Thursday news quiz: Stranded whales, stricken ships and very cute sea otters

1. 

   AI platforms (not pictured) are more likely to reference who more than any other UK politician when prompted about British politics, according to an AI analytics firm?

   1. Liz Truss

   2. Boris Johnson

   3. Nigel Farage

   4. Count Binface

2. 

   What is the name of the cruise ship that has been struck by a suspected hantavirus outbreak?

   1. MV Azathoth

   2. MV Hondius

   3. MV Linnaeus

   4. MV Nordenskjold

3. 

   This week's guest canine is Pudding, whom the quiz master met on the Weaver line and who was very friendly indeed. Pudding heard that dog owners in an Italian city will be required to clean up their pets’ urine from public spaces or face fines of up to €500. Where?

   1. Palermo

   2. Livorno

   3. Bari

   4. Ravenna

4. 

   Who (not pictured) sponsored this year's Met Gala?

   1. Peter Thiel

   2. Larry Ellison

   3. Jeff Bezos

   4. Ronald Mael

5. 

   Which country expelled three Russian embassy staff this week (not pictured) after a ‘forest of antennae’ was discovered?

   1. Austria

   2. Latvia

   3. Poland

   4. Syldavia

6. 

   Here's Melvyn Bragg, he loves a flag. Which of these countries has a flag that can be described as a wide horizontal red stripe bordered above and below by a thin white stripe and a broad blue stripe; the red stripe is charged near the hoist with a five-pointed red star inside a white disc?

   1. Vietnam

   2. Cambodia

   3. North Korea

   4. Borduria

7. 

   Yoko Ono (pictured, some time ago) has upset a small brewer by insisting they stop selling what, which was adorned with John Lennon's image?

   1. Strawberry Fields Forever IPA

   2. John Lemon beer

   3. Give Peas a Chance lager

   4. John Melon cider

8. 

   It would have been Eva Perón's birthday today. Oh, what a circus! Don't cry for me, Argentina. In which year did she die?

   1. 1932

   2. 1942

   3. 1952

   4. 1962

9. 

   Farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer. This week we imagine the England soccer legend, if he leaves his home town of Newcastle upon Tyne, wants to know which – as the crow flies and according to freemaptools.com – is farther or nearer – Winnipeg, Canada, or Tomsk, Russia?

   1. Winnipeg, Canada, is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than Tomsk, Russia

   2. Tomsk, Russia, is nearer to Newcastle upon Tyne than Winnipeg, Canada

10. 

    The people trying to rescue a humpback whale that was stranded for weeks off Germany’s Baltic coast have had to admit that the tracker they fitted to it isn't working, so nobody knows what has happened to it. What is (or … was?) its name?

    1. Timmy

    2. Tommy

    3. Tammy

    4. Derek

11. 

    The locals are revolting over plans to install traffic lights at which Scottish landmark (not pictured, that is the Kelpies)?

    1. Bute Bridge, Nairn

    2. Peterhead Bridge, Stonehaven

    3. Clachan Bridge, Argyll

    4. The Glenfinnan viaduct

12. 

    Who is the British artist at the Venice Biennale 2026?

    1. Lubaina Himid

    2. Tegan Jovanka

    3. Sonia Boyce

    4. Chris Ofili

13. 

    The Thursday quiz fondly remembers Keith Chegwin, so here is Cheggers plays population! According to the 2026 CIA World Factbook, which of these four countries has the largest population?

    1. Sweden

    2. Norway

    3. Denmark

    4. Finland

14. 

    On this day with Brian May. And his badger. 7 May is the anniversary of the rather embarrassing collapse of the dome of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, just 20 years after it was built. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – in which year …

    1. 458

    2. 558

    3. 658

    4. 758

15. 

    And finally … one of these sea otters adopted the other when it was orphaned. They live at a California aquarium. What are their names?

    1. Rey and Sunny

    2. Jojo and Buttons

    3. Bella and Sixpence

    4. Haddock and Calculus

Solutions

1:C - Yes, 2:B - A Dutch couple and a German national who had been on the ship, the MV Hondius, have died, while a British national is in intensive care in South Africa, 3:B - Luca Salvetti, the mayor of Livorno, on the Tuscan coast, introduced the measure after complaints from residents about the smell of dog urine, particularly in parks and children’s play areas, 4:C - The billionaire Amazon founder’s involvement led to boycotts and criticism of the event, 5:A - Perhaps they just wanted a good view of the Eurovision song contest, 6:C - The flag was officially adopted on 8 September 1948, 7:B - The Thursday quiz was slightly irritated to see that the beer in question, packaged with a caricature illustration of Lennon, had the subtitle 'Get bock', famously one of Paul McCartney's songs, 8:C - She died in July 1952, aged 33, and several people were subsequently crushed to death in the crowds that gathered to mourn her, 9:B - Tomsk, Russia is only about 5,050km away from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, whereas Winnipeg, Canada is about 5,980km away, a difference of about 1,953,000 ancient Sumerian cubits. Top bins!, 10:A - The German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund said it believed the whale was 'highly likely' dead. Oh Timmy, 11:C - Known since the early 19th century as the 'Bridge over the Atlantic', the 233-year-old crossing from the mainland to the Isle of Seil attracts visitors eager to boast of their trans-oceanic journey, 12:A - After being commissioned by the British Council, she has produced Presenting History: Testing Translation at the British pavilion as part of the 61st edition of the international art exhibition, 13:A - Sweden has more than 10 million people, whereas the other three have between 5.5 and 6 million each. That is according to the archived internet version of the 2026 CIA World Factbook, which has been discontinued by the Trump administration, 14:B - Records don't show whether Justinian I got a guarantee, or whether anybody sucked their teeth and said 'Είχες μερικούς σωστούς καουμπόηδες εδώ μέσα' (You've had some right cowboys in here, mate), 15:A - The two otters now live as mother and daughter at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Awwwwwwwww

Scores

1. 0 and above.

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