Quiz of The Week: 13 - 19 January

Rishi Sunak has been sweating under the media spotlight this week, after facing the threat of a major Conservative rebellion over his controversial Rwanda policy.

Dozens of Tories had threatened to rebel over the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill, on the grounds that government plans to send some asylum seekers to the African nation were not robust enough to survive legal challenges. But in the end, only 11 Conservative hardliners, including former home secretary Suella Braverman, voted against the legislation, which passed by 320 votes to 276 in the Commons on Wednesday.

As the prime minister braced for another battle in the House of Lords, where the bill is likely to face significant opposition, his party's campaign chief, Isaac Levido, dismissed polling that predicted the Tories would face a thrashing at the next general election as "false" and "orchestrated" to "undermine" his boss.

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Whoever wins the election may face a shake-up of the UK's relations with the US, after Donald Trump enjoyed a decisive victory in Monday's Iowa caucuses. If Trump goes on to win the GOP nomination, he faces a bitter rematch against Joe Biden at this year's presidential elections, with latest polls putting them neck and neck in the race to claim the White House. 

As the Republican and Democrat front-runners battle to woo voters, immigration reform is a hot topic in the US as well as the UK. And according to pundits, presidential politics are at play as US lawmakers clash horns over how to deal with their borders crisis.    

To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the news and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

1. Who became Spain’s first parliamentarian with Down's syndrome? 

• Agustín Matía Amor 
• Carlos Mazón
• Fintan Bray 
• Mar Galcerán

2. Sunday 21 January 2024 is the centenary of which Russian revolutionary's death?

• Leon Trotsky
• Vladimir Lenin
• Joseph Stalin
• Lev Kamenev 

3. Which British royal was hospitalised for up to two weeks following abdominal surgery?

• Catherine, Princess of Wales
• King Charles
• Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
• Princess Beatrice

4. Which Republican candidate was the runner-up in the Iowa caucuses?

• Nikki Haley
• Donald Trump
• Vivek Ramaswamy 
• Ron DeSantis 

5. NHS Scotland this week advised people to do what to avoid slipping on ice during the winter chill?

• Wear specialised snow boots
• Drive or stay at home
• Walk like a penguin
• Spray liquid de-icer before taking each step 

6. Welsh rugby union star Louis Rees-Zammit is quitting to pursue a career playing which other sport?

• American football 
• Hockey
• Wrestling 
• Darts 

7. Which US actor fuelled a long-running viral joke at Monday's Emmy Awards by giving "a shout-out to my people" in Ireland?

• Melissa McCarthy
• Ayo Edebiri
• Jennifer Coolidge
• Aubrey Plaza

8. Which tech giant surpassed Apple last Friday to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world?

• HP
• Samsung
• Microsoft 
• Sony 

9. Which hit 1990s game show returned to TV screens last Saturday in a BBC reboot?

• "Robot Wars"
• "Fort Boyard"
• "Supermarket Sweep"
• "Gladiators"

10. Which sub-Saharan African nation was declared malaria-free this week? 

• Cape Verde
• Benin
• Mali
• Senegal

1. Mar Galcerán
The 45-year-old has made history by becoming Spain's first parliamentarian with Down's syndrome, after being voted into Valencia's regional assembly. Galcerán has been involved in politics since the age of 18, when she joined the conservative People’s Party.

2. Vladimir Lenin
The Bolshevik leader and architect of Soviet Russia continues to wield a profound influence over the nation. But the centenary of his death is expected to be met with silence from Vladimir Putin, who has condemned Lenin as a destabiliser of the state.

3. Princess of Wales 
Kate Middleton is recovering after having planned abdominal surgery at The London Clinic, a private hospital in Marylebone, on Tuesday. King Charles is also scheduled to be admitted to hospital next week, for treatment related to an enlarged prostate. 

4. Ron DeSantis 
The governor of Florida claimed 21% of the vote in Monday's Iowa GOP caucuses, narrowly beating Nikki Haley on 19%, but trailing far behind Donald Trump on 51%. Vivek Ramaswamy came in fourth and has now dropped out ahead of the next vote in the Republican presidential nominating contest, in New Hampshire on 23 January. 

5. Walk like a penguin 
As an amber alert for snow was put in place in northwest Scotland and the Northern Isles, NHS Scotland said that "penguins know best" and advised adopting a penguin-like, waddling gait to prevent slips in icy conditions.  For more stories from the stranger side of life, sign up to The Week's Tall Tales newsletter.  

6. American football 
The 22-year-old winger stunned the rugby world on the eve of the Six Nations by y quitting the sport with immediate effect to pursue a career in the NFL. Find out more with The Week Unwrapped podcast.  

7. Ayo Edebiri
The Emmy-winning "The Bear" star was born in the US city of Boston but has been claimed as "Ireland's own" after repeatedly quipping about being Irish during awards speeches and red carpet interviews. Her tongue-in-cheek connection to Ireland began during last year's award season and has become an ongoing joke among social media users.

8. Microsoft
The Washington-based tech company's stock market value was higher than that of Apple by the end of last Friday's US trading session, at $2.887 trillion and $2.875 trillion respectively. Microsoft's valuation has risen by more than $1 trillion in the past year, as the multinational takes the lead in generative artificial intelligence through an investment in ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.

9. Gladiators
More than three decades since debuting on ITV, the hit game show returned to the small screen last Saturday, on BBC One. Gladiators originally aired for 13 series between 1992 and 2000, before Sky attempted a short-lived revival in 2008, and is now back with father and son duo Bradley and Barney Walsh presiding over the action.

10. Cape Verde
The island nation, off the coast of West Africa, has been declared malaria-free by the World Health Organization, which said that no locally-transmitted cases had been reported in three years. Cabo Verde is the fourth country in Africa to be certified malaria-free, after Algeria (2019), Morocco (2010) and Mauritius (1973).