...with *apologies* for the delay. We were so excited yesterday about our bureau chief John Walcott's winning of the first IF Stone Medal for journalistic independence that we neglected to post the answers as promised.

Not that most of N&S' readers needed the answers - most of the respondents got most of the questions right. We'll do another news quiz sometime again soon... and the questions will be harder.

Without further ado:

1. What was Zimbabwe's former name?   Rhodesia.

2 - Which countries, other than the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States) are belived to have nuclear weapons? (NOTE: Not weapons programs, but actual weapons).     Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea.

3 - Name two countries that have voluntarily given up their nuclear weapons or weapons programs in the last 25 years.     Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan (after the break-up of the USSR), Libya, South Africa.

4 - Roughly how many U.S. troops are in a Brigade Combat Team?  About 3,500, depending on the exact make-up of the brigade's units.

5 - What is the world's largest Muslim country, by population?    Indonesia. (India, although a majority Hindu country, is actually third, after Pakistan).

6 - Name any five of the 18 member agencies and departments of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Most everyone got this right. They are: the intelligence units of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines & Coast Guard; the CIA, the National Security Agency; the National Reconnaissance Office; the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency; the FBI's intelligence units; the Treasury Department's intelligence units; State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research; Defense Intelligence Agency; Department of Homeland Security intelligence; Department of Energy intelligence; Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence; Director of National Intelligence; Drug Enforcement Administration.

7 - Iran borders seven other countries. Name three of them. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iraq.

8 - Name any three provinces of Afghanistan. Badakhshan, Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Bamian, Daykondi, Farah, Faryab, Ghazni, Ghowr, Helmand, Herat, Jowzjan, Kabol, Kandahar, Kapisa, Khowst, Konar, Kondoz, Laghman, Lowgar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nurestan, Oruzgan, Paktia, Paktika, Panjshir, Parvan, Samangan, Sar-e Pol, Takhar, Vardak, Zabol

9 - Name the current White House national security adviser; Director of National Intelligence; head of the CIA; and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Way too easy! Stephen Hadley, Mike McConnell, Mike Hayden, Adm. Mike Mullen.

10 - Which former president does Sen. John McCain often cite as his hero and model? Theodore Roosevelt. (partial credit if you answered Ronald Reagan).

11 - Name any four religious or ethnic groups in Iraq.  Kurd, Arab, Turkomen, Chaldean, Assyrian, Sunni Muslism, Shi'ite Muslims, Christian, Yazidi.

12 - What are the two holiest cities in Islam?  Mecca and Medina.

13 - What South American rebel group recently got tricked into giving up some hostages it had held for many years? What country does it operate in?  Extra credit: What do its initials stand for?  The FARC, which operates in Colombia primarily. FARC's initials, translated into English, stand for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

14 - Nelson Mandela just had a birthday. How old is he?  Mandel just turned 90.

15 - What two elements can be used to make fissile material for a nuclear bomb?  Plutonium and uranium.

16 - The CIA is a succesor to which World War-II era spy and covert action agency? The Office of Strategic Services. To be precise, there were several short-lived intelligence agencies between the demise of the OSS and the establishment of the CIA.

17 - Which countries did President Bush call the "Axis of Evil" in his 2002 State of the Union address? Iran, Iraq and North Korea.

18 - Roughly (within 10 or so) how many member countries of the United Nations are there? 192.

19 - Which U.S. intelligence agency is widely believed (the numbers are classified) to be the largest, both by budget size and number of personnel?  The National Security Agency.

20 - Name five countries where U.S. armed forces have participated in military action (not neccesarily ground combat) since the end of the Cold War?  They include (and this is not necessarily a complete list): Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Haiti, Kosovo, Sudan, former Yugoslavia (Bosnia/Serbia).