Christmas quiz 2023: Round one – An eye for news

Current affairs your thing? Try and name these world events, writes Chris Maume

(Getty/PA/Reuters)

What was the name given to this walrus, following earlier sightings in the Netherlands, Brittany and Scarborough (where his presence led to the cancellation of New Year’s Eve fireworks)?

2. Where was this freezer in February? And what happened to it?

3. The Swedish singer Loreen won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool in May. What was unique about her victory?

4. Where in June did this happen, and who is the cricketer? And which four other UK sporting events were disrupted by Just Stop Oil this year?

5. Where were these tanks headed in June?

6. Why did this scene in Barbie lead to the film being banned in Vietnam?

7. The unsolicited kiss planted on the Spanish footballer Jenni Hermoso by the vice-president of the Spanish football federation, Luis Rubiales, during the medal ceremony of the World Cup final in Sydney, overshadowed her side’s 1-0 victory against England. But do you remember who scored the 29th-minute winner? And who won the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper in the tournament?

8. Where were these alleged alien remains exhibited in September?

9. The Sycamore Gap tree by Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland was felled by persons still unknown in September. In which 1991 film did it make an appearance?

10. Who is this dog, and what happened to him in October?

Tap here for answers

1. “Thor” was seen resting in Blyth before heading north. In February he was spotted in Iceland.
2. In Margate; the freezer element of Banksy’s artwork “St Valentine’s Day Mascara”, thought to be addressing the issue of domestic abuse, went missing twice in a few days before the piece was moved to the local Dreamland theme park.
3. She became the first woman to win twice, having already won in 2012. Johnny Logan is the only man to win it twice, for Ireland in 1980 and 1987.
4. Jonny Bairstow carried off the Just Stop Oil supporter at Lord’s on the first day of the second Ashes Test in June. Other events targeted were the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, Sheffield, in April; the Rugby Premiership final between Saracens and Sale Sharks in May; Wimbledon in July; and the Open Championship at Hoylake in July.
5. Moscow: the Wagner Group of mercenaries, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, took control of Rostov-on-Don and began a march on the Russian capital. The insurrection ended the next day after negotiations conducted by the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.
6. It showed a map displaying the “nine-dash line”, which marks China’s claim to areas of the South China Sea. Vietnam does not recognise the line, which has no basis in maritime law.
7. Olga Carmona scored the winner, while England’s Mary Earps won the Golden Glove. Rubiales resigned the following month and was banned from all football-related activities for three years.
8. In the Mexican congress. Reuters reported: “Similar such finds in the past have turned out to be mummified children.”
9. Robin Hood Prince of Thieves: it features in an early scene with Kevin Costner and Morgan Freeman. It was also seen in Bryan Adams’ video for a song from the film’s soundtrack, “(Everything I Do) I Do it For You.
10. Commander, the German Shepherd owned by the Biden family. In October he was removed from the White House due to about a dozen biting incidents, some involving members of the Secret Service.

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