Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Martin John with 21, just ahead of Janet Boyle and George Mann on 20.5, Mary Wingfield on 20 and Robert Rea on 19. The top teams were King’s Head drinkers Nicky, Les, Stacey and Heather and Chay Quinn and Eleanor Gunn who both scored 21.5, ahead of Maura and Phil Parsons on 20 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe and the Fleet family on 19.5. Broad Oak Boozers Danny, Thom, Craig and Tim and the Barnard Castle FOC with Our Peter, Jackie, Trev and Carole both scored 16.5. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Why not give it a go and let me know your score. 

Today's front pages

1. Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted that Britain only supplied weapons to Ukraine for 'self-defence' after missiles with what name were fired on Russia for the first time?
2. US-made missiles, known by what acronym, were fired into Russian territory by Ukraine for the first time?
3. Prime Minister Keir Starmer met the president of which country, saying: 'We want our relations to be consistent, durable, respectful, as we have agreed, avoid surprises where possible’?
4. Former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who died aged 86, was an MP representing which city for 40 years from 1970-2010?
5. Why did former deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, who died aged 86, punch a farmer at a Labour rally in Rhyl in 2001?
6. Which of these did not attend the mass farmers’ protest over inheritance tax in London on Wednesday? a) Jeremy Clarkson b) Priti Patel c) Andrew Lloyd-Webber d) Jacob-Rees Mogg
7. Following allegations of sexual misconduct, Republican Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration for what role in Donald Trump’s government?
8. Government figures revealed that last year's Coronation of King Charles III cost how much?
9. British lawyer Simone White was one of six people to die in a suspected methanol poisoning in which country?
10. A murder investigation was launched by Northamptonshire police after the body of 24-year-old Harshita Brella was found inside what?
11. In which Buckinghamshire town was singer Liam Payne’s funeral held?
12. Pamphlets called If Crisis or War Comes - with instructions on how to stockpile and find shelter in the event of a war - are being sent to all households in which country?
13. How old is Ryland Headley of Ipswich who was charged with the rape and murder of a 75-year-old woman in Bristol in 1967?
14. Who called for safety improvements at London Underground stations after needing hospital treatment for injuries from a fall into a platform gap while boarding a train?
15. Which company’s rebrand, promoted as a ‘complete reset’ built around 'exuberant modernism’, received a backlash online with posts saying it was a 'bad joke’ and 'commercial suicide’ and Reform leader Nigel Farage adding the firm deserved to go bust?
16. What is the name of the storm that is threatening to bring snow, rain and strong winds to parts of the UK this weekend?
17. Jack Gilbert, former chief executive at what charity, said he was ‘shocked' and ‘gobsmacked’ by what he found while there? 
18. Artwork of what item duct-taped to a wall fetched $6.2million (£4.9m) at Sotheby's in New York?
19. Chelsea striker Sam Kerr and West Ham’s Kristie Mewis received 'unacceptable and hateful' messages on social media after sharing what?
20. Singer Ed Sheeran said he had not given permission for what and, if he had been asked, would have ‘respectfully declined’?
21. Who announced she was leaving her job, saying: 'After six years of fun times … I've decided it's time to step away from the early alarm call and start a new chapter’?
22. Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was beaten by Jake Paul, who is 31 years his junior, in Texas. How old are both boxers. Half a point for each.

23. Which sportsman retired after 23 years and 22 championship titles saying he would like to be remembered as 'a kid who followed their dreams’?
24. Who joked his daughter’s engagement to Taylor Harwood-Bellis was 'not done and dusted' after the Southampton defender scored on his England debut against Ireland?
25. What sold out in 37 minutes after organisers adopted a new booking system?

Answers here

Great opportunities at the i for young journalists

I am delighted to see that the i newspaper is running its apprenticeship scheme again. It really is a fantastic opportunity for school and college leavers who want to be journalists. I helped with the scheme in 2021 which was a great success. One of the apprentices from that scheme, Kia Elise-Green, is now a senior feature writer. She says: 'This scheme gave me a way into a career I dreamed of without the financial barrier of university. During two years as an apprentice, I worked on articles close to my heart, got experience on multiple desks in the newsroom and had support in every aspect of my training. I’m so grateful for the newsroom and my tutors for the job I get to do. I don’t think I would be where I am in my career if this scheme didn’t exist.’
You don’t need a degree or journalism experience, just A-levels and/or a BTEC Level 3. So if you fancy a career in journalism and the chance to earn while you learn, get your application in before December 20. The details are here.

Take a look at this video that will tell you all about why you should apply. Good luck. 

Have a crack at the newsquiz!

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was the Rev Leon with 23, ahead of Robert Rea on 21, Janet Boyle on 20 and George Mann on 18. The top team was the Barnard Castle FOC (with guests from Canada Pauline and Mike) with 22, ahead of Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 20.5, Maura and Phil Parsons on 19 and Bruce and Sarah Hayward and George Fleet and the Wingfields both on 16. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about this week's news. Give it a go and let me know your score.

