experience at national and regional newspapers and agencies.

If you are interested you will probably have a degree and will have shown a commitment to journalism by working for your student newspaper or website and gained work experience in newsrooms.

Previous graduates of the training scheme now hold senior positions on the Mail and its sister paper the Mail on Sunday.

The course starts in September with intensive in-house training. It is followed by five months' placement after which the trainees will join the newsroom or subs department in Kensington.

Trainees are paid a competitive salary while they train. Nearly all are offered staff jobs at the end.

To apply send a covering letter, your CV and the three best examples of your work to sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk by Tuesday March 3, 2020. Please specify in the subject of the email whether your application is for either a trainee reporter or  sub-editor.

Both schemes are now being advertised on Hold The Front Page. The subbing scheme is here and the reporting one here. They are also on Journo Resources    here and here.

The newsquiz ... election special

There was some excellent scores in last week’s newsquiz. Janet Boyle scored 21, just ahead of Liz Gerard, Alex Richman, Toby Brown and Tom Savage who all scored 20. Dave Bromage delivered a personal best with 19, the same score as Paul Bowen. Ed Mortimer and Alan Geere both scored 18. The top team was Miles Dilworth and Ben Wilkinson with 22. Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe notched up 21 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward 19. Here is this week’s newsquiz which, hardly surprisingly, includes a fair few General Election questions. There are, as usual, 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

The election exit poll dominates today's early editions

1. In his victory speech Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he would get Brexit done - 'no ifs, no buts, not maybe’ - by what date?

2. Boris Johnson finished his victory speech by saying 'let's get Brexit done, but first, my friends, let's get ___ done.’ What is the missing word?

3. Jeremy Corbyn said he would not lead the party at another election but would stay on as Labour leader during a process of what? 

4. This morning bookmakers Betfair said who was 2/1 favourite to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader?

5. Liberal leader Jo Swinson lost her East Dunbartonshire constituency to the SNP by how many votes?

6. Who became the Liberal Democrats’ joint acting leaders after Jo Swinson lost her seat? Half a point for each 

7. Which MP lost the seat he had held for 49 years?

8. The SNP increased its number of seats in Scotland and now holds how many of the country’s 59 constituencies?

9. Which constituency, held by Tony Blair during his time as Prime Minister, elected a Conservative for the first time since 1931?

10. Nigel Dodds, the leader of the DUP in Westminster, lost his seat to which party? 

11. What was the first constituency to announce a General Election result? 

12. A four-year-old boy with suspected pneumonia was photographed sleeping on a floor because of a lack of beds at which hospital? 

13. What is the name of the New Zealand volcano where at least eight people were killed?

14. Serial rapist Joseph McCann, who carried out sex attacks on 11 women and children, was given how many life sentences at the Old Bailey?
15. What did Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev say was part of 'chronic anti-Russian hysteria’?

16. Which country elected Sanna Marin as the world's youngest Prime Minister?

17. Climate activist Greta Thunberg became the youngest ever recipient of what title?

18. Whose career saw him teaching botany at Durham University, presenting television programmes such as Don’t Ask Me and fronting his own shows on botany, Britain and Europe and winning a Bafta?

19. Who attended a court hearing in New York using a walking frame as he was suffering injuries from a car accident in August?

20. Television presenter Peter Purves, 80, said being dropped as a commentator from what event felt like he had been 'kicked in the stomach’?

21. Which former football manager, who died at the weekend age 87, won the first division title with Aston Villa and managed six other English football teams? 

22. What two items made up the artwork, called the Comedian, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan which was reportedly sold in Florida for $120,000? 

23. Marie Fredriksson, who died age 61, had six UK top ten hits with which band? 

24. Former EastEnders star Jacqueline Jossa won I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here. Who came second and third? Half a point for each.

25. Who, with more number one singles and albums than any other artist and with the most weeks (79) at number one in the charts, was named the UK's artist of the decade by the Official Charts Company?

Answers here

Give this week's newsquiz a go - 25 questions

There were some impressive scores in last week's newsquiz. The top solo performers were Alex Richman and Becca McAuley who both scored 20, Ted Ditchburn and Liz Gerard clocked-up 19, Jayne Howarth got 18 on her quiz debut and Toby Brown, Gavin Devine, Tom Savage and Alan Geere all scored 17. Bruce and Sarah Hayward were the top team with 20. The Wright Brothers squad of Richard, Danny, Ivan and Diana scored 18 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 17. 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.

