Test yourself with the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Janet Boyle with 23, ahead of Toby Brown on 20 and Liz Gerard on 19. The top teams were the Roberts Family and Maura and Phil Parsons who both scored 20. 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. 

A selection of today's front pages

1. What was Prime Minister Boris Johnson referring to when he said: 'I think it's time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history, about our traditions and about our culture, and we stop this general bout of self-recrimination and wetness’?
2. The Government said fines for parents who refused to send their children to England's schools would only be used as a 'last resort’. How much is the maximum fine?

3. Seventeen members of staff and two pupils tested positive for coronavirus at Kingspark School in which city?
4.  Prime Minister Boris Johnson revised the Government’s position on pupils wearing masks in schools, adding ‘but not in the classrooms because that is clearly ___. You can't teach with face coverings, you can't expect people to learn with face coverings.’ What is the missing word?
5. Jamaica and which two European countries were removed from the UK’s safe list this week, meaning people arriving from there after 4am tomorrow (Saturday) will have to quarantine for 14 days?
6. Which company announced it is to create 16,000 new permanent jobs, including 3,000 delivery drivers, after lockdown led to 'exceptional growth' in its online business?
7. Workers on low incomes in parts of England where there are high rates of coronavirus will be able to claim up to how much a day if they have to self-isolate?

8. World 100-metre and 200-metre record holder Usain Bolt tested positive for Covid-19 just days after a party for his birthday. How old was he?

9. A fast food chain dropped its famous slogan during the pandemic saying: 'We find ourselves in a unique situation - having an iconic slogan that doesn't quite fit in the current environment’? Name the company and the slogan. Half a point for each.

10.  Sally Collier resigned from her role as chief executive of what?

11. Stewart Wingate, who is chief executive of what, announced around 600 job cuts, a quarter of the workforce, and a £343million loss as a result of the 'devastating impacts’ of the pandemic?

12. Chairman of the defence select committee Tobias Ellwood accused the Government of 'an absence of an over-arching defence strategy' after reports that the army was considering scrapping what?

13. Who told the Liberal Democrats to 'wake up and smell the coffee’ after he became the party’s fourth leader in five years?

14. Alexei Navalny, who is a critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, had ‘probably' been poisoned according to doctors who were treating him in a hospital in which city?

15. Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was given a 21-month and ten-day suspended sentence after being found guilty in Greece of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and what other offence?

16. Brenton Tarrant was sentenced by a New Zealand court to life in prison without parole after admitting the murders of how many people at two mosques?

17. Accepting the Republican Party nomination, President Donald Trump said: 'This election will decide whether we will defend the ___ ___ ___ ___, or whether we allow a radical movement to completely dismantle and destroy it.’ What are the missing four words?

18. Two people were shot dead during BLM protests over the shooting of Jacob Blake in which city in Wisconsin?

19. England's James Anderson this week became the first fast bowler to reach how many Test wickets?

20. Nigeria was the last African country to be declared free of what disease?

21. Who tweeted this week: 'Earlier this year I was diagnosed with breast cancer and a couple of weeks ago I received the devastating news that the cancer has advanced to other parts of my body. I’m currently undergoing weekly chemotherapy sessions and I am fighting as hard as I possibly can’?

22. According to a study published in the BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine journal, pregnant women should cut out what completely to help avoid miscarriage, low birth weight and stillbirth?

23. Actress Sheridan Smith has revealed in a documentary that she 'went off the deep end' after being humiliated at the 2016 TV Bafta Awards ceremony, where the host made a joke about her 'being a drunk’. Who was the host?

24. It was announced this week that Matt, Charlie and Phil will be leaving what?

25. What will be happening in the ruins of Gwrych Castle in Abergele, North Wales, this winter?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Sam Neve and Liz Gerard who both scored 20, narrowly ahead of Gavin Devine on 19. The best team score was 23 by Phil and Maura Parsons. Bruce and Sarah Hayward and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe scored 21. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

A selection of today's front pages 

1. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, explaining the A-level U-turn, said: 'We ended up in a situation where ____ didn't deliver the system that we had been reassured and believed that would be in place.’ What is the missing word?

2. This week Croatia, Austria and which other country were removed from the UK’s 'safe' list meaning anyone arriving from there after 4am on Saturday will have to self-isolate?

3. Who was appointed as chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, England's new public health agency replacing Public Health England?

4. Former Chancellor Sajid Javid accepted a job as senior adviser for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at which company?

5. Sean Fielding, the council leader of which town, urged the Government not to impose a local lockdown saying it could prove 'catastrophic for business’?

6. Marks & Spencer confirmed it was cutting how many jobs, to the nearest 1,000, over the next three months after saying the pandemic had made it clear there had been a 'material shift in trade’?

