Friday, 26 October 2018

Newsquiz: Can you do better than Lizzie's 16?

Philip Green dominates today's front pages
The Daily Telegraph editorial trainees finished their sixth week of training today. This week they did digital storytelling tools with Andy Drinkwater and podcasting with Christine Garrington and Suchandrika Chakrabarti. Today they have been looking at project work with Mark Wray. They finished, as usual, with the newsquiz. The top scorer this week was Lizzie Roberts with 16, just ahead of Tony Diver on 15. In last week’s newsquiz nobody online could match Telegraph trainee Mason Boycott-Owen’s score of 17. Those coming close were Janet Boyle on 16.5, Adam Batstone, Lucy Thorpe and Meg on 16 and Gavin Devine on 15.5. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give them an go and see if you can do better than Lizzie's 16. 

Today's Daily Telegraph
1. Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament on Monday that a divorce deal with the EU is what per cent complete?
2. An anonymous Conservative MP faced cross-party condemnation after saying Prime Minister Theresa May should bring her own what to a backbencher 1922 committee meeting?
3. Prime Minister Theresa May survived a confrontation with her party at the 1922 committee, after which Brexiteer Michael Fabricant said the atmosphere was 'not a lion's den but a ____ ____’. What are the missing two words?
4. Sir Jeremy Heywood stepped down from which position, saying it was with 'great sadness' that he was retiring on medical advice?
5. Three Court of Appeal judges granted an injunction to stop which newspaper publishing details of harassment claims against a leading businessman?
6. Sir Philip Green was later identified in Parliament as the businessman at the centre of the harassment claims. Who identified him?
7. A suspect package, similar to those sent to high-profile critics of Donald Trump, was found at Tribeca Enterprises - including a grill and film production company - in Manhattan. Who were they addressed to?
8. Which two companies were fined millions of euros by Italian authorities over 'planned obsolescence’ of their products? Half a point for each.
9. Which High Street company announced the closure of 50 stores, putting up to 4,000 jobs at risk, after a £500million annual loss?
10. What was US President Donald Trump describing when he said 'the cover-up was the worst in the history of cover-ups’?
11. Which city said it would report the ‘unacceptable' racial abuse of a black woman on a Ryanair flight as a possible hate crime?
12. Who gave a speech saying: ’When girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves but also for those around them’?
13. Which country has been accused of locking away around one million Muslim people in prison camps?
14. A study by the Institute of Cancer Research suggested that thousands of patients with what cancer could have their lives extended thanks to a ‘monumental’ breakthrough?
15. Which company revealed it will build electric cars in Singapore, launching them in 2021?
16. Who announced on Twitter 'that I am proud to have become a Muslim’ and said she had been give a new name, Shuhada Davitt?
17. One of the founders of which fashion brand, known for provocative ad campaigns and colorful knitwear, died age 77?
18. Which Premier League football team won twice this week to record 11 consecutive victories in all competitions for the first time since 2007?
19. A study by the Environment Agency Austria estimated that more than 50 percent of the world population might have what in their body?
20.Why was Great Tew in Oxfordshire in the headlines?
21. What is the name of the Egyptian-American actor who plays Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in new biopic Bohemian Rhapsody? 
22. Why was 56-year-old Alain Robert arrested in London?
23. Why has American TV presenter Larysa Switlyk been in the news?
24. Who said this week: 'Radio 2 has been a quite wonderful experience – my happiest in radio I think – but new adventures beckon and I cannot wait to get started’?
25. Actor David Schwimmer posted a spoof video of himself carrying beer cans in a New York supermarket after police issued a theft appeal for a lookalike who really did steal beer in which UK town?

Answers here

Friday, 19 October 2018

Mason scores 17 in the newsquiz

This week the Daily Telegraph trainees have been doing multi-platform writing and storytelling with Chris van Schaick, analytics, audiences and digital marketing with Aren Grimshaw, reporting statistics with Anthony Reuben and reporting science with Fiona Lethbridge of the Science Media Centre. Today they were with Nick White learning about reporting finance, companies and business. They finished, as usual, with newsquiz. The top scorer this week was Mason Boycott-Owen with an impressive 17
In last week’s quiz the top online solo scorer was Toby Brown with 18. The highest scoring team was Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe, also with 18. Liz Gerard scored 17, the same score as MailOnline trainee Jack Newman and Telegraph trainee Lizzie Roberts. Here is this week’s quiz. Give it a go and see if you can beat Mason’s score. 