Saturday's front pages report on the London Bridge terror attack (questions 1, 2 and 3)

1. Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, who were killed in the terrorist attack at London Bridge, were both graduates of which university? 

2. The terror attack at London Bridge began at a prison rehabilitation event being held in which building?
3. The London Bridge terrorist was attacked by people using a fire extinguisher, a ceremonial lance and which other makeshift weapon?

4. Who said this week: 'The Prime Minister of our nation will, at times, have to stand up to President Trump, President Putin, President Xi of China. It was surely not expecting too much that he spend half an hour standing up to me’?

5. Labour promised to cap classroom sizes at how many pupils across all schools in England if it won the election?

6. Climate change activists dressed as what glued themselves to Liberal Democat's leader Jo Swinson's electric-powered battle bus in south London?

7. The Prime Minister’s father Stanley Johnson, speaking on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show, suggested that the 'Great British public' couldn’t spell which word 'if they tried’?

8. The 2019 Nato Summit was held on Wednesday at The Grove Hotel in which town?

9. Asked if the NHS would be on the table in post-Brexit talks, US president Donald Trump said: ‘If you handed it to us on a ___ ___, we’d want nothing to do with it.’ What are the two missing words? 

10. After a video showed world leaders joking about Donald Trump at the Nato Summit, how did the US president describe Canadian PM Justin Trudeau before announcing he was leaving early?

11. Who said in a television interview: 'He knows what happened, I know what happened. And there's only one of us telling the truth’?

12. A 12-year-old boy was killed and five other pupils were injured in an alleged hit-and-run outside a high school in which town?
13. Shares in which retailer tumbled after it estimated the value of its stock had been overstated by £20million to £25million?

14. British cave expert Vernon Unsworth told a Los Angeles court that he was 'humiliated, ashamed and dirtied' after Tesla founder Elon Musk called him what online?
15. Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France in one of the biggest public sector strikes in decades against president Emmanuel Macron’s plans to overhaul what?
16. Why were families in Samoa asked to hang a red flag outside their homes?

17. Former England cricket captain Bob Willis, who died age 70 this week, added which name by deed poll in 1965?

18. What was the username of the person who went viral - and forced an official denial from Buckingham Palace - after screenshots from his Whatsapp group claimed the Queen had died?

19. Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi won the coveted Ballon d'Or trophy for a record number of times. How many?

20. The British Geological Survey confirmed that towns in which county were shaken by a 3.2 magnitude earthquake?

21. Which company saw £1.1billion wiped off its value after its Christmas advert was described as ‘sexist’, 'dystopian’, ‘offensive' and ‘dumb’?

22. A society aimed at tackling the misuse of what has closed down, with the founder saying that 'ignorance and laziness present in modern times have won’? 

23. Who was booed off stage and had a bread roll thrown at him after making Brexit jokes at the Lord's Taverners annual charity cricket lunch?
24. Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani shared what?

25. Who, according to Spotify, was the most streamed artist in the world over the last decade having been listened to 28 billion times?

Answers here

The newsquiz: 25 questions about the week

The top scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Alex Richman with 20, narrowly ahead of Janet Boyle on 19 and Liz Gerard on 18. The top teams were Bruce and Sarah Hayward with 19 and the Roberts Family on 18. 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.

Some of today's front pages

1. Boris Johnson was accused of deceit after the Conservative manifesto promise to deliver how many more nurses for the NHS?

2. The Tory manifesto promised to raise the threshold at which people start making National Insurance contributions to £9,500 in April next year with an 'ultimate ambition' to raise it to how much?

3. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn produced 451 pages of ‘uncensored’ Government documents which, he said, showed that what would be ‘on the table’ in talks with the Trump administration?

4. Which Conservative grandee made an appeal to people to choose 'the national interest’ and ignore traditional party loyalties to help elect Liberal Democrats through tactical voting?

5. The Chief Rabbi accused Jeremy Corbyn of allowing a '____ sanctioned from the top' to take root in Labour, saying Jews are anxious about the prospect of the party forming the next government? What is the missing word?

6. The Conservative Party complained to Ofcom, claiming Channel 4 had breached the broadcasting code with 'a provocative partisan stunt' when it replaced Boris Johnson with what during its climate change debate?

7. Who announced he was running for US president with a campaign video claiming he was a 'middle-class kid who made good’?

