Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was established in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).
• In 1947, ICAO became a specialized agency of the United Nations linked to Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
• Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, ICAO works with the Convention’s 193 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.
• ICAO coordinates assistance and capacity building for States in support of numerous aviation development objectives; produces global plans to coordinate multilateral strategic progress for safety and air navigation; monitors and reports on numerous air transport sector performance metrics; and audits States’ civil aviation oversight capabilities in the areas of safety and security.

Explanation :

• African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious haemorrhagic viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, which is responsible for serious economic and production losses.
• It is caused by a large DNA virus of the Asfarviridae family, which also infects ticks of the genus Ornithodoros.
• This transboundary animal disease can be spread by live or dead pigs, domestic or wild, and pork products; furthermore, transmission can also occur via contaminated feed and fomites (non-living objects) such as shoes, clothes, vehicles, knives, equipment etc., due to the high environmental resistance of ASF virus.
• ASFV is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa but outbreaks have also occurred in other parts of the world, including Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia (Russia and the Caucasus region), and China.
• ASF is a disease listed in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

 OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code

• The OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code (the Terrestrial Code) provides standards for the improvement of animal health and welfare and veterinary public health worldwide, including through standards for safe international trade in terrestrial animals (mammals, reptiles, birds and bees) and their products.
• The health measures in the Terrestrial Code should be used by the Veterinary Authorities of importing and exporting countries to provide for early detection, reporting and control agents that are pathogenic to animals or humans, and to prevent their transfer via international trade in animals and animal products, while avoiding unjustified sanitary barriers to trade.
• The standards in the Terrestrial Code have been adopted by the World Assembly of the Delegates which constitutes the organisation’s highest decision-making body.

Explanation :

• The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945.
• The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in circumstances of the First World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security.
• The name United Nations was coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• Headquartered in New York City, the UN also has regional offices in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi.
• Its official languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
• Currently, it is made up of 193 Member States.

Explanation :

• The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometers over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometers.
• The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
• The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
• This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
• It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction.
• It was included in the World Heritage Site in 1981.

Explanation :

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was established by Group of Seven (G-7) countries in a Summit held in Paris in July, 1989.
• The FATF has developed a series of Recommendations that are recognised as the international standard for combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. They form the basis for a co-ordinated response to these threats to the integrity of the financial system and help ensure a level playing field.
• First issued in 1990, the FATF Recommendations were revised in 1996, 2001, 2003 and most recently in 2012 to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant, and they are intended to be of universal application.
• The FATF's decision making body, the FATF Plenary, meets three times per year.

Objectives

• To set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

FAFT Lists

• Grey List: Those countries which are considered as safe haven for supporting terror funding and money laundering are included in this list. The inclusion in this list is not as severe as black listed. It serves as a warning given to the country that it might come in Black list in future.
• Black List: Only those countries are included in this list that FATF considers as non-cooperative tax havens for terror funding. These countries are known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCTs). Countries which are supporting terror funding and money laundering activities are placed in the Black list.

Explanation :

• Catalonia is a semi-autonomous region in Iberian Peninsula in the north-eastern corner of
• It is bordered to the north by France and Andorra, to the west by Aragon, to the south by the province of Valencia, and to the east by the Mediterranean Sea.
• The region of Catalonia is divided into four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and seven jurisdictions: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia Central, Terres de l’Ebre and l’Alt Pirineu and
• The capital of Catalonia is the city of

Iberian Peninsula

• Also known as Iberia, it is located in the southwest corner of Europe.
• The peninsula is principally divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory, as well as Andorra, small areas of France, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

Explanation :

• Exercise Dharma Guardian is an annual training event which is being conducted in India since 2018.
• It will be conducted at counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte, Mizoram from 19^th October to 2^nd November, 2019.
• Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) comprising 25 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with an aim to share experience gained during various Counter Terrorism operations.
• The scope of this exercise covers platoon level joint training on counter terrorism operations in jungle and urban scenario.

Significance

• Exercise Dharma Guardian with Japan is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of global terrorism.
• The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence co-operation between Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) which in turn will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations.

Explanation :

• WEF was established in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Cologny, Geneva, Switzerland.
• First named the European Management Forum, it changed its name to the World Economic Forum in 1987 and sought to broaden its vision to include providing a platform for resolving international conflicts.

Objective

• The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance.
• Global Competitiveness Report, Global Gender Gap Report, Global Risks Report, Global Information Technology Report, Global Travel and Tourism Report Global Enabling Trade Report and Fostering Effective Energy Transition are important reports being published by the WEF.

Explanation :

• The CAATSA is a United States federal law, passed in 2017 that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
• The Act empowers the US President to impose at least five of the 12 listed sanctions on persons engaged in a “significant transaction” with Russian defence and intelligence sectors.
• Its ultimate goal is to prevent revenue from flowing to the Russian Government.

S-400 Missile Defence System

• It is an air defence missile system that can take down enemy’s aircraft in the sky from the surface itself.
• It is known as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system, capable of destroying hostile strategic bombers, jets, missiles and drones at a range of 380-km.

Explanation :

• The “Agreement on Trade and Intercourse between the Tibet region of China and India” was signed on 29^thApril 1954 in Beijing between India and China enunciated the principles of Panchsheel.
• The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, also known in India as the Panchsheel which are as follow:
• Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
• Mutual non-aggression.
• Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.
• Equality and mutual benefit.
• Peaceful co-existence.
• The universal relevance of Panchsheel Pact was emphasised when United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) incorporated its principles in a resolution on peaceful co-existence, which was unanimously adopted on 11 December 1957.
• The Five Principles formed the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement, established in Belgrade, in 1961.