A selection of yesterday's front pages

1. Keir Starmer became the first UK Prime Minister, since Winston Churchill in 1944, to do what?
2. Labour peer Baroness Hodge told Health Secretary Wes Streeting ‘to hold fire a little bit’ when talking about his position on what?
3. At Prime Minister's Questions who did Keir Starmer say he was pleased to see making a 'rare appearance', adding: 'I was half expecting to see him on the immigration statistics'?
4. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey, in his Mansion House speech, said that what had led to weaker trade and 'weighed' on the economy?
5. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the COP29 climate conference, being held in which country, that he was committed to an 81 per cent emissions cut by 2035?
6. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned after a report found the Church of England covered up abuse by a barrister. What was his name?
7. The Post Office announced plans to close how many branches with about 2,000 jobs at risk?
8. Owners of what shops in England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted in favour of cutting opening hours and stopping home deliveries in a protest over Government funding?
9. President-elect Donald Trump announced that Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy would lead the newly created DOGE. What does it stand for?
10. Tattooed Fox News host Pete Hegseth was selected for which role by Donald Trump?
11. Which UK newspaper announced it would no longer post on X (formerly Twitter), saying the benefits were now outweighed by the negatives?
12. Actor Timothy West, who died aged 90, appeared with his wife of 61 years, Prunella Scales, in what Channel 4 series from 2014 to 2021?
13. Premier League referee David Coote was suspended after a video emerged of him using foul language to describe who?
14. CDS Superstores, the owner of bargain store The Range, agreed to buy up 70 stores owned by which troubled retail chain?
15. Consumer rights group Which? announced it was suing which company for £3billion saying it breached UK competition law by 'trapping' customers into using its storage system?
16. Whose children’s book, Billy and the Epic Escape, was withdrawn from sale after being condemned for stereotyping Australia’s First Nations people?
17. Toy manufacturer Mattel said it 'deeply regretted' a misprint on packaging for dolls, inspired by the Wicked movie, which listed the address for what?
18. A report commissioned by the Welsh government suggested that what should be introduced in parts of the country to combat racism?
19. Who revealed on Instagram that she was undergoing a brain operation for a benign tumour?
20. The Director of BBC Sport said that Gary Lineker was 'stepping down' from Match Of The Day after how many ‘seasons’?
21. Edinburgh Zoo said that stress caused by fireworks on bonfire night was to blame for the death of three month-old Roxie, who was what kind of animal?

22. An 'ultimate mix' of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas, released to mark the song’s 40th anniversary, features a range of singers including two who are dead? Half a point for each name.
23. Paddy McGuinness raised more than £7million for BBC Children In Need by cycling to Glasgow from which town?
24. California police said footage of what animal tearing apart a Rolls Royce was actually an insurance fraud attempt using a 'person in a costume'?
25. A former boxer and a journalist and TV presenter are the oldest two contestants in this year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Half a point for each name.

Answers here

Test your news knowledge with this week's quiz

Global perspective on Trump's victory

The top solo scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Janet Boyle and George Mann with 22, just ahead of Kirsty Lewis and Robert Rea on 19. The top team was George Fleet and the Wingfields with 22, ahead of Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 21, Tony and Christine Smith on 20, Maura and Phil Parsons on 19.5 and Our Peter, Jackie, Sarah and Joe on 17. Here is this week's newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. It was a big one with the US elections and the Tory leadership vote so hopefully you have been all over the news and big scores are imminent. Give it a go and let me know your score. 

Some more election front pages

1. Which one of these did Donald Trump not achieve when he became America’s 47th president? a) oldest person ever elected to the office  b) first convicted criminal to win the White House c) the first president to be re-elected after a four-year gap d) only President to have faced impeachment proceedings twice.

2. President-elect Donald Trump, in an interview with NBC, dismissed concerns about the cost of his plan to do what, saying: ‘It's not a question of a price tag. It's not - really, we have no choice’? 
3. Who was Donald Trump referring to in his victory speech when he said: 'He's an amazing guy. He's a character, he's a special guy, he's a super genius’?
4. Which of these did not appear at one of Kamala Harris’s Vote for Freedom rallies in the run up to the election? a) Ricky Martin b) Lady Gaga c) Christina Aguilera  d) Kid Rock.

5. Which newsreader apologised after she was ticked off by her co-anchor for using the word batshit during the live coverage of the US election? 
6. In an interview in 2017, uncovered by the Daily Beast, who said: 'I was Donald’s closest friend for ten years’?
7. How did Democrat Sarah McBride make history when elected as Delaware's member of Congress?
8. Kemi Badenoch defeated Robert Jenrick to become Conservative Party leader after winning what percentage of the 95,000 votes?
9. What role did Robert Jenrick accept in Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet?
10. Who did new Tory leader Kemi Badenoch appoint as shadow chancellor?
11. Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to use counter-terrorism tactics to stop people-smuggling gangs as he announced an extra how much in funds to police the UK's borders?

