Quiz of The Week: 6 - 12 February
Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
With Tory backbenchers waiting impatiently for Boris Johnson to reveal his roadmap out of lockdown, ten-year prison sentences for quarantine-dodgers was always going to be a divisive policy.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock faced a major backlash from his Tory colleagues this week after threatening to slap the harsh penalty on people caught lying about travel to red-listed countries.
The drastic plan came as a new Covid strain that closely resembles the South Africa variant was reported in Bristol, triggering further questions about how quickly vaccines can be tweaked to combat new mutations.
In more positive news, the UK’s vaccination campaign continues to race ahead - a success that appears to vindicate Boris Johnson’s controversial decision last year to appoint venture capitalist Kate Bingham to lead the operation.
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 headlines over the past seven days?
EU leaders are under pressure to follow the UK’s lead in delaying second Covid vaccine doses so that more people can get the first jab, after the World Health Organization backed the strategy. Meanwhile, Germany faced a diplomatic backlash for continuing to back a Russian pipeline project despite the poisoning and recent arrest of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Over in the US, the historic second impeachment of Donald Trump got under way. The signs point towards the former president escaping without punishment, however, after Republican senators suggested that the proceedings were not necessary given Trump’s election defeat.
In a political row closer to home, the falling out between Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her former political ally Alex Salmond is getting increasingly messy. A legal case launched to release unpublished evidence now looks set to cast fresh light on the war within the Scottish National Party - potentially damaging the independence cause in the process.
