Current Affairs Quiz - May 2025

Notes:
A six-year-old girl in Kerala’s Malappuram district sadly died of rabies even after getting preventive vaccination, highlighting a serious public health concern. Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease caused by the Rabies virus (RABV), which attacks the nervous system. Rabies virus is an RNA virus from the rhabdovirus family and spreads in two main ways in the body. It can directly enter the peripheral nervous system and reach the brain. Or it can first hide and multiply in muscle tissue, then move into the nervous system through neuromuscular junctions. Once in the brain, it causes severe and deadly inflammation.

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Kamla Persad-Bissessar has been elected as the next Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago after her party, United National Congress, won the parliamentary elections. This marks a strong comeback for the 73-year-old leader who earlier served as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015. She remains the only woman ever to have led the Caribbean nation. Trinidad and Tobago is a twin-island country in the Caribbean with its capital at Port of Spain.

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Researchers at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) have developed a 3D computational model to study thermoregulation in space. It shows that microgravity consistently increases human core body temperature, which is important for long-duration space missions. Microgravity is a condition of near-weightlessness experienced when objects are in free fall around Earth, not the absence of gravity. In microgravity, normal body functions like heat regulation are altered due to changes in blood flow and metabolism. The IIST model includes sweating, shivering, clothing, and organ heat to simulate real human conditions in space.

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On May 2, 2025, Australian boatbuilder Incat launched the world’s largest electric-powered ship, named Hull 096. The ship is a 130-metre-long aluminium catamaran designed for South American ferry operator Buquebus. It can carry 2,100 passengers and up to 225 vehicles across the River Plate between Buenos Aires and Uruguay. Hull 096 is powered by over 250 tonnes of batteries with an Energy Storage System (ESS) providing more than 40 megawatt hours of capacity. It was initially planned to run on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) but was later converted to battery power. The launch highlights a major step towards reducing maritime carbon emissions, which account for about three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This comes after the International Maritime Organization (IMO) voted for a global carbon pricing system, with cleaner fuels required by 2028.

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Archaeologists have recently discovered prehistoric tools from the Lower Paleolithic age at Mangar Bani, highlighting its ancient human presence. Mangar Bani is a sacred grove and Paleolithic site located in the Aravalli hills on the Delhi-Haryana border. It lies within the only primary forest in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), meaning the forest is largely untouched by human activities and contains native tree species. Evidence shows continuous human occupation from around 100,000 years before present (BP) to 1000 AD. The site also has rock shelters and ancient rock and cave paintings estimated to be 20,000 to 40,000 years old.

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The Election Commission of India (ECI) will soon launch a new digital platform called ECINET to streamline electoral services. ECINET is a single-point user-friendly interface for voters, election officials, political parties, and civil society. It will integrate over 40 existing mobile and web apps of the ECI into one platform. Popular apps like Voter Helpline, Voter Turnout, cVIGIL, Suvidha 2.0, Electoral Search and Management System (ESMS), Saksham, and Know Your Candidate (KYC) will be merged into ECINET. It will offer a clean User Interface (UI) and smooth User Experience (UX), reducing the need to download multiple apps. ECINET will follow the Representation of the People Act 1950, 1951, and related rules and guidelines.

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Rajasthan has recently joined Madhya Pradesh in forming India’s first inter-state Cheetah conservation corridor. The total area of this corridor is 17,000 square kilometres, with 10,500 sq km in Madhya Pradesh and 6,500 sq km in Rajasthan. Kuno National Park in Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, is the main site under the cheetah reintroduction project. Gandhi Sagar Sanctuary in Mandsaur is selected as the second cheetah habitat in Madhya Pradesh. Rajasthan districts like Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli, and Chittorgarh are part of the corridor. The project gets support from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. K. Stalin announced that May 5 will officially be declared as Traders’ Day in the state. This aligns with the day already observed by Tamil Nadu Traders’ Associations annually. The announcement was made at the 42nd annual meeting of the Traders’ Association in Maduranthakam.

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The 2025 World Bank Land Conference took place at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The theme for this year’s conference is “Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action.” It aims to highlight how secure land rights can support environmental goals and climate resilience. The conference encourages policy-focused research and cross-sectoral exchange of ideas and practices. India’s Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) Scheme is gaining global praise for using drone technology to map rural land and provide ownership rights. The Gram Manchitra platform is also being recognised for helping villages plan development activities using spatial data.

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Chinese scientists recently used classical Chinese poems to trace the decline of the Yangtze finless porpoise from the Tang Dynasty to the People’s Republic of China. This is the only known freshwater porpoise species in the world and is found only in the Yangtze River, the longest river in Asia. The study showcases how ancient literature can help track biodiversity changes across more than 1,000 years. The Yangtze finless porpoise is small, slow-moving, and shows intelligence like gorillas. It is a key indicator species of freshwater health and is listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.