DAILY GK 3-4 FEB 2025
1.
UNICEF RELEASES NATIONAL
ROADMAP FOR CHILD & ADOLESCENT ROAD SAFETY
·
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
in collaboration with the World Health
Organization Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) for Injury
Prevention and Safety launched a ‘National
Roadmap to address Road Traffic Injuries (RTIs) among children and
adolescents in India’ at the National
Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) in
Bengaluru (Karnataka).
·
RTIs are the leading cause of death of
children and adolescents,
with 10% of all road crash fatalities in India.
·
The
roadmap aims for a multi-sectoral action
plan addressing road safety management, vehicular regulations, school
safety initiatives and enhanced post-crash care.
·
On average, 45 children under 18 years old,
lose their lives in road crashes daily, with 16,443 fatalities in 2022
alone.
·
5 million children suffer
non-fatal injuries requiring hospitalization each year.
·
Between 2011 and 2022, approximately 1.98 lakh children and adolescents lost
their lives in road crashes. 75% of fatalities were
among 14-17 year-olds.
·
Head injuries are the leading cause of death
in child road crashes, with 50% of deaths occurring
at the scene.
·
Unsafe road conditions, lack of helmet use,
and low adoption of Child Restraint Systems (CRS) contribute
to the crisis.
·
Over half of safety-rated cars in India have
a child-occupant safety rating of 3 stars or less.
·
Only 20% of large
government hospitals have pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) facilities.
·
NIMHANS is
planning to set up a polytraumacenter in
the North of Bengaluru, which will be a state-of-art Level 1 trauma centre.
2.
MALI, BURKINA FASO &
NIGER OFFICIALLY WITHDRAW FROM ECOWAS
·
Abuja
(Nigeria) based Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) officially
acknowledged the exit of three West African Countries – Republic of Mali,
Burkina Faso, and Republic of Niger from
the regional economic bloc.
·
The split
occurred after the three departing
countries rejected ECOWAS’s demands to restore civilian rule.
·
Their
leaders have criticized ECOWAS, saying it is too influenced by France, their
former colonial ruler.
·
ECOWAS
has advised its remaining 12 members to keep
recognizing the passports of these three countries and continue
trade with them until further instructions are given.
·
The three countries formed the Alliance
of Sahel States in September 2024 to strengthen security
cooperation.
·
The Sahel states are nations located in
Africa’s Sahel region.
·
The ECOWAS is a political and economic
alliance of West African nations, established on 28 May 1975 through
the Treaty of Lagos to enhance regional economic integration.
·
As of
February 2025, ECOWAS has 12 member states which
includes Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
·
Headquarters–
Abuja, Nigeria
3.
GUINEA ELIMINATES
HAT DISEASE : WHO REPORT
·
The World
Health Organization (WHO) announced that Guinea has
successfully eradicated the gambiense
form of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly
known as sleeping sickness, as a public health issue.
·
HAT
present in Guinea has become the 1st Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) to be
eradicated in the country.
·
The
achievement comes just ahead of the global
observance of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day (WNTDD) on January 30,
2025.
·
Human
African Trypanosomiasis (HAT)-HAT or sleeping
sickness, is a vector-borne parasitic
disease endemic in sub-Saharan Africa.
·
It is caused by infection with protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma and
transmitted to humans through the bite of infected tsetse flies.
·
The
disease exists in 2 forms: one caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense,
which is responsible for over 92% of cases; and the other caused by
Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense, accounting for the
remaining cases.
·
The disease leads to symptoms like fever,
headaches, joint pain, neurological issues such as confusion, disrupted sleep,
behavioral changes and can be fatal.
·
HAT is classified as one of the NTDs, a group
of 20 diseases recognized by the WHO.
·
With Guinea, 7 other countries have been validated by WHO for eliminating the gambiense form
of HAT: Togo (2020), Benin (2021), Côte d’Ivoire (2021), Uganda (2022),
Equatorial Guinea (2022), Ghana (2023) and Chad (2024).
·
Guinea Capital–
Conakry
·
Currency–
Guinean Franc (GNF)
4.
1ST COUNTRY IN AFRICA TO
ELIMINATE ONCHOCERCIASIS
·
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Niger as
the 1st African country to achieve the elimination
of Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness.
·
Niger’s
success marks the 2nd time the country has
eliminated a Neglected Tropical Disease
(NTD), having been certified free of
dracunculiasis (Guinea-worm disease) transmission in 2013.
