Final newsquiz: Mehreen gets top prize

Farewell to the trainees: From left, Tony Johnston (head of PA Training), Oliver Duggan, Camilla Turner, Laurence Dodds, Mehreen Khan, Raz Akkoc, Greg Walton, Mike Watson (trainer) and me

The Telegraph trainees finished the first stage of their training yesterday (see previous post). We finished as always with the news quiz. Congratulations to Mehreen Khan who scored 16 out of 24. It was a remarkable performance giving her 102 points over the seven weeks, an average of 14.5 a week. She finished 17 points ahead of second placed Raz Akkoc who pipped Oliver Duggan by half a point. Mehreen was presented with a book on the history of The Telegraph. That's it with the newsquiz till February ... but no excuse for you not to read the papers. If you beat Mehreen's 16, well done. She has set a high bar. 

1. A blonde girl called Maria was discovered living with a Roma family in which Greek city?
2. According to Tesco, 68 per cent of what type of food never makes it to the plate?
3. Education minister Elizabeth Truss was under fire for misspelling a word in a tweet on literacy and numeracy. What word did she misspell? 
4. Which university's union has banned fitness classes which offered pole dancing because  they 'contribute to an atmosphere where women are viewed as sexual objects'?
5. A comedian whose characters included Sebastien the gay Yardie gangster and Aubrey Duboisson, a posh bloke from the Cotswolds, died at the weekend. Who was he?
6. A new nuclear power plant is to be built at Hinkley Point. In which county is Hinkley Point?
7. As hundreds of bush fires broke out in Australia,  a state of emergency was called in which state?
8. Rihanna was asked to leave a Grand Mosque for posing for inappropriate photographs? In which city?
9. Sally Bercow paid out £15,000 as her libel settlement over her Lord McAlpine tweet. To which charity was the money donated?
10. Which country has rejected a seat on the UN Security Council in protest over America's policy in Syria?
11. In his autobiography Alex Ferguson said of his former captain Roy Keane: 'He believed he was ______ ________.  Nobody is.' Which fictional character was he comparing Keane to?
Bonus, which journalist ghost wrote Sr Alex's book?
12. Britain's biggest petrochemical refinery in Grangemouth is under threat of closure. Which company owns the plant? 
13. Apple's chief executive unveiled the new iPad Air and the iPad mini. Who is Apple's CEO?
14. Which quiz show is being dropped by ITV after 15 years?
15. A woman died after falling 80ft in a Primark store in which city?
16. What forced the Dean Academy in the Forest of Dean to close on Wednesday?
17. The Great British Bake Off was won by 31-year-old Frances Quinn. Which is the higher number - a) the collective age of the three finalists or b) the age of judge Mary Berry? 
Bonus, next year's GBBO will be moving. To where?
18. How many Godparents did Prince George have in total?
Bonus, Prince George was dressed in a replica of the gown worn by the eldest daughter of which monarch?
19. The chief medical officer for England has advised all children should be given free vitamin C because of the fear of a return of which bone disease?
Bonus, who is the chief medical officer for England?
20. Arsenal lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday on the birthday of their manager Arsene Wenger. Which birthday was he 'celebrating'?

Answers here.

Mail's final newsquiz: Helen wins Champagne

Mail trainees (left to right) Colette Sexton, Josephine Forster, Ellie Buchdahl, Helen Lawson with the Champagne,  Olivia Williams, Lauren York, Andrew Magee and Lauren Davis.

Today is the last day at the Manor, PA Training's Howden HQ, for the Daily Mail trainee sub-editors. We had a week of more intensive subbing and layout and each of them created a live Mail page when the Gary McKinnon story broke on Tuesday. They were also visited by senior sub Jenny Ryan who opened their eyes to the reality of working in the Mail newsroom. After today they go off on placements to regional newspapers (the Hull Daily Mail, the Western Morning News and the Manchester Evening News) or to the Mail or Standard. Good luck to them all. I am sure they will be a big success.
Meanwhile the Telegraph trainees, in their penultimate week, had a packed schedule with FoI specialist Paul Francis, digital trainer Andy Drinkwater and Telegraph lawyer Adam Cannon. Today they are visiting the Liverpool Post and Echo.
Yesterday we held the newsquiz. There was high tension within the Mail ranks as, with Champagne at stake, only a half point separated Lauren Davis and Helen Lawson as the final questions loomed. In the end Helen pipped it by one point. Well done to her. The winner of the week though was the Telegraph's Radhika Sanghani with an impressive 21.
It's a bit of a bumper one this week - 22 questions with a possible five bonuses - so 27 points up for grabs and Radhika's 21 to beat. See how you get on.

1. Who wrote the Black Spider memos?

2. Why was Candy Crowley in the spolight?

3. Downton Abbey beat the X Factor in the ratings war on Sunday night after Lady Sybil died from eclampsia. Who played the part of Lady Sybil? And, for a bonus, there was also a death on the live showing of Emmerdale. Name the character who died.

4. Heather Watson became the first British woman tennis player to win a WTA tour title since 1988. Which country's Open did she win? For a bonus, where was Watson born and raised?

