Quiz of The Week: 23 - 29 September
Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
Donald Trump has been dominating global headlines yet again, in a week full of woes for politicians on both sides of the Atlantic.
A New York State judge ruled that the former president fraudulently inflated the value of his properties and assets to banks and investors. The judgment is "essentially the equivalent of the corporate death penalty for the Trump Organization", conservative lawyer George Conway told CNN.
Yet none of this – nor Trump's four criminal indictments – appear to have dented his decisive lead in the polls for the Republican nomination. He didn't even bother to show up to the second televised candidate debate, choosing instead to deliver a speech at a campaign event in Michigan.
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Meanwhile, the UK's home secretary gave a speech at a right-wing think tank in Washington D.C. in which she argued that the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention had created "incentives" for "absurd and unsustainable" illegal migration. Her comments were widely condemned by refugee charities.
The Liberal Democrats' former leader Tim Farron also came under fire at his party's conference in Bournemouth. Farron was "booed off stage" by disgruntled audience members and ultimately "had his microphone cut off" for going over the maximum time limit, according to the Daily Express.
As the Tories and Labour prepared for their annual gatherings, some pundits questioned whether the annual party conference season really matters anymore. If presidential candidates don't show up to debates, and party members shun conferences, do politicians' words still matter? Or are the headlines all that count?
To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.
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1. Taylor Swift attended which NFL match amid rumours of a new romance?
- Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears
- New York Jets vs. New England Patriots
- Seattle Seahawks vs. Carolina Panthers
- Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys
2. Three astronauts returned to Earth this week after how many days in space?
- 248
- 302
- 371
- 426
3. A zero-waste restaurant in east London is reportedly serving kebabs made of what?
- Grasshoppers
- Squirrel
- Mouse
- Pigeon
4. Which would-be Republican presidential nominee referred to the absent Donald Trump as "Donald Duck" during the second GOP debate?
- Ron DeSantis
- Chris Christie
- Nikki Haley
- Vivek Ramaswamy
5. The UK's first consumption room for illegal drugs has been given the go-ahead to open in which city?
- London
- Bristol
- Glasgow
- Aberdeen
6. Which athlete shattered the women's marathon record last Sunday in Berlin while wearing new £400 "super shoes"?
- Sheila Chepkirui
- Brigid Kosgei
- Magdalena Shauri
- Tigst Assefa
7. Which broadcaster suspended commentator Laurence Fox for making "totally inappropriate" comments about a female journalist?
- The BBC
- GB News
- Sky News
- Channel 4
8. The 2025 World Exposition fair venue could cost nearly double the original estimate, thanks to high inflation and labour shortages in which country?
- Argentina
- Germany
- Japan
- Estonia
9. Liberal Democrat party members rejected leader Ed Davey's plans to scrap which pledge?
- Build 380,000 new homes a year in England
- Lower UK university tuition fees
- Cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045
- Fully electrify Britain's rail network
10. Brazil's president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva warned fellow world leaders of the risk of another coup in which country?
- Peru
- Bolivia
- Venezuela
- Guatemala
1. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears
Swift watched the Chiefs crush the Bears on Sunday from the private box of Chiefs player Travis Kelce, whom she is rumoured to be dating. This coming-together of "two of the biggest cultural phenomena" in the US "possibly brought in a whole new group of fans" to the NFL, said Fox News.
2. 371
The crew, an American and two Russians, had prepared to spend 180 days in space, but their original return capsule was hit by space junk while docked to the International Space Station. The resulting coolant leak was only discovered about three months after the crew had left Earth, in December 2022.
3. Squirrel
Silo has a menu which "might look like a list of roadkill", ITV News reported, but it is in fact is helping to tackle invasive species. Douglas McMaster, chef and owner of the restaurant, said squirrel was "delicious" and more sustainable than any supermarket fare. For more stories from the stranger side of life, subscribe to our Tall Tales newsletter.
4. Chris Christie
Trump, who continues to lead the 2024 polls, skipped Wednesday's debate in California and instead delivered a speech in Michigan. The remaining candidates battled it out at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley, California, with former New Jersey governor calling Trump "afraid" over his absence.
5. Glasgow
Proposals for a "safe" consumption room, where users can take drugs under medical supervision, had been discussed for years – but now Scotland's chief public prosecutor has said that users would not be prosecuted for possession while at the facility, allowing the trial to get under way. Glasgow has long had "the worst drug death rate in Europe", said Al Jazeera.
6. Tigst Assefa
Ethiopia's Assefa crossed the line in two hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds, knocking more than two minutes off the previous record set by Kenya's Brigid Kosgei in 2019. Only 48 hours later, Adidas put the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 trainers on the market – only for the stock to sell out within hours.
7. GB News
In a live interview with host Dan Wootton, the actor and political activist said of political journalist Ava Evans: "Show me a self-respecting man who would like to climb into bed with that." Wootton has also been suspended, after Fox released a screenshot of a private conversation between the two seemingly making light of the incident.
8. Japan
Organisers said the price of constructing the venue, on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, has risen to ¥230 billion (£1.2 billion) – potentially putting the six-month showcase of exhibitions in jeopardy. To find out more, listen to The Week Unwrapped podcast.
9. Build 380,000 new homes a year in England
Davey had previously said he wanted to drop the pledge in favour of local targets focused on council or social homes, but his plan was "foiled by a group of young activists" at the party's national conference in Bournemouth, said Sky News, who argued the policy was not sufficiently ambitious. The vote has been a "blow to Davey's authority", said The Guardian.
10. Guatemala
Nearly 70 years after the Central American country's first democratically elected government was toppled, there are warnings that the son of its first democratically elected president – surprise presidential election winner Bernardo Arévalo – may be facing the same fate, with electoral officials suspending his centre-left Semilla party. For more stories from around the world, sign up to our weekly Global Digest newsletter.
Harriet Marsden is a senior staff writer and podcast panellist for The Week, covering world news and writing the weekly Global Digest newsletter. Before joining the site in 2023, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, working for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent among others, and regularly appearing on radio shows. In 2021, she was awarded the “journalist-at-large” fellowship by the Local Trust charity, and spent a year travelling independently to some of England’s most deprived areas to write about community activism. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, and has also worked in Bolivia, Colombia and Spain.