Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
Parambikulam Tiger Reserve is situated in Kerala in the Western Ghats. A Division Bench of the Kerala HC has ordered the wild elephant locally called ‘Arikompan’ to be captured, radio-collared and translocated to this protected area.
The Forest department approached the Assam government to procure a Satellite Radio Collar to be attached to the wild tusker in Idukki before it is translocated from Idukki to Parambikulam.

 

Notes:
B-52H strategic bomber is a long-range, supersonic, jet-powered strategic heavy bomber capable of carrying nuclear arsenals.
It was recently used during the bilateral air drills between South Korea and the United States.  In recent weeks, North Korea has tested an underwater nuclear-capable drone and an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Notes:
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) Mission is scheduled to be launched on April 13 this year. It will explore Jupiter and its satellites – Callisto, Ganymede and Europa.
The spacecraft will launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana to the biggest planet in the solar system. ‘Juice’ will monitor Jupiter’s complex magnetic, radiation, and plasma environment in depth and its interplay with the moons.

Notes:
Siren sphagnicola is a newly discovered species of Siren. Sirens are elongated eel-like aquatic salamanders.
The species was found in the seepage areas in the eastern Gulf Coastal Plain of the US. One of these species, Siren reticulata, was recently described.

Notes:
As per the report released by US-based Global Energy Monitor, the operating coal fleet grew by 19.5 gigawatt in 2022 globally.
As per the report, the war between Russia and Ukraine resulted in a slowdown of coal retirements. China accounted for 59 per cent of the new coal capacity while Bangladesh ranked the 9th among the rest of the countries after India, Pakistan, Vietnam and Indonesia, among others.

Notes:
The Supreme Court set aside the orders passed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) on January 31, 2022, and the Kerala High Court on March 2, 2022, refusing to renew Malayalam news channel Media One’s broadcast license.
The apex court recently quashed the ‘sealed cover’ ban on Media One after the channel argued that it went against the principles of natural justice.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam have signed a joint declaration of intent to launch talks on establishing a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.
The UAE is Vietnam’s largest trade partner in the Arab countries, accounting for 39% of its total trade, and the volume of non-oil trade between the two countries reached USD 8 billion in 2022.

Notes:
Indian government approved a project to build an advanced gravitational-wave detector in Maharashtra at an estimated cost of Rs 2,600 crore.
In the US, there are already two such LIGO observatories. The third such cutting-edge gravitational-wave observatory will be LIGO-India. The facility is expected to be completed by 2030.

Notes:
Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus is a contagious and deadly viral hepatitis that affects adult domesticated and wild rabbits.
The rabbits are threatening the bio-diversity and agriculture of the southern region of Central Otago. New Zealand is currently considering the use of the virus that causes this disease to cull the rabbits, which are turning into a plague.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Washington DC to attend the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), along with G20 meetings, Investor/ Bilateral meetings, and other associated meetings.
Finance Minister Sitharaman and RBI Shaktikanta Das will jointly chair the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting.