Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Marguerite Turner with 22, ahead of Janet Boyle 21, Toby Brown 20.5, Gavin Devine, Robert Rea and Marion Fountayne all on 20, Chay Quinn 19, Jayme Bryla 18.5 and Richard Ault 16.5. The top team was the Peak District Walkers (featuring Adam Batstone, Lucy Thorpe, David Kohn, Phil Parsons, Dominic Hurst and Steve Bonhomme) with an impressive 23. Other on the leader board were Neil and Jo Benson on 18 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward with 17. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

The contrasting Partygate pages on Thursday

1. Reacting to the Sue Gray report into lockdown parties, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs: 'Frankly, I have been appalled by some of the behaviour, particularly in the treatment of the ___ and the ___ staff.’ What are the two missing words? Half a point for each.
2. The Sue Gray report said that on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral, exit logs indicated that the last person left the Downing Street party at what time? a) 2.45am b) 3.11am c) 4.20am
3. Sue Gray’s report revealed that she stopped investigating a gathering in Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat, as the Metropolitan Police were running a separate inquiry, where music by which pop group was played?
4. What did Tory MPs John Baron, David Simmonds and Julian Sturdy all do after the Sue Gray report was published?
5. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that every household in the UK was to get an energy bill discount of how much this October?
6. What is the name of the school in Uvalde, Texas, where 21 people, including 19 children, were shot dead?
7. Who did 18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos shoot before heading to the school in Uvalde, Texas, armed with a handgun and a rifle?
8. How old was Russian tank commander Vadim Shishimarin who was jailed for life for killing a civilian at the first war crimes trial since the invasion of Ukraine?
9. Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was 'not a special operation, it is the ___ of the Ukranian people’. What is the missing word?
10. Which union’s members voted for industrial action with 89 per cent in favour of strike action and 11 per cent against?
11. Former Conservative MP Imran Ahmad Khan was sentenced to how long in jail for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy after plying him with gin at a party in 2008?
12. Anthony Albanese became only the fourth Labor leader since World War Two to oust a Liberal prime minister in what country?
13. Which carmaker agreed to pay £193million to settle 91,000 legal claims in England and Wales linked to the ‘dieselgate' emissions scandal?
14. Dame Deborah James, who is receiving end of life care after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, visited the Chelsea Flower Show and said she hoped that what might one day feature in her daughter Eloise's wedding bouquet?
15. Ray Liotta, who died aged 67, was best known for playing real-life mobster Henry Hill in which film?
16. Who told the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation trial that Depp 'never pushed me, kicked me or threw me down any stairs’?
17. Former political prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe said Iran forced her to do what at the airport before authorities would let her fly home?
18. Who was charged with four counts of sexual assault against three men between 2005 and 2013 in London and Gloucestershire?
19. Mother Amy Blyth, 23, said she will 'never mentally recover' after walking with her 18-month-old son in Tenterden, Kent? What happened?
20. Who decided to remove the titles Miss and Mrs, which have been featured since 1884, from its honours boards?
21. The BBC apologised after two messages, apparently written by someone training, appeared on the news ticker at the bottom of the screen. One said 'weather rain everywhere’, what did the other say?
22. Manchester City beat Liverpool to the Premier League title by how many points?
23. Andy Fletcher, who died aged 60, was the co-founder and keyboardist of which legendary electronic band?
24. Who said of a family film clips documentary, which is to be broadcast on the BBC on Sunday evening, that ‘private photos can often show the fun behind the formality’?

25. Air passengers arriving at Gatwick were confused when prankster Max Fosh built a 60-metre sign on the approach which said welcome to where? 

Answers here

The newsquiz: 25 questions about the week

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Chay Quinn with an impressive 23.5. Others on the leaderboard were Janet Boyle 21.5, Tom Savage 21, Marguerite Turner, Toby Brown, Rob Lawrence and Robert Rea all on 20, Jayme Bryla 18, Gavin Devine 17.5, Peter Cockerill and Graham Dudman on 16. The top team was Neil and Jo Benson on 22, ahead of Simon, Sue and Will Cole 21, Maura and Phil Parsons 20, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 19, The Scotson family and Bruce and Sarah Hayward 15. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

