Current Affairs Quiz, March 16

AOSIS is a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal developing states. As a voice for the vulnerable, its mandate is more than amplifying marginalised voices as it also advocates for these countries’ interests. In terms of size, AOSIS closely resembles the countries it represents on the global stage, but often punches far above its weight, negotiating historic global commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, among other achievements.

The government has decided to abstain from three votes at the UN Security Council, two at the UN General Assembly in New York, two at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and one at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

With the Russian army now sitting in its territory, Ukrainians are wondering if de-nuclearizing was a mistake.
Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)
• After the 1991 breakdown of the Soviet Union, an unprecedented situation arose.
• The smaller successor states of the USSR were persuaded by the US to give up their weapons.
• The 1992 Lisbon Protocol was the first step.
• Under this, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan became party to START, a treaty between the US and the Soviet Union to reduce the number of weapons on each side.

Meghalaya has withdrawn consent to the CBI to investigate cases in the state, becoming the ninth state in the country to have taken this step.
General Consent for CBI
• The CBI is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.
• It must mandatorily obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.
• The CBI’s position is in this respect different from that of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
• It is governed by The NIA Act, 2008, and has jurisdiction across the country.
• The consent of the state government to CBI can be either case-specific or general.
• General consent is normally given by states to help the CBI in seamless investigation of cases of corruption against central government employees in their states.
• This is consent by default, in the absence of which the CBI would have to apply to the state government in every case, and before taking even small actions.

Kavach, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection System showcased on South Central Railway Friday, is earmarked for aggressive rollout on 2,000 km in 2022-23, according the Budget proposals.
Kavach Technology
• It is India’s very own automatic protection system in development since 2012, under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which got rechristened to Kavach or “armour”.
• It is a set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification devices installed in locomotives, in the signalling system as well the tracks.

In a televised address to the country, the President said Maldives suffered losses totalling MVR 71.3 billion — roughly $ 4 billion — due to the pandemic

MANPADS are short-range, lightweight and portable surface-to-air missiles that can be fired by individuals or small groups to destroy aircraft or helicopters

European onlookers would do well to also remember Churchill’s other famous speech, “The Sinews of Peace”, delivered in the United States in 1946, when he first referred to the “Iron curtain coming down” between Soviet Russia and Western Europe

Russia is the world’s largest exporter of crude and oil products and the world’s third-largest oil producer. It is also a major exporter of natural gas and supplies almost a third of the gas consumed in Europe

Defending champion England was on the brink of Women’s Cricket World Cup elimination on Monday while Pakistan’s campaign imploded after Bangladesh made history with a first-ever win at the one-day showcase