| In the summer of 2010, which was the first Latin American country to legalise same-sex marriages nationwide? | ARGENTINA |
| In the troubled times of the 15th century, Yolande D’Aragon used her position to secure the French monarchy by marriage, diplomacy and force. She was the mother-in-law of which French king? | CHARLES VII |
| Which word derives from an ancient Persian one meaning a closing-off from the outside world (to keep out wild animals) to make a protected, horticultural space? | PARADISE (‘pairida?za’) |
| Some prisoners have been waiting on death row there for 40 years. Which Asian country’s courts show a 99% conviction rate in criminal cases? | JAPAN |
| Which word – from the Greek meaning “woman servant” – is a name give to a female “supporter” who assists a women through childbirth and charges for her services, these can include antenatal and postnatal visits and being on call? | DOULA |
| Name either of the European countries that joined NATO on 1 April 2009 | Albania/Croatia |
| What is the name of the high school choir that is central to the US TV show ‘Glee’? | NEW DIRECTIONS |
| Similar in origin and meaning to ‘Baksheesh’, which term derives from a word once uttered by beggars in the dialect of Xiamen (a port in South East China) and now also refers to something obtained unofficially, whether deviously or by ingenuity? | CUMSHAW |
| Which German footballer’s last gasp equaliser took the 1966 World Cup Final into extra time? | Wolfgang WEBER |
| Claimed by some to be a homegrown US language, others have dismissed it as mere slang. Which term appeared in the mid 1970s to describe a version of English, incorporating the grammar of African languages, which also includes many words invented on the streets? | EBONICS |
| Micheline Roquebrune (b 1929) is a French artist. She is the second wife of which Oscar winner who celebrated his 80th birthday in August 2010? | Sean CONNERY |
| It carries 2 million passengers a year and each single trip lasts less than 90 seconds; which highly distinctive (and frankly unusual) part of the Paris Metro requires a separate ticket? | MONTMARTRE FUNICULAR |
| Created by Marvel comics, what first is claimed by Northstar, a French-Canadian mutant who revealed himself in 1992? | FIRST OPENLY GAY SUPERHERO |
| Established circa 7,000 years ago, which Lebanese city, founded as Gebal by the Phoenicians, got its current name from the ancient Greeks, who imported its papyrus? | BYBLOS |
| Who was the first man of ‘Hispanic’ background ever to hold a version of the World Heavyweight Boxing title? | John “The Quietman” RUIZ (WBA) |
| With 180, which country has the most products with protected origin status in the EU? | ITALY |
| Between AD 195, when Septimius Severus sacked and re-built the city, and AD 330 when Constantine selected it as the capital of New Rome, by what name was Byzantium /Constantinople/Istanbul known? | ANTONINIA |
| Earlier films include ‘Read My Lips’ and the ‘Beat that My Heart Skipped; which French director’s movies include prison thriller A Prophet’ (2009)? | Jacques AUDIARD |
| Sometimes combined with silk or polyester to create a textile fabric which is lightweight and looks like linen; piña is a fibre made from the leaves of which plant? | PINEAPPLE |
| In January 2010, which country announced it was to have two rates of exchange – 2.60 to the $US for “priority” imports, and 4.30 for other items considered non-essential? | VENEZUELA (the Bolivar) |
| His name is synonymous with Funky Music. He’s backed every major ‘funk’ figure, from George Clinton to Prince. What is the surname of the saxophonist introduced by James Brown on the 1974 track ‘Soul Of A Black Man’ with the words: “Maceo! Come here quick, and bring that funky licking stick!”? | Maceo PARKER |
| He was killed on 13 January 1963 in what is regarded as Africa’s first post-colonial military coup; Sylvanus Olympio (b1902) served as Prime Minster (1958-1961) and then as the first ever President (1961-1963) of which African nation? | TOGO |
| Which city, perhaps inhabited since 10000 BC but certainly in continuous habitation for 6,000 years, became an important settlement after the Aramaeans arrived and established a network of canals that still forms the basis of its modern water networks? | DAMASCUS |
| Under the Gonzaga family it became one of the main cultural hubs of Northern Italy, and the country as a whole. Which city is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes created during the 12th century – Lago Superiore, Lago di Mezzo, and Lago Inferiore (“Superior”, “Middle”, and “Inferior”) – a fourth lake, Lake Pajolo, which once completed a defensive water ring of the city, dried up at the end of the 18th century? | MANTOVA or MANTUA |
| FC Unirea Urziceni is a football team playing in which UEFA country, having won Liga 1 in season 2008/09? | ROMANIA |
| 59 He has two elder sisters whose ex-husbands were Ricky Nelson and John DeLorean. He has been married to Pam Dawber since 1987. Who is this former UCLA star quarterback (his father was also a Heisman Trophy winner) and leading star of US TV? | Mark HARMON |
| Inhabited since 3650BC and with links to the Akkadians and Hittites, this city in southern Turkey is the country’s sixth largest. Its sights include the Ravanda citadel, restored by the Byzantines in the 6th century. Which city? | GAZIANTEP or ANTEP |
| After declaring independence from Ottoman rule, the major European powers formally recognized Albania as an independent principality in July 1913. Independence had been asserted by an assembly convened in the place which is now the country’s second largest port city, and which was Albania’s capital until 1914. Where was this? | VLORË or VLORA |
| Born Jozef De Veuster he is better known as Father Damian. In 2009 the Pope declared him a Saint for his charitable work with the lepers on which Hawaiian island, where he lived and eventually died himself of leprosy in 1889? | MOLOKAI |
| Whose body was exhumed on the orders of Colombian president Hugo Chavez in July 2010 to facilitate investigation of suspicions of foul play having been involved in his death? | Simón BOLIVAR |
| Joseph Bologne (1739-99) was among the most important figures in the Paris musical scene of his day. He was also famed as a swordsman and equestrian. Known as the “Black Mozart”, he was the Chevalier de… what? | SAINT-GEORGE(S) |
| Which country shares its name with the band of Savannah that stretches across Africa from Mali in the west to the Ethiopian Highlands in the East? | The SUDAN |
| Her work depicted the everyday life of urban African Americans. In 1985 she became Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Who had earlier been the first African American poet to win a Pulitzer Prize, for her 1949 collection ‘Annie Allen’? | Gwendolyn BROOKS |
| Which two-word term that first gained currency in the 1950s commonly refers to a person with a non-speaking or supernumerary role in an opera or stage play? | SPEAR CARRIER |
| Combining traditional folk music with Eastern European and Asian influences and driving beats, Chalga, or pop folk, is a phenomenon in which EU country? | BULGARIA |
| On 4 June 1979, a day before his 40th birthday, which leader of the Progressive Conservative Party became Canada’s youngest prime minister and the only person to ever defeat Pierre Trudeau in a federal election? | Joe CLARK |