Today's Telegraph
1. After the Brussels summit on Wednesday Prime Minister Theresa May said an idea had emerged on Brexit 'to extend the implementation period for a ____ ____ ____’. What are the three missing words?
2. Chancellor Philip Hammond claimed that Britain will still have to pay the EU up to what amount if it fails to agree a trade deal?
3. An independent report said bullying and harrassment had been allowed to thrive in the House of Commons. Which former judge is the report’s author?
4. The baby born to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex next spring will be ____ in line to the throne and the Queen's ____ great-grandchild. What are the two missing numbers. Half a point for each.
5. A six-year-old boy called Gavin presented the Duchess of Sussex with a necklace made from what during a visit to Melbourne?
6. Frank Field, the chairman of the Commons Welfare Committee, said that women were turning to what because of Universal Credit? 
7. A campaign, started by Zehra Zaidi and backed by historian Dan Snow, MP Tom Tugendhat and Baroness Warsi, has called for the Muslim Second World War heroine, Noor Inayat Khan, to be commemorated where?
8. Radical preacher Anjem Choudary was released from jail after serving half of his sentence. How long was his original sentence?
9. Chef Delia Smith, Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden and actor Steve Googan, along with 100,000 others, are expected to be doing what tomorrow (Saturday)?
10. England won a football match in Spain for the first time since 1987. In which city did this week’s game take place?
11. A new portrait was unveiled in the White House showing Donald Trump with eight other ex-presidents including two George Bushes, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Name any two of the other four. Half a point for each.
12. What happened at Little Plumpton for the first time in the UK for seven years?  
13. An outbreak of what was confirmed for the first time in ten years in Scotland?
14. An investigation by consumer group Which? found which UK railway station is the worst for delays? Full name needed.
15. Which company is scrapping its Mansize brand and replacing it with Extra Large after concerns over sexism?
16. Why did the mayor of the French town Montriond order a temporary ban on hunting?
17. Three people were killed when a car towing a caravan drove the wrong way in the fast lane of which motorway?
18. Anna Burns became the first female author from Northern Ireland to win the Man Booker prize. What is the name of her winning novel?
19. Paddington station in London suffered major disruption after a test train built by which company hit overhead cables?
20. Britain’s longest running children’s TV show Blue Peter celebrated which anniversary this week?
21. The Government, following recommendations from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, is expected to announce that what will be added to all flour to stop thousands of children being born with birth defects?
22. ‘The biggest boy band on the planet’ from South Korea have been playing in the UK as part of a sell-out world tour. What is their name?
23. Which 32-year-old sportsman turned down a two-year deal with Maltese champions Valletta FC?
24. Actress Keira Knightley has banned her three-year-old daughter from watching two Disney films whose portrayal of women she disagrees with. Name either one of the films.
25. Comedian Harry Hill slapped a cream pie in Piers Morgan’s face on Good Morning Britain and yelled 'that's for the guys that wear ____’. What is the missing word?

Answers here 

Monday, 15 October 2018

MailOnline recruiting trainee journalists

I said goodbye to ten MailOnline trainees on Friday. After four weeks training at the Mail offices in Kensington they are starting their placements on regional newspapers and at agencies this week. They will return to the Mail in February.
We are now looking to recruit the next set of trainees who will begin their training in March. If you are interested please send your CV, covering letter and three examples of your work to sue.ryan@dailymail.co.uk by October 26. The details are on Hold the Front Page here and Journo Resouces here.

The current crop of MailOnline trainees who started their
regional newspaper and agency placements today

Friday, 12 October 2018

Jack wins the newsquiz Champagne

MailOnline trainees Jack Elsom, Harry Howard, Peter Rutzler, Luke Andrews, Milly Vincent, Emer Scully, Jack Newman (with the Champagne), Izzy Nikolic, James Gant and Will Cole
The MailOnline trainees are heading off on their placements after four weeks training in Kensington. In the last week they covered a breaking news story in real time, wrote a personality profile, tackled video headlines, covered a showbiz story and prepared newslists for next week. They also had sessions on video with Lisa Snell, social media with Chris Lawrence and Femail with Siofra Brennan. 