·
Niger joins 4 other countries: Colombia (2013), Ecuador (2014), Mexico
(2015) and Guatemala (2016) that have been verified by the WHO for eliminating
onchocerciasis.
·
As of December 2024, 54 countries worldwide
had successfully eliminated at least one NTD.
·
WHO’s goal is to see 100 countries eliminate
at least one NTD by 2030.
·
For a country to be declared free of human
onchocerciasis, all endemic foci must demonstrate this evidence with 95% statistical
confidence before stopping Mass Drug Administration (MDA).
·
Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is a parasitic disease caused by the Onchocerca volvulus parasite.
·
The disease is transmitted to humans through
the bites of infected black
flies, mainly in riverine areas.
·
Onchocerciasis is the 2nd leading infectious cause of blindness worldwide, after trachoma.
·
It is also known to cause skin problems and
can lead to permanent disability.
·
NigerCapital- Niamey
5.
RUSSIA LAUNCHES ‘SOYUZ-2V
ROCKET’
·
Soyuz-2.1v rocket
carrying multiple payloads was
successfully launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome
in the Arkhangelsk Region, Russia.
·
This mission was carried out in the interest
of the Russian Ministry of Defence and aimed at deploying military satellites into orbit.
·
The Soyuz-2.1v is
a light-class rocket, designed for such tasks.
·
Between 2006 to 2024, a total of 72
Soyuz-2.1b rocket launches were conducted, placing 665 spacecraft into
near-Earth orbits and various flight trajectories.
6.
INDIAN ARMED
FORCES CONDUCTS TROPEX 25
·
Theatre
Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX-2025), is a joint
operations to check readiness of Indian
armed forces : Indian Navy (IN), the Indian Army (IA), and the Indian Air
Force(IAF) held in the Indian Ocean
Region(IOR).
·
TROPEX is the Indian Navy’s(IN) largest exercise, held every two years, to improve coordination among the armed forces and
to test readiness in case of threats in
the Indian Ocean Region(IOR).
7.
DRDO CONDUCTED TRIALS OF
INDIGENOUS VSHORADS
·
The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted three
consecutive flight-trials of the Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) from Integrated
Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
·
During these tests, the surface-to-air
missiles intercepted and completely destroyed the targets having reduced
thermal signature simulating low flying drones at different flying conditions.
·
DRDO is
the Research and Development (R&D) wing of the Ministry of Defence (MoD),
Government of India (GoI).
·
Chairman- Dr.
Samir Vankatpati Kamat
·
Headquarters- New
Delhi
8.
INDIAN NAVY LAUNCHES LSAM 23
·
The Indian Navy (IN)
launched its 9th Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile
(ACTCM) Barge, named Landing Ship
Ammunition 23 (LSAM 23) (Yard 133), at M/s Suryadipta Projects
Private Limited in Thane, Maharashtra.
·
The barges facilitate the transportation,
embarkation, and disembarkation of articles and ammunition to IN platforms, both alongside jetties and
at outer harbors.
·
The barges have been indigenously designed
and constructed by the MSME Shipyard in collaboration with an Indian ship
designing firm and the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).
9. INDIA-MALDIVES
MILITARY EXERCISE ‘EKUVERIN’
·
The 13th edition of the joint military exercise ‘Ekuverin’ hosted
by Maldives between the Indian Army (IA)
and the Maldives National Defence Force
(MNDF), commenced in the Archipelago
Nation (Maldives).
·
It is a bilateral annual exercise conducted
between India and Maldives since 2009 to strengthen military relations between
the two countries.
·
Ekuverin means “Friends” in the Dhivehi language.
·
The 12th
edition was held in Chaubatia, Uttarakhand (India) in 2023
·
India
and Maldives also conducted other military exercise, such as Exercise ‘Katha’,
which involves the IN and the Naval wing
of the MNDF.
·
MaldivesPresident- Mohamed
Muizzu
·
Capital- Male
10. US
NAVY TESTS HELIOS LASER WEAPON
·
The United States Navyannounced that it has
successfully tested the High-Energy
Laser with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS)
system aboard the “The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile
destroyer USS Preble (DDG-88) in the middle of the ocean.
·
The test
was conducted in 2024 aims to assess and confirm the functionality,
performance, and effectiveness of the HELIOS system against an Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle(UAV) target.
