Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2024

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Observed annually on May 31st, World No Tobacco Day 2024 focuses on “Protecting Children From Tobacco Industry Interference.” The theme aims to safeguard young people from the harmful effects of tobacco and calls on the industry to cease targeting the youth with detrimental products.

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Over 400 delegates convened in Livingstone, Zambia, for the first Kavango-Zambezi (KAZA) Trans-Frontier Conservation Area summit. The summit aims to assess progress since KAZA-TFCA’s inception, review the 2016 Memorandum of Understanding, and reinforce the 2011 KAZA Treaty. The theme focuses on using KAZA’s natural and cultural resources for socio-economic development. KAZA-TFCA spans 520,000 square kilometers across five southern African countries.

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Pakistan launched the Multi-Mission Communication Satellite (PAKSAT MM1) from China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, part of Pakistan’s National Space Programme 2047. The satellite aims to enhance internet connectivity, TV broadcasts, cellular phones, broadband, e-commerce, and e-governance in Pakistan. Recently, Pakistan also launched the mini satellite ‘iCube-Qamar’ with China’s Chang’e-6 lunar mission. Previous space assets include BADR-A, BADR-B, PAKSAT 1-R, PRSS-1, PakTes 1-A, and iCube-Qamar.

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Morni Hills, Haryana’s lone hill station, recently battled a severe forest fire amid scorching temperatures exceeding 46°C. The blaze spread rapidly through the arid landscape, engulfing shrubs, bushes, and trees. Situated in the Shivalik range at 3,600 feet above sea level, Morni Hills harbor diverse flora and fauna. Haryana features various hills and ranges, including the Shivalik in the north and the Aravalli stretching from southwest Haryana to Delhi, with Morni Hills in Panchkula and Dhosi Hills in Mahendragarh known for its extinct volcano.

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The Adani group has ventured into the port business in Tanzania, securing a 30-year lease for Container Terminal 2 at Dar es Salaam Port. This deal, signed with Tanzania Ports Authority, expands Adani’s global footprint. Meanwhile, Indian Ports Global Ltd secured a 10-year deal to manage Iran’s Shahid Beheshti terminal at Chabahar Port. Dar es Salaam Port, Tanzania’s main port, handles 83% of the country’s container volume, with Container Terminal 2 boasting a capacity of 1 million TEUs.

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Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) allocates funds for canopy bridges aiding Hoolock Gibbon, India’s lone ape, to traverse railway tracks in eastern Assam. Gibbons, Asia’s smallest and fastest apes, inhabit tropical forests. Hoolock Gibbon, India’s sole ape species, dwells in Assam, Meghalaya, and other northeastern states. Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary hosts a significant population. They’re diurnal, monogamous, and vocal communicators. Endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon and Vulnerable Eastern Hoolock Gibbon face conservation concerns.

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Indian researchers have recently uncovered a new ant species, Paraparatrechina neela, in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote Siang Valley. Belonging to the rare genus Paraparatrechina, this species is distinguished by its metallic blue color, reflected in its name “neela,” meaning blue in many Indian languages. It marks the first discovery of a new Paraparatrechina species in 121 years, showcasing its unique features like a subtriangular head and distinct coloration.

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The Sundhnukagigar Volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted for the fifth time since December 2023. Iceland, known as the Land of Fire and Ice, sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where Eurasian and North American plates diverge, making it volcanically active. Hotspots, like the Reunion hotspot, and divergent plate margins, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, contribute to volcanic activity. Volcanoes, vents in the Earth’s crust, release gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide upon eruption.

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The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) lost contact with Akatsuki, launched in 2010 as Japan’s first successful mission to another planet. Akatsuki, in an equatorial orbit around Venus, aimed to study its toxic atmosphere and volcanic surface, weather patterns, lightning, and super-rotation caused by strong winds. It complemented ESA’s Venus Express, operational until 2014, using ultraviolet and infrared cameras to globally map clouds and atmospheric structures.

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Scientists discovered that green-beard genes drive natural altruism in the amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. These genes enable individuals to recognize and cooperate with each other, potentially causing harmful behavior towards those with different gene versions. Altruism in nature involves behavior where an animal acts in a way that may be harmful to itself but benefits others of its species.