Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
The United States has recently clinched a strategic port deal with Oman that allow American ships and warplanes to take advantage of two Arabian Sea ports of Duqm and Salalah located near strategic Strait of Hormuz. The framework agreement is aimed at bolstering Omani-American military relations. With this pact, the US military will have better access to Gulf region and will reduce the need to send ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime choke point off Iran. The agreement will allow the US forces to take advantage from the facilities offered at some of the Sultanate’s ports and airports during visits of the US military vessels and aircraft. These two Omani ports – Duqm and Salalah are located just outside the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow outlet through which about a 5th of the world’s oil trade exits the Persian Gulf. The Port of Duqm is located on the south-eastern seaboard of Oman, overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. The narrow waterway is also an international transit route where American forces routinely pass and which has seen tense encounters between them and Iranian forces in the past.

Notes:
The world’s largest e-waste recycling facility has recently opened at the Dubai Industrial Park in United Arab Emirates (UAE) on an area of 280,000 square feet. 120 million dirhams ($5 million) project has been set up by “Enviroserve’ company with support of Swiss Government Export Finance Agency. It will service international e-waste recycling efforts across Africa, Middle East and Caucasus region. The facility will utilise state-of-the-art reclamation technology, which surpasses the European Union’s standards for e-waste. It will process Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), IT Asset Disposition (ITAD), refrigerant gas and specialized waste. It has a processing capacity of 100,000 tonnes of total integrated waste per year, of which 39,000 tonnes is e-waste. The facility can process the entire range of WEEE from consumer and industrial to commercial and military.

Notes:
Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi (99), the eminent folk artist, radio commentator, harmonium player, music composer and author, has passed away at Houston in the USA. She used music as a tool to spread the message of social equality in the days when the society considered women coming out of their homes as a taboo. Born on 1920 in Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), she had actively participated in Indian freedom struggle and represented her talent in front of freedom fighters such as Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sarvepally Radhakrishnan. She had composed and sung “Jaya Jaya Jaya Priya Bharathi”, a famous patriotic song written by her uncle Devulapally Krishna Shastry. She recently published her two books, Bava Geetalu and Compilation of Folk Songs. She was honoured with a Doctorate by Andhra University in 1977 and received a lifetime achievement award in America and ‘Queen of Folk’ award in Paris.

Notes:
Prafulla Rajguru (82), the veteran journalist and academician, has passed away in Jorhat, Assam on March 28, 2019. Rajguru had retired as the head of the department of English from DCB Girls College in Jorhat in 1997 and after his retirement he joined leading Assamese daily ‘Amar Asom’ as executive editor of the Jorhat edition where he served till 2000.Rajguru authored four books and was a member of several social organisations like the Asom Sahitya Sabha. He was also the founder president of Jorhat Press Club and was its adviser till his death.

Notes:
The researchers from Australian Antarctic Program have discovered a network of lakes lying under the ice during their 160-day expedition to the Totten Glacier, the largest in eastern Antarctica. The lakes were detected by scientists setting off small explosives 2m below the surface of the Totten glacier and listening to the reflected sound. They are discovered by using seismic studies, which were conducted to find out if there is bedrock or water, as sub-glacial lakes or ocean, under the ice. The study has shown that there are substantial amount of water found in these lakes could impact the predicted rise of the sea level. Thus, this research may help scientists predicting how melting of Antarctic glaciers would change the world’s oceans polar ice will change the world’s oceans in the future. The Totten glacier is 30km wide and up to 2km thick, and has the potential to raise sea levels by 7m. The seismic study involved setting off a series of small explosions at about 2m below the surface of the glacier.

Notes:
The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade is observed every year on 25th of March to honour and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the transatlantic slavery system. The day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice today. The 2019 theme “Remember Slavery: The Power of the Arts for Justice”, aims to recognize the importance of art in confronting slavery, to raise awareness of the struggles and to empower those who have been affected by it.

Notes:
The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended adding Break dancing, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games when the full membership meets in June. A final decision must be made by the board in December 2020 after further monitoring of the four. The addition of these four sports to the Paris medal program offers the opportunity to connect with the young generation. All four sports will be assessed in terms of how they are managed, the integrity of competitions and judging, before being finalized for Paris.

Notes:
Assam Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Sahu launched the Enajori initiative in Guwahati. It is a special initiative for persons with disabilities with an aim that ‘No Voter to be Left behind’. It is a joint initiative of CEO Assam and Social Welfare Department (SWD) with an objective to make 2019 Lok Sabha Elections accessible to Persons with Disability (PwD) voters. Under this initiative, comprehensive mapping of PwDs will be done in consultation with Booth Level Officers, Divyang Sarothis and a woman mascot-Chandraprabha, to facilitate the PwD voters for barrier-free and inclusive accessible elections. Under Enajori, sensitization programmes will be conducted by SWD to make aware the PwD voters about Braille system. A special initiative will be undertaken to make Braille voter slips and Braille ballot paper to facilitate blind voters.

Notes:
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has been awarded the “Best Sports Federation” award in the country by the Association Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM). This is another feather in the cap of the shooting sport community. NRAI is affiliated to International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC), Commonwealth Shooting Federation (CSF), South Asian Shooting Confederation and Indian Olympic Association (IOA). It was founded in 1951 with a view to promote and popularize the shooting sports in India.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has set up a multi-disciplinary terror monitoring group (MDTMG) to ensure synergised and concerted action against terror financing and terror-related activities in Jammu and Kashmir. The MDTMG will have representatives from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Intelligence Bureau, CBI, NIA, and Income Tax Department. It will also identify and take action against hardcore sympathisers among government employees, including teachers, who are providing covert or overt support to terror activities. Besides, it will also investigate the network of various channels being used to fund terror and terror related activities and take coordinated action to stop flow of such funds. The ADGP CID of JK Police will head the MDTMG which will meet on a weekly basis and submit their action taken report regularly.