7. A Sudanese teenager was found dead on a beach near Calais after trying to cross the Channel in an inflatable dinghy using what for oars?

8. The Department for Transport said hands-free driving could be legal on UK roads by next spring, after launching a consultation on ALKS technology. What does ALKS stand for?
9. Morrisons supermarket is running a trial in eight stores from Monday as it plans to ditch all what from its stores?

10. The Champions League semi-finals were held this week with English teams and those from which other two countries not represented for the first time since the competition changed its name in 1992? Half a point for each.

11. The EU agreed to impose sanctions on which country, saying it did not recognise the result of a recent election and calling for the release of hundreds of protesters who have been imprisoned?
12. Which classical guitarist, who won four grammies and was awarded an OBE and CBE, died this week aged 87?

13. Tributes were paid to four young men who died after their car crashed into a house and caught fire in which English county?

14. A preliminary temperature of how many degrees was recorded in Death Valley in California which, if confirmed, will be the planet’s highest temperature in almost a century? 

15. What is the name of the storm that battered western Britain with gusts of 70mph?

16. A judge at the Old Bailey gave Hashem Abedi the longest minimum sentence in history, 55 years, for his role in the Manchester Arena terror attack. For what reason was he not given a life sentence with no minimum term?

17. Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was arrested on which island following a fight outside a bar?
18. Donald Trump’s former campaign chief Steve Bannon appeared in Manhattan federal court via video after being arrested for allegedly siphoning money from a campaign raising funds to do what?
19. Actor Ben Cross, who died aged 72, was probably best known for playing Harold Abrahams in which film?
20. The Premier League fixtures were announced this week with the first games taking place on what date?
21. Michelle Obama gave an 18-minute virtual Democratic national convention speech while wearing what - that then went viral on Google?
22. Who filed papers at the Los Angeles Superior Court asking to end her father's ‘conservatorship' which gives him control of her finances and career decisions?
23. Who donated £23,000 to London-based student Vitoria Mario to help her to pay for a maths degree at Warwick university?
24. How did Mark Rapley save his wife’s life at Shelley Beach in Australia?
25. Nottinghamshire police picked up what creature in a village street, describing it as 'one of the more bizarre findings we have come across’?

Answers here

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week's newsquiz was Toby Brown with a personal best of 22. Other good solo scores came in from Dora Allday with 21 and Harry Howard, Liz Gerard and Etan Smallman who all posted 18. The top team was the Roberts Family with a record-equalling 24. Other strong team scores came in from Maura and Phil Parsons with 23, Simon, Sue and Will Cole 21 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward 18. Adam Batstone, making a rare solo outing without Lucy Thorpe, scored a 'pretty pedestrian' 15. Here is this week's newsquiz. 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. Teachers in England had what per cent of their A-level assessments downgraded by the exam regulator?
2. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said keeping what closed 'a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible’?
3. The Government said that a review of how deaths from coronavirus were counted in England has reduced the UK death toll by more than how many (to the nearest thousand)?
4. After a Government announcement on Thursday, people arriving in the UK from which of these locations will not have to quarantine for 14 days? a) The Netherlands b) Malta c) Switzerland d) Monaco.
5. Which town was facing the threat of a local lockdown after nearly 300 workers at a sandwich factory that supplies M&S tested positive for coronavirus?
6. Young people in Preston were targeted with a 'don’t kill ___' message after the area had lockdown restrictions imposed. What is the missing word?
7. Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the Government was 'grappling with something unprecedented' after figures showed the economy suffered its biggest slump on record … shrinking by what per cent between April and June?
8. A post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and Japan reportedly hit an obstacle after International Trade Secretary Liz Truss requested better terms for what?
9. Three people including the driver and a conductor died after a train operated by which company derailed and crashed down an embankment near Aberdeen?
10. Whose mother vowed she would never give up on her son despite the Met Police declaring investigations into his murder ‘inactive’?
11. The Met Office said temperatures had reached how many degrees in central London on Wednesday for six consecutive days … the first time this had happened since 1961?
12. The Metropolitan police stopped a car carrying which Labour MP in Hackney, sparking claims of racial profiling?
13. The Home Office dismissed which company as ‘over-priced junk food’ after it posted tweets criticising Home Secretary Priti Patel’s approach to migrant crossings in the English Channel?
14. Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden wrote on Twitter: 'I have the great honor to announce that I’ve picked ___ ____ – a fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants – as my running mate.’ What is his running mate's name?
15. Fire services declared a major incident as they tackled a 40-hectare wildfire that started in Chobham Common in which county?
16. Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner graded his performance as a U, the Daily Mail labelled him a dunce and Piers Morgan called on him to resign? Who is he?
17. Who tweeted: 'Some good advice... If you buy an electric trail bike, read the manual before you ride it for the first time’?
18. Why will England cricketer Ben Stokes miss the remainder of the Pakistan Test series?
19. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were reported to have bought a $14million mansion in which Californian city?
20. A Japanese-operated tanker ran aground off which island, leaking more than 1,000 tonnes of oil into the sea?
21. Apple and Google removed which video game from their app stores for violating their in-app payment guidelines? 
22. What did 44-year-old Mariusz Stepien discover in the Scottish Borders?
23. Two beluga whales, named Little Grey and Little White, that were held in captivity in China were relocated to a sea sanctuary in which country?
24. What kind of creature was Ethel who spent nearly six days on the run in Doncaster?
25. BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood apologised for saying she had seen lots of what in Greenwich Park?

