Option (a) is correct

• Researchers have for the first time analysed data of “carbon dioxide auroras” taken from space.
• Statement 1 is Correct:An aurora is a natural phenomenon which is characterised by a display of a natural-coloured (green, red, yellow or white) light in the sky. 
• Statement 2 is Correct:It is a light show which is caused when electrically-charged particles from the sun collide with particles from gases such as oxygen and nitrogen present in the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Aurora is sometimes referred to as ‘polar light’. 
• It is predominantly seen in the regions of high altitudes like the Arctic and Antarctic.
• Auroras are seen in latitudes of around 70 degrees. They generally occur in a band known as ‘auroral zone’.
• Auroras that occur in the Northern hemisphere are known as aurora borealis and auroras that take place in the Southern hemisphere are known as aurora australis.

Option (a) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the annual Rath Yatra (car festival) of Lord Jagannath began in Puri, Odisha.
• The Rath Yatra takes place on the second day of the Odia month of Ashadha Shukla Tithi (bright fortnight) every year to commemorate this journey.
• Statement 1 is correct: The Jagannath temple was built in the 12th century and begun by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, first of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
• Statement 2 is correct: Jagannath Puri temple is called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’. This temple is also known as the “White Pagoda” and is a part of Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).
• Statement 3 is not correct: It is built in the Kalinga style of architecture, with the Pancharatha (Five chariots) and is built on an elevated platform.

Additional Information:

• Four Gates to the temple
  • Eastern ‘Singhadwara’(main gate with two crouching lions)
  • Southern ‘Ashwadwara
  • Western ‘Vyaghra Dwara
  • Northern ‘Hastidwara’.

Option (c) is correct

Explanation:

• The Indian PM visited the Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, repaired with the help of the Dawoodi Bohra community of India.
• The Imam al-Hakim bi Amr Allah Mosque is a 1000-year old Mosque built in the 11th Century.
• Statement 1 is Correct: The Al-Hakim mosque was named after the 16th Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
• Statement 2 is Correct: It is an important cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community in Cairo.
• The Dawoodi Bohra Muslims are a sect of followers of Islam who adhere to the Fatimi Ismaili Tayyibi school of thought. 
• The Dawoodi Bohra Muslims settled in India in the 11th century. 
• The seat of the sect was moved to Sidhpur (Patan district of Gujarat), India in 1539 from Yemen.

Option (d) is correct

Explanation:

• Recently, the Prime Minister of India received Egypt’s highest state honor ‘Order of the Nile’ award.
• Instituted in 1915, the award is presented to heads of states, crown princes, and vice presidents. 
• Those who receive the ‘Order of the Nile’ shall be saluted upon their death.
• It is a pure gold collar consisting of three-square gold units comprising Pharaonic symbols

Option (b) is correct

Explanation:

• The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has called off a rebellion against the Russian Defence Minister.
• The Wagner Group is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine.
• Dmitri Utkin, a former Russian army officer has been said to be the founder of this group. This group first witnessed action in 2014 during Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
• The symbol of the Wagner Group is the skull.

Option (c) is correct

• Egypt is a transcontinental country that stretches from the northeast corner of Africa to the southwest corner of Asia. 
• The Sinai Peninsula of Egypt acts as the land bridge between these two continents. Egypt is located in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres of the Earth. 
• It has land borders with Sudan to the south, Libya to the west, Israel and the Gaza Strip to the northeast. 
• To the north, Egypt has a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea while the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba border it to the east.

Image Credits: BBC