Daily Current Affairs (MCQ's) | 15-02-2023

Q1. Equatorial Guinea confirmed the first-ever Marburg virus outbreak.

This country is situated in

a. Europe

b. Africa

c. South America

d. Asia

Answer (b)

Explanation:

Equatorial Guinea confirms first-ever Marburg virus outbreak, Cameroon on alert

• Equatorial Guinea has confirmed its first-ever outbreak of Marburg virus.

• According to the WHO, the Marburg virus disease is highly contagious and causes hemorrhagic fever. It begins abruptly, with high fever, severe headache and severe malaise. Of every 100 people who contract the virus, 88 are likely to die.

• The virus is transmitted to people from fruit bats and spreads among humans through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected people, surfaces and materials.

Q2. Which of the following cities is named after two rivers Varuna and Assi?

a. Jaipur

b. Lucknow

c. Ahmedabad

d. Varanasi

Answer (d)

Explanation:

In eternal city, a river comes to die a slow death under pollution, neglect

• The Assi, the river that fringes Varanasi on the south and gives the city a part of its name, is dying a slow death. This minor tributary of the Ganga has been struggling for a while now, with rampant encroachments and administrative negligence. Varanasi name is made up of rivers Varuna and Assi.

• The matter of revitalising the Assi went to the National Green Tribunal, which constituted a committee to submit an action plan for restoration and rejuvenation.

• The report, submitted in mid-2021, suggested that a survey be conducted to understand the existing levels of encroachment in the catchments. The committee said the pollution in the river was more due to sewage rather than industrial effluents, and suggested pollution mapping to identify the sources of pollution.

Q3. Which of the following articles of the constitution deals with “powers, privileges, etc of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and committees thereof”?

a. Article 105

b. Article 201

c. Article 112

d. Article 110

Answer (a)

Explanation:

Article 105 of Constitution: The limits to free speech in Parliament, and what the Supreme Court has ruled

• Article 105 of the Constitution deals with “powers, privileges, etc of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and committees thereof”, and has four clauses.

• Simply put, Members of Parliament are exempted from any legal action for any statement made or act done in the course of their duties. For example, a defamation suit cannot be filed for a statement made in the House.

• This immunity extends to certain non-members as well, such as the Attorney General for India or a Minister who may not be a member but speaks in the House. In cases where a Member oversteps or exceeds the contours of admissible free speech, the Speaker or the House itself will deal with it, as opposed to the court.

Restrictions on this privilege:

• For example Article 121 of the Constitution prohibits any discussion in Parliament regarding the “conduct of any Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court in the discharge of his duties except upon a motion for presenting an address to the President praying for the removal of the Judge..”.

The Supreme Court ruling:

• The Supreme Court had said in the case of ‘P V Narasimha Rao vs. State’ that article 105 “enables members to participate fearlessly in Parliamentary debates” and that these members need the wider protection of immunity against all civil and criminal proceedings that bear a nexus to their speech or vote.

Q4. Nord stream pipeline passes through

a. Baltic sea

b. Atlantic Ocean

c. Pacific Ocean

d. Indian Ocean

Answer (a)

Explanation:

US bombed Nord Stream gas pipelines, says top investigative journalist. What happened under the Baltic Sea last year?

• A veteran American investigative journalist has claimed that the September 2022 bombing of the undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines was carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a covert operation at the direction of the White House.

• President Joe Biden’s administration has denied the allegations and called the report “utterly false and complete fiction”.

Q5. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) is agreement between

a. China and USA

b. China and India

c. India and USA

d. Japan and India

Answer (c)

Explanation:

The fine print in the Indo-US pact, iCET

• If former foreign policy strategist of USA Michael Pillsbury’s account (In his 2019 book, The Hundred Year Marathon) is to be believed, the dramatic ascent of a prosperous, technologically advanced and militaristic China — leaving India far behind in its wake — owes much to the close multidimensional cooperation extended to it by the US since the 1980s.

• In which case, the recent unveiling of a US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) comes half a century too late for India.

• Seen in the light of President Biden’s 2021 undertaking to transfer multiple advanced technologies, including submarine nuclear propulsion to Australia, it starkly highlights the absence of any significant offer of high tech by the US to India, despite bilateral ties, growing steadily in warmth and closeness.