Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
The researchers at NASA space agency has found evidence for a unique mixture of methanol, water ice, and organic molecules on the surface of Ultima Thule, which is located in the Kuiper Belt – beyond the orbit of Neptune. The mixture is very different from most icy objects explored previously by spacecraft. Ultima Thule (also known as 2014 MU69) is 4 billion miles from Earth and has captured scientists’ curiosity since they discovered it had a snowman-like appearance. It has two distinct, flat segments and is thought to be an “ancient relic,” likely forming “billions of years ago”. The research also sheds new light on Ultima Thule’s geology and composition. The 22-mile-long object probably formed after the two lobes orbited each other. However, it’s still unknown what caused them to merge into the object seen today. Scientists have also found new features on Ultima Thule, including several bright spots, patches and craters, including a 5-mile-wide depression that likely formed from some kind of impact.

Notes:
India’s social media platform – Helo has become the official team sponsor of Indian Wheelchair Cricket Association for 2019 Asia Cup, which has started on May 15 in Nepal. This association makes Helo the first social media app to host and promote Indian Wheelchair Cricket on its platform. As part of the association, Helo will now be the official digital media partner for the team during the tournament. In preparation for the tournament, more than 200 Wheelchair Cricket players have joined Helo as part of this campaign to connect with their local communities across India. The Wheelchair Cricket Association is affiliated to the Disabled Sporting Society and has 16 state teams under it. The players are 70-90 per cent physically challenged and will do batting, bowling, fielding and running on wheelchairs only.

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially recognized Algeria and Argentina as malaria-free countries, after no new cases of the deadly disease have been reported for at least 3 consecutive years. As per WHO, there were now 38 countries and territories that have been declared free of the disease. Algeria, where the malaria parasite was discovered by French physician Dr. Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran in 1880, is only the second country in Africa to reach this milestone. The other is Mauritius, which was recognized as malaria-free in 1973. Argentina is the 2nd country in 45 years to be officially recognized as malaria-free in the WHO Region of the Americas, after Paraguay in June 2018. Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted through the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes. The disease is both preventable and treatable.

Notes:
On May 21, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended a two-day meeting of the 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Ms. Swaraj took up terror strikes at Pulwama and Sri Lanka and urged member nations of SCO for greater counter-terror cooperation. She said that India is open to strengthen the Regional Anti-Terror Structure (RATS) of SCO to fight terrorism and security challenges in the region. She added that SCO must support the member countries’ candidatures for the non-permanent membership of UNSC for the years 2021-2022 and 2027-2028. The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Along with India, Pakistan was also granted the SCO membership in 2017.

Notes:
The World Bee Day (WBD) is celebrated every year on May 20 to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem. It provides an opportunity for governments, organizations, civil society and concerned citizens everywhere to promote actions that will protect and enhance pollinators and their habitats, improve their abundance and diversity, and support the sustainable development of beekeeping. 20 May coincides with the birthday of Anton Janaa, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention. The 2019 theme ‘Save the Bees’ is meant to raise awareness on the increasing need to preserve bees and other pollinators.

Notes:
Dr. Hema Divakar, a Bengaluru-based medical doctor, has been honoured with the ‘Global Asian of the Year 2018-19’ award in Dubai recently for her yeomen services and contributions to the women’s healthcare ecosystem, in India. Dr. Divakar received the award at the Asian Business & Social Forum 2019 under the ‘In Service of the Society and the Nation’ category from UAE’s Trade Promotion Director Mohammed Naser Hamdan Al Zaabi. The award is conferred on those who stand out for vision, action and ingenuity and represent contemporary ideas to make global impact.

Notes:
Sethu FC has clinched their first ever Indian Women’s League trophy after defeating Manipur Police 3-1 at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on May 22, 2019. The Sethu FC is an Indian women’s football club based in Tamil Nadu. The Indian Women’s League is the top division women’s professional football league in India. The 2018-19 season is the third season of the Indian Women’s League. The league is ran by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Notes:
German payments company Wirecard has teamed up with India to simplify the process of issuing tax identity cards required to open bank accounts, transfer money or complete business transactions. The deal, with state company UTI Infrastructure Technology and Financial Services, seeks to widen the distribution of so-called PAN cards in the country of 1.3 billion where most people still live and work in the informal economy. Munich-based Wirecard, founded in 1999, runs a digital payments platform that handles payments for merchants and issues real and ‘virtual’ payment cards to consumers. It mainly operates under arrangements that allow their partners to rebrand their products. Wirecard is already has a presence in India and its network of 15,000 retail agents in 350 cities would help collect and scan in the documents that people need to apply for a PAN card.

Notes:
NASA has recently unveiled the calendar for the “Artemis” program that will return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in half a century. It will also include 8 scheduled launches and a mini-station in lunar orbit by 2024. The original lunar missions were named for Apollo — Artemis was his twin sister in Greek mythology, and the goddess of hunting, wilderness and the Moon. The acronym ‘ARTEMIS’ stands for ‘Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun’. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine confirmed that Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed mission around the Moon planned for 2020. Next will come Artemis 2, which will orbit Earth’s satellite with a crew around 2022; followed finally by Artemis 3 that will put astronauts on lunar soil in 2024, including the first woman. All the three will be launched into space by the Boeing-led Space Launch System (SLS), the biggest rocket of all time.

Notes:
The workhorse of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Russian made AN-32 transport aircraft was formally fleet certified to fly on a blended bio-jet fuel partly derived from trees. The fuel will be 10% tree-derived and 90% conventional aviation fuel. The IAF has plans to widen the experiment over the next two years. The approval for use of bio-fuel to fly the Russian made fleet was given by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC). The indigenous bio-jet fuel was first produced by the CSIR-IIP lab at Dehradun in 2013, but could not be tested or certified for commercial use on aircraft due to lack of test facilities in the civil aviation sector. This is a huge step in promoting the ‘Make in India’ mission as this bio-fuel would be produced from Tree Borne Oils (TBOs) sourced from tribal areas.