Quiz of The Week: 11 - 17 July

The past seven days have seen Health Secretary Matt Hancock warning that UK officials are still dealing with dozens of local flare-ups every week - a revelation that suggests further Leicester-style local lockdowns are likely.

But there was also some positive news in the battle against Covid-19, with the results of initial trials indicating that an Oxford University-developed vaccine may provide a “double defence”��against the coronavirus.

Insiders on the project said that blood samples taken from volunteers appear to show that the jab stimulates the body to produce both antibodies and “killer” T-cells.

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Meanwhile, Tory MP Chris Grayling was dealt a killer blow in his bid to become chair of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee. Despite Grayling having been hand-picked for the role by Boris Johnson, a veteran Tory backbencher swooped in to win the vote, in a coup that the MPs in charge of overseeing the country’s spies might have been expected to see coming.

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

Need a reminder of some of the other big stories from the past week?

In the US, Ghislaine Maxwell was denied bail at a court hearing where prosecutors revealed that the British socialite is married. But the identity of her secret spouse remains a mystery, leading to yet more speculation about Maxwell, who is facing charges relating to allegations that she recruited teenage girls for her paedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse.

Over in China, state media outlets warned of reprisals against the UK over Boris Johnson’s decision to ban Huawei from the country’s 5G network. The threats came after the prime minister announced that Britain’s mobile network operators will not be allowed to buy new 5G equipment from the tech company after 31 December and that all carriers must remove all existing Huawei 5G kit by the end of 2027.

In the US, Donald Trump stoked simmering racial tensions by claiming that American police kill “more white people” than black people.

But Black Lives Matter protesters were the ones making a statement back in the UK, by mounting a sculpture of a demonstrator on the plinth in Bristol where the toppled statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston previously stood.

The sculpture of Jen Reid - who attended the BLM march in June at which the Colston statue was pulled down - was subsequently removed by the local council.