Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s news quiz. Each week, join us to test your knowledge of the stories making the headlines. We come up with the questions, and you can show us what you know.
This week: A twist in the saga of the two Michaels. The Canadians were detained in China for more than 1,000 days, with Beijing accusing the men of procuring and sharing Chinese state secrets. Now, Michael Spavor is seeking a multimillion-dollar settlement from Ottawa after making startling allegations against fellow prisoner Michael Kovrig. Our quiz asks: What was the assertion?
Also this week, a new mortgage charter for Canadians, a promise to ban more junk fees for Americans, and in Toronto, the return of the highest-grossing stage musical of all time.
Plus: Noteworthy hippos, dinos and turkeys.
Take our quiz below to test your recall for the week ending November 24.
1The two Michaels are back in the news this week. What is the allegation made by Michael Spavor against Michael Kovrig?
a. He was detained in North Korea after he unwittingly provided intelligence on China to Canada
b. He was detained in China after he intentionally provided intelligence on Indonesia to Canada
c. He was detained in North Korea after he intentionally provided intelligence on North Korea to Canada
d. He was detained in China after he unwittingly provided intelligence on North Korea to Canada
2“Keep your English, because we’re going to take this cup and bring it back to Montreal,” said a player from ____ after winning the _____ championship.
a. The Alouettes, Grey Cup
b. The Raptors, NBA In-Season Tournament
c. CF Montreal, MLS Cup
d. The Expos, World Series
a. The Alouettes, Grey Cup. Montreal Alouettes safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy clarified that his post-Grey Cup comments were not directed at English-speaking Canadians, but rather the CFL’s lack of French-language inclusion in the lead up to the tournament.
3In its fall economic update, the federal government announced the new Canadian Mortgage Charter as part of a suite of housing measures. The charter does what?
a. Secure sub-5 per cent interest rates for all Canadians
b. Establishes a guarantee of Canadians’ rights and freedoms to obtain a mortgage
c. Remove stress test requirements for mortgage renewals
d. Spells out consumer rights during mortgage renegotiations
d. Spells out the rights consumers have when they are renegotiating mortgages. It also calls on financial institutions to provide better relief measures over the next three years to Canadians buckling under a wave of renewals at much higher rates.
4Still on the topic of the mini-budget, the federal government also pledged to cap future deficits against which guidepost?
a. 1 per cent of the GDP
b. Goal differential of the prior season’s Ottawa Senators team
c. None. They pledged to cut the deficit to zero
d. None. They pledged to increase future deficits
5Canada’s inflation rate fell to 3.1 per cent in October. What was the main reason for the slowdown?
a. Decline in food and grocery costs
b. Falling gasoline prices
c. Diminished sales of balloons and other party supplies
d. Taylor Swift tickets were no longer available for sale
b. Falling gasoline prices. The October inflation rate matched analysts’ expectations and was largely driven by gasoline prices, which tumbled 6.4 per cent over the month.
6As part of his administration’s pledge to cut “junk fees,” President Joe Biden this week announced a plan to ban which charges?
a. ATM transaction charges
b. Cable cord-cutting fees
c. Taxes on candy
d. Surcharges on access passes to waste disposal sites or transfer stations
b. Cable cord-cutting fees. The administration announced a proposal that would prohibit cable and satellite companies from charging fees for consumers who cancel services mid-contract.
7Still with Biden: The President pardoned two turkeys, Liberty and Bell, on Monday, continuing a tradition that dates back decades. Who pardoned the first turkey?
a. Harry S. Truman
b. John F. Kennedy
c. George H.W. Bush
d. Abraham Lincoln
e. All of the above (history! It’s complicated)
e. It's actually all of them. Lincoln pardoned a turkey in 1863 for Christmas (his son, Tad, grew attached to the family’s planned Christmas main). Truman is credited with the first official turkey pardon, though Bush Sr. made it routine, and JFK reportedly granted a bird a “reprieve.” The more you know.
8He was in, then out, then back in again. Sam Altman was briefly ousted as the CEO of OpenAI, the result of infighting on the company’s board of directors. For how long did the attempted corporate coup last?
a. 15 days
b. 24 hours
c. 5 days
d. 2 weeks
c. Five days. Mr. Altman was fired by the company’s board on Nov. 17, and was returned to the helm on Nov. 21.
9There’s a new dinosaur in town. Scientists say they have identified a new species from footprints in Brazil. The name of the new dino is:
a. Godzillasaurus
b. Farlowichnus rapidus
c. Indominus rex
d. Psittacosaurus
b. Farlowichnus rapidus. The carnivorous animal was about the size of a modern-day seriema bird (about 60 to 90 centimetres tall). It lived in the desert during the early Cretaceous period (100 to 145 million years ago).
10Coming (back) to the Princess of Wales Theatre: In an unprecedented move, the highest-grossing stage musical of all time will return to Toronto in 2024. That production is:
a. Wicked
b. The Lion King
c. Frozen II
d. The Blue Man Group: The Musical
b. The Lion King. The Tony-winning spectacle will return for a second open-ended run in Toronto. It boasts a record cumulative gross of US$1.9-billion. (Wicked is the longest-running; Frozen II is the highest-grossing musical film; and The Blue Man Group: The Musical doesn’t exist.)
11This hippopotamus and her two offspring were captured by Russian photographer Mike Korostelev, the winner of which photography award?
a. Wildlife Photographer of the Year
b. Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography
c. The House Hippo Happening Prize
d. Best Pet Pix International
a. Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Photographers of all skill levels submit images for judging – almost 50,000 entries this year – in categories including animal portraits, urban wildlife and underwater photography.
12Napoleon made headlines this week for two – wildly disparate – reasons. They are:
a. Archeologists found dynamite in his grave site; discovered he was actually 6′7″
b. Alt history in the movie Napoleon sees him victorious at Waterloo; a new biography by Walter Isaacson was published
c. A coat he wore sold for $21.1-million; Empress Joséphine excluded from the movie Napoleon
d. A new Ridley Scott movie tracing his rise was released; a hat he wore sold for $2.1-million
d. A new Ridley Scott movie tracing his rise was released; a hat he wore sold for $2.1-million. In his review, Globe film critic Barry Hertz calls the film Ridley Scott’s “late-career masterpiece.”
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