Here's this week's newsquiz ... give it a go

There were some very high scores in last week's newsquiz. Maybe it was easier that usual - or maybe you are all reading the news more forensically. The top scorers were Liz Gerard and Damon Wake with a record-breaking 21. Damon posted his score on Twitter saying 'Runs round office doing Shearer salute'. Given that it is a UK-based quiz, and he is based in Paris, that is an impressive performance. Alex Murphy scored 18, Lydia Willgress and Mike Lowe, 17 and Ginger Elvis and Natalie Marchant, 16. The top team score was 20 by Adam and Lucy of the Batstone Dream Team. Here is this week's quiz - a little more challenging I hope. As usual there are 25 questions about the week. Let me know how you get on.  

Brexit dominates the Telegraph headlines (Questions 1 to 3) 

1. How many MPs, including Kenneth Clarke, did not vote to commit the Government to triggering Article 50 by the end of March?

2. Theresa May called for a ‘red, white and blue Brexit’ while on board HMS Ocean in which country?

3. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said, on Peston on Sunday, that certain people should be excluded from the net migration numbers because they are ‘of massive benefit to this country’? Which people was he talking about?

4. Boris Johnson told a conference in Italy that Saudi Arabia and Iran were 'playing _____ wars’. What is the missing word?

5. Far-right candidate Norbert Hofer described himself as 'infinitely sad' after losing which country’s presidential election?

6. Who resigned as Italian prime minister after being defeated in a referendum to change the constitution?

7. Which two drug firms were fined nearly £90million by the competition watchdog for ‘unfair' pricing to the NHS? Half a point for each

8. Which Scottish MP reduced MPs to tears when she revealed in the Commons that she had been raped at 14?

9. Chief executive Bimlendra Jha said: 'I think it's the grit and determination of the employees that has made the difference and people have really contributed’. Which company’s employees was he talking about?
10. The last of the Navy’s Invincible-class aircraft carriers left Portsmouth to be scrapped in Turkey. What is the ship's name?
11. A 26-year-old Birmingham man, Zakaria Boufassil, was found guilty of giving £3,000 to Paris and Brussels terror suspect Mohamed Abrini. What nickname was Abrini widely known by? 

12. Who succeeded Darren Clarke as Europe Ryder Cup captain?
13. Why was Helen Marten in the headlines?

14. Police said that 83 suspects had been identified in connection with allegations of child sexual abuse in football. What is the police operation called?

15. British actor Peter Vaughan, best known for roles in Game of Thrones and Porridge, died at the age of 93. What were the names of the characters he played in each programme. Half a point for each
16. Complete the sequence: Pope Francis (2013), Ebola fighters (2014), Angela Merkel (2015)
17. He was born in Bournemouth in 1947, played bass for a 70s supegroup and reached No 2 in the UK charts with a Christmas hit. Who is he?
18. John Glenn, who died age 95, became a national hero when he was the first American to orbit the Earth … in what year?
19. List the top four parties (in order) in the Sleaford and North Hykenham by-election result
20. Eleven-year-old Cruz Beckham received a mixed reception for releasing a festive song. What is the song called?
21. Micro-artist Graham Short engraved tiny portraits on four new five pound notes - raising their value to a potential £20,000. Whose portrait did he engrave?
22. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which animal faces extinction after a 38 per cent decline since 1985, their numbers falling from about 157,000 to 97,500?
23. Who wore wore colourful ties this week including one with a piano keyboard pattern and one with a 2012 Team GB Olympic design?
24. Who was visibly shocked when his wife told him he had been called a  ‘f****** lower middle class snob’ on television?
25. Melanie Hamrick gave birth to a baby boy. Who is the father?

Answers here