ANSWER: A

 ANSWER: C

 ANSWER: B

 ANSWER: A

• According to research by Microsoft and Citizen Lab, spyware developed by Israeli company has been used against journalists, opposition figures and advocacy organizations across at least 10 countries.
• Spyware developed by QuaDream is a no-interaction-needed hacking tool, known as “Zero-Click”.
• Zero-Click tools can remotely compromise devices without an owner needing to open a malicious link or download a tainted attachment.
• Zero-click attacks often rely on zero-days, which are vulnerabilities that are unknown to the software maker and for which no fix is presently available.
  • Earlier, Pegasus was also such a spyware.
• Zero-click attacks are hard to detect given their nature and hence even harder to prevent.
• Detection becomes even harder in encrypted environments where there is no visibility on the data packets being sent or received.

 ANSWER: A

• Unified Portal of CBN was launched recently to facilitate a balance between narcotics substance availability for medical/scientific/industrial use and law compliance.
• The portal is designed to be integrated with other government services, including Bharat Kosh, GST, PAN-NSDL validation, e-Sanchit, and UIDAI, providing single-point services for obtaining licenses from the Central Bureau of Narcotics.
• It’ll instil efficiency and transparency and reduce time taken by pharma industry to get a trade licence.

About CBN

• CBN is a subordinate office under Department of Revenue of Ministry of Finance.
• It deals with international trade of narcotic drugs, under ambit of various United Nations Conventions and provisions of Narcotics Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

 ANSWER: C

• Sewri Fort will get flamingo-viewing gallery as part of its makeover in Mumbai.

About Sewri fort

• It is a fort in Mumbai built by British in 1680 at Sewri, Island of Parcel.
• It was served as watch tower, atop a quarried hill overlooking the Mumbai Harbour.
• In 1689, The Siddi general Yadi Sakat invaded Mumbai and they first captured the Sewri Fort.
  • The Siddhis were allies of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
• It had a garrison of 50 sepoys and was managed by a subedar or local chief. It was also armed with eight to ten cannons.
• This fort is later also involved in the battle that repelled The Portuguese attack in 1772.
• It was later used as a jail, but today it stands neglected in many parts.
• Still, parts of the fort have been protected by the state’s department of archaeology and museums.

It serves as the site of the annual Flamingo Festival.

 ANSWER: B

• US President is visiting Northern Ireland to mark 25^th anniversary of Good Friday Agreement.
• GFA was signed in 1998, between factions of Northern Ireland, and governments of Britain and Ireland, to end 30 years of violence known as ‘The Troubles’.
• The agreement is hailed as a model deal to end long-standing conflicts, and fetched a joint Nobel peace prize for David Trimble and John Hume, then leaders of the two opposing parties in Northern Ireland.
• Northern Ireland, created in 1921 by partitioning Ireland, remained with United Kingdom after Ireland’s independence from UK.
• This resulted in violence between those who wished to remain with UK and those who wanted to join Ireland.

ANSWER: D

• Iran recently tested a homemade long-range, high-precision kamikaze drone named Meraj-532, equipped with a 50-kg warhead.

About Meraj-532:

• It is a kamikaze drone equipped with a piston engine having a range of 450 km.
• It is capable of flying at a maximum altitude of 12,000 feet for three straight hours.
• It has a 50-kg warhead and can be assembled and prepared for flight easily, making it suitable for rapid reaction operations.

About Kamikaze drones

• These are also called suicide drone or, more formally, a loitering munition,
• It is an unmanned aerial vehicle that is designed to self-destruct after serving its purpose.
• They can hover around the target area for some time (much longer than a cruise missile) and attack only once a target is located.
• It may also feature a built-in warhead or payload, which is intended to detonate during the engagement.

 ANSWER: C

• France is hosting the multinational wargame codenamed Orion, which is expected to be held from the third week of April to May 5. This exercise will involve various countries, including India, and will test their combat capabilities in a simulated war scenario.
• The aim of the exercise is to test the preparedness of the participating countries’ air forces and their ability to operate in a multi-national environment.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in Orion with its Rafale fighter jets from the Western Air Command’s Golden Arrows squadron.
• Some 7,000 NATO troops have reportedly participated in the drill involving the land forces of their NATO allies.

 ANSWER: C

• Hikikomori is a widespread issue in Japan, with an estimated 1.5 million working-age people living in isolation.
• The term hikikomori was coined in Japan in the 1990s to describe young adults who had withdrawn from society and remained isolated in their homes for extended durations.
• Hikikomori is not a clinical diagnosis but rather a social issue that affects individuals who choose to isolate themselves from society due to various reasons, including social anxiety, depression, academic pressure, and bullying.

 ANSWER: A

• Himachal Pradesh’s economy is largely banking on agriculture and animal husbandry. With a livestock population of about 4.41 million, their care is an essential part of every rural household.
• The state government has initiated a project named Sanjeevani in this regard.
• The project aims to enhance the lives of farmers by providing them with convenient and high-quality livestock care services at their doorstep, utilizing telemedicine and technology.
• This will aid in reducing the turnaround time for services and potentially prevent outbreaks.
• The Animal Husbandry Department of Himachal Pradesh has collaborated with Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd. (BFIL), a subsidiary of IndusInd Bank, for the National Animal Disease Control Programme-Mobile Veterinary Van (NADCP-AHD-MVU) project.
• The collaboration aims to provide doorstep livestock care through a toll-free telephone number that will be operational soon.
• The project intends to ensure the timely delivery of quality treatment to livestock, saving farmers the additional expenses of traveling for availing veterinary services like artificial insemination, medicines, vaccination, surgery, and infertility testing.