Today's front pages

1. Scotland Yard declared its Partygate investigation to be over and said it had issued how many fines in total - including one to Prime Minister Boris Johnson?
2. The Office for National Statistics estimated inflation is now at what per cent, its highest level since March 1982?
3. At a House Treasury Committee, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, used what word to describe food prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
4. Moscow said that more than 900 Ukrainian fighters had been taken from where to a former prison colony in a Russian-controlled part of Donetsk?
5. The leader of which country said it was 'determined' to oppose Finland and Sweden joining NATO and branded Sweden an 'absolute terrorist nest’?
6. Which company announced it was to permanently leave Russia after more than 30 years and had negotiated the sale of its 850 outlets because of the 'humanitarian crisis' and the 'unpredictable operating environment' caused by the Ukraine war?
7. Why was an unnamed Conservative MP in his 50s asked by the party’s chief whip not to attend Parliament?
8. How many pages of documentation, partly written in Latin, did M&S boss Archie Norman say his company needed in order to deliver goods to the Republic of Ireland?
9. An 18-year-old gunman killed ten people at a supermarket in which city in New York state?
10. The Queen made her first public appearance, outside of the Windsor area since her husband’s memorial service seven weeks ago, when she made a surprise visit to which London Station to see the completed Elizabeth line?
11. Eight cities were created for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, with at least one in every UK nation. They are Milton Keynes, Colchester and Doncaster in England, Dunfermline in Scotland, Bangor in Northern Ireland and Wrexham in Wales. Name the other two. Half a point for each.
12. How will Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita make history later his year?
13. The first public congressional hearing to be held in the US for more than 50 years into what phenomenon heard that a number of events had defied all attempts at explanation?
14. What is the name of the actor/writer, who died aged 71, who wrote for television drama serials including Band of Gold, Fat Friends and Strictly Confidential?
15. The Sunday Times Rich List revealed that there are now 177 what living in the UK - a record number?
16. The High Court ruled that the BBC could not name a man, who it claims exploited which position, saying he was 'above the law', to threaten to kill a woman and attack her with a machete?

17. Jake Daniels, 17, who became the UK’s first active professional football player to come out publicly as gay since 1990, plays for which team?
18. Coleen Rooney missed the final day of her legal battle with Rebekah Vardy at London's High Court as she and husband Wayne jetted off on holiday. Where did they go?
19. Hundreds of thousands of people with insomnia are to be offered what instead of sleeping pills under new guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence?
20. Vangelis, who died aged 79, won an Oscar for which 1981 soundtrack which also reached No 1 in the US charts and No 12 in the UK?
21. How many penalties were missed or saved in the FA Cup final shoot-out between Liverpool and Chelsea?
22. Singer Sam Ryder came second in Eurovision - the UK's best result in decades – with which song?
23. Joe and Jess Thwaite from Gloucester became the UK’s biggest ever lottery winners when they won how much (in pounds) on the Euromillions?
24. A village pub in Cornwall received an apology from the publishers of which magazine for asking it to change its name as it 'might cause problems'?
25. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge joined Tom Cruise on the red carpet in Leicester Square at the UK premiere of the Top Gun sequel? What is it called?

Answers here

Have a crack at this week's newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz, all with 22, were Gavin Devine, Jayme Bryla and Tom Savage. Janet Boyle scored 21.5, Graham Dudman a personal best of 21, Marion Fountayne and Liz Gerard both 20, Robert Rea 19, Stuart Bagnall 18 and Jo Wadsworth 17. The top team was Maura and Phil Parsons with Joe and Lou Williams who scored 22 while on the top of Table Mountain in Wales. Marc Beyeler’s team scored 21.5, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe 21, Bruce and Sarah Hayward 20, Three Legs drinkers Jim and Stacey 18.5 and Our Peter, Joe and Sarah a PB of 17.5. 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 your score.

A selection of today's front pages

1. The Queen’s speech, delivered by Prince Charles, included how many bills and draft bills?

2. The Queen missed the State Opening of Parliament for the first time since 1963. This time was due to 'mobility issues' but what was the reason 59 years ago?
3. In response to the Queen’s Speech Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs: 'However great our compassion and commitment, we cannot simply ___ our way out of problems.’ What is the missing word?
4. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reportedly demanded his cabinet comes up with a plan which could cut up to how many civil service jobs?
5. Vladimir Putin told Russian troops at his victory day parade that 'the defence of the ___, when its fate was being decided, has always been sacred.' What is the missing word?
6. The president and prime minister of which country said it must apply to join Nato 'without delay' and as 'a matter of urgency'?
7. Russian ambassador Sergei Andreev was doused with what as he tried to lay a wreath at a military cemetery in Poland?
8. The Metropolitan Police said it had issued 50 more fines this week for breaches of Covid lockdown regulations at Whitehall, bringing the total number of fixed-penalty notices to how many?
9. Sinn Féin became the first nationalist party to be the largest at the Northern Ireland Assembly after it won how many seats?

