The News Quiz

1) It has been a bad week for the following. Why?

a) The Guardian

b) Peter Johnson

c) Babe, the gallant pig

d) Parma ham

2) It's been a good week for the following. Why?

a) Brian Kidd

b) Suzanne Charlton

c) Nicole Kidman

d) Joella Holliday

3) Which American mogul has pledged $100m to provide vaccines for children in developing countries?

a) George Soros

b) Ted Turner

c) Bill Gates

d) Mitchell Wolfson Jr

4) Which former World Wrestling Federation fighter died, following a long battle with cancer?

a) Hulk Hogan

b) Big Daddy

c) Andre The Giant

d) Giant Haystacks

5) Which car manufacturer has lost its chairman, Walter Hasselkus? (See pictures, above)

a) BMW

b) Rover

c) Porsche

d) Mercedes-Benz

6) Which star said he "regretted" donating money to Bill Clinton's legal defence fund after learning more about the Monica Lewinsky scandal?

a) Michael Douglas

b) Tom Hanks

c) John Travolta

d) Leonardo DiCaprio

7) To whom and what was Diego Simone referring when he admitted in a BBC TV programme: "In reality he didn't do anything"?

a) General Pinochet and his alleged crimes

b) John Major in his seven years as Prime Minister

c) David Beckham and his petulant World Cup kick

d) His brother, who works on the Jubilee Line extension

8) Who said: "If you truly love your children, you need to supply condoms. Put 200 in a box in the house so that kids can take them"?

a) Hillary Clinton

b) Mary Whitehouse

c) Sharon Stone

d) Pamela Anderson

9) Which building, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is due for a massive overhaul?

a) The Empire State Building

b) The White House

c) The Jack Daniels distillery

d) The Hoover FBI Building

10) Who is the odd one out, and why? (See pictures, left)

a) Paul Keating

b) Liam Gallagher

c) Dudley Moore

d) Mick Jagger

11) In what positions did Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski finish in the final ATP rankings for 1998?

a) 1 and 4

b) 17 and 3

c) 7 and 9

d) 12 and 24

Answers

1. a) Figures from the National Readership Survey show that The Guardian has shed 300,000 readers (22 per cent) in the last year; b) He resigned as chairman of Everton Football Club; c) The sequel to the successful Babe has flopped in the US; d) It can now be sliced and packed in the UK, while retaining its original appellation.

2. a) After spending eight years in the shadow of Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, he has decided to take charge of his own team, Blackburn Rovers;

b) She came top of a league table for skill in predicting when the weather will change (Michael Fish, despite the 1987 hurricane debacle, came third); c) She won an award for her performance in David Hare's play The Blue Room; d) After an eight-year battle, she has finally been recognised as a female, and is the first person to have her birth certificate changed.

3. c) He made the announcement with his wife at his side. So far, the American people do not seem impressed.

4. d) He was one of the only British wrestlers to make it in the American show.

5. b) Following severe losses,

Dr Hasselkus said: "We did not anticipate how competitive the UK market would be."

6. b) In an interview with The New Yorker magazine, the star of Forrest Gump also hinted that he might one day stand for President himself.

7. c) He made his admission in a one-hour special recounting the momentous England v Argentina match at this year's World Cup in St Etienne.

8. c)

9. b) The gleaming mansion will undergo renovations that could take 20 years. One priority will be to create an underground car park, making the secret doors and passageways so evident during the Monica Lewinsky affair a thing of the past.

10. b) He seems to be patching up his marriage; all the others are on the brink of divorce.

11. c) The first time for decades that two British players finished in the top 10.