Sports trainee Peter Rutzler had four stories published on the site, including the sports banner. Read them here, here, here and here. Luke Andrews was also published ... his exclusive on an antibiotic found in a sponge in the Atlantic was a top story on the science channel. Read it here.



Izzy Nikolic was caught up in the Tube chaos in west London on Thursday and supplied pictures and video. The story is here. 

We all enjoyed farewell drinks with former trainees and senior staff in the Greyhound last night. I enjoyed the trainees' company over the last four weeks. They are a bright, likeable and funny group who now head off to newspapers and agencies in London, Bristol, Cambridge, Glasgow, Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle for the next stage of their training. I will follow their success stories with interest and I wish them well.
The Daily Telegraph trainees in Howden enjoyed two days of social, mobile and viral video filming and editing with Dean Arnett and two days of advanced data journalism with Paul Bradshaw. Today they were back in London where they looked at production skills and tools with Telegraph head of production, Laurie Allsopp, and trauma awareness with Kate Riley. 

We finished the week, as usual, with the newsquiz. This week's top scorers were Jack Newman from the Mail and Lizzie Roberts from the Telegraph, both with an impressive 17. Jack narrowly beat Peter Rutzler, who scored 16.5 points, to claim the Champagne for being top MailOnline scorer over the four weeks. Overall, he just pipped Peter by 1.5 points.

In last week’s quiz the top online scorers didn’t come close to the 19 and 18.5 scored by Jack and Peter. They certainly set the bar high.  

Here’s this week’s newsquiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give them a go and see if you can beat Jack and Lizzie’s score of 17.


The Standard gets the first kiss: Questions 6 & 7
1. Who warned that universal credit could hurt Theresa May in the same way the poll tax hurt Margaret Thatcher in 1989 and 1990?
2. What is Jackie Doyle-Price’s new role?
3. Which motorway will be closed through the night until next week for surveys on turning it into a potential lorry park to deal with a no-deal Brexit?
4. What is the name of the investigative website that claimed the second Salisbury spy suspect Alexander Petrov is a military doctor working for Russian intelligence?
5. The Banksy artwork Girl With Balloon, which was shredded as it sold at auction, was given a new name and was granted a certificate by the artist’s authentication body. What is the new name?
6. Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank took place at Windsor today. What number in line to the throne is the princess?
7. How old are the bride and groom at today’s Royal wedding? Half a point for each.
8. Which cake and coffee shop chain faces liquidation unless it pays its £1 million-plus tax bill?
9. A Soyuz space capsule heading to join the ISS had to be aborted shortly after take off. In which country did it land?
10. How did 23-year-old British backpacker Harry Evans die?
11. Journalist Jamal Khashoggi went missing, believed murdered, in the Saudi consulate in which city? 
12. Investigative journalist Viktoria Marinova was murdered in a park this week. In which country? 
13. Ray Galton, who died aged 88, created sitcoms with partner Alan Simpson. One, about a father and son who lived together, ran on the BBC from 1962 to 1974. What was it called?
14. Model and TV personality Katie Price was held overnight at which police station after crashing her pink Range Rover?
15. Which tennis player donned wellies to help clean up after flash flooding and tweeted ‘sad day in Majorca’? 
16. Why was 42-year-old Celia Marsh in the news? 
17. Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe, who died this week, famously sang which song at the 1992 Olympics?
18. Kanye West visited the Oval Office, swore and said 'Trump is on his hero’s journey right now’? What did the slogan on West's hat say?
19. One of the few women in Donald Trump’s cabinet, Nikki Haley, resigned this week. What was her position?
20. A one-off test - The Genomic Risk Score - that tells from birth who is most likely to develop heart disease was announced. The scientists who created it said it would sell for less than what price?
21. A horse race advertised on which World Heritage-listed building prompted a backlash over its promotion of gambling?
22. Two runners died after collapsing at the finish line in which city’s half marathon?
23. Twenty people - including newlyweds - were killed when a limousine crashed in which American state?
24. He sacked 15 managers - a record that earned him the nickname ‘Deadly'. Who is he?
25. Seann Walsh’s girlfriend Rebecca Humphries reacted to his smooch with his Strictly Come Dancing partner in a letter on Twitter which ended saying she was not sorry she took what?

