1 Which county council is facing a "severe financial challenge" and is set to stop any new spending? a. Northamptonshire County Council b. Norfolk County Council c. Cumbria County Council a. Northamptonshire County Council - Council staff will still be paid which means services, libraries, schools and children's centres will stay open. But there will be no new deals, no new spending, on anything other than services legally required to keep vulnerable people safe.
2 What nationality are the 28 Winter Olympic athletes that have just had their life-time Olympic bans overturned? a. Chinese b. American c. Russian c. Russian - Twenty-eight Russian athletes who were banned from the Olympics for life have had their suspensions overturned and their results from the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi reinstated because of insufficient evidence.
3 Which singer has just cancelled the remaining shows of her current European tour? a. Katy Perry b. Lady Gaga c. Taylor Swift b. Lady Gaga - Lady Gaga has cancelled the last 10 dates of the European leg of her world tour due to "severe pain". In a statement posted on Twitter, the pop star apologised to fans and said she was "devastated", but needed to put "myself and my well-being" first.
4 In which city was this photo taken? a. Tokyo b. New York c. Shanghai Shanghai - The Prime Minister recently made a trade visit to China. The Shanghai skyline has developed rapidly in since the 1990s and includes iconic buildings such as the Shanghai Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and the Oriental Pearl Tower
5 David Beckham has just launched his new team to play in the Major League Soccer competition. In which US city will it be based? a. Chicago b. Los Angeles c. Miami c. Miami - Beckham exercised an option in his contract with former side LA Galaxy to buy an expansion franchise in 2014. He said "I promise you the team we will bring into the league will be the best team." The name of the team has not yet been revealed.
6 Which part of Europe have the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge been visiting recently? a. Scandinavia b. The Mediterranean c. The Balkans a. Scandinavia - When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a four day tour of Sweden and Norway that involved meeting with members of Sweden's Royal Family and several public appearances, including a friendly penalty shootout of bandy hockey (similar to ice hockey).
7 What will you no longer find at Formula One race events? a. grid girls (the girls who hold up a sign with the drivers number at the start of a race) b. people under the age of 16 as new age limits have been introduced c. alcohol advertising or sponsorship as it has been banned a. grid girls (the girls who hold up a sign with the drivers number at the start of a race) - The F1 has decided the longstanding practice is no longer appropriate, and they won't be used at any more Formula One events.
8 What is the name of musical group formed by these women? The Spice Girls - The Spice Girls have confirmed they are planning to work on new projects, after meeting for the first time since 2012. The original 'Girl Power' band includes Victoria Beckham, Geri Horner, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm.
9 The cost of a British Passport is set to rise by 17% to 85. What colour are British passports? a. Navy Blue b. Forest Green c. Burgundy (Dark Red) c. Burgundy (Dark Red) - Like all European Union passports, they are burgundy. However, the Home Office has said once Brexit is complete, they will return to the "iconic" blue and gold design which came into use almost 100 years ago.
10 Thousands of stargazers around the world witnessed an astonishing astronomical event on January 31, when a super blue blood moon occurred. What is a blue moon? a. when sunlight hitting the earth causes a reflection making the moon appear a bright blue colour b. when a full moon occurs twice in the same month c. it is another name for a solar eclipse b. when a full moon occurs twice in the same month - It is very rare occurrence for a lunar eclipse (blood moon) to coincide with a super moon (which is when the moon is at its closest proximity to earth) and a blue moon.
11 What is the capital city of Germany? a. Berlin b. Hamburg c. Munich a. Berlin
12 In which sport are teams competing for this trophy? a. football b. rugby c. hockey b. rugby - The men's and women's Six Nations tournaments involve teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.
13 What ongoing issue have officials in the BBC been dealing with in recent weeks? a. fair pay between male and female presenters b. closure of some regional BBC centres c. legal threats from the Whitehouse a. fair pay between male and female presenters - In the BBC's annual report, it revealed that Chris Evans made between 2.2m and 2.25m in 2016/2017, while Claudia Winkleman was the highest-paid female celebrity, earning between 450,000 and 500,000. About two-thirds of stars earning more than 150,000 - and all of the top seven earners - were male, the report revealed. The BBC's best-paid male presenters are warned they could be asked to accept lower wages in an attempt to close the pay gap.
14 Which country has the second largest population in the world? a. China b. India c. United States d. Russia b. India - China has the world's largest population (1.4 billion), followed by India (1.3 billion). The next most-populous nations the United States, Indonesia, Brazil and Pakistan combined have less than 1 billion people. It is expected that India will soon overtake China's population due to its higher birth rate.
15 Which two players won the men's and women's titles in the 2018 Australian Tennis Open? a. Federer and Halep b. Federer and Wozniacki c. Cilic and Halep d. Cilic and Wozniacki b. Federer and Wozniacki - Roger Federer beat Marin Cilic to win his sixth Australian Open and 20th Grand Slam title at the age of 36. Caroline Wozniacki defeated Simona Halep to overtake her as the highest ranked female.
16 Which country has this flag? Argentina
17 In which country were around 955 gold miners trapped underground last week? a. South Africa b. Spain c. New Zealand a. South Africa - A storm interfered with electricity supply, leaving the miners trapped but safe. All 955 were removed safely.
18 Why has a research company funded by German car manufacturers, been in the news? a. they have invented a car that is powered by lawn clippings b. they have been conducting experiments that involved monkeys and humans inhaling potentially toxic fumes c. they have invented a car that uses petrol but has zero emissions b. they have been conducting experiments that involved monkeys and humans inhaling potentially toxic fumes - The German government has denounced the experiments in which humans and monkeys reportedly inhaled diesel exhaust fumes. The health impact research was done by EUGT, a body funded by Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW.
19 What reason have some cat rescue shelters given to explain why black cats are less likely to be adopted than others? a. people think they bring bad luck b. people are worried they might lose them at night c. people think black cats don't look good in selfies c. people think black cats don't look good in selfies - The RSPCA said it sees more black and black and white cats come into its care than any other colour of feline. On average it takes at least 10 days longer to re-home a black or black and white cat compared to a ginger one. The owner of The Moggery in Bristol has said its always been harder to re-home black cats and kittens, but the situation has become worse. "It's become more serious now because people live their life on selfies. Black cats are now less popular because they don't show up well in pictures.
20 What is this man's first name? Bruno - Bruno Mars was the big winner of the night picking up six trophies in all, including the three biggest prizes: Album of the year, song of the year and record of the year.
The End