Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2023

Notes:
The US State Department gave the nod for the sale of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers to Poland.
The HIMARS and the related equipment will be sold to Poland at a cost of around USD 10 billion. HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) is a type of artillery system that can fire long-range rockets with pinpoint accuracy. It has been used in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Notes:
Superbugs are types of germs, like bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that are not easily killed by antibiotics.
According to a recent report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), superbugs could be a major cause of death in the future. Overuse of antibiotics in animal farming and pollution from pharmaceutical companies can cause these germs to become resistant to antibiotics.

Notes:
The Yuva Sangam is an initiative which was launched to build close ties between the youth of the North East Region and rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
The Yuva Sangam registration portal was launched in New Delhi recently. Under the initiative over 20 thousand youth will travel across the country and gain opportunity of cross-cultural learning.

Notes:
India signed a MoU with Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle Joint Business Council (IMT-GT JBC), to promote adoption of energy efficiency.
The MoU was signed during the Working group meeting of G20 on energy transition at Bengaluru. The MoU aims to further promote the adoption of energy efficiency and sustainable practices. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) signed MoU with IMT-GT JBC coinciding with the India Energy Week celebrations.

Notes:
Smart Cities Mission is the Indian Government’s urban renewal program that seeks to create sustainable and citizen-centric smart cities.
It is being implemented by the Union Ministry of Housing Urban Affairs in collaboration with the state governments. As many as 22 smart cities are expected to complete all projects under the Smart Cities Mission. The remaining 78 smart cities under this mission are expected to complete their projects in the next 3 to 4 months.

Notes:
The Tanimbar corella, which is also referred to as Goffin’s cockatoo, is a type of cockatoo that is found exclusively in the forests of Yamdena, Larat, and Selaru islands in the Tanimbar Islands archipelago in Indonesia.
It was later introduced to the Kai Islands, Singapore, and Puerto Rico. A new study found that Goffin’s cockatoos are capable of combining multiple tools to achieve a complex task that is only been recorded in humans and chimpanzees.

Notes:
Presidents’ Day is a federal holiday in the US that is celebrated on the third Monday of February every year.
The holiday is a tribute to past US presidents, particularly George Washington, who was born on February 22.  The significance of the holiday is to pay tribute to the leaders who have served the country.

Notes:
According to a new forecast released by the International Energy Agency, Asia will use half of the world’s electricity by 2025, for the first time.
As per the annual report, China will be consuming more electricity than the European Union, United States and India combined. Africa, which is home to almost a fifth of world’s nearly 8 billion inhabitants, will account for just 3% of global electricity consumption in 2025.

Notes:
The 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was held on a virtual platform. India and Philippines co-chaired the meeting and adopted India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2023.
In 2022, ASEAN India Friendship Year was celebrated, commemorating 30th anniversary of establishment of dialogue relations with ASEAN. It was held under the theme ‘Synergy Towards a Sustainable Digital Future’.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia will send its first ever woman astronaut on a space mission later this year. The woman astronaut Rayyana Barnawi will join Ali Al-Qarni on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
They will fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as part of a mission by the private space company Axiom Space. Along with them will be Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut. UAE was the first Arab country to send one of its citizens into space in 2019.