Thursday news quiz: Elections denied, a dog surprise, and a very viral raccoon

This raccoon has some questions for you. Photograph: GlobalP/Getty Images/iStockphoto

While the keys to the country keep changing hands, the Thursday news quiz remains reassuringly constant, steadfastly refusing to hand over power, or grow up in any way. Fifteen questions on topical news, general knowledge and popular culture await, this week with a hefty dose of novelty animal stories and Liz Truss again, because she won’t let it be. Anyway, there are no prizes, but let us know how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 257

1. 

   80-year-old authoritarian leader Daniel Ortega (pictured in mural form) has said his country will hold no more elections. Which country is that?

   1. El Salvador

   2. Honduras

   3. Nicaragua

   4. Borduria

2. 

   In a move that definitely doesn't look like a grift, the New York sculptor Sergio Furnari has been left furious after spending his own money to build a godawful lifesize statue of Charlie Kirk, only to find that no one wants to buy it. How much does he claim it has cost him?

   1. $1,000

   2. $10,000

   3. $100,000

   4. $1,000,000

3. 

   Which Australian politician startled television viewers by suddenly bellowing at their dog (not pictured, that's a dog surprised to be appearing in the quiz) mid-interview?

   1. Barnaby Joyce

   2. Pauline Hanson

   3. Penny Wong

   4. Bob Katter

4. 

   The Russian warship Neustrashimy (pictured) carried out a rare live-fire exercise on the day Andy Burnham became UK PM. Where?

   1. In the North Sea, just off Skegness

   2. In the Atlantic Ocean, off the west coast of Shetland

   3. In the Irish Sea, to the east of the Isle of Man

   4. In the Channel, just off Plymouth

5. 

   Talking of Andy Burnham, he risked the wrath of voters by revealing what, which he said would 'offend a lot of people' …

   1. He always wears odd socks

   2. He puts the milk first in tea

   3. He doesn't care whether the cream or the jam goes first on a scone

   4. He intends for every boomer to be sent a telegram directly from King Charles III ordering them to stop posting AI slop on Facebook

6. 

   A Michelin-starred restaurant owner in South Korea (not pictured) faces jail over garnishing a dessert with what?

   1. Crushed opium poppies to add a high

   2. Imported dried ants to add acidity

   3. Microdoses of pufferfish poison to add a tingle

   4. Human hair to add that 'return it to the kitchen, please' vibe

7. 

   It is David Essex's birthday today. Happy birthday, David! Rock on! Who produced his first few solo albums, and was also famous for their musical adaptation of a HG Wells story that Essex appeared in?

   1. Jeff Wayne

   2. Mike Batt

   3. Rick Wakeman

   4. Kate Bush

8. 

   This week's guest avian is a very tame robin that wanted some of the Thursday quiz's snacks at Birdworld near Farnham. It wants to know the name of the beloved bald eagle in Big Bear Valley that went missing from her viral nestcam, but has now been found alive but injured. It is …

   1. Sylvia

   2. Jackie

   3. Francine

   4. Lavinia

9. 

   Scores on the doors with Swindon's Diana Dors! Who scored the winning goal in the Fifa World Cup final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday?

   1. Mikel Merino

   2. Dani Olmo

   3. Ferran Torres

   4. Any Argentinian player

10. 

    On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 23 July is the anniversary of the first publicly available live transatlantic television signal. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – what enabled it …

    1. Telstar 1

    2. Echo 1

    3. Sputnik 1

    4. Gary Barlow's massive son standing on a big ladder holding an aerial really high in the air

11. 

    Zendaya (pictured, but not doing the thing) is facing a backlash in some quarters for doing what at the premiere of Christopher Nolan's Homer's The Odyssey?

    1. Spoiling the ending of the 3,000-year-old poem

    2. Wearing ancient looted Iranian jewellery

    3. Wearing a dress made of genuine vintage film stock

    4. Complaining that the movie is too long

12. 

    Who is fronting the new ‘What has the BBC ever done for me?’ advert, which is nearly as long as The Odyssey movie?

    1. Nish Kumar

    2. Romesh Ranganathan

    3. Richard Ayoade

    4. Ron from Sparks

13. 

    What is the name of the Seattle raccoon (not pictured, that one is in Germany) that has gone viral because it is assumed he has a rare genetic condition called short spine syndrome, giving him his distinctive look?

    1. Tomathan

    2. Billiam

    3. Svenjamin

    4. Jimothy

14. 

    Who is having to offer full refunds after fans were evacuated from a show in Milan because of a violent hailstorm?

    1. Bad Bunny

    2. Awful Aarvark

    3. Mischievous Meerkat

    4. Lousy Loris

    5. Chaotic Chaffinch

    6. Faulty Frog

    7. Poxy Pony

    8. Dastardly Dachshund

15. 

    And finally, the Thursday news quiz regrets to report that Liz Truss has been at it again – speaking in public at CPAC UK despite being UK prime minister for all of six weeks. Where was the event held?

    1. Near the NEC, in Birmingham

    2. Near the O2, in London

    3. Near Co-op Live, in Manchester

    4. Four Seasons Total Landscaping

Solutions

1:C - He has been in office since 2007 and appears to have no plans to leave, 2:C - 'I pity the fool', etc, 3:A - Apparently his staffy-border collie was barking incessantly at him just out of shot, 4:D - The guns went: 'Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom; Boom, Boom, Boom; Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom; Boom, Boom, Boom', 5:B - *Shudders*, 6:B - The Thursday quiz has … questions. I mean, obviously, because it is a quiz. But specifically it questions the need to add ants to sorbet, 7:A - Essex played the deluded artilleryman in the iconic 1978 concept album Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, and is very much a Thursday quiz guilty pleasure, 8:B - Jackie had been starring on a webcam with her mate Shadow and their two recent eaglets, Sandy and Luna. Get well soon Jackie!, 9:C - ¡Qué golazo!, 10:A - The first broadcast featured Walter Cronkite, Richard Dimbleby and John F Kennedy, 11:B - Archaeologists criticised the use of precious and culturally significant artefacts as accessories in the promotion of a Hollywood film, claiming it was a 'hijacking' of Iran’s contributions to humanity, 12:B - It isn't Ron from Sparks, but they did once have a single called Now That I Own the BBC, 13:D - 'He just looked like a Jimothy to me' is the only explanation we have, from the woman who took the viral video clip, 14:A - Videos posted on social media showed large hailstones hitting people at the sold-out show, 15:B - A few hundred attendees had paid between £100 and £10,000 for access to the three-day event, which included such highlights as Iain Duncan-Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Matt Schlapp, Dominic Frisby and Ben Berry. The Thursday quiz assumes Bobson Dugnutt and Todd Bonzalez were busy

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had fun, and didn't mind it being late today!

If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers – and can show your working and are absolutely 100% positive you aren’t attempting to factcheck a joke – you can complain about it in the comments below. Why not watch Always (Erasure cover) by Robyn instead?

Always (Erasure cover) by Robyn