Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between the Nippon Foundation of Japan and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO).
• It aims to bring together all available bathymetric data to produce the definitive map of the world ocean floor by 2030 and make it available to all.
• The project was launched at the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference in June 2017 and is aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal-14 to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Need

• Despite many years of effort, less than 20 percent of the world ocean’s seafloor has been mapped.
• A co-ordinated international effort is needed to bring together all existing data sets and to identify areas for future surveys - to help us 'map the gaps'.
• Further, knowing the depth and shape of the seafloor (bathymetry) is fundamental for understanding ocean circulation, tides, tsunami forecasting, fishing resources, sediment transport, environmental change, underwater geo-hazards, cable and pipeline routing, mineral extraction, oil and gas exploration and development, infrastructure construction and maintenance and much more.

General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO)

• GEBCO is an international group of mapping experts developing a range of bathymetric data sets and data products.
• It operates under the joint auspices of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

Explanation :

• Mount Merapi, Gunung Merapi (literally Fire Mountain in Indonesian and Javanese), is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Special Region of Yogyakarta provinces, Indonesia.
• It is the most active volcano in Indonesia.
• It is situated at a subduction zone, where the Indo-Australian Plate is subducting under the Sunda Plate.
• It has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

Decade Volcanoes

• These are 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas.
• They are named Decade Volcanoes because the project was initiated in the 1990s as part of the United Nations–sponsored International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.

Explanation :

• Pangolins are mammals of the order Pholidota.
• The one extant family, Manidae, has three genera: Manis, Phataginus and Smutsia.
• Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this feature.
• These are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites, which they capture using their long tongues.
• Of the eight species of pangolin worldwide, two are found in India.

Protection Status

• Indian pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) has been listed as “endangered”.
• Chinese pangolin has been listed as “critically endangered”.
• It is also a Schedule I category protected animal, under the Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

Explanation :

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan. It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.
• The SCO Charter was signed during the St.Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003.
• The SCO's main goals are as follows: strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.
• The organisation has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.

Members

• Eight Member States- the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.
• Four Observer States - the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Mongolia.
• Six Dialogue Partners - the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Republic of Turkey, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

Explanation :

• The Court of Justice, informally known as the European Court of Justice (ECJ), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law, and is considered the most powerful and influential international court that is realistically possible
• The court was established in 1952 in Luxembourgh, by the Treaty of Paris (1951) as part of the European Coal and Steel Community.
• Following the entrance into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009, the ECJ's official name was changed from the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" to the "Court of Justice"
• The Court of Justice consists of 27 Judges who are assisted by 11 Advocates-General. The Judges and Advocates-General are appointed by common accord of the governments of the member states and hold office for a renewable term of six years.
• The President of the Court of Justice is elected from and by the judges for a renewable term of three years.
• It is the highest court of the European Union in matters of Union law, but not national law. It is not possible to appeal against the decisions of national courts in the ECJ, but rather national courts refer questions of EU law to the ECJ.
• The court also acts as arbiter between the EU's institutions and can annul the latter's legal rights if it acts outside its powers.

Explanation :

• Iran decided to change its currency from existing ‘Rial’ to ‘Toman’.
• The Iranian lawmakers voted on May 4, 2020 to approve an amendment to Iran’s Monetary and Banking Act of Iran to make the change.
• The amendment bill will cut four zeros from Iran’s currency. Toman, the new currency is equal to 10,000 rials.
• The new currency has been introduced amid the sharp fall in the value of Iranian currency as a result of crippling sanctions imposed by the United States.

Iran

• Capital: Tehran
• Also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is a country in Western Asia.
• It is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and Azerbaijan,to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq.

Its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance.

Explanation :

• Russia will launch its first Arktika-M satellite for monitoring the Arctic climate and environment at the end of the year.

Significance

• The Arktika-M is a remote-sensing and emergency communications satellite.
• It will help collect meteorological data from the polar regions of the Earth.
• The data will help improve weather forecasts and enable scientists to better study climate change.

Explanation :

• Petersberg Climate Dialogue has been hosted by Germany since 2010.
• The Climate Dialogue was originally an initiative of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• It is hosted by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.
• The Dialogue was co-chaired by Germany and the United Kingdom, the incoming Presidency of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP 26) to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Aim

• To provide a forum for informal high-level political discussions, focusing both on international climate negotiations and the advancement of climate action.

Recent Meeting

• The eleventh and first ever virtual Petersberg Climate Dialogue was held on April 28^th 2020.
• India, along with 30 countries, deliberated over ways and means to tackle the challenge of reinvigorating economies and societies after COVID-19, while enhancing collective resilience and catalysing climate action while also supporting in particular those most vulnerable.

Explanation :

• On April 26^th, 2020, the premier multilateral air combat training Exercise Pitch Black 2020 scheduled from July 27 to August 14, 2020, was cancelled by Australia due to the current and anticipated impacts of the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19.
• The next edition is scheduled in 2022.
• In the last edition of Pitch Black in 2018, the Indian Air Force (IAF) had for the first-time deployed fighter aircraft for the exercise.

About Pitch Black

• Exercise Pitch Black is the Royal Australian Air Force’s biennial capstone International Engagement activity with forces participating from a wide range of regional, coalition and allied nations developing and enhancing military relationships at all levels.
• It is an international enhancement activity with forces participating from a wide range of regional, coalition and allied nations developing and enhancing military relationships at all levels.

It aims to provide a unique opportunity for an exchange of knowledge and experience with Offensive Counter Air (OCA) and Defensive Counter Air (DCA) combat practice in a simulated war environment.

Explanation :

• The Matterhorn is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy.
• It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high, making it one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe.
• The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points and are split by the Hörnli, Furggen, Leone/Lion, and Zmutt ridges.
• Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, and a trade route since the Roman Era.
• The Matterhorn is mainly composed of gneisses (originally fragments of the African Plate before the Alpine orogeny) from the Dent Blanche nappe, lying over ophiolites and sedimentary rocks of the Penninic nappes.
• The mountain's current shape is the result of cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from the peak, such as the Matterhorn Glacier at the base of the north face.