Daily Current Affairs Quiz: June 19, 2023

A royal decree has been issued to reappoint Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as Kuwait’s Prime Minister.

The Emiri decree, signed by Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, said that Sheikh Ahmad is responsible for nominating new cabinet members and submitting their names.

Kuwait Capital: Arabic Al-Kuwayt
Kuwait Currency: Kuwaiti dinar

Two-time Oscar-winning actor and former UK politician Glenda Jackson has died at the age of 87.
Jackson was one of the biggest British stars of the 1960s and 70s, and won two Academy Awards, for “Women in Love” and “A Touch of Class.”
She then went into politics, was elected to Parliament and spent 23 years as a Labour Party lawmaker.

UK Capital: London
UK Currency: Pound
UK PM: Rishi Sunak

The International Labour Organization holds its 111th annual Conference in Geneva from 5–16 June 2023.
Worker, employer, and government delegates from the ILO’s 187 Member States addressed a wide range of issues, including a just transition towards sustainable and inclusive economies, quality apprenticeships, and labor protection.

The International Labour Organization is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labor standards.
Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the UN’s first and oldest specialized agencies.
ILO HQ: Geneva (Switzerland)
ILO DG: Gilbert Houngo

A team from the Geological Survey of India recently discovered India’s biggest natural arch during their survey of coal in Kenduadihi block in Odisha’s Sundargarh district.
The state unit of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has proposed to declare the ‘Natural Arch’ in the Kanika range of Sundargarh forest division, a Geo Heritage Site.
If it is done, it will be the biggest natural arch of the country to have the Geo Heritage tag. Apart from the arch at Sundargarh, India has two others- one at Tirumala hills in Tirupati and another at Andaman and Nicobar.
What are Geo Heritage Sites (GHSs)?
Geoheritage sites are sites of rare and unique geological, geo-morphological, mineralogical, and petrological significance, including caves and natural rock sculptures of national and international interest.
GSI declares geo-heritage sites/ national geological monuments for protection and maintenance.
GSI or the respective State governments take necessary measures to protect these sites.

The World Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a $150-million loan to support the Resilient Kerala programme designed to strengthen Kerala’s preparedness for natural disasters, climate change impact, and disease outbreaks.
The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a final maturity of 14 years, including a grace period of six years.
It complements the World Bank’s earlier investment of $125 million and the overall support is expected to protect nearly 50 lakh people from the impact of floods.

Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan
Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad
Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram

World Bank MD: Ajay Banga
World Bank HQ: Washington DC

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal received the first over-dimensional cargo (ODC) transported via waterways at Numaligarh Refinery jetty (Assam).
The ODC was transported by Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) vessel MV-Marine 66 from Kolkata to Numaligarh Refinery Jetty via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR).
This is the first consignment transported by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), the nodal agency in charge of inland waterways in the country, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, to augment the capacity of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) from 3 MMT to 9 MMT.
Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)
• It was established on 27th October 1986.
• Its headquarters is located in Noida, UP.

Titagarh Rail Systems and Bharat Heavy Electricals consortium have won an ₹24,000 crore contract to manufacture and supply 80 Vande Bharat sleeper trains for Indian Railways.
The companies are required to manufacture fully assembled trains by 2029 and maintain them for 35 years.
The facilities of the Indian Railway in Chennai will be utilised for the Vande Bharat sleeper trains’ final assembly, testing, and commissioning. Each train will have 16 coaches, with a total capacity of more than 880 passengers.
The trains will be capable of operating at speeds of up to 160 km/h (mph).

Japan’s parliament in a welcome move has raised the age of consent to 16 years from 13 years.
The move comes after a wait of more than a century since it last changed in 1907.
The changes enacted Friday make sexual intercourse with someone below age 16 considered rape.
The age of consent is not uniform throughout different countries.
In India, the age of consent is 18, while in Britain it is 16, in Germany and China it is 14. Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations which does not have LGTBQ legal protections.
Japan Currency: Yen
Japan PM: Fumio Kishida
Japan Capital: Tokyo

Indian Overseas Bank has introduced “MY ACCOUNT MY NAME” for Savings Bank account customers.
This is the first time such a feature has been introduced in the banking industry.
In ‘My Account My Name’ a customer can choose any name (alias) for his/her account in addition to the account name. This ‘Alias Name’ name can be shared by customers with others instead of sharing the 15-digit account numbers.
The account name can be a combination of seven letters only or seven numbers only or seven alphanumeric — like AJIT007, PRADHAN or 2424707 and others.
The schemes were launched from Central Office, Chennai, virtually by Shri Ajay Kumar Srivastava, MD&CEO, Indian Overseas Bank with all the 49 Regional Offices.

