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No Andy Burnham questions this week because – Shock! Horror! – a man with a family has taken a summer holiday with his family. But the Thursday quiz has done no such thing. Fifteen new questions await you on topical news, general knowledge and popular culture. There are no prizes, but you can boast about your score in the comments. Please do! Allons-y!
The Thursday news quiz, No 259
- 1.Who has scored the longest running UK No 1 single in history with Rein Me In, beating a record that has stood since 1953?
- 2.Which space company has had debris from one of its launches slam into the lunar surface
- 3.The Pacific Island country of Nauru has changed its name to what, to match the spelling and pronunciation in the national language?
- 4.Which video game publishing company, which makes games such as The Sims, Madden NFL and Battlefield (not pictured), has been bought by Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund and a group of investors for $55bn (£41bn)?
- 5.Which country has just voted to make English one of its three official languages?
- 6.Thursday quiz favourite Ariana Grande is to take a step back from public life, which means she has pulled out of appearing with Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey in a new London production of what?
- 7.This week's guest canine is Margot, who the Thursday quiz met in a pub in Gosport. She wants to know in which country a university has ordered 58,000 students to resit their entrance exam in person after abnormally high online test results raised suspicions of widespread cheating. Tell her …
- 8.Where has an anti-corruption activist in a white elephant costume been sworn in as a senator?
- 9.Farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer! This week we imagine the England soccer legend wants to know, if he leaves his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, which – as the crow flies and according to freemaptools.com – is farther or nearer – Athens, Greece or Arrecife, Lanzarote?
- 10.Tarona Taafaki (not pictured) made history by doing what at the 2026 Commonwealth Games?
- 11.What was the name of the feral cat (not pictured) that was finally captured in New Zealand after terrorising the local rare bird population for three years?
- 12.A happier cat story was in Utah. What was the ridiculously appropriate name of the feline (pictured) who survived a devastating fire that gutted an apartment complex by hiding in a closet – and then safely endured a days-long wait before being rescued?
- 13.Who thrilled fans at the weekend with a surprise rooftop gig in Brighton?
- 14.On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 6 August is the anniversary of the release of files describing the idea of the world wide web. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – who wrote them?
- 15.And finally … where have refuse collectors helped a woman recover a binned €1m lottery ticket?
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 Throw Over Your Man by The Anchoress ft James Dean Bradfield instead?
Throw Over Your Man by The Anchoress ft James Dean Bradfield