10. Journalist Shireen Abu Aqla, who was shot and killed while covering a raid by Israeli forces in the West Bank, was working for which news outlet?
11. Who was accused of being 'childish' by management at PwC for saying its staff were 'lazy gits' after the accountancy giant said workers could take Friday afternoons off?
12. Entertainer Peter Andre said there would be outrage if a man had made a similar slur about a woman's anatomy, after solicitors said that Rebekah Vardy had compared his manhood to what in the Wagatha Christie court case?
13. The Prime Minister of which country resigned after pro and anti-government protesters took to the streets over the economic crisis?
14. The UK Health Security Agency confirmed that a patient was being treated at a specialist unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS trust in London after being diagnosed with what rare viral infection?
15. Who lost its position as the world's most valuable company to Saudi Arabian oil and gas producer Aramco?
16. What was podcaster Deborah James referring to when she said she had been 'blown away’?
17. The Taliban in Afghanistan decreed that all women would have to do what or run the risk of their father or closest male relative being imprisoned or fired from government jobs?
18. An employment tribunal in Sheffield ruled that calling a man what was sexual harassment?
19. Electronic Arts confirmed it will stop making which popular video game series next year?
20. Actor Dennis Waterman, who died aged 74, was best known for playing George Carter, Terry McCann and Gerry Standing in which three television shows? Half a point for two, one point for all three.
21. A painting of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol, called Shot Sage ___ Marilyn, was auctioned for $195m (£158.17m) in New York. What is the missing colour?
22. Manchester City confirmed an agreement to sign 21-year-old striker Erling Haaland for £51million from which club?
23. Which singer put money behind the bar of 60 pubs throughout the UK, urging fans to quench their thirst with a toast to mark his 60th birthday?

24. Ncuti Gatwa, 29, said he was 'deeply honoured, beyond excited and of course a little bit scared' to be taking which role?

25. What won the Virgin Media's Must-See Moment at the BAFTA awards?

Answers here

It's time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Janet Boyle and Rob Lawrence with 21, ahead of Marion Fountayne and Tony Smith on 20, Marguerite Turner on 19, Robert Rea, Stuart Bagnall and Toby Brown on 18 and Jayme Bryla on 16. The top team was the Three Legs Drinkers with 21. Others on the leaderboard were Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 17, Maura and Phil Parsons 16 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 15. Here is this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

Today's front pages

1. London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared 'history has been made tonight’ after Labour took control of which council, once regarded as Margaret Thatcher’s favourite, for the first time in 44 years?
2. Who accompanied Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he walked to Methodist Central Hall in Westminster to cast his vote in the local elections?
3. In an interview with TV presenter Susannah Reid, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was told that 77-year-old widow Elsie did what 'all day to avoid using energy at home’?
4. The Bank of England warned that the UK faces a 'sharp economic slowdown’ as it raised interest rates to one per cent, the highest since which year?
5. Environment Secretary George Eustice was criticised for being ‘out of touch’ after he said people should do what to 'contain and manage their household budget’?
6. Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first international leader to address the Ukrainian parliament since the Russian invasion and said: 'This is Ukraine's ___ ___ that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come.’ What are the missing two words?
7. According to the Israeli Prime Minister, Russia's President Vladimir Putin apologised after his foreign minister had claimed that who had 'Jewish blood’?
8. Ukrainian rock band Antytila teamed up with who to release a song which the group partly filmed and recorded while serving on the frontline in the war against Russia?
9. According to a friend, Conservative MP Neil Parish was searching for what model of combine harvester when he watched pornography in Parliament?
10. Which police force said it would investigate 'significant new information' about a gathering, dubbed Beergate, attended by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in April 2021?
11. Which company recorded its highest quarterly earnings - £5 billion ($6.2billion) - in more than a decade, prompting renewed calls for a windfall tax?
12. Which convenience store chain with 1,400 stores collapsed into administration, putting 16,000 jobs at risk?
13. There were protests in the US after a document suggested the Supreme Court was about to reverse a landmark 1973 ruling which gave all Americans the legal right to abortion. The ruling is known as who versus who? Half a point for each name?
14. The Army began an investigation after an intruder dressed as what spent the night eating and drinking with senior officers at a barracks close to Windsor Castle?
15. The London home of which Tory peer was raided as part of a police fraud investigation into multi-million pound PPE deals?
16. Name the two British football teams who reached the final of the Champions League and Europa League this week. Half a point for each.
17. Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker was jailed for how long after being found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act at Southwark Crown Court?
18. The cast of which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical learned they were being sacked, some on social media, after a matinee performance in the West End?
19. What was sold for a record breaking £7,142,500 at Sotheby’s in London this week?
20. Isaiah Lee, 23, was charged with four counts of misdemeanour after an on-stage attack on which US comedian at the Hollywood Bowl?
21. The Football Association denied it was to drop what song as the England football team's official World Cup song because it could be seen as arrogant by other countries?
22. Ronnie O'Sullivan equalled Stephen Hendry's modern-era record of how many snooker world titles?
23. According to bookmakers, Carol Vorderman, Romesh Ranganathan, Colin Murray, Paul O’Grady, Victoria Coren Mitchell and Jon Richardson were the front-runners for which job?
24. Who was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, despite previously asking to 'respectfully bow out' of contention for the honour having not 'earned the right’?
25. Eddie Scott beat Pookie and Radha to be crowned what?

Answers here