Answers here

Friday, 5 October 2018

The newsquiz: Can you beat Jack's 19?

Theresa May dances across Thursday's front pages
The MailOnline trainees are going great guns as they head into their final week before their placements. This week they had a day with Amy Marley, the former head of the Mail’s global news gathering team and with Mike Watson who went through Mail style in detail. 
Former trainee Rod Ardehali told them what to expect at the next stage and Natalie Glanvill, from the managing editor’s office, went through the practical stuff. 
There were also media law sessions with the company’s lawyers and a run through the editor’s code and IPSO with Editor Emeritus Peter Wright. They all pitched stories to travel editor Ted Thornhill. 
Well done to trainee Jack Elsom who brought in a news story which was published. You can read it here. 


Story by trainee Jack Elsom on MailOnline
Meanwhile The Daily Telegraph trainees covered storyfinding and storytelling skills with Chris van Schaick; production skills, including InDesign and Photoshop, with Chris Gregory and longform, narrative and digital journalism with Giles Wilson. 
We finished the week as usual with the newsquiz. This week’s Mail winner was Jack Newman with a high-scoring 19, narrowly ahead of Peter Rutzler on 18.5. The highest scoring Telegraph trainee was Mason Boycott-Owen. Last week’s highest online scorer was Janet Boyle with 16. The top team was John and Lucy Penman with 16.5, ahead of Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 15. I was in Seville where my friends scored a reasonable 14, the same score as Liz Gerrard. Here is this weeks’ quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and see if you can beat Jack's score. 
Thursday's Telegraph

1. Prime Minister Theresa May danced on to the stage to deliver her party conference speech to which song? 
2. Which single word was displayed on the front of the rostrum at the Tory party conference? 
3. In her conference speech, Theresa May said that the heirs of four former Labour politicians were not on the frontbench. Instead, she said, 'their faces stare blankly from the rows behind while another party occupies prime position: the Jeremy Corbyn party.' Name any two of the four politicians she mentioned. 
4. What is the name of the Tory MP who revealed he had sent a letter to the chairman of the Conservative 1922 backbench committee calling for a leadership contest? 
5. Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson told a fringe meeting in Birmingham that a prediction made by Chancellor Philip Hammond 'was the first Treasury forecast in a long time to have a distinct ring of truth’. What prediction was he referring to? 
6. US president Donald Trump said this week that ‘it's a very ____ time for young men in America’. What is the missing word? 
7. Four ‘bungling’ Russian spies were caught trying to hack into the Salisbury novichok investigation at a building which houses the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in which city? 
8. On which Indonesian island did a tsunami kill more than 1,400 people?
9. Kathryn Mayorga, a 34-year-old former model, filed a lawsuit claiming that footballer Cristiano Ronaldo raped her in a hotel in which city?
10. Why was 53-year-old Mick Ferris from Kent in the headlines? 
11. Teacher Eleanor Wilson, 29, appeared in court accused of having sex with a pupil in the lavatory of a plane travelling to the UK from which country? 
12. Donna Strickland became the first woman in 55 years to be awarded what
13. Britain’s third biggest company abandoned plans to move its headquarters to the Netherlands after opposition from investors. What is the name of the company?
14. A European country voted in a referendum to change its name. What is the new name? 
15. What is the name of the Ryder Cup golfer who hit a wayward tee shot which blinded 49-year-old Corine Remande? 
16. A 58-year-old suspected modern slavery victim has been rescued from a shed where he has lived for more than 40 years. In which county? 
17. What did 20-year-old Bradley Tout do when he was sentenced for rape at Worcester Crown Court? 
18. French crooner Charles Aznavour, who died aged 94, had one No 1 hit in Britain in 1974. What was it called?
19. Why were four schools in East London evacuated and closed? 
20. What was the name of the presenter who hosted long-running children's television show, Rainbow, who died this week aged 76?
21. Manager Steve Bruce was sacked by Championship club Aston Villa. What had been thrown at him by a fan at a game just days before his departure? 
22. Lauren Laverne’s first castaway guest on Radio Four’s Desert Island Discs described the moment he held his dad's hand as he took his final breath. Who was the guest? 
23. Why were comedian Amy Schumer and model Emily Ratajowski arrested this week? 
24. Brian McFadden will not be joining Westlife on their reunion tour next year. What has he announced he will be doing instead?
25. The world's most expensive what was sold for £848,000 at auction in Edinburgh? 

