Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2023

Notes:
Veteran Bollywood actress Waheeda Rehman has been conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, which is given for “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”, for the year 2021.
It was conferred by the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s Directorate of Film Festivals. The award is presented at the National Film Awards ceremony. The 2021 awards were presented this year as they were delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notes:
Due to record-breaking rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, the state is witnessing a surge in ‘chiggers’, a vector for Orientia tsutsugamushi, the pathogen responsible for causing scrub typhus.
The state has recorded over 1,000 cases of the disease in 2023, twice the number recorded last year. Fifteen people have died due to scrub typhus in the state so far.

Notes:
Scientists have issued a warning about the spread of a parasitic brain worm called ‘Rat lungworm’ (Angiostrongylus cantonensis), in the southeastern United States.
This invasive parasite can be contracted by consuming tainted food, including fresh produce and escargots.

Notes:
Researchers at the European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) conducted an experiment with antimatter, demonstrating that it responds to gravity by falling, consistent with the behavior of ordinary matter, aligning with Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
Despite the expected equal production of matter and antimatter during the Big Bang, very little antimatter exists, and the two are incompatible, leading to annihilation upon contact.

Notes:
Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou railway line is China’s first near the Taiwan Strait. It will travel along the coast of the southeastern province of Fujian.
This is China’s first cross-sea, rapid line with bullet train. This first high-speed rail line which spans 277 km, crosses three coastal bays, and reaches speeds of 350 km/h.

Notes:
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen launched the island’s first domestically made submarine for testing at a port in Kaohsiung.
The submarine, if successful in its tests, will be a major breakthrough for Taiwan in shipbuilding and design.

Notes:
The Sycamore Gap Tree is a famous sycamore tree situated in a dip between two hills in Northumberland, England. It was among the UK’s most-photographed trees.
This 300-year-old tree has been cut down by a teenager in an attempt of vandalism. Hadrian’s Wall, which is almost 2,000 years old and stands next to the sycamore, sustained some damage.

Notes:
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart 2023 was inaugurated in New Delhi by the Ministry of Tourism.
The PATA is a not-for-profit organization, which aims to promote responsible travel and tourism development in the Asia Pacific region.

Notes:
The United States Congress recently passed a stopgap funding bill to avert government shutdown.
A shutdown was anticipated, where most of the government’s 4 million employees would not get paid and also would shutter a range of federal services, from National Parks to financial regulators.

Notes:
The mixed doubles pair of Rohan Bopanna and Rutuja Bhosale beat Chinese Taipei pair En-shuo Liang and Tsung-hao Huang in the finals to clinch gold at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou.
Earlier, another Indian duo Ramanathan Ramkumar and Saket Myneni bag silver in the men’s doubles.