12. What is to rise to £9,535 a year after being frozen since 2017?

13. Which businessman and farm owner described last week’s Budget as ’spiteful’, saying: 'No business can survive Reeves’s 20 per cent tax grab. It will be the death of entrepreneurship’?
14. The Bank of England cut interest rates to what per cent to 'ease the pressure on households and businesses from high borrowing costs’?
15. Israel sent rescue planes to which city after Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans were 'ambushed and attacked’, leaving ten in hospital?

16. Which car manufacturer announced it will cut 9,000 jobs from its global workforce as part of 'urgent measures' to stem losses?
17. What was the name of Conservative grandee, who died aged 92, who was best-known as Margaret Thatcher's defence secretary during the Falklands war?
18. Former Scotland rugby captain Stuart Hogg pleaded guilty at Selkirk Sheriff Court to what charge?
19. GP Thomas Kwan was sentenced to how many years in prison at Newcastle Crown Court after being found guilty of trying to murder his mother's partner with a fake Covid vaccine?
20. Comedian Janey Godley, who died aged 63, went viral during the Covid-19 pandemic when she offered a sweary version of daily briefings by who? 
21. Who was pelted with mud on a visit to the Spanish town of Paiporta?
22. Musician and producer Quincy Jones, who died aged 91, gathered 46 singers, including Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper to record what song for Ethiopia’s famine victims in 1985 that became a Number 1 in the US and UK?
23. Ruben Amorim is to join Manchester United as manager from which European club?
24. Cans containing what went on sale at the Italian beauty spot of Como for €10?
25. The Prince of Wales was in Cape Town to celebrated this year's winners of his environmental awards that are called what?

Answers here

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Oliver Jervis with 21, just ahead of Janet Boyle on 20, the Rev Leon on 18 and Amelia Perry and David Banks both on 17. The top team was King’s Head drinkers Peter, Stacey, Nicky and Les with 20, just ahead of Maura and Phil Parsons on 19, Bruce and Sarah Hayward on 16.5, Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 16 and the Broad Oak Boozers 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 your score.

The Budget front pages

1. In the Budget Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the lower rate of what tax would be raised from 10 per cent to 18 per cent and the higher rate from 20 per cent to 24 per cent?
2. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an extra £22.6bn for the day-to-day spending and a £3.1bn increase for the capital budget for this year and next for what institution?
3. The minimum wage for over 21s, known as the National Living Wage, will rise from £11.44 to how much from April 2025?
4. Announcing a rise in tax on flights, Chancellor Rachel Reeves poked fun at leader of the opposition Rishi Sunak saying: 'That is equivalent to £450 per passenger for a private jet to, say ...’ Where did she mention?
5. Former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, announcing he was standing down from the shadow cabinet, said: ‘Hopefully I'll be a slightly better __. That's top of the list.’ What is the missing word?
6. Which politician said she would tone down her approach – after some colleagues suggested she could be rude?
7. CCTV footage appeared to show Labour MP Mike Amesbury punching a constituent after a row over winter fuel payments and the closure of what?
8. Far-right activist Tommy Robinson was jailed for how many months for contempt of court for repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee?
9. Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond was laid to rest following a private funeral near his Aberdeenshire home in which village?
10. According to the Office for National Statistics the number of what in England and Wales is at its lowest since 1977? 
11. At least 155 people were killed when flash floods struck which Spanish province?

12. The US Republicans were criticised after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe told a Madison Square Garden rally: 'There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called __ __.’ What is the missing country?
13. Which former Republican governor announced he was backing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, saying 'I will always be an American before I am a Republican’?
14. US President Joe Biden called on which country's government to respond to international concern at the scale of violations in its election last weekend?
15. A man died and at least 30 more were injured after a truck drove into what near an Israeli military base north of Tel Aviv?
16. GB News was fined £100,000 by Ofcom for breaking impartiality rules over a programme which gave who a 'mostly uncontested platform’?
17. Safety zones outside all of what places in England and Wales came into force yesterday (Thursday)?
18. According to police figures supplied to the NSPCC, which app is the most widely-used platform for online grooming?
19. Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana appeared by video link at Westminster magistrates' court to face extra charges after what two items were allegedly found in a search of his home? Half a point for each.
20. Police arrested a 63-year-old man after 22 tons of what, worth £300,000, was stolen from a London yard?
21. What is the name of the dancer who was taken to hospital after collapsing backstage during Saturday night's Strictly Come Dancing?
22. Who posted on social media that masked raiders had burgled his home, while his wife and two children were there, and taken irreplaceable items?
23. Manchester United sacked manager Erik ten Hag after a 2-1 defeat by which team left them 14th in the Premier League.
24. Which European football club boycotted the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris, saying their representatives would not go where they were 'not respected?
25. What old word, with the new meaning of 'someone with a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude’, was named Collins Dictionary word of the year?

Answers here