8. Which firm announced it was looking to cut up to 4,500 UK jobs, including offices at Houghton le Spring, Hull and Worcester, as part of a restructuring plan?

9. Why will BBC’s Panorama programme be double its normal length on Monday?

10. Which film was banned by Vue cinemas after a mass brawl in Birmingham and 25 other 'significant incidents’?

11. Which company, that prints the UK's banknotes and recently lost the passport printing contract, said it was at risk of collapse as it suspended its dividend and reported a half-year loss?

12. Uber was stripped of its London licence after Transport for London found that more than 14,000 trips were taken with drivers who had what?
13. Thirteen French soldiers, fighting Islamic militants, were killed when two helicopters collided in which country?

14. Who died this week, seven years after saying: 'I don't want to cast a gloom, an air of doom, over the programme but I'm a man who is approaching his terminus’?

15. CCTV footage was released by police of raiders using an axe to smash a display case and snatching priceless 18th-century jewellery in the Royal Palace in which city?

16. Why were Steve and Lenka Thomson from Selsey in West Sussex in the headlines?

17. Which football team sacked their manager after their worst run of form since 1992?

18. David Duckenfield, 75, the police officer in charge of Hillsborough when 96 people died in 1989, was cleared of what offence after a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court?

19. Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes died at the age of 59 in which city?

20. New Zealand Cricket is investigating after which English cricketer tweeted that he had been the target of a racial slur from a spectator?

21. ITV apologised after presenter Eamonn Holmes used what word to describe the Duchess of Sussex?

22. Football pundit Ian Wright is facing Ofcom complaints over the bullying of which fellow camp-mate on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here?

23. Who was reported to have thanked Jeffery Epstein and Prince Andrew for 'keeping her out of the headlines over the past few days'?

24. What was the name of the koala who was rescued from a bushfire by a grandmother but was put down after he failed to recover from his burns? 

25. What is 35-year-old Melody Thornton set to miss out on?

Answers here

It's time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scores in last week’s newsquiz were Liz Gerard with 19, Tom Savage and Adam Shergold 17, Gavin Devine, Paul Bowen and Toby Brown with 16. The top team score was 17 by Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe. 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. 

Today's front pages

1. In an interview with Emily Maitlis for BBC’s Newsnight, The Duke of York claimed he could not have had sex with a teenage girl because he was at home after attending a children’s party at Pizza Express in which town?
2. The Duke of York said he stayed at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home, even though he had been in jail for procuring a minor for prostitution, because 'my judgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too ____.’ What is the missing word?
3. Which university announced that the Duke of York had stood down as chancellor after a student panel called for his resignation?
4. In a speech at the CBI conference Boris Johnson said he would shelve a planned cut in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 17 per cent, claiming he would put how much money into public services instead?
5. The Labour Party launched its election manifesto with what five-word slogan?
6. In its election manifesto Labour’s big policy was a promise to increase spending on the NHS by an average of what per cent a year?
7. Who, when asked if the Government was responsible for poverty, replied: 'It’s not the government, though, is it? Everybody just says ‘the government’ as if it is this sort of bland blob that, you know, you can just go and blame’?
8. Who caused a stir by wearing a t-shirt with an image of the Labour leader, taken in 1984, holding a Photoshopped placard reading: ‘Jeremy Corbyn is a racist. Endeavour'?
9. Impeachment inquiry chairman Adam Schiff said Donald Trump’s conduct had been far more serious than anything done by who?
10. Prosecutors in which country dropped an investigation into a rape allegation made against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange in 2010?
11. A student union has called for safety checks on university accommodation after a blaze which destroyed a block of flats in Bolton that were known by what name?
12. Jesse Kempson, 27, was found guilty of whose murder by strangling her in his Auckland hotel room and burying her body in a suitcase?
13. Who said this week: 'I couldn't be happier and if I was not as happy as I am, I wouldn't be here. What can I promise? Passion'?
14. What was the profession of Terry O’Neill, CBE, who died aged 81 and who was once married to actress Faye Dunaway?
15. Geoffrey Bran, 71, of Carmarthenshire was found not guilty of murdering his wife of 38 years. How did she die?
16. Who was charged with 14 offences, including an attempted rape, one intent to rape, 10 sexual assaults and two indecent assaults?
17. Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo was found guilty of the murder of his pregnant ex-wife at her home in Ilford by using what weapon?
18. The UK was called an illegal colonial occupier by Mauritius after it ignored a deadline to return control of which islands?
19. Why did actor Ralf Little say he had been suspended from Twitter?
20. Metal detectorists George Powell and Layton Davies were convicted of stealing a Viking hoard worth how much which they uncovered in a field in Herefordshire?
21. Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts took a photo of who into the jungle as her luxury item on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here? 
22. Glastonbury Festival confirmed that who will play its headline slot at its 50th anniversary celebrations next year?
23. How did England cricketer Jofra Archer get around the ground before the first day of the New Zealand v England Test match?
24. Following in the footsteps of actresses Claire Foy and Olivia Coleman who will play the Queen in the next series of TV series The Crown?      
25. Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli said the fact that 200 people complained about what was 'very sad’?

