Friday 29 November 2019

The newsquiz: 25 questions about the week

The top scorer in last week’s newsquiz was Alex Richman with 20, narrowly ahead of Janet Boyle on 19 and Liz Gerard on 18. The top teams were Bruce and Sarah Hayward with 19 and the Roberts Family on 18. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Some of today's front pages

1. Boris Johnson was accused of deceit after the Conservative manifesto promise to deliver how many more nurses for the NHS?
2. The Tory manifesto promised to raise the threshold at which people start making National Insurance contributions to £9,500 in April next year with an 'ultimate ambition' to raise it to how much?
3. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn produced 451 pages of ‘uncensored’ Government documents which, he said, showed that what would be ‘on the table’ in talks with the Trump administration?
4. Which Conservative grandee made an appeal to people to choose 'the national interest’ and ignore traditional party loyalties to help elect Liberal Democrats through tactical voting?
5. The Chief Rabbi accused Jeremy Corbyn of allowing a '____ sanctioned from the top' to take root in Labour, saying Jews are anxious about the prospect of the party forming the next government? What is the missing word?
6. The Conservative Party complained to Ofcom, claiming Channel 4 had breached the broadcasting code with 'a provocative partisan stunt' when it replaced Boris Johnson with what during its climate change debate?
7. Who announced he was running for US president with a campaign video claiming he was a 'middle-class kid who made good’?
8. Which firm announced it was looking to cut up to 4,500 UK jobs, including offices at Houghton le Spring, Hull and Worcester, as part of a restructuring plan?
9. Why will BBC’s Panorama programme be double its normal length on Monday?
10. Which film was banned by Vue cinemas after a mass brawl in Birmingham and 25 other 'significant incidents’?
11. Which company, that prints the UK's banknotes and recently lost the passport printing contract, said it was at risk of collapse as it suspended its dividend and reported a half-year loss?
12. Uber was stripped of its London licence after Transport for London found that more than 14,000 trips were taken with drivers who had what?
13. Thirteen French soldiers, fighting Islamic militants, were killed when two helicopters collided in which country?
14. Who died this week, seven years after saying: 'I don't want to cast a gloom, an air of doom, over the programme but I'm a man who is approaching his terminus’?
15. CCTV footage was released by police of raiders using an axe to smash a display case and snatching priceless 18th-century jewellery in the Royal Palace in which city?
16. Why were Steve and Lenka Thomson from Selsey in West Sussex in the headlines?
17. Which football team sacked their manager after their worst run of form since 1992?
18. David Duckenfield, 75, the police officer in charge of Hillsborough when 96 people died in 1989, was cleared of what offence after a six-week trial at Preston Crown Court?
19. Celebrity chef Gary Rhodes died at the age of 59 in which city?
20. New Zealand Cricket is investigating after which English cricketer tweeted that he had been the target of a racial slur from a spectator?
21. ITV apologised after presenter Eamonn Holmes used what word to describe the Duchess of Sussex?
22. Football pundit Ian Wright is facing Ofcom complaints over the bullying of which fellow camp-mate on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here?
23. Who was reported to have thanked Jeffery Epstein and Prince Andrew for 'keeping her out of the headlines over the past few days'?
24. What was the name of the koala who was rescued from a bushfire by a grandmother but was put down after he failed to recover from his burns? 
25. What is 35-year-old Melody Thornton set to miss out on?

Answers here

Friday 22 November 2019

It's time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scores in last week’s newsquiz were Liz Gerard with 19, Tom Savage and Adam Shergold 17, Gavin Devine, Paul Bowen and Toby Brown with 16. The top team score was 17 by Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe. Here’s this week's quiz - as usual 25 questions about the week. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