5. An Austrian stuntman fell to earth from the edge of space. Can you spell his surname? For a bonus in which US state did he land?

6. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has suggested that MPs might receive a 40 per cent pay rise on their current salary. To a margin of error of £1,000, what is an MP's current basic salary.

7. MP Stuart Bell died at the weekend. Where was his constituency?

8. Malala Yousafzal was flown from Islamabad for treatment at which UK hospital?

9. The Director of Public Prosecutions will decide whether Gary McKinnon will be charged with computer hacking in the UK. Who is the Director of Public Prosecutions?

10. Hilary Mantel became the fist woman to win the Booker Prize twice. What was the name of her winning novel and, for a bonus, name her book that won the prize in 2009?

11. Jon Benjamin has been threatened with violence after he made a Twitter joke about Argentina's football team. Benjamin is British ambassador to which country?

12. Comedian Frankie Boyle is suing which newspaper for libel after it called him a racist?

13. Who slipped while laying a wreath at Gandhi's grave

14. John Whaite won the Great British Bake Off. How old is he?

15. According to a new study, what offers no meaningful protection against cystitis?

16. There was an apparent catfight in Downing Street this week. Name the Chancellor's cat and the PM's cat. (Half a point for each).

17. The Employment Minister said Britain had the highest number of people in work since records began. Which year did he say that was? And, for a bonus, who is the Employment Minister?

18. Seven paintings, including works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and Lucian Freud were stolen from which museum?

19. Outside which American building did a Bangladeshi man attempt to plant a 1,000lb bomb

20. Specialist digging equipment is being used to search for missing Ben Needham on which island?

21. Why have Rosie & Ruby Formosa been in the headlines?

22. In a BBC survey of 166 British football clubs Arsenal is the most expensive club (charging £126 for the top adult match-day ticket). Which club is the cheapest?

Answers here

The newsquiz: Lauren's impressive 16 to beat

Olivia Williams celebrates with her Champagne

The Daily Mail reporting and subbing trainees got together at Northcliffe House in Kensington this week for a flavour of what it is like to work in the newsroom. The reporters now go off to spend time on regional newspapers, the Standard and the Mail's Scottish office. Meanwhile the subs are heading to PA's Howden base in East Yorkshire where they will have four weeks intensive subbing training and assessment. They will meet up with the Daily Telegraph trainees who have just completed their second week.
As usual we all finished the week with the newsquiz ... the best way to ensure everyone gets into the habit of reading the papers in detail every day. This week's highest scorer was Mail sub-editor Lauren Davis with an impressive 16. Second was Mail reporter Francesca Infante with 15. Olivia Williams scored the highest running score by a Mail reporter over the three-weeks and was presented with a bottle of Champagne by media consultant Sue Ryan. Top Telegraph trainee this week was Ben Riley-Smith with 13.5. Have a crack at the questions below. If you beat Lauren's 16, I will be very impressed.

Shakira is expecting ... but who's the father? PA

1. Name the two women police officers killed in Manchester (half point for each name).

2. What was the name of the estate in Tameside, Manchester, that the two officers were called to?

3. Before this week's incident, the last police woman to be shot dead on duty in the UK was Sharon Beshenivsky in 2005. In which city?

4. Why was Mike O'Kane suspended from his job this week?

5. According to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in a secretly taped conversation, what percentage of Americans are freeloaders relying on government handouts?

6. Colombian singer Shakira is expecting her first child. Who is the father?

7. According to a hard-hitting advert by St John Ambulance, broadcast during the commercial break in Downton Abbey, how many people might survive in the UK each year if everyone was trained in First Aid?

8. Which news reader confessed to dyeing her grey hair because age is an issue for women on TV?

9. Executive Anthony Sturman accidently sent indecent images to his office printer. Who were his employers?

10. Who is the editor of the Evening Standard?

11. Which quango paid out £9.4 million in redundancy payments to 223 employees but took on 598 new staff during the same period?

12. Policeman Simon Harwood was sacked for gross misconduct this week following the death of a newspaper seller during the G20 protests in London. What was the name of the man who died?

13. 26 people were killed in a gas plant fire in which country?

14. Six-year-old Will Smith accidently ran up a £2,000 bill on his grandfather's iPad playing which game?

15. Following the discovery of an ancient papyrus, a Harvard professor has claimed Jesus was married ... to whom?

16. Which comedian has been shortlisted in the Roald Dahl Funny Prize 2012 for his novel Gangsta Granny?

17. Nick Clegg has apologised for not keeping his word on tuition fees. What is Clegg's constituency?

18. A specialist team of doctors from which hospital has flown out to Camp Bastion following the unexpected birth of a baby boy?

19. What is the name of the Italian magazine that ran 20 pages of pictures, including some topless, of the Duchess of Cambridge?

And for a bonus point the magazine's editor, Alfonso Signorini, tweeted that “not even a direct call from ....... " would stop him publishing the photographs. Fill in the gap.

20. What is the name of Robbie Williams' baby daughter, born earlier this week?

Answers here