General knowledge quiz set 745

Natalie Portman, an acclaimed Israeli-born actress and director, has been awarded Israel’s 2018 Genesis Prize in recognition of her commitment to social causes and deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots. It is announced by the Genesis Prize Foundation on November 7, 2017. The $1 million award, known as “the Jewish Nobel Prize,” is granted each year to a person recognised as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews through professional achievement and commitment to Jewish values. Ms. Portman is the fifth winner and first woman to receive the prize.

John Mildenhall was a British explorer and adventurer and one of the first to make an overland journey to India. He was the self-styled ambassador of the British East India Company in India. His is the first recorded burial of an Englishman in India. He bluffed in Akbar’s court that he was Her Britannic Majesty’s ambassador. Though he was admitted in the Durbar of Akbar, so that he became the first Englishman privileged to be received by the Great Mughal; yet he could never win the confidence of the Mughal Emperor. Portuguese Jesuits played to keep him or English away from the Mughals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Gabon a “polio-free country” because of lack of new reported or suspected cases in the central African country. Polio is a highly-infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis. There is no cure and it can only be prevented through immunization. The cases of polio have decreased by 99% since 1988, when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded worldwide. Now the disease is endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the WHO recorded four cases this year—two in each country. Last year, there were 37 cases globally.

Nankana Sahib was the birth place of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikh religion. He was born in 1469 in a khatri family. He had strong faith in worship of Nirakar Brahma.