ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: C

• In a concerning development, scientists are sounding the alarm about the potential spread of a condition known as chronic wasting disease (CWD), often referred to as “zombie deer disease,” from animals to humans.
• The CWD has been labelled by the experts as a ”slow-moving disaster” and the governments are being strongly advised to prepare for the chances of its transmission to humans.

ABOUT CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE

• Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose.
  • Prion diseases occur when normal prion protein, found on the surface of many cells, becomes abnormal and clump in the brain, causing brain damage.
• It has been found in some areas of North America, including Canada and the United States, Norway and South Korea.
• It may take over a year before an infected animal develops symptoms, which can include drastic weight loss (wasting), stumbling, listlessness and other neurologic symptoms.
• The illness, which is also known as ‘Zombie Deer Disease’, leaves animals drooling and confused.
• CWD can affect animals of all ages and some infected animals may die without ever developing the disease.
• CWD is fatal to animals and there are no treatments or vaccines.

ANSWER: A

• The Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) located in Gurugram played a quiet but crucial role in the backend as the hijacking incident of (Merchant Vessel) M.V. Ruen unfolded by coordinating between the Navy and with the ship owner.

ABOUT IFC-IOR

• The IFC-IOR was inaugurated on December 2018.
• The IFC-IOR is located within the premises of the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC), the nodal agency for maritime data fusion set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks which itself is set to be upgraded into the National Maritime Domain Awareness (NDMA) centre in the near future.
  • IMAC is jointly operated by the Navy and Coast Guard.
  • It is the main centre of the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence System (NC3I).
• The centre aims to strengthen maritime security in the region and beyond, by building a common coherent maritime situational picture and acting as a maritime security information sharing hub for the region.
• The centre currently hosts 12 International Liaison Officers (ILOs) from Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, U.K. and U.S. and actively collaborates with 43 multinational constructs and over 25 partner countries.

ANSWER: B

• Kerala government has urged the Centre to speed up measures for building a new dam at Mullaperiyar in Idukki district.
• The request to the Centre was forwarded at a meeting with Central Water Commission Chairman.

ABOUT CWC

• CWC was earlier known as Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commissione. CWINC.
• It was established in 1945 on the advice of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Member (Labour) in Viceroy’s Executive Council.
• It is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• The CWC is headed by a Chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.
• The work of the Commission is divided among 3 wings namely –
  • Designs and Research (D&R) Wing,
  • River Management (RM) Wing and
  • Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing.

ANSWER: C

• New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) sought public opinion on proposed demolition of Sunehri Masjid.

ABOUT SUNEHRI MASJID

• The historic Sunehri Masjid lies in the heart of Lutyens Delhi, near Udyog Bhavan.
• It is an 18th-century mosque in Old Delhi.
• It was built by Mughal noble Roshan-ud-Daula, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah.
• Many believe that the mosque was built 200 years ago, using lakhori bricks.
• It housed freedom fighters like Maulana Hasrat.
• The Masjid is listed as a Grade-III Heritage building as per a 2009 notification of the Delhi government.

ANSWER: D

• Former world and Asian championships medallist wrestler Pooja Dhanda has been issued a one-year suspension by India’s National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for three whereabouts failures in a year.

DETAILS

• An Athlete in NADA’s Registered Testing Pool is required to provide the whereabouts information every quarter which includes: Home address, email address and phone number, an address for overnight accommodations, Competition schedules and locations and a 60-minute time slot for each day where they’ll be available and accessible for testing and liable for a potential ‘missed test’.
• Any combination of three Whereabouts Failures (filing failures and/or missed tests) within a 12-month period constitutes an Anti-Doping Rule Violation under NADA Anti Doping Rules – Article 2.4, which may lead to the imposition of a sanction for up to 4 years.

ANSWER: C

• The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) of the ISRO, has developed an analysis software Finite Element Analysis of Structures Software (FEAST).
• It is used to perform Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of various types of structures including rockets, aircraft, satellites, buildings, etc.
• Operable in both Windows and Linux operating systems, the software is capable of running on systems with minimal hardware configurations.
• FEAST is available in three versions, based on the sophisticating levels and requirements of a broad category of users —
  • academic (for students and educational institutions),
  • premium (for small and medium scale industries) and
  • professional (for general large scale applications).

ABOUT FEA

• FEA is a computerised method for predicting how a component or a structure reacts to real-world forces– like various types of structural loads, thermal conditions and other physical effects that a structure experiences while in operation.

ANSWER: D

• Three islands in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, namely the Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa have become a bone contention between Iran and UAE.

 IRAN’S STAND

• Iran claims that the islands have been part of Persian states since the ancient past and it took control of the three islands after British forces withdrew in 1971.
• It considers them an “inseparable” part of its territory.
• Iran asserts that it has an agreement with Sharjah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, which gives it the right to administer Abu Musa and station troops there.

UAE’S STAND

• The UAE asserts ownership of the disputed islands, with
• Ras al-Khaimah claiming Greater and Lesser Tunbs, and
• Sharjah claiming Abu Musa.