Answers here

The newsquiz: 25 questions about the week

There were some cracking scores in last week’s newsquiz. Tom Savage scored a highly impressive 22, narrowly ahead of Damon Wake on 21. The top team was Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe with a personal best of 22.5. The Roberts Family scored 21.5 and Miles Dilworth and Ben Wilkinson 21. Here’s 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. Nigel Farage declared his Brexit party would not field candidates in the General Election in how many Conservative-held seats?
2. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage accused 10 Downing Street of sabotaging his candidates saying: 'There are lots of peerages being offered. This is full-on ____ style corruption. Today has been an industrial scale attempt to stop free and open politics happening in our country.’ What is the missing word?
3. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Labour Party would introduce a working week of how many hours, which would apply to all employees and be implemented over a decade?
4. Who said it was 'completely bizarre' that he was trying to overturn his own majority in Marlow, Buckinghamshire?
5. Why are the Liberal Democrats considering court action against the BBC and ITV?
6. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that 'the right thing to do’ would have been to arrest who?
7. Former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow has announced that he will publish his memoirs in February. What will the book be called?
8. The Health Secretary who oversaw a huge hospital building programme, abolished the internal NHS market and introduced the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) died this week. What was his name?
9. The BBC apologised after using Remembrance Sunday footage of Boris Johnson paying his respects at the Cenotaph from which year?
10. NHS figures revealed October was the worst ever month for A&E waiting times with just 83.6 per cent of patients seen within the target time of how many hours?
11. How was the former High Sheriff of Derbyshire, 69-year-old Annie Hall, killed?
12. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said he had seen a 'double sunrise' after stepping off a non-stop 19-hour 19-minute flight between which two cities. Half point for each. 
13. Lord Bramall, the former head of the British armed forces who served in nearly all major UK military campaigns between the second world war and 1985, died this week. How old was he?
14. What did Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte describe as 'a blow to the heart of our country’?
15. Who said: 'I am leaving my beloved Bluebirds after over three years of which have been some of the best days in my long football career’?
16. Roula Khalaf was announced as the first female editor of which newspaper?
17. Four people died and at least 300 homes were destroyed or damaged by fires in which Australian state?
18. China's 11:11 Day on November 11 has become bigger for online sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday. What is it better known as?
19. Workers at which company went on strike demanding wages of £15 an hour, an end to youth rates, the choice of guaranteed hours of up to 40 hours a week and notice of shifts four weeks in advance?
20. Raheem Sterling was dropped from the England versus Montenegro Euro 2020 qualifier after a bust up with which team member?
21. British inventor Richard Browning reached 85mph, breaking his own record of 32 mph for the fastest flight in a jet suit, and said flying beside which 'iconic landmark' made the event really special’?
22. John Lewis launched its 2019 Christmas advert with a fire-breathing dragon with what name?
23. As part of this year's Children In Need, which celebrity raised more than £1million in a 24-hour karaoke challenge?
24. Irish actor Niall Tóibín, who died aged 89, was best known for playing Father MacAnally in which hit BBC series which ran from 1996 until 2001?
25. Who tweeted to say her performance at the American music awards was in doubt as a music management company were preventing her from singing her own songs?

Answers here

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Janet Boyle and Tom Savage who both clocked up 19.5. The top team was the Roberts family with 18.5. 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. Why did the MP for Chorley in Lancashire resign from the Labour Party?

2. Conservative Alun Cairns quit from which Cabinet position after being accused of lying over an aide’s sabotaging of a rape trial?

3. Which former Tory MP and newspaper columnist announced he was quitting the Conservative Party after 50 years and joining the Liberal Democrats?

4. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, in his letter to outgoing deputy Tom Watson, said he had enjoyed a shared love of gardening and added 'I hope the ___ plants I gave you thrive’. What is the missing word?

