Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s news quiz. Join us each week to test your knowledge of the stories making the headlines.
This week: The tale of the two Michaels might be winding down. Michael Spavor, who along with fellow Canadian Michael Kovrig was detained by China on espionage charges for nearly three years, alleges that he was arrested because of information he unwittingly shared with Mr. Kovrig – which he says was then passed on to the Canadian government. The Globe reported this week that Ottawa has reached a settlement with Mr. Spavor to compensate him for his time spent in a Chinese prison. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the settlement wasn’t an acknowledgment that any espionage had been in play. Mr. Kovrig has told The Globe that he acted properly in his dealings with Mr. Spavor.
Also this week, a beloved Canadian festival cancelled its 2024 edition, and Donald Trump paved his way to the Republican presidential nomination.
Do you remember these stories and more? Take our news quiz.
a. Omar Khadr. In 2017, lawyer John K. Phillips obtained a $10.5-million settlement for Mr. Khadr, who was released from prison in 2015.
a. Just for Laughs announced it was seeking creditor protection as it restructures amid a “difficult financial situation.” Though this year’s comedy festivals in Montreal and Toronto are cancelled, the company says it hopes to be able to return in 2025.
c. Evangelical Christians. Many evangelical pastors opposed Trump when he first ran for president in 2016, but were swayed by his policies while in office, including his efforts to set the stage for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Trump’s support in evangelical counties has risen greatly during the primaries.
c. Vermont. Despite her underwhelming results, Haley’s victory in Vermont – she also won Washington, D.C. earlier in the week – made her the first woman to win a Republican state presidential primary. She refused to endorse Trump in her concession speech. The former president is now heading toward the nomination with no real opposition.
d. $1.6-million. Newfoundland’s provincial government has requested a probe to investigate the charges. This week, The Globe confirmed the same billing discrepancy had happened in New Brunswick, but the total cost is unknown.
d. All of the above. Duncan, Coleman and Fenton reported for the three newspapers that would evolve into The Globe and Mail as we know it today. Their reporting and popularity helped women break into the male-dominated journalism industry.
b. False. The MPs for both parties – who are part of the House of Commons committee on access to information, privacy and ethics – blocked a proposed investigation into how two scientists were able to pass confidential lab information to China. The MPs said the ethics committee wasn’t the right venue for the probe, and the matter was “not urgent.”
c. It decreased by 15 per cent. The federal Immigration Department processed roughly 308,000 study permit applications from India in 2023, a decline of 15 per cent from the previous year. The trend could be a sign that interest in studying in Canada was waning even before the two-year cap was announced.