Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2023

Notes:
Hwasong-18 ICBM is a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile developed by North Korea. It was test fired recently to confirm the performance of the high-thrust solid-fuel engines, the stage-jettisoning technology and various functional control systems.

Notes:
‘Icaronycteris gunnelli’ is the oldest known bat species found in the Fossil Lake deposits of the Green River Formation of Wyoming in the United States.
The extinct species had lived in North America some 52 million years ago.

Notes:
Satuani is a festival related to nature. The traditional harvest festival will be celebrated in North India mainly in Bihar to mark the start of the summer season.
It includes eating sattu made out of lentil flour. Jur Sital, also known as Maithili new year will be observed on the next day of Satuani.

Notes:
Bohag Bihu is an ethnic festival celebrated in North-eastern India, especially in Assam. This year, this 7-day festival will be celebrated in Assam from April 14 to April 20.
It celebrates the onset of the Assamese new year. It is also called as the Rongali Bihu. The first day of the Bihu is dedicated to cattle, which provides livelihood.

Notes:
The European Space Agency has successfully launched its mission to Jupiter’s moons. The Ariane 5 rocket was launched from the ESA’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) project aims to send a satellite on an eight-year journey to reach the icy moons of the planet, gas giant.

Notes:
The ‘Global Conference on Compressed Biogas’ was organised in New Delhi under the theme of “Towards Progressive Policy Framework for a Robust CBG Foundation and Growth.”
Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE): Compressed Biogas (CBG) Producer Forum organised the conference, which is also supported by Ministry for Petroleum & Natural Gas.

Notes:
The blastomyces fungus is linked to the recent outbreak of “atypical” pneumonia among the employees of the Escanaba Billerud Paper Mill in the US.
The fungus is endemic to Michigan and is generally found in moist soil and decomposing wood. If disturbed, microscopic spores from the fungus can get dispersed in air and travel freely. Human beings can contract blastomycosis by inhaling the spores.

Notes:
In 2018, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud read down the law that criminalized homosexuality, citing the idea of indirect discrimination where seemingly neutral laws could disproportionately disadvantage a group.
This marked the first time that indirect discrimination was recognized in the equality jurisprudence by the Supreme Court.

Notes:
Aragam village of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district is set to be converted into India’s largest book village to promote Kashmiri literature and culture.
The initiative is jointly implemented by Pune-based NGO ‘Sarhad’ and the Jammu and Kashmir Government.

Notes:
Miguel Diaz-Canel recently became the first non-Castro leader in Cuba to be re-elected as president. He won a second five-year term in a parliamentary vote that had him as the sole candidate. The 62-year-old leader took over the reins in 2018 as Cuba’s first civilian leader after around 60 years of hegemony by the Castro brothers.