5. What did Sky News presenter Kay Burley interview instead of Tory chairman James Cleverly this week?

6. The leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg issued 'a profound apology' after he said on LBC radio: 'I think if either of us were in a fire, whatever the fire brigade said, we would leave the burning building. It just seems the ___ ___thing to do.’ What are the two missing words?

7. Jacob-Rees Mogg’s comments on Grenfell prompted who to call for his resignation calling him ‘evil’, ’the scummiest’ and an ‘alien’?

8. Business and Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom announced a moratorium to be ‘maintained until compelling new evidence is provided which addresses the concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity’. What is it a moratorium on?

9. An effigy of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg sitting on a rollercoaster appeared where?

10. Which retailer announced a phased closure of all of its 79 UK stores, putting 2,500 jobs at risk, after saying it was 'not capable' of being sufficiently profitable and having failed to find a buyer?
11. Who scored all of England’s 12 points in their Rugby World Cup final defeat to South Africa?
12. The chief executive of which company was sacked for violating company policy by having a 'consensual relationship with an employee’?
13. Retired oil executive Ron Carey, 80, was killed taking part in what event?
14. People in the Meadowhall shopping centre in which UK city were told by police not to leave after flooding left roads gridlocked?
15. Lewis Hamilton came second in the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, to become this year's Formula One world champion. How many times has he won the title?
16. People were injured when a roof collapsed during a performance of which play at the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End?
17. A 27-year-old man is on trial for the murder of 22-year-old backpacker Grace Millane from Essex in which city?
18. Around 30 passengers including ten Britons were injured after a FlixBus travelling between which two cities overturned?
19. A police officer has been charged with murdering which former footballer who collapsed and died after being Tasered in 2016?
20. Buckingham Palace confirmed this week that no new outfits designed for the Queen would use what?
21. What two-word phrase has been named Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year?
22. Bookies are offering odds of 500-1 that who will win the Wimbledon men’s title one day?
23. What was returned to Stephen Morris in a Waitrose car park in Beckenham, Kent?
24. An 85-year-old man, described as the 'hardest worker in Irish broadcasting’ who hosted daily radio shows, the Late Late Show and events such as the Rose of Tralee, died this week. What was his name?
25. Actress Emma Watson described her relationship status as not 'single' but what?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week's newsquiz was Jaymes Bryla with an impressive 21. Other top scorers were Tom Savage and Toby Brown who both scored 19, Kieran Cocoran and Gavin Devine on 18 and Liz Gerard and Ian Watt on 17. The top teams were the Roberts family with 20.5, Dave Bromage's team with 18.5 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 17. Here is this week's quiz. As usual there are 25 question's about the week's events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

How the papers reported the December election

1. How many MPs voted against holding a General Election on December 12?

2. In what year did the UK last hold a General Election in December?

3. Which one of these MPs has not announced that they will be standing down at the December 12 election: Nicky Morgan, David Lidington, Jo Johnson, Justine Greening, Anna Soubry and Gloria De Piero?

4. How many of the rebel 21 Tory MPs, thrown out of the party in September, met Boris Johnson on Tuesday night and were invited to rejoin?

5. Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked outgoing Speaker John Bercow as a ‘great servant’ but added that it was the longest retirement since whose?
6. Chancellor Sajid Javid said he was 'completely shocked’ by a rebuff by which celebrity who he described as 'incredibly rude'?

7. Who was formally suspended from the House of Commons for six months for offering to buy drugs for sex workers and failing to cooperate with an investigation?

8. The US House of Representatives passed a resolution, by 232 in favour and 196 against, to proceed with what?

9. Maurice Robinson, 25, was charged with four offences at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court related to the 39 bodies found in a lorry container last week. Name one of the four charges.

10. How were Alistair Raddon, 28, and Danny Maggs, 22, injured?
11. What is the name of the military dog, praised by US President Donald Trump, which was injured after chasing and cornering Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria?

12. BBC journalist Samira Ahmed told an employment tribunal that she was paid a maximum of £465 for each Newswatch episode whereas Jeremy Vine was paid how much per episode for presenting Points of View?

13. Chief executive Jack Dorsey has announced that Twitter will ban what from November 22?

14. The body of British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing was found off the coast of which country?

15. What is the name of the 50-year-old London Fire Brigade commissioner who was accused of 'remarkable insensitivity’ by an official report into the Grenfell fire after saying she would not have done anything differently on the night?