Answers here

Friday, 28 September 2018

Can you beat Jack's newsquiz score?

Peter Rutzler's article on Liverpool and Manchester City
The MailOnline trainees have had another busy week. They pitched story ideas to executive editor Ian Walker and discussed travel stories with Ted Thornhill. From Wednesday they have been put through their paces by Amy Marley, the former head of the Mail’s global news gathering team. Sports trainee Peter Rutzler was the first on the course to be published with a story looking at Manchester City and Liverpool’s title challenges. You can read it here. 
Meanwhile the Daily Telegraph trainees enjoyed social media training, including advanced verification and story-finding and social story-telling, with Silvia Costello and the art of editing, grammar, punctuation and language with Malcolm Starbrook. They also had advanced media law with Andrew Knight. As usual both sets of trainees finished the week with the newsquiz. The top scorer on the Mail course was Jack Newman with 15. The top Telegraph scorer was Mason Boycott-Owen with 12. 
The top online scorer in last week’s quiz was Toby Brown with 17 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 16.5. Here is this week’s quiz. Give it a go and see if you can beat Jack's score. 


Boris on the front of today's Telegraph (Question 1)
1. Boris Johnson set out his own plan for Brexit, calling Theresa May's Chequers strategy 'a moral and intellectual ______’. What is the missing word?
2. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, talking about the EU negotiations, used a ‘word' from which film to describe Canada?
3. Who told the Labour Party conference: 'If we want to root out fascism and racism and hatred from our world, and from our country, then we must start, we must start, with rooting it out of our own party’?
4. Tosh Macdonald, president of train drivers union Aslef, told the Labour Party conference that until 2013 he always set his alarm clock an hour earlier. What reason did he give?
5. Which city renamed a square after murdered MP Jo Cox?
6. A public inquiry, which is likely to last more than two years and has had more than 100,000 documents submitted, began this week. What is the inquiry looking into?
7. Secret documents and photographs appear to prove that suspected Salisbury hitman Ruslan Boshirov is Anatoliy Chepiga who served at what rank in Russia’s special forces?
8. Who denied claims that he was a sexual predator as a student, insisting he was a virgin until many years after his college days?
9. Dutch police arrested seven suspects, aged between 21 and 34, who planned to attack an event with guns and grenades and to detonate a car bomb. The suspects were arrested in the Weert region and in which Dutch city? 
10. Despite six cases of allergic reactions before the death of a teenager on a British Airways flight, an inquest was told that Pret a Manger failed to state that its ‘artisan baguette' contained which ingredient?
11. Why was Abhilash Tomy in the headlines? 
12. A judge in Pennsylvania jailed  comedian Bill Cosby for sexual assault. How old is Cosby?
13. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were photographed playing netball at a sports award ceremony at which university?
14. Which company has bought fashion brand Versace for an estimated $2.1billion?
15. The Ryder Cup is under way in Paris. Who is the captain of the Europe golf team? 
16. Heinz  said ‘it could not ignore the will of the people’ and decided not to rename its Salad Cream. What alternative name was rejected?
17. Friends Wayne Eagling and Peter Orton defied 17 million-to-one odds to achieve what in Richmond, South West London?
18. Which city is considering a ban on carrying alcohol, even in a sealed shopping bag, in its streets in reaction to excessive tourism?
19. Two men in their 20s were found dead at the Britannia hotel in which city?   
20. A stained glass window has been unveiled at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the Queen's reign. Which artist designed it on an iPad? 
21. Charles Nicholas Hodges died aged 74. How was he better known?
22. A death notice in the Ilkley Gazette read that John Cunliffe left his Ilkley home in a deluge of rain on Thursday 20 September, never to return. Even the skies wept for John, the gifted creator of ... Which two TV programmes did the notice then name? Half a point for each.
23. Why was 23-year-old Patrick Kehoe arrested at Dublin airport?
24. Who ‘demolished' Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium?
25. Where is it now OK to use the word OK?

