Farewell and good luck to the Aussie trainees

Farewell to the Aussie trainees

I said goodbye to the Daily Mail Australia trainees this weekend. They had a busy final week with sessions by video editor Ian Perry, Showbiz editor Jade Watkins, Femail editor Andrea Magrath and deputy managing editor Scott Langham. They had some good stories published too. 

Hannah's report from Cronulla

Hannah Moore missed the Christmas party to go to a public meeting on the Cronulla riots and then spent today reporting and taking pictures on the anniversary protests - resulting in a joint byline on the splash and picture credits too. Well done Hannah.
Nic White brought in his third story of the course, on the 100th anniversary of Australia's first Nobel Prize winners. Read it here.
Holly Pascoe wrote a story about the Salvation Army giving lifts to young drunken girls after taxi drivers left them stranded. 

Aneeta's story 

Aneeta Bhole not only wrote a story about a house being smashed up by partygoers in Sydney but she also took the video. Watch it here. Alisha Buaya also wrote a Christmas story on the rise of the turducken in Australia which was published on Femail. Read it here. 

Farewell drinks at the Morrison

We had farewell drinks at The Morrison on Tuesday (thanks for the book of NT News headlines and the wine) and on Thursday we went to the office Christmas party at the Waterfront overlooking the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. There were fantastic views, a clever magician, an artist doing caricatures, a secret Santa, a stirring speech and flowing drinks. Thanks to editor Luke Mcilveen, news-editor Barclay Crawford and Lucy McGirr for the invitation and for making me feel very welcome over the last four weeks.
As always, we finished with the newsquiz. There were scratchcards for Alisha Buaya for writing the best headlines over the four weeks and Nic White for prolific storygathering. This week's quiz winner was Josh Hanrahan with 12 points. The overall winner, though, was Holly Pascoe who collected the Champagne. Well done Holly. The trainees are all heading over to the UK in the new year for placements on regional newspapers and to spend some time at MailOnline in London before heading back to Sydney in the spring. I wish them well.

Here's this week's quiz. See if you can beat Josh's 12 and let me know how you get on. Next week the newsquiz will return to its normal UK focus.

1.  Up to 80 students at Brunswick North West Primary School, in Melbourne's north, were laid low with which illness?
2. A 15-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were arrested on terrorist charges in Sydney’s South West as part of which ongoing operation?

3. The 15-year-old texted his co-accused saying ‘I am going to get to paradise through ________' What is the missing word?

4. Police raided the Sydney home of the Bitcoin founder. What is his name?

5. The AACTA awards took place in Sydney on Wednesday night. What does AACTA stand for? 

6. Who was honoured with the Longford Lyell lifetime achievement award?

7. What was the name of the rebel biker who shot Darren Wallace and then turned the gun on himself? 

8. The 'biker war' murder took place at a service station in which town?

9. Whose concert at the Allianz Stadium in Moore Park was hit by Wednesday’s thunderstorm?

10. Who was named Time Magazine’s person of the Year?

11. Who was the controversial runner-up?

12. Cindy Kimberly said: 'I so do not know how to deal with this.’ What was she talking about?

13. What have Kim and Kanye named their son?

14. Who became the face of the Cronulla riots ten years ago after inciting a crowd to get 'Lebs' off the beach?
15. A siege at which airport resulted in at least 50 people being killed this week?

16. U2 and the Eagles of Death Metal played together at which Paris venue?
17. What song did the two groups play together?

18. A public health investigation was launched into the outbreak of food poisoning at a popular Brisbane pub after 20 customers fell ill after eating chicken parmigiana. Name the pub.

19. Who said of her grandfather: 'At the moment we’re really just respecting his wishes because he hasn’t had anything to do with us for a long time and he decided his own path. That’s important, so good for him.’

20. Why was Sarah Haynes in the headlines?

21. Abdullah Elmir who had promised to cut off the hands of people who oppose ISIS is believed to have been killed in an airstrike. What was his nickname?

22. Harrison Ford was in Sydney for a fan event at the Opera House. What is the title of the latest Star Wars movie due for release in Australia next week?

23. It was the 100th anniversary of Australia’s first Nobel Prize winners. Name them. 
24. A warehouse worker lost his job at Market Gardeners Limited near Auckland, New Zealand, after his boss claimed he stole what from the works Christmas party?
25. Melbourne author Jo Hirst wrote a children's book after her young son came out as transgender and she struggled to find resources to help him. What is the book called?

Answers here.