Today's front pages

1. In an interview with Emily Maitlis for BBC’s Newsnight, The Duke of York claimed he could not have had sex with a teenage girl because he was at home after attending a children’s party at Pizza Express in which town?
2. The Duke of York said he stayed at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York home, even though he had been in jail for procuring a minor for prostitution, because 'my judgment was probably coloured by my tendency to be too ____.’ What is the missing word?
3. Which university announced that the Duke of York had stood down as chancellor after a student panel called for his resignation?
4. In a speech at the CBI conference Boris Johnson said he would shelve a planned cut in corporation tax from 19 per cent to 17 per cent, claiming he would put how much money into public services instead?
5. The Labour Party launched its election manifesto with what five-word slogan?
6. In its election manifesto Labour’s big policy was a promise to increase spending on the NHS by an average of what per cent a year?
7. Who, when asked if the Government was responsible for poverty, replied: 'It’s not the government, though, is it? Everybody just says ‘the government’ as if it is this sort of bland blob that, you know, you can just go and blame’?
8. Who caused a stir by wearing a t-shirt with an image of the Labour leader, taken in 1984, holding a Photoshopped placard reading: ‘Jeremy Corbyn is a racist. Endeavour'?
9. Impeachment inquiry chairman Adam Schiff said Donald Trump’s conduct had been far more serious than anything done by who?
10. Prosecutors in which country dropped an investigation into a rape allegation made against Wikileaks co-founder Julian Assange in 2010?
11. A student union has called for safety checks on university accommodation after a blaze which destroyed a block of flats in Bolton that were known by what name?
12. Jesse Kempson, 27, was found guilty of whose murder by strangling her in his Auckland hotel room and burying her body in a suitcase?
13. Who said this week: 'I couldn't be happier and if I was not as happy as I am, I wouldn't be here. What can I promise? Passion'?
14. What was the profession of Terry O’Neill, CBE, who died aged 81 and who was once married to actress Faye Dunaway?
15. Geoffrey Bran, 71, of Carmarthenshire was found not guilty of murdering his wife of 38 years. How did she die?
16. Who was charged with 14 offences, including an attempted rape, one intent to rape, 10 sexual assaults and two indecent assaults?
17. Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo was found guilty of the murder of his pregnant ex-wife at her home in Ilford by using what weapon?
18. The UK was called an illegal colonial occupier by Mauritius after it ignored a deadline to return control of which islands?
19. Why did actor Ralf Little say he had been suspended from Twitter?
20. Metal detectorists George Powell and Layton Davies were convicted of stealing a Viking hoard worth how much which they uncovered in a field in Herefordshire?
21. Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts took a photo of who into the jungle as her luxury item on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here? 
22. Glastonbury Festival confirmed that who will play its headline slot at its 50th anniversary celebrations next year?
23. How did England cricketer Jofra Archer get around the ground before the first day of the New Zealand v England Test match?
24. Following in the footsteps of actresses Claire Foy and Olivia Coleman who will play the Queen in the next series of TV series The Crown?      
25. Strictly Come Dancing judge Bruno Tonioli said the fact that 200 people complained about what was 'very sad’?

Answers here

Friday 15 November 2019

The newsquiz: 25 questions about the week

There were some cracking scores in last week’s newsquiz. Tom Savage scored a highly impressive 22, narrowly ahead of Damon Wake on 21. The top team was Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe with a personal best of 22.5. The Roberts Family scored 21.5 and Miles Dilworth and Ben Wilkinson 21. Here’s this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.


Today's front pages
1. Nigel Farage declared his Brexit party would not field candidates in the General Election in how many Conservative-held seats?
2. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage accused 10 Downing Street of sabotaging his candidates saying: 'There are lots of peerages being offered. This is full-on ____ style corruption. Today has been an industrial scale attempt to stop free and open politics happening in our country.’ What is the missing word?
3. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the Labour Party would introduce a working week of how many hours, which would apply to all employees and be implemented over a decade?
4. Who said it was 'completely bizarre' that he was trying to overturn his own majority in Marlow, Buckinghamshire?

5. Why are the Liberal Democrats considering court action against the BBC and ITV?
6. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said that 'the right thing to do’ would have been to arrest who?
7. Former Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow has announced that he will publish his memoirs in February. What will the book be called?
8. The Health Secretary who oversaw a huge hospital building programme, abolished the internal NHS market and introduced the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) died this week. What was his name?
9. The BBC apologised after using Remembrance Sunday footage of Boris Johnson paying his respects at the Cenotaph from which year?
10. NHS figures revealed October was the worst ever month for A&E waiting times with just 
83.6 per cent of patients seen within the target time of how many hours?
11. How was the former High Sheriff of Derbyshire, 69-year-old Annie Hall, killed?
12. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said he had seen a 'double sunrise' after stepping off a non-stop 19-hour 19-minute flight between which two cities. Half point for each. 

