Current Affairs Quiz ,24 May 2019

1) Which of the following country/ies were recently certified malaria-free by WHO?

a) Algeria
b) India
c) Argentina
d) Both a and c

Answer: d
• Algeria and Argentina have been officially recognized by WHO as malaria-free. The certification is granted when a country proves that it has interrupted indigenous transmission of the disease for at least 3 consecutive years.
• Contracted through the bite of an infected mosquito, malaria remains one of the world’s leading killers, with an estimated 219 million cases and over 400000 malaria-related deaths in 2017. Approximately 60% of fatalities are among children aged under 5 years.

2) White-throated rail is a chicken-sized bird indigenous to which country?

a) Brazil
b) Madagascar
c) Russia
d) Slovenia

Answer: b
• The white-throated rail is a chicken-sized bird, indigenous to Madagascar in the south-western Indian Ocean. They are persistent colonisers of isolated islands, who would have frequent population explosions and migrate in great numbers from Madagascar.

3) Zarengold is the first Arctic tourist train service launched by

a) Russia
b) Finland
c) Sweden
d) Canada

Answer: a
• The first tourist train traveling through Russia’s Arctic region and on to Norway set off from Saint Petersburg station with 91 passengers aboard for the inaugural trial journey.
• The train, named “Zarengold” (“The Tsar’s gold” in German) complete with two restaurant cars will travel from Saint Petersburg through Petrozavodsk, the historic town of Kem and Murmansk.

4) ‘Garuda’ air exercise is conducted between India and

a) Indonesia
b) Russia
c) UK
d) France

Answer: d
• The Indian and French air forces will carry out a two-week-long mega air exercise beginning July 1 in France in a boost to military-to-military ties between the two countries, officials said.
• A fleet of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force will engage in dogfights with France’s Rafale multirole aircraft in simulated scenarios as part of the ‘Garuda’ exercise

5) BrahMos, recently seen in news, is a

a) Anti-tank missile
b) Supersonic cruise missile
c) Subsonic ballistic missile
d) Scramjet ballistic missile

Answer: b
• The Indian Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) research arm, the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO), has test fired an anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur
• The BrahMos is a derivative of the Russian-made P-800 Oniks over-the-horizon supersonic anti-ship cruise missile with a range estimated at between 300 to 400 kilometers. It is thought to be one of the world’s fastest cruise missiles currently in operational use.