We are back once again for the weekly event that makes sure you read every single Guardian website story that features a cute animal as you know it is likely to crop up in the quiz at some point. You face 15 questions of varying levels of difficulty, topicality, seriousness and obscurity, and also a picture of Liz Truss again. There are no prizes, but do let us know how you get on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 146

  1. 1.Who is the new first minister of Northern Ireland?

  2. 2.The Oglala Sioux tribe have banned the Republican governor Kristi Noem from visiting one of the US’s largest reservations in which US state?

  3. 3.Which Ukrainian-born woman has had to give back her beauty pageant title (not pictured) after it was revealed she was having an affair with a married man?

  4. 4.One question about every country taking part in the Euro 2024 finals this summer. This week: future disappointed losing semi-finalists England. Which of these places is farthest north?

  5. 5.Every fan of Sapphire & Steel knows ‘all irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension. Transuranic heavy elements may not be used where there is life’. Diamond can be assigned. Some scientists have argued that diamond (not pictured) is NOT the hardest naturally occurring substance on earth. Which of these is a naturally occurring substance believed to be harder?

  6. 6.What was the name of the first episode of Terry Nation’s gritty 1970s space drama Blake’s 7?

  7. 7.It would have been Jules Verne’s birthday today. When was he born?

  8. 8.You’ve always wanted to pass GCSE media studies, right? Try this one. A survey asking people if they watch Doctor Who is an example of …

  9. 9.OK, that is more than enough science fiction and fantasy for now. Instead, it is time for jazz club. Nice. What instrument is Charles Mingus best known for playing?

  10. 10.Thursday quiz favourite Taylor Swift has announced she will release her 11th studio album in April. What will it be called?

  11. 11.Playing nonstop since September 2001, avant-garde composition Organ²/ASLSP As Slow as Possible is set to run during a performance in a German church until the 2600s. It just had its first new note play since 2022, and people were very excited about it. Who composed it?

  12. 12.Kwasi Kwarteng, having put the Thursday quiz’s mortgage up during his chaotic stint as Liz Truss’s chancellor, has decided being an MP after the next election to try to put things right is far too much effort, and he is standing down. How long was he chancellor for?

  13. 13.Thursday quiz favourite Liz Truss was also in the news this week after helping to launch the seemingly 1,057th splinter group of rightwing Tory MPs. What is the new group called?

  14. 14.This good girl was found as a stowaway in a shipping container by the US Coast Guard at the Port of Houston after they heard barking amid 10,000 containers. What have they called her?

  15. 15.This is Willow, the official dog of the Guardian Thursday quiz, relieved that Honshu the Japanese macaque, who was on the run in Scotland, was found safe and well. Which leftover food appeared to have lured him into Stephanie Bunyan’s garden?

If you really do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers – and can show your working – feel free to email [email protected], but remember the quiz master’s word is final so why not read this by Laura Snapes instead, as he certainly wouldn’t be talking about himself in the third person on a national newspaper website if he hadn’t grown up reading Tom Hibbert in Smash Hits.


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