16. Which animals were credited with protecting The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library from the Californian wildfires?

17. Which platform pledged to remove images, drawings and cartoons showing methods of self-harm or suicide following the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell?

18. McDonald's apologised for, and cancelled, a Halloween marketing campaign in Portugal which promoted a dessert. What were the controversial three words?

19. England’s rugby team were reprimanded and fined a four-figure sum for doing what at the semi-final match against New Zealand?

20. Which supermarket offered an hourly pay rise to shop workers of 18p to £9.18 in a dispute over new contracts?

21. British Transport Police announced that Alfred Dorris, 43, of Beckenham will not face criminal charges over what incident?

22. Which UK city announced plans to ban all privately owned diesel cars each day between 7am and 3pm from March 2021?
23. Which two players scored hat-tricks in Leicester City's 9-0 victory over Southampton, the biggest away win in Premier League history? Half a point for each.

24. What did 36-year-old David Atherton win?

25. The lyrics to which song have been rewritten by John Legend to make them less controversial?

Answers here

The newsquiz: 25 questions about the week

The top scorer in last week's newsquiz was Tom Savage with 19.5. It was a particularly impressive total as the quiz was clearly a toughie with the scores being well below average. Gavin Devine with 16 was the only other solo player to come close. The top team was the staff at Wright Bothers in London with 16, narrowly ahead of Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 15.5. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the last seven days. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

The Sundays report on Saturday's vote (Question 3)

1. Thirty-nine people who were found dead in a container in Essex were initially believed by police to be what nationality?

2. The refrigerated container used to smuggle 39 people into the UK crossed the channel between which two ports? Half a point for each.

3. When the Commons sat on Saturday former Tory minister Oliver Letwin’s amendment, saying Parliament would withhold approval of the Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s withdrawl deal, was passed by what majority? 

4. What did Prime Minister Boris Johnson not do that led shadow chancellor John McDonnell to say he was behaving 'like a spoilt brat' and ex Tory Anna Soubry to accuse him of acting like a 'truculent child'?

5. Some MPs were unhappy at being given just three days to digest the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill document which is, not including the 124 pages of explanatory notes, how many pages?

6. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that if MPs 'genuinely want more time to study this excellent deal, they can have it - but they have to agree to a General Election’ on what date?

7. Which political leader saw his party's representation in the House of Commons reduced from 177 to 157 seats, 13 short of a majority?

8. The Government said what could be given to electric cars so drivers can benefit from incentives such as free parking or access to clean air zones?
9. Legislation passed by MPs at Westminster means that something has been decriminalised and something else is to be legalised in Northern Ireland. What are the two somethings. Half a point for each. 

10. Prince Harry, speaking on an ITV documentary aired on Sunday, said of Prince William: ‘We’ll always be brothers and we’re certainly on ___ ___ at the moment.' What are the two missing words?

11. England and Wales are both playing their Rugby World Cup semi-finals this weekend at a 72,000-seat stadium in which Japanese city?
12. The Office for National Statistics said the population of the UK would pass what figure by 2031?

13. Why was Belgian Paralympian Marieke Vervoort, who won gold and silver at London 2012 and two medals at Rio 2016, in the headlines?

14. The Government lifted a ban on direct flights between the UK and which airport following improvements in security?

15. Why does Haringey Borough's FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie with Yeovil Town have to be replayed?

16. The NHS announced that the drug Orkambi is to be made available to people with which disease within a month?

17. The chair of the Business Select Committee, Rachel Reeves, this week said that: 'Everyone we’ve seen from ___ ___have blamed everybody apart from themselves’. What are the two missing words?

18. According to research by the University of Glasgow, which group of people are three and a half times more likely to suffer from dementia?

19. Hundreds of tourists took part in the final climb of which sacred landmark before it permanently closed today (Friday)?

20. Charlie Chandler, 21, appeared in court accused of murdering two teenagers who were stabbed to death at a house party on Saturday night in which town?

21. Lonely Planet's Best In Travel 2020 book named England as the second best country for holidays next year but which country came top?

22. Who broke her leg in two places while tackling an inflatable assault course on holiday with her family?

23. How did Sian Massey-Ellis, 33, fulfil her dream on Thursday night?

24. Christina Koch and Jessica Meir became the first women to do what?

25. Who is to ‘star’ in Walkers Crisps Christmas advert for a reported fee of £9million?

Answers here