13. Lord Bramall, the former head of the British armed forces who served in nearly all major UK military campaigns between the second world war and 1985, died this week. How old was he?
14. What did Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte describe as 'a blow to the heart of our country’?
15. Who said: 'I am leaving my beloved Bluebirds after over three years of which have been some of the best days in my long football career’?
16. Roula Khalaf was announced as the first female editor of which newspaper?
17. Four people died and at least 300 homes were destroyed or damaged by fires in which Australian state?
18. China's 11:11 Day on November 11 has become bigger for online sales than Black Friday and Cyber Monday. What is it better known as?
19. Workers at which company went on strike demanding wages of £15 an hour, an end to youth rates, the choice of guaranteed hours of up to 40 hours a week and notice of shifts four weeks in advance?
20. Raheem Sterling was dropped from the England versus Montenegro Euro 2020 qualifier after a bust up with which team member?
21. British inventor Richard Browning reached 85mph, breaking his own record of 32 mph for the fastest flight in a jet suit, and said flying beside which 'iconic landmark' made the event really special’?
22. John Lewis launched its 2019 Christmas advert with a fire-breathing dragon with what name?
23. As part of this year's Children In Need, which celebrity raised more than £1million in a 24-hour karaoke challenge?
24. Irish actor Niall Tóibín, who died aged 89, was best known for playing Father MacAnally in which hit BBC series which ran from 1996 until 2001?
25. Who tweeted to say her performance at the American music awards was in doubt as a music management company were preventing her from singing her own songs?


Answers here

Friday 8 November 2019

Have a crack at the newsquiz

The top scorers in last week’s newsquiz were Janet Boyle and Tom Savage who both clocked up 19.5. The top team was the Roberts family with 18.5. Here is this week’s quiz. As usual there are 25 questions about the week’s events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

Today's front pages
1. Why did the MP for Chorley in Lancashire resign from the Labour Party?
2. Conservative Alun Cairns quit from which Cabinet position after being accused of lying over an aide’s sabotaging of a rape trial?
3. Which former Tory MP and newspaper columnist announced he was quitting the Conservative Party after 50 years and joining the Liberal Democrats?
4. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, in his letter to outgoing deputy Tom Watson, said he had enjoyed a shared love of gardening and added 'I hope the ___ plants I gave you thrive’. What is the missing word?
5. What did Sky News presenter Kay Burley interview instead of Tory chairman James Cleverly this week?
6. The leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg issued 'a profound apology' after he said on LBC radio: 'I think if either of us were in a fire, whatever the fire brigade said, we would leave the burning building. It just seems the ___ ___thing to do.’ What are the two missing words?
7. Jacob-Rees Mogg’s comments on Grenfell prompted who to call for his resignation calling him ‘evil’, ’the scummiest’ and an ‘alien’?
8. Business and Energy Secretary Andrea Leadsom announced a moratorium to be ‘maintained until compelling new evidence is provided which addresses the concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity’. What is it a moratorium on?
9. An effigy of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg sitting on a rollercoaster appeared where?
10. Which retailer announced a phased closure of all of its 79 UK stores, putting 2,500 jobs at risk, after saying it was 'not capable' of being sufficiently profitable and having failed to find a buyer?
11. Who scored all of England’s 12 points in their Rugby World Cup final defeat to South Africa?
12. The chief executive of which company was sacked for violating company policy by having a 'consensual relationship with an employee’?
13. Retired oil executive Ron Carey, 80, was killed taking part in what event?
14. People in the Meadowhall shopping centre in which UK city were told by police not to leave after flooding left roads gridlocked?
15. Lewis Hamilton came second in the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, to become this year's Formula One world champion. How many times has he won the title?
16. People were injured when a roof collapsed during a performance of which play at the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End?
17. A 27-year-old man is on trial for the murder of 22-year-old backpacker Grace Millane from Essex in which city?
18. Around 30 passengers including ten Britons were injured after a FlixBus travelling between which two cities overturned?
19. A police officer has been charged with murdering which former footballer who collapsed and died after being Tasered in 2016?
20. Buckingham Palace confirmed this week that no new outfits designed for the Queen would use what?
21. What two-word phrase has been named Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year?
22. Bookies are offering odds of 500-1 that who will win the Wimbledon men’s title one day?
23. What was returned to Stephen Morris in a Waitrose car park in Beckenham, Kent?
24. An 85-year-old man, described as the 'hardest worker in Irish broadcasting’ who hosted daily radio shows, the Late Late Show and events such as the Rose of Tralee, died this week. What was his name?
25. Actress Emma Watson described her relationship status as not 'single' but what?

