Questions and Answers about
Places
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in PlacesWhat is a kibbutz?
Answer: A kibbutz is, traditionally. a collective community in Israel based on agriculture and known for its communal living ethos. The kibbutz concept aimed to create a society where all members contribute according to their ability and receive according to their needs, though most, if not all, kibbutzim are privatized today. The Oct. 7, 2023,…
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in PlacesCan you pinpoint Islam’s third-holiest site, the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s geographical location?
Answer: The Al-Aqsa Mosque is in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem. This mosque has stood for centuries and has been a focal point in the longstanding and deeply rooted conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, involving a large-scale surprise terror attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians,…
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in PlacesWhere is the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region located?
Answer: Nagorno-Karabakh is a region on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. While it’s internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, it has been under Armenian separatist control for decades. In Sept. 2023. a mass exodus of up to 120,000 Armenians fled the area due to fears of persecution under Azerbaijani rule.
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in PlacesWhat is the Khalistan movement?
Answer: The Khalistan movement advocates for an independent homeland for Sikhs in India’s Punjab region. While the idea of Khalistan has been around for a while, it made headlines in 2023 due to the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh leader and Khalistan advocate. This incident led to a diplomatic tiff…
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in PlacesWhere is the Atlas Mountains’ highest peak?
Answer: The highest peak of the Atlas Mountains is located in Morocco. Specifically, roughly 40 miles south of Marrakesh. On Sept. 8, 2023, this region shook with a 6.8 magnitude earthquake, killing over 2,900 people. This was the deadliest earthquake in Morocco since 1960, when a quake killed more than 12,000. Marrakesh’s famous Koutoubia Mosque,…
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in PlacesWhat is the semiquincentennial age?
Answer: The semiquincentennial is 250 years old – exactly the age of the United States on July 4, 2026. The semiquincentennial celebrations will mark the 250th anniversary of United States independence from Great Britain. America250, a nonpartisan organization created by Congress in 2016 to mark the anniversary, will oversee the celebrations. officially announced on July…
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in PlacesWhich country is the first to allow MDMA prescriptions for post-trauma?
Answer: Australia is the first country worldwide to approve MDMA for PTSD and psilocybin for hard-to-treat depression. The Therapeutic Goods Administration put the two drugs on the approved medicines list starting July 1, 2023, but for a price — the treatment costs about $10,000 (Australian. It’s roughly $6,600 US dollars) per patient._x000D__x000D_
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in PlacesWhat is the Korean age?
Answer: The traditional “Korean age” system considers the time spent in the womb as one year and adds another year every January 1, regardless of the actual birthday. This means some Koreans can be two years older than their international age. However. this system changed starting June 28, 2023, when South Korea adopted the international…
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in PlacesWhere did Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a Guinness World Record for the most nationalities in a single yoga lesson?
Answer: On June 21, 2023, as part of the International Day of Yoga celebrations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led a yoga session at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The session broke the Guinness World Record for the participation of people of 135 different nationalities. This beat the previous record of 114 nationalities set…
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in PlacesWhat was the destination of the submarine Titan that disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean?
Answer: In case you missed it, the Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on Apr. 15, 1912. It collided with an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. The Titan submerged on a dive to the Titanic wreckage site on Jun. 18, 2023, for…
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in PlacesWhere is the Nova Kakhovka dam?
Answer: Nova Kakhovka Dam is a strategically vital dam in southern Ukraine. It is situated on the Dnieper River and holds back an enormous body of water that supplies water to the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014. It also provides cooling water for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is now under Russian…
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in PlacesWhich country boasts the busiest rail system on the planet?
Answer: India’s railway system is ranked #1 in the world in terms of passengers carried, with a record of 721.6 billion person miles per year. This means India’s railways transport more people over greater distances than any other country. The second busiest is China, with 423.3 billion person miles per year. On June 2, 2023.…
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in PlacesHow old is Israel?
Answer: Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, after the British mandate over Palestine ended. This year, according to the Hebrew calendar, Israel marks its 75th anniversary on April 26, 2023. However, the celebrations are overshadowed by a political crisis that has divided the country for months._x000D__x000D_Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces widespread opposition and protests…
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in PlacesWhat is Germany’s highest honor for a former leader?
Answer: The Order of Merit for special achievement is Germany’s highest distinction for a former leader. On April 17, 2023, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier honored former Chancellor Angela Merkel with this award for her near-record 16 years of leading the country. She was the first woman, the first East German-born, and the longest-serving chancellor since Otto…
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in PlacesWhich city is Sudan’s capital?
Answer: At the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers, Khartoum is Sudan’s capital and largest city. It’s also the seat of the country’s de facto ruler. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who clashed with his deputy, Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).…
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in PlacesWhich island nation was once known as Formosa?
Answer: Taiwan is an island nation in East Asia that was formerly called Formosa by Portuguese explorers in the 16th century. The Formosan black bear is an endangered subspecies of black bears native to Taiwan and is seen as a symbol of Taiwanese identity._x000D_
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in PlacesWhich of these is missing in Libya, according to a 2023 report?
Answer: The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said approximately 2.3 to 2.5 tonnes of natural uranium have gone missing from a site in Libya. The missing uranium was stored at a former nuclear facility near Sabha in southern Libya. The IAEA has been monitoring the site since 2004 when Libya agreed to abandon…
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in PlacesWhat is California’s largest lake?
Answer: With 343 square miles (889 sq km) of surface area, the Salton Sea is California’s biggest lake by surface area. It’s been shrinking for decades despite water cuts and conservation efforts, causing health and environmental problems. The New York Times reported on Feb. 25 that the Salton Sea faces another water crisis, affecting farmers…
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in PlacesWhat is the caste system?
Answer: Caste systems have ruled India and other parts of South Asia for thousands of years, providing privileges to the upper castes and repressing the lower castes. Dalits, on the lowest rung of Indian Hindu castes. have been called “untouchables.” Caste discrimination in India was outlawed more than 70 years ago, but it still happens…
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in PlacesThe age of consent is 14 in Germany and China. What’s Japan’s age of consent?
Answer: According to multiple Feb. 21, 2023, news reports. a panel in the Japanese justice ministry wants to raise the country’s consent age from 13 to 16. The move comes in response to criticism that existing laws didn’t do enough to protect children. A series of reforms to the penal code will also make voyeurism…
