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Welcome to the first Thursday news quiz of 2026. A brand new year, the opportunity for a clean slate, and yet somehow we present you with precisely the same old nonsense, served up with over-confidence and questionable judgment. Fifteen questions on topical news, pop culture and general knowledge await you, including the welcome return of the popular “Farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer”. As always, there are no prizes, but we do like to hear how you got on in the comments. Allons-y!
The Thursday news quiz: No 229
- 1.Which former singer of Little Mix (pictured) is raising awareness of spinal muscular atrophy type 1 after revealing her twin babies have been diagnosed with the rare genetic condition?
- 2.What is the name of the gambling platform refusing to pay out on bets that the US would invade Venezuela by the end of the month, claiming that the capture and rendition of Nicolás Maduro (sort of pictured) doesn't count?
- 3.Which of these famous seaside piers in England (not pictured, that is Blackpool), bought by the current owners for £18m in 2016, has been put up for sale after a fall in visitor numbers and profits?
- 4.Which actor (not pictured) has said he would 'rather stick a gun up my ass and pull the trigger' than accept money from a GoFundMe set up in his name?
- 5.Lego is introducing new 'smart bricks' with lights and sounds into which of its ranges (not pictured, that is proper vintage 1980s space Lego)?
- 6.Which European royal has been targeted by TikTok scammers, who are using AI-generated videos of her to cheat social media users out of money?
- 7.The Africa Cup of Nations is reaching the sharp end, with the quarter-finals taking place on Friday and Saturday. Where will the final be held?
- 8.This week's feline interloper is Dorothy's cat Shinji, looking slightly appalled that 2026 has started out the way it has. He wants to know the name of the prime ministerial cat in Belgium who has become a social media star. What is it?
- 9.Farther or nearer with Geordie Alan Shearer! This week we imagine the England soccer legend wants to know, if he leaves his home town of Newcastle upon Tyne, which is farther or nearer – Marseille, France, or Copenhagen, Denmark?
- 10.Defying his nation's reputation for polite and reasonable behaviour, Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, has said he will ban which iconic Canadian alcoholic drink brand (not pictured, that is a nice cocktail in Nairn) from his province if it goes ahead with a move to shutter its operations there?
- 11.We lost David Rosen, who was one of the founders of which pillar of the video gaming and arcade industry (not pictured, those are Soviet machines)?
- 12.It would have been the 91st birthday of Elvis (not quite pictured) today. What was his debut single called?
- 13.Which famous US institution is hilariously suing its own charitable foundation?
- 14.On this day with Brian May! And his badger! 8 January is the anniversary of George Washington in 1790 giving the first ever state of the union address in the US. The Thursday quiz imagines Queen's legendary guitarist wants you to tell him – and his badger – where it was.
- 15.Archaeology boffins (the correct technical term) reckon a battle trumpet found in Norfolk may have links to Queen Boudicca. Which tribe did she lead?
Regular readers will note the absence this week of Willow. Sadly she has not been very well recently and so we have taken the decision to retire her from the role of official dog of the Guardian Thursday news quiz for the time being. Rest assured, she is being looked after and she remains truly the very best of miniature dachshunds.
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 Love Who You Love by Romy instead?
