QUIZ – 2016: Insights Current Affairs Quiz – 9 & 10 October, 2016

Solution: d.

You must know two facts in order to answer this question (to eliminate one of the options between ‘c’ and ‘d’ only.. A hurricane either rotates in a CW or an ACW direction, therefore options ‘a’ and ‘b’ automatically get eliminated). First, figure out where Haiti is – north or south of the equator? It’s North. Next, you must know how the Coriolis force works. The Coriolis force causes deflection of winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere whereas it causes deflection of winds to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Consequently, you know that the hurricane was (is) rotating in an anticlockwise direction.

Watch the following video to easily understand how the Coriolis force works: https://youtu.be/i2mec3vgeaI

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Question Source: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161007-unique-views-of-deadly-hurricane-matthew

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Solution: b.

• CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
• Today, it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants, whether they are traded as live specimens, fur coats or dried herbs.
• It is an international agreement to which States (countries) adhere voluntarily. Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties – in other words they have to implement the Convention – it does not take the place of national laws. Rather it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national level.

Primary Source: https://cites.org/eng/disc/what.php

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Question Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37541378

Solution: d.

• “The Indian Pangolin is distributed in South Asia from parts of eastern Pakistan through much of India south of the Himalayas (excluding northeastern portions of the country), Southern Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
• In India, this species is widely distributed from the plains and lower hills south of the Himalayas to extreme southern India.

Primary source: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/12761/0

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Question Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37494823

Solution: a.

The Clouded Leopard and the Hoolock Gibbon in India are found only around the Northeast region.

“In India, clouded leopards are restricted to the country’s north-east: the eastern Himalayas, the Assam valley, and the hills south of the Brahmaputra….. In upper Assam, the last vestiges of rainforests lie scattered, fragmented by pockets of agriculture and vast monoculture plantations of tea. Wildlife scientists have recorded rare and threatened wildlife such as hoolock gibbons (two species – “western hoolock gibbon” and “eastern hoolock gibbon” – both of which are restricted in India to the Northeast), India’s only ape species, stump-tailed macaques and small cats in some of the remnant patches… In Nagaland and Meghalaya, community reserves and initiatives protect migratory Amur falcons remnant forests, and other wildlife”.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/tr-shankar-raman-describes-an-encounter-with-the-clouded-leopard-in-dampa/article9197225.ece

Solution: b.

Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, where the amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase out the use of HFCs is likely to be finalised.

http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/in-fact-kigali-could-add-new-win-in-climate-change-battle-3074415/

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Solution: c.

• Last week has been of great significance in the fight against climate change. The Paris Agreement received the required number of ratifications, and will become international law from November 4, three days before the annual climate change conference begins in Marrakech (we posted a question on this a few days ago).
• In Montreal on Thursday, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) carved out an agreement to curb the rise of emissions from international aviation after 2020, despite reservations from some countries, including India.
• And from today, countries have gathered in Kigali, Rwanda, to finalise an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to enable the 1989 ozone-protecting agreement to phase out the use of Hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs.
• Once the HFC amendment is approved, the world will be left with just one more climate change hole to plug, that of emissions from international shipping.
• Like international aviation, international shipping emissions are not covered under the Paris Agreement because these emissions cannot be attributed to any specific country.

http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/in-fact-kigali-could-add-new-win-in-climate-change-battle-3074415/

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Solution: c.

The Stockholm Convention is associated with Persistent Organic Pollutants. And the ICAO’s headquarters is located in Montreal, Canada.

• The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a UN specialized agency, established by States in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
• ICAO works with the Convention’s 191 Member States and industry groups to reach consensus on international civil aviation Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and policies in support of a safe, efficient, secure, economically sustainable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector. These SARPs and policies are used by ICAO Member States to ensure that their local civil aviation operations and regulations conform to global norms.
• In addition to its core work resolving consensus-driven international SARPs and policies among its Member States and industry, and among many other priorities and programmes, ICAO also coordinates assistance and capacity building for States in support of numerous aviation development objectives and audits States’ civil aviation oversight capabilities in the areas of safety and security.

Primary Source: http://www.icao.int/about-icao/Pages/default.aspx

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Improvisation: Indian Express; The Hindu;

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Solution: a.

• The authors found that moderate-intensity, rattling coasters might be effective at dislodging little kidney stones in the outer ducts of the kidney and propelling them toward the ureter, the tube connecting the kidneys and bladder.
• Their report, published last week in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, suggests that riding these roller coasters might help patients who have kidney stones that are five millimeters or less in diameter.

10^th October, ‘Explained’ Page, Indian Express

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-in-school/a-roller-coaster-remedy/article9189685.ece

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Primary Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/science/roller-coaster-kidney-stones.html

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Solution: a.

• In a study of head and neck cancer, more patients taking nivolumab survived for longer compared with those who were treated with chemotherapy.
• In another study, combining nivolumab with another drug shrank tumours in advanced kidney cancer patients.
• Immunotherapy works by harnessing the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
• Nivolumab and ipilimumab both work by interrupting the chemical signals that cancers use to convince the immune system they are healthy tissue.

Primary Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37588541

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Improvisation: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/immunotherapy-drug-shows-promise/article9205526.ece

Solution: a.

• Finance Minister is the ex-officio Governor on the Board of Governors of the IMF. RBI Governor is the Alternate Governor at the IMF. India is represented at the IMF by an Executive Director, currently Dr. Rakesh Mohan, who also represents three other countries as well, viz. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
• India’s current quota in the IMF is SDR (Special Drawing Rights) 5,821.5 million, making it the 13th largest quota holding country at IMF and giving it shareholdings of 2.44%. However, based on voting share, India (together with its constituency countries Viz. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka) is ranked 17th in the list of 24 constituencies at the Executive Board.

Primary Source: http://finmin.nic.in/the_ministry/dept_eco_affairs/MI/India_IMF.pdf

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Improvisation: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=151558

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