Answers here 

Friday, 21 September 2018

Trainee Peter wins this week's newsquiz

I have been with the MailOnline trainees in London this week. They have written stories and headlines and enjoyed sessions with editorial compliance manager Paul Hutchinson, SEO deputy manager Rena Burton, senior journalists Chris Pleasance and Mark Duell, executive editor Ian Walker and former trainee, now entertainment editor, Rachel Quigley who is over from New York. 
The Daily Telegraph course also started at the Press Association's headquarters in Howden. They started with a session by Ian MacGregor on life in a busy newsroom and held an ideas and news conference with PA training manager Tina Moran. Journalists Fergus Kelly and Nikki Murfitt helped the trainees with their interviewing skills. 
As usual both sets of trainees finished the week with the newsquiz. This week's top scorer was Mail sports journalist Peter Rutzler with 16. Second was Jack Elsom with 14. The top Telegraph trainee was Lizzie Roberts with 8.5.
Last week's top solo scorer was Mail sports trainee George Bond with 17. The top team scores were Adam Batstone and the Mountain Men with 17.5 and the Three Legs drinkers with 16.
Here's this week's quiz. As usual, there are 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and see if you can beat Peter's score.  

The EU's reaction to Theresa May's Salzburg speech dominates today's front pages
1. In her hastily arranged statement after the Salzburg summit, Theresa May said that no UK prime minister would ever agree to a border where? 
2. Malta's PM Joseph Muscat revealed that there was 'almost unanimous' support among EU leaders for Britain to do what?
3. Which leading Conservative accused some of the Prime Minister's critics of being more interested in their careers, telling them to 'put the sharp elbows and the personal ambition away’?
4. A memo circulating among Tory MPs gave assessments of Theresa May’s possible successors. About which Cabinet minister did the memo say say: ‘Dark horse, near the front of the pack coming up on the rail (note John Major 1990)?'
5. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable fluffed the key line in his closing speech at his party’s conference. He meant to say that years of economic pain was being ‘justified by the ___ ___ of leaving the European Union’. What are the missing two words?
6. Michael Spurr was asked to step down as chief executive of what after nine years in charge?
7. Terrorist Khalid Masood had a fish and chip supper the night before he killed five people on Westminster Bridge, an inquest heard this week. In which city was the chip shop? 
8. What is the name of the MP who tried to save a police officer fatally injured in the Westminster Bridge attack and who urged the public to ignore government advice and step forward during terrorist atrocities?
9. Two SAS servicemen have been acquitted of charges involving an exercise in which three reservists died. Where was the exercise? 
10. What is the name of the cookbook that was published this week with the foreword written by Meghan Markle? 
11. What is responsible for one in eight casualties on motorways and major A-roads, according to Highways England?
12. The first storm of the year, Storm Ali, was quickly followed by a Met office warning that a second storm was about to hit the UK. What was it called?
13. What was the name of the typhoon that killed at least 70 people as it tore through the Philippines, Hong Kong and South China?
14. Prince Harry revealed in an ITV documentary, Queen of the World, that he does what when he bumps into the Queen in the corridors of Buckingham Palace? 
15. He was credited with inventing the phrases Trouble at t’mill and Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. Who is he?
16.  Claire Foy won the best actress in a drama award at the Emmy’s for her performance in which programme?
17. What is the name of the discount supermarket chain launched by Tesco this week to compete with Aldi and Lidl?
18. Why was Mario Kart character Toad trending on social media this week?
19. An overcrowded ferry capsized killing at least 100 people on which lake? 
20. Which airline spelt its name wrong on the side of its own plane?
21. London Indie band Wolf Alice picked up the 2018 Mercury Prize for their second album. What is it called?
22. What has Japanese billionaire Yusaka Maezawa paid to do in 2023?
23.  Broadcaster Chris Evans called his twins Ping and Pong before they were born but after their birth he announced their real names. What are they? Half a point for each.
24. Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in his first Champions League game for new club Juventus against which team? 
25. Grace Jones, Britain’s oldest woman, said at her birthday celebration this week that ‘whisky is very good for you. I never miss my night cap'. Which birthday was she celebrating?