Answers here

Have a crack at this week's newsquiz

There were some high scores in last week’s newsquiz. Dora Allday was the top solo scorer with a record-breaking 23.5. The top team - Simon, Sue and Will Cole - posted the same score. Other impressive scores came in from Janet Boyle with 20.5, Toby Brown 20, Liz Gerard 19 and Gavin Devine 18. There were also good team scores from Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe with 22, Maura and Phil Parsons, 21.5, The Roberts Family and Mr and Mrs Penman, 21 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward 18.5. I did the quiz in a tapas bar on Friday with Les and Nicky Castell and Ian and Gill McCulloch who scored an above par 18. Here is this week’s newsquiz. 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. The Government announced this week that, after a surge of Covid-19 cases, travellers arriving in the UK from Belgium and which other two countries will be forced to quarantine for two weeks? Half a point for each.
2. After Government measures to protect businesses and jobs from Covid-19, the Bank of England predicted that GDP would shrink by what percentage this year … an improvement on the 14 per cent drop it forecast in May?
3. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said all pubs and restaurants had to close from 5pm on Wednesday, barred people from visiting other households indoors and urged residents to avoid non-essential journeys greater than five miles … in which city?
4. Which chain said it was considering closing 67 of its 449 UK restaurants, with the possible loss of 1,100 jobs?
5. A fight between passengers over the wearing of face masks on a KLM flight resulted in two arrests at the plane’s destination on which island?
6. Lebanon’s prime minister Hassan Diab said the cause of an explosion that devastated Beirut, killing more than 130 people, was 2,750 tonnes of what substance?
7. Which banker, a senior executive at Capital Group, was awarded a knighthood for 'political service’?
8. What did Labour shadow minister Jess Phillips say sent 'a terrible message from Westminster’ and public servants union leader Amy Leversidge call 'an astonishing decision’?
9. Douglas Ross, 37, said it was 'the honour and privilege of a lifetime’ to be appointed as what?
10. Which politician, who died this week age 83, is the only person to have received three major peace awards - the Nobel Peace Prize, the Gandhi Peace Prize and the Martin Luther King Award?
11. In Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup final who scored both of Arsenal’s goals?
12. What linked Ian Botham, Ruth Davidson, Philip Hammond, former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore and the Prime Minister’s brother Jo Johnson this week?
13. Who said she was suffering from 'low-grade depression' because of the pandemic, racial injustice and the hypocrisy of the Trump administration?
14. Who disappeared after writing a letter which said he was leaving 'in the face of the public repercussions that certain past events in my private life are generating' and in the hope of allowing his son to carry out his functions with ‘tranquillity’?
15. Children's book writer James Nash was shot by a gunman, who then died when his motorbike crashed during a police chase, in a remote village in which English county?
16. US President Donald Trump said Microsoft could buy what as long as the sale was completed by September 15 and the treasury received a portion of the deal as payment?
17. The Premier League’s current longest-serving manager left which club by mutual consent?
18. Whose mother accused a police officer of being responsible for her daughter's death during an emotional confrontation at an inquest?
19. Bells tolled, there was a minute's silence at 8.15am on Thursday but other memorial events, including one in Peace Park, were scaled back because of the pandemic? The memorial was to mark the 75th anniversary of what event? 
20. F1 driver Lewis Hamilton broke his own record for the number of British Grand Prix victories at Silverstone on Sunday. How many has he won?
21. German carmaker Audi apologised for an advert showing a little girl leaning on the front of a high-performance car while eating what?
22. Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford has had his role in helping feed vulnerable children recognised with an appearance on the front cover of which magazine?
23. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge played games at an arcade which was a setting in which TV series … although Prince William admitted he had never seen it?
24. Whose fortune passed $100billion (£76billion) making him only the third person in the world to become a centibillionaire?
25. Due to restrictions in global travel which TV programme will now be filmed in a rural castle in the UK instead of its usual location?

Answers here