Answers here

Friday 1 November 2019

Time to tackle the newsquiz

The top solo scorer in last week's newsquiz was Jaymes Bryla with an impressive 21. Other top scorers were Tom Savage and Toby Brown who both scored 19, Kieran Cocoran and Gavin Devine on 18 and Liz Gerard and Ian Watt on 17. The top teams were the Roberts family with 20.5, Dave Bromage's team with 18.5 and Adam Batstone and Lucy Thorpe on 17. Here is this week's quiz. As usual there are 25 question's about the week's events. Give it a go and let me know how you get on. 

How the papers reported the December election
1. How many MPs voted against holding a General Election on December 12?
2. In what year did the UK last hold a General Election in December?
3. Which one of these MPs has not announced that they will be standing down at the December 12 election: Nicky Morgan, David Lidington, Jo Johnson, Justine Greening, Anna Soubry and Gloria De Piero?
4. How many of the rebel 21 Tory MPs, thrown out of the party in September, met Boris Johnson on Tuesday night and were invited to rejoin?
5. Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked outgoing Speaker John Bercow as a ‘great servant’ but added that it was the longest retirement since whose?
6. Chancellor Sajid Javid said he was 'completely shocked’ by a rebuff by which celebrity who he described as 'incredibly rude'?
7. Who was formally suspended from the House of Commons for six months for offering to buy drugs for sex workers and failing to cooperate with an investigation?
8. The US House of Representatives passed a resolution, by 232 in favour and 196 against, to proceed with what?
9. Maurice Robinson, 25, was charged with four offences at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court related to the 39 bodies found in a lorry container last week. Name one of the four charges.
10. How were Alistair Raddon, 28, and Danny Maggs, 22, injured?
11. What is the name of the military dog, praised by US President Donald Trump, which was injured after chasing and cornering Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria?
12. BBC journalist Samira Ahmed told an employment tribunal that she was paid a maximum of £465 for each Newswatch episode whereas Jeremy Vine was paid how much per episode for presenting Points of View?
13. Chief executive Jack Dorsey has announced that Twitter will ban what from November 22?
14. The body of British backpacker Amelia Bambridge, 21, from Worthing was found off the coast of which country?
15. What is the name of the 50-year-old London Fire Brigade commissioner who was accused of 'remarkable insensitivity’ by an official report into the Grenfell fire after saying she would not have done anything differently on the night?
16. Which animals were credited with protecting The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library from the Californian wildfires?
17. Which platform pledged to remove images, drawings and cartoons showing methods of self-harm or suicide following the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell?
18. McDonald's apologised for, and cancelled, a Halloween marketing campaign in Portugal which promoted a dessert. What were the controversial three words?
19. England’s rugby team were reprimanded and fined a four-figure sum for doing what at the semi-final match against New Zealand?
20. Which supermarket offered an hourly pay rise to shop workers of 18p to £9.18 in a dispute over new contracts?
21. British Transport Police announced that Alfred Dorris, 43, of Beckenham will not face criminal charges over what incident?
22. Which UK city announced plans to ban all privately owned diesel cars each day between 7am and 3pm from March 2021?
23. Which two players scored hat-tricks in Leicester City's 9-0 victory over Southampton, the biggest away win in Premier League history? Half a point for each.
24. What did 36-year-old David Atherton win?
25. The lyrics to which song have been rewritten by John Legend to make them less controversial?

Answers here