The Indian Navy recently launched an outreach program called “Julley Ladakh” (Hello Ladakh) to increase awareness about the Navy and engage with the youth and civil society in the pristine state of Ladakh.
Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff, flagged off a 5000 km Motorcycle Expedition on June 15, 2023, from the National War Memorial as part of this initiative.

One of the outreach initiatives envisioned for this programme is a motorbike expedition that would travel through a sizable portion of Ladakh. A medical camp will also be held, a concert by the Navy band will take place, and a football game between the Navy and the Ladakh Football Club has also been planned.
The “Julley Ladakh” initiative aims to:
Celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, which marks 75 years of Indian Independence.
Conduct awareness campaigns in Ladakh’s institutions and schools to draw attention to the Agnipath Scheme and other career prospects provided by the Indian Navy.
Motivate the youth to consider joining the Indian Navy.
By integrating female officers and spouses in the programme, you can promote “Nari Shakti,” a Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi initiative.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh agreed to the second option.
On 15 June 2023, the Asian Cricket Council announced that the tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka.
Asia Cup 2023 will begin on August 31 and will have its final on September 17. Six countries will be participating in the tournament including India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
The press release by ACC stated, “We are delighted to announce that the Asia Cup 2023 will be held from August 31 to September 17, and will see the elite teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Nepal, compete in a total of 13 exciting ODI matches. The tournament will be hosted in a hybrid model with four matches being held in Pakistan, and the remaining nine matches being played in Sri Lanka.”

Egypt emerged victorious in the World Squash Championship, defeating Malaysia 2-1 in the final held in Chennai on 17th June.

• Malaysia secured the silver medal in the championship.
• The third place in the championship was shared between the host country, India, and Japan.
• Malaysia defeated India with a score of 3-0 in the semi-final held the previous day.
• The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K.Stalin, awarded the winning team with the golden cup, while the Sports Minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin, presented medals to the victorious players.
• The state of Tamil Nadu has gained recognition in international sports by successfully organizing the Chess Olympiad within a remarkable four-month timeframe.
• A total of eight countries participated in the championship, which commenced on June 13.

Anil Goteti, Flipkart’s former senior vice president, has launched a new travel credit card startup called Scapia in partnership with Federal Bank that specifically targets the GenZ and Millenial population.

Scapia which means the spirit of escape and adventure, is founded to make spending on travelling better. The app has also gamified the platform to push customers to earn rewards on the go.

“Our target segment is 25-40 year olds and if you look at millennials and Gen Zs we have found out that they want to live in the moment and are ready to spend on travel experience…We have also found out that they are looking for cards like this that have the best integration for the entire travel experience.

Veteran Malayalam actor Poojappura Ravi passed away at the age of 82, on Sunday. He breathed his last at his daughter’s residence in Marayur, Idukki district.
A senior thespian who appeared in about 4,000 plays and 800 films, Ravi gained popularity for his exceptional depiction of humorous characters. Ravi was born as M Raveendran Nair in Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram.
He adopted his stage name under the influence of Kalanilyam Krishnan Nair, a renowned theatre figure.

International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed every year on June 19 to highlight the issue of conflict-related sexual violence and inspire efforts to prevent it.
According to the United Nations, “conflict-related sexual violence” includes sexual slavery, forced prostitution, rape, forced pregnancy, forced marriage, enforced sterilization, forced abortion, and other forms of sexual violence that are carried out against men, women, girls, or boys who are directly or indirectly affected by a conflict.

The theme for this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is “bridging the gender digital divide to prevent, address, and respond to conflict-related sexual violence”.