Thursday news quiz: rare chicks, AI tricks and ‘begging Trump for pics’

A cat with a questionable behind. Illustration: Anaïs Mims/The Guardian

Thursday quiz fans inundated our mailbox with at least two messages pointing out that John Oliver had opened his HBO show discussing the problem of feral hogs, of which there are significantly more than between 30 and 50 in the US. If he starts opening shows talking about Sparks, Kate Bush, Syldavia and Alan Shearer’s fixations on distances, we truly will know where he gets his material from, and the Thursday quiz lawyers are ready. In the meantime, here are 15 questions on topical news, general knowledge and pop culture to see you on towards the weekend. Let us know how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!

The Thursday news quiz, No 253

1. 

   Which magazine says it will no longer engage in 'external publishing partnerships' after an AI scandal hit the Commonwealth prize

   1. Monocle

   2. The Paris Review

   3. Granta

   4. Doctor Who Monthly

2. 

   For the first time in more than 360 years, what type of chicks (not pictured, that is Pokémon Piplup hanging out at Walthamstow Town Hall) have been born in St James’s Park, London?

   1. Chestnut-bellied Heron

   2. Cormorant

   3. Hawaiian Goose

   4. Pelican

3. 

   Which world leader said they were stunned that Donald Trump claimed in public they had 'begged me to take a picture … wanted a picture with me so badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry'?

   1. Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico

   2. Giorgia Meloni of Italy

   3. Ursula von der Leyen of the European Union

   4. King Muskar XII of Syldavia

4. 

   Turner prize winner Helen Cammock has opted to withdraw a work from the National Portrait Gallery after 50 peers criticised what it said about whom?

   1. Margaret Thatcher

   2. Winston Churchill

   3. Queen Elizabeth II

   4. Mr Blobby

5. 

   Send Derren Brown today's collective noun. Use your psychic powers to let him know what is the collective noun for jellyfish?

   1. A smack of jellyfish

   2. An aroma of jellyfish

   3. A coronation of jellyfish

   4. A float of jellyfish

6. 

   Here's Melvyn Bragg, he loves a flag. Which of these countries has a flag which can be described as three equal horizontal stripes of turquoise blue, white and the same shade of blue, with five turquoise stars arranged in a quincuncial pattern at the centre of the middle stripe?

   1. Nicaragua

   2. Belize

   3. Costa Rica

   4. Honduras

7. 

   Who ruined a good walk in the countryside by winning the US Open trophy?

   1. Scottie Scheffler

   2. Charles Dexter Ward

   3. Bryson DeChambeau

   4. Wyndham Clark

8. 

   This week's guest feline is a Walthamstow mural of Charlie Hitler, doing his Ron from Sparks impression. He, very angrily, would like to know, what are the names of the new soft drinks being promoted by nepo babies Barron Trump and Kai Trump respectively?

   1. Soulfour and Green Light Slush

   2. Sollos and Blue Raz Slush

   3. Sobrello and Cherrynote Slush

   4. Logopolis and Castrovalva

9. 

   It is the return of 'higher or lower', this time with Ecuador's John Yeboah (pictured). The group profits of the Royal Mail's parent company slumped by a fifth. What happened to the pay of chief executive of International Distribution Services (IDS), Martin Seidenberg?

   1. It went lower, reflecting the performance of the company

   2. It went higher, rising from £2.1m the previous year to £6.9m in pay, bonus and long-term incentive scheme awards

10. 

    HMRC has announced how much tax will now apply on cash interest held in stocks and shares Isas?

    1. 11%

    2. 22%

    3. 33%

    4. 1,057%

11. 

    It was very much a camping carry on (pictured – see what we did there?) after some poor soul spent about 15 minutes submerged in sewage in the putrid tank of a California campground’s vault toilet after falling in trying to retrieve what?

    1. Their sunglasses

    2. Their phone

    3. Their keys

    4. Their very naughty miniature dachshund

12. 

    Which indie legend is planning to auction off about 80 of his guitars (not pictured) at Christie's?

    1. Johnny Marr

    2. Bernard Butler

    3. John Squire

    4. Graham Coxon

13. 

    Two million bees headed straight out the door marked 'do one' after a truck overturned where?

    1. Prescott, Arizona

    2. Mount Dora, Florida

    3. Mauriceville, Texas

    4. Innsmouth, Massachusetts

14. 

    On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 25 June is the anniversary of the first female prime minister of Canada being sworn in. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – what was her name?

    1. Janet Fielding

    2. Jean Augustine

    3. Cairine Wilson

    4. Kim Campbell

15. 

    And finally, how long is the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool (pictured)?

    1. 1,028 ft

    2. 2,028 ft

    3. 3,028 ft

    4. 4,028 ft

Solutions

1:C - Jamir Nazir's had social media know-it-alls claiming it had obvious signs of AI input, 2:D - They have been a fixture in the park for over 300 years, but have collectively never worked out how to reproduce. Until now, 3:B - Italy’s prime minister said it was 'totally invented', adding 'I don’t know why the US president behaves this way towards his allies. It’s not the first time it’s happened, I can only say it’s unfortunate he doesn’t show the same determination towards the west’s enemies.', 4:B - In the work Cammock discusses Oliver Cromwell’s campaigns in Ireland, saying 'he starved people, en masse, a little like the wilful starvation of the Indian population by Winston Churchill'. The artist and gallery had initially defended the work but on Monday evening confirmed it had been removed at Cammock’s request. It is unclear where the 50 peers stand on 'free speech' and people being 'thin-skinned snowflakes' these days who 'don't like their ideas being challenged', 5:A - It is indeed, according to Grammar Monster, a smack of jellyfish. Odds Bodkins!, 6:D - The two outer bands represent the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, while the inner band represents the land of Honduras between, 7:D - He prevailed despite several spectators being removed from the course after directing abusive comments at him, and they said football fans are a nuisance, 8:B - The mind boggles, 9:B - Of course it did. Incidentally, it always used to be 'higher or lower with Tony Yeboah' but a persistent correspondent insisted this relied on mispronouncing the Leeds United legend's name, and was essentially racist. However, the Thursday quiz has watched two Ecuador matches at the 2026 World Cup, and John Yeboah's name definitely rhymes with lower, 10:B - The Thursday quiz keeps all its savings down the back of the sofa, so this will not be an issue, 11:A - Emergency services said the man was not injured, but he did require 'a hosing down', 12:A - Some of the instruments were also used by Noel Gallagher and Bernard Sumner, some of the proceeds will go to charity, and none of them are as embarrassing as Morrissey ended up, 13:C - Residents in the immediate area were encouraged to use caution, and the hives were put on to transport trucks and hauled to a local honey farm, 14:D - Campbell was the first and only female prime minister of Canada, and only held the role for a matter of months in 1993, 15:B - Donald Trump awarded a no-bid contract to a company that he said had previously done work on swimming pools at one of his golf clubs to get it 'American flag blue' before 4 July and … it very much has not gone that colour

Scores

1. 0 and above.

   We hope you had fun – let us know how you got on in the comments!

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 go back and do Tuesday’s Brexit referendum quiz instead?