Here are the answers to our April quiz on key news topics, plus some additional background information.
1. What is Article 50?
Answer: c
Additional information: Britain announced it was implementing Article 50 on March 29, 2017. They now have two years to exit the EU.
2. What was stolen from the Bode Museum in Berlin, Germany?
Answer: a
Additional notes: The other items listed were stolen in the past and are among the five most valuable museum thefts in history. The gold coin was made by the Canadian mint and was one of five such coins in the world, weighing 100 kilograms.
3. Who is Denis Coderre?
Answer: b
Additional notes: Mayor Coderre is currently defending himself over a $25,000 gift he received when he was a Liberal MP to help him pay legal fees in a dispute with an NHL hockey player.
4. What Russian city suffered deadly blasts on its subways?
Answer: c
Additional notes: More than 10 people died and hundreds were injured in what is assumed to be a terrorist attack.
5. What is Gibraltar?
Answer: e
Additional notes: This British territory may be dealt with differently under Article 50 (see question 1) and may require Spain’s agreement to leave or stay in the EU.
6. What country is about to introduce legislation that will guarantee equal pay for men and women?
Answer: b
Additional notes: Iceland will be the first country to mandate equal pay.
7. Which country has employed chemical warfare against its own civilians?
Answer: d
Additional notes: the Syrian president authorized the attack against opponents of his regime
8. In what Canadian city are politicians and bankers concerned about the dramatic rise in housing prices?
Answer: c
Additional notes: Toronto house prices increased 30 per cent year-over-year. The supply rate is way down and the vacancy rate for the rental market is very low. All this makes it challenging for low and middle income families to find affordable housing.
9. What country did United States launch military action against?
Answer: b
Additional notes: In retaliation for the use of chemical warfare the US undertook a missile attack on a Syrian airbase.
10. What airline removed passengers from a plane to accommodate its own employees?
Answer: b
Additional notes: The incident caused great distress for the passengers when they were forcibly removed. The airline has since apologized.
11. What photo have NASA and the European Space Agency released?
Answer: a
Additional notes: auroras are caused by streams of charged particles originating from solar winds, moon volcanism, or planetary ionosphere. They can occur on planets other than earth as long as they have an atmosphere and a magnetic field.
12. Which country held a military parade on Saturday April 15 as a show of strength?
Answer: b
Additional notes: North Korea has paraded soldiers, tanks and other military hardware in Pyongyang to mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of its founding president, Kim Il-sung. The show of strength on comes after the country warned the US not to take provocative action in the region, saying it was “ready to hit back with nuclear attacks”. The following day their missile test failed.
13. How many Canadian hockey teams made it into the first round of the NHL playoffs?
Answer: c
Additional notes: the teams were Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton
Click here to view questions.