The News Quiz

1) Geoffrey Smith finally celebrated breaking a world record that had previously been held by his mother. What was it?

2) "I've never tried to be posh and I've never tried to hide my background." Who said this? And in response to whom?

a) Benjamin Wegg-Prosser

b) Paddy Ashdown

c) Charlie Whelan

3) Tony Blair is said to be furious over somebody's pounds 7bn takeover of Marconi's. Whose? And why is he so annoyed?

a) The Barclay Brothers'

b) Ben & Jerry's

c) British Aerospace's

4) Carl Josephs, a butcher from Birmingham, is suing West Midlands police. What for?

5) It's been a bad week for the following three people. Why?

a) Dmitria Liqui

b) Danny Baker

c) Jerry Hall

6) Who wrote the following - and to whom? "I sometimes wonder why we rush about so much or why I, in particular, feel I have to solve the world's problems single-handed?!"

a) Paddy Ashdown

b) Tony Blair

c) Prince Charles

7) Which former politician was sentenced to 10 years in jail for indecent assault? (See pictures, above.)

a) Peter Mandelson

b) Jonathan Aitken

c) Canaan Banana

d) General Pinochet

8) Who at the Olympics apparently hasn't been playing by the rules?

9) Who, it was announced this week, avoided a trial by allegedly committing suicide?

10) Which of the following couturiers put his jacket on back to front in Paris this week? (See pictures, left.)

a) John Galliano

b) Alexander McQueen

c) Jean-Paul Gaultier

d) Karl Lagerfeld

11) Who said "We never see our grandchild, never see the kids, never see each other"?

12) Which billionaire stated in public that he feeds his four-year-old daughter on $3 a day?

a) Adnan Kashoggi

b) Mick Jagger

c) Rod Stewart

d) Ronald Perlman

13) An autobiographical film has caused a family rift. Who are the parties involved?

a) The Queen and Prince Charles

b) Hilary du Pre and Clare Finzi

c) Bill and Hillary Clinton

d) Joan and Jackie

Collins

Answers

1. The record for being buried alive for longest. Smith has been buried 6ft under in the back garden of his local pub in Mansfield, Nottingham, since August. His late mother set the record in 1982.

2. c) Charlie Whelan, after Alastair Campbell's description of him as "a stupid oik" following Peter Mandelson's resignation.

3. d) British Aerospace's. Blair warned that it could slow down the process of European defence restructuring.

4. Harassment. Josephs, a black motorist with no convictions and a clean driving licence, was stopped 34 times in two years.

5. a) The former first lady of Greece faces charges of tax fraud for allegedly lying about the price of a villa bought for her by the late Andreas Papandreou;

b) He was sacked by Talk Radio for disregarding orders to change the format of his show;

c) Her estranged husband, Mick Jagger, said that their Bali wedding was not legally binding.

6. c) Prince Charles, in a letter to an unknown recipient, which was leaked to The Mirror.

7. c) The former president of Zimbabwe, Canaan Banana.

8. Some members of the International Olympic Committee who allegedly accepted bribes to encourage them to stage the 2002 winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

9. Pol Pot. The former Khmer Rouge leader may have killed himself to avoid international trial by the US.

10. John Galliano, who presented suits with jackets worn back to front at his haute couture show for Christian Dior.

11. Jane Ashdown, on Paddy Ashdown's decision to resign as leader of the Lib Dems.

12. d) Ronald Perlman, chairman of Revlon Cosmetics, made a statement in court to decide how much to pay his former wife in child support

13. b) Hilary du Pre and her daughter Clare Finzi. The film Hilary and Jackie is based on Hilary and Piers du Pre's memoir of their sister Jacqueline, focusing on her affair with Hilary's husband.