Answers here

Friday, 14 September 2018

George wins the newsquiz Champagne

Trainees Will Tilbrook, Katherine Cowles, Ruby Lyle, Ella Olszowska, George Bond (with the Champagne), Hannah Tomes, Joe Irwin and Sophie Watkiss
The Daily Mail and Evening Standard subbing trainees had an intense final week of training in Kensington. The two sports subs were on the sportsdesk for much of the week, creating pages and spreads, writing features and doing interviews. Their work will be published soon. The news subs worked on a breaking story, created visuals for new sections and went through a subbing exercise with associate chief sub Lara King and former trainee Emily Clark. They now head off to the newsrooms in London, Dublin and Glasgow. They are a bright and likeable group and I wish them well.
We finished the course, as usual, with the newsquiz. This week's winner was George Bond with a score of 17, ahead of Will Tilbrook on 15. 
George, who has been the quiz pacesetter since the course began, collected the Champagne for the top score over the four weeks. Well done to him.   
Last week’s top online newsquiz score was 18 by Tom Savage, marginally ahead of Janet Boyle on 17. The best team score was also 18 by Adam Batstone and the members of Furze Platt Dads FC who were on tour in Leeds. My drinking buddies in the Three Legs (Peter, Stacey, Bryan and Heather) notched up a respectable 16.
Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and see if you can beat George’s 17.

Today's front pages
1. The Government has warned that if UK residents want to drive in Europe after a no-deal Brexit they may have to get an international driving permit which costs how much?
2. In an article which accused Theresa May of wrapping a ’suicide vest’ around the British constitution, Boris Johnson wrote of the Chequers deal: 'It is a humiliation. We look like a seven-stone weakling being comically bent out of shape by a 500lb ____’. What is the missing word?
3. What is  the name of the former Tory party communications executive who has been cited as the reason behind Boris Johnson’s marriage breakdown?
4. What did the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, say was a 'shameful and disgraceful' episode, adding that ‘we are - and must be - better than this’?
5. Labour MP Chuka Umunna urged leader Jeremy Corbyn to call off what?
6. Metropolitan police commissioner Cressida Dick said the Government’s two per cent pay award to officers felt like what?
7. Suspected Russian spies Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov claimed in a television interview that they returned to Salisbury on Sunday March 4 because they really wanted to see the cathedral and what?
8. The editor of Russia Today hung up on which British TV presenter after being asked if her programme was a propaganda tool for the Russian State?
9. Which company blamed discounting by rivals and the cost of new stores and IT for a drop in first-half profits of almost 99 per cent?
10. How many runs did Alastair Cook score at the Oval in his final Test innings?
11. At the Trade Union Congress conference in Manchester the general secretary said that unless a deal was secured that protected jobs and workers’ rights, she would support the People’s Vote campaign? Who is the TUC’s general secretary?
12. Why has architect Kengo Kuma been in the headlines?
13. Fans held a vigil for rapper Mac Miller in a Pittsburgh Park that his debut album was named after. What is the album called?
14. Serena Williams received three code violations during her defeat to Naomi Osaka for her conduct during the US Open final. How much, in dollars, was she fined?
15. Edward Putman, 53, from Kings Langley, was charged with what?
16. Who gave a speech admitting he was ‘booted out’ of Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom for smoking on a gondola?
17. Hurricane Florence, packing winds of up to 90mph is first due to hit which US state first?
18. The storm names for the 2018-2019 season have been released by the Met Office. Which five letters of the alphabet will not be used for the first names of storms? (Half a point if you get four)
19. A cliff collapsed leaving at least seven people injured at a beach on which Greek island?
20. Which actress, who played camp vamp Valeria in Carry On Screaming, said the famous line ‘do you mind if I smoke?’ which became the title of her autobiography?
21. The first cases of which rare and potentially life-threatening infection have been confirmed in Britain?
22. Which event in Saltash has upset bakers this week?
23. Katriona Jones told the British Science Festival in Hull that social media and television programmes have led to a rise in tocophobia, which is an overwhelming fear of what?
24. How did Gabriel Hames create history this week?
25. Which UK location was officially given an apostrophe in the right place?

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