Current Affairs Quiz - February 2022

Notes:
One Ocean Summit is being organised by France in cooperation with the United Nations and the World Bank.
India supported the French initiative of a ‘High Ambition Coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the conference and said that India is committed to eliminating single-use plastic.

Notes:
NASA has announced two new science missions namely Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm.
These two missions aim to study the sun’s corona and also measuring the magnetic field of the solar wind. NASA earlier announced the latest observations done by the Parker Solar probe on its way to the sun.

Notes:
The Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) is a government printing and minting agency. It functions under the Ministry of Finance.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the first colour souvenir coin on ‘Panchtantra’ on the occasion of 17th foundation day of Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).

Notes:
The International Labour Organization has condemned China for racial and religious discrimination in the Xinjiang region.
The report said that as a ILO member state, the Chinese government is firmly committed to provide decent work for all China’s ethnic minority groups including Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Notes:
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union road transport and highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the Munger Ganga Bridge.
It is named after the state’s first Chief Minster Sri Krishna. It is the third rail-cum-road bridge across the Ganges, at Munger in the Indian state of Bihar.

Notes:
French president Emmanuel Macron hosted the high-level session of the One Ocean summit in the city of Brest.
Nearly 27 EU states and 16 others agreed to pursue a global agreement by the end of year, to regulate sustainable use of oceans all across the globe. Many countries joined the “High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People” and “the High Ambition Coalition on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction”.

Notes:
The Lassa fever-causing virus is found in West Africa and was first discovered in 1969 in Lassa, Nigeria. The fever is spread by rats.
It is primarily found in countries in West Africa including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Nigeria where it is endemic. Recently, three persons were diagnosed with Lassa fever in the UK and died. The cases have been linked to travel to West African countries.

Notes:
After Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Karnataka High Court has struck down the state’s ban on online gambling, declaring it to be ultra vires under the Constitution.
The Court struck down key amendments to the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, which were brought in last year to ban all forms of gambling in the state. The Court said that the state may bring in legislation to regulate betting and gambling, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Notes:
The Texas Attorney General is suing Facebook’s parent company Meta, saying it allegedly collected biometric data on Texans for commercial purposes without their consent.
The suit claims that Facebook parent Meta has been storing millions of biometric identifiers, including retina or iris scans, voice prints, or a record of hand and face geometry.

Notes:
Rajasthan has the maximum households electrified through the solar-based standalone system, under Saubhagya scheme.
The hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir had no beneficiaries under the initiative. Rajasthan (1,23,682 households) is followed by Chhattisgarh (65,373), Uttar Pradesh (53,234).