·
The HELIOS system was developed for the USA
by Lockheed Martin, an American defense and aerospace
manufacturer.
·
It is a high-powered laser weapon designed to
neutralize threats such as fast attack boats, drones, and missiles. It employs
two modes of attack: hard kill and soft
kill.
·
Hard Kill: Destroys the target directly using high-intensity
laser beams
·
Soft Kill: Disrupts the target’s electronic components to disable
it
11.
FORBES TOP 10 MOST POWERFUL
COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD 2025
·
According
to the list of Top 10 powerful countries in the world 2025 released
by an american business magazine Forbes, the United
States of America (USA) secured the top spot as the most powerful country in the world with
a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of USD 30.34 trillion.
·
The USA
was followed by China in the 2nd spot
with a GDP of USD 19.53 trillion and Russia in the
3rd position with a GDP of USD 2.2 trillion respectively.
·
India secured the 12th position
with a GDP of USD 4.27 trillion
in the list as of February 2025.
·
In terms of global GDP, India is
positioned at the 5th spot behind the USA, China,
Germany, and Japan.
12.
INDIA TOPS GLOBAL LIST IN
PASSENGER LOADS ON DOMESTIC FLIGHTS
·
Montreal
(Canada)-based International Air Transport Association (IATA) released
its ‘full-year
and December 2024 international passenger market performance data’, showing
record-high demand for air travel.
·
As per
IATA’s domestic full-year traffic report, India’s
domestic flights have recorded a Passenger Load Factor (PLF) of 86.4% in
2024 (down by 0.6% point compared to 2023), the highest among all domestic markets.
·
Also,
India has surpassed the United States of America (USA) (84.1%) and China
(83.2%), are ranked at 2nd and 3rd position
respectively.
·
As per
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s data, the aviation sector in India witnessed 163
million passengers
boarding domestic flights in 2024.
·
Domestic full-year traffic for 2024 increased 5.7%
compared to previous year while capacity increased by 2.5%.
·
International Air Transport
Association (IATA) Headquarters- Montreal, Canada
·
Established- 1945
13.
NOEL NAVAL TATA
HONORED WITH DOCTORATE BY UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
·
England based the University of
Sussex awarded an honorary doctorate to Noel
Naval Tata, a prominent business leader from the Mumbai-based Tata Group and a distinguished alumnus of the university.
·
Noel Tata earned a degree in Economics from
the University of Sussex in 1978.
·
In 2024, Noel
Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother, was appointed Chairman of the Tata
Trusts Limited, the philanthropic arm of the Tata Group.
14.
67TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS
·
Chandrika
Krishnamurthy Tandon, an Indian-American entrepreneur and vocalist won her first
Grammy Award under the category Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album for “Triveni”
at the 67th annual Grammy Awards the
biggest musical awards night, in Los Angeles, California, USA
·
She shared the award with her collaborators,
WouterKellerman( 3rd time), a South African flutist, and Eru Matsumoto(first time), a Japanese cellist.
·
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter from
the USA won the Album Of The Year (AOTY)
Grammy Award for the first time for Cowboy Carter.
·
Now she became the 35-time Grammy-winning star and she also became the first Black
artist to win the Grammy for Best Country Album category.
·
Amy Allen(USA)
became the first woman to win the
Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical at the Grammy Awards 2025.
·
Kendrick
Lamar’s won Record of the
Year and Song of the Year for Not
Like Us.
15.
BCCI AWARDS 2025
·
JaspritBumrah won
the Best International Cricketer of the
Year (also called the Polly Umrigar
Award) 2023-24 in the Men’s category
·
Smriti Mandhana won
the Best International Cricketer of the Year 2023-24 in the Women
’s category at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Awards 2025 (Naman Awards).
·
Former
Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, was presented with
the Colonel CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award of
the Year 2024.
·
Best
International Debut – Men: Sarfaraz Khan
·
Best
International Debut – Women: AshaSobhana
·
BCCI
Special Award: RavichandranAshwin
·
Highest
Run-Getter in ODIs – Women: SmritiMandhana
·
Highest
Wicket-Taker in ODIs – Women: Deepti Sharma
·
Best
Umpire In Domestic Cricket: AkshayTotre
·
Jagmohan Dalmiya
Trophy – Best Woman Cricketer Senior Domestic: Priya Mishra
·
Jagmohan Dalmiya
Trophy – Best Woman Cricketer Junior Domestic: Ishwari Awasare
