Latest questions: 18 February 2020

This week's questions are from those used in Week 14 of the 2019–20 season in Macclesfield Quiz League, set by the Dolphin.

Cape Byron and Steep Point are respectively the eastern and western extremities of which country?		Australia
The medieval city of Nizhny Novgorod is the fifth largest city in Russia. By what name was it known during the Soviet period?		Gorky
The name of which South African province combines those of a former province (first sighted by Vasco da Gama on Christmas Day 1497), and a non–white territory (or bantustan), from which it was formed in 1994?		KwaZulu Natal
Who was the Captain of the Mayflower, on its 1620 voyage?		Christopher Jones
Which island nation in the Arabian Sea left the Commonwealth in 2016?		(The) Maldives
Which Manchester–based boxer is nicknamed 'the Gipsy King'?		Tyson Fury
Coventry Blaze, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers are leading English clubs in which sport?		Ice Hockey
Which footballer was famously described by Alf Ramsey as "ten years ahead of his time"?		Martin Peters
Who is the only goalkeeper to have won the award now known as the Ballon d'Or – doing so in 1963?		Lev Yashin
Which event was staged at the World Athletics Championships for the first time in Qatar, 2019 (when it was won by the USA)?		Mixed 4 x 400m relay
Which country has won nine out of 24 men's Olympic golds in ice hockey, and four out of six women's (up to and including 2018)?		Canada
What does the military abbreviation IED stand for?		Improvised Explosive Device
In the full title of the American government agency with the initials FDA, what do the letters F and D stand for?		Food and Drug (Administration)
Which famous painting by Botticelli has an Italian title that means 'Spring'?		Primavera
Who painted a picture entitled Self–Portrait with Bandaged Ear?		Vincent van Gogh
What name is given to a selection of small dishes served as appetisers, in parts of the Middle East, the Balkans, Greece, and North Africa?		Meze
The stars Merak and Dubhe (in the Plough, or the constellation of Ursa Major) are commonly known as 'the pointers'. What do they point to?		Polaris (the Pole Star)
Maat Mons – a massive 'shield volcano' – is the second–highest mountain, and the highest volcano, on which planet in the Solar System?		Venus
Which branch of medicine deals with the health care of the elderly?		Geriatrics
Which English cathedral has a stone carving of an imp, above a column in its Choir, which has become a symbol of the city that it serves?		Lincoln
Which carbonated soft drink, often described as "Scotland's other national drink" and said in advertising to be "made in Scotland from girders", is produced in Cumbernauld by A. G. Barr & Co. (after moving from Glasgow early in the 21st century)?		Irn–Bru
Juan Manuel Santos won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 for bringing to an end a 50–year civil war in which country, of which he was President from 2010 to 2018?		Colombia
Which river flows through the Cotswold towns of Bourton–on–the Water, Burford and Witney?		The Windrush
Who, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the Callaghan government of the 1970s, devised (and gave his name to) the formula that allocates public spending in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?		Joel Barnett
Which Labour MP admitted he had considered suicide, after being heavily criticised for leaving a note in his office, addressed to his Coalition successor (David Laws, Lib Dem), that read "I'm afraid there is no money", on leaving his post as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in Gordon Brown's government in 2010?		Liam Byrne
Which African country moved its 'political' capital to Gitega in 2019?		Burundi
Which BBC Radio 4 programme, first broadcast in 2009, is presented by Brian Cox and Robin Ince and has been decribed as a "witty and irreverent look at the world according to science"?		The Infinite Monkey Cage
Which Australian cricketer used an aluminium bat in an Ashes test, at Perth, in 1979?		Dennis Lillee
Blantyre – the capital of the district of the same name – is the commercial and industrial capital of, and the second largest city in which African country?		Malawi
The Higgs boson was finally observed in 2012, after a 40–year search, at CERN's LHC. What does LHC stand for?		Large Hadron Collider
In the name of the United Nations agency whose initials are UNHCR, what does 'HCR' stand for?		High Commission for Refugees
Which genus of trees, native to Australia and grown commercially for their nuts, was named by the German–Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller after his friend, a Scottish–born chemist?		Macadamia
Which multinational food packaging and processing company was founded in Sweden in 1943 by Ruben Rausing, and named after its principal product – a plastic–coated paper carton, patented in 1944 and first produced in 1952?		Tetra Pak
Which 20th century conflict provided the setting for the 1970 film M*A*S*H, and the spin–off TV series?		The Korean War
In the tales of Beatrix Potter, what sort of creature is the Tailor of Gloucester?		A mouse
Which classic Italian cocktail or aperitif, named after an Italian nobleman who asked for an Americano with gin instead of soda water, is made with equal parts gin, red vermouth and Campari, poured over ice, stirred (not shaken) and garnished with a slice of orange?		Negroni

© Haydn Thompson 2020