Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Cyber kidnapping refers to a crime where the ‘kidnappers’ convince their victim to hide, and then contact their loved ones for ransom. The victim is also made to send pictures that make it look like they are being held captive — showing them bound or gagged. These are then shared with the family. Both parties believe their loved ones will be harmed if they don’t do as the kidnappers ask.

Identity theft is the crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person to use their identity to commit fraud, such as making unauthorised transactions or purchases. 

Statement 2 is correct: The ‘kidnappers’, though not physically present, monitor the victim online through video-call platforms.

Unlike traditional abductions, virtual kidnappers have not actually kidnapped anyone. Instead, through deceptions and threats, they coerce victims to pay a quick ransom before the scheme falls apart.

Ans: B

Exp:

December 29, 2023, marked the first anniversary of the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA).

Statement 1 is incorrect: The flow of India’s agricultural goods into Australia has incre­as­ed by 16 per cent since ECTA en­tered into force. Apparel imports from India are up nine per cent. Industrial imports from India have also increased, including steel tubes, pipes, electrical machinery and parts. Ninety-six per cent of Indian goods now enter Australia completely tariff-free. 

Australia and India’s two-way goods trade has grown by nearly 60 per cent over the last five years. India has become Australia’s fourth-largest export destination. Australia is now India’s 10th largest export market.

Statement 2 is correct: On services, ECTA connects professional bodies in the two countries to work on standards, recognition and licensing. This is already in the works for dentistry, engineering, nursing and pharmacy, benefiting businesses and consumers in Australia and India.

Ans: A

Exp:

Statement 1 is incorrect: Polar bears endemic to the Arctic region are listed as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species for their loss of habitat — sea ice.

Statement 2 is correct: The Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) was first detected in the Arctic region among birds and a fox. It is suspected the virus travelled in the region via migratory birds. The first case of the death of a polar bear due to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) has been reported from the Arctic region. The animal likely contracted the disease after feeding on an infected bird carcass.

Ans: A

Exp:

Pair 1 is incorrect: NASA will launch Europa Clipper to explore one of Jupiter’s largest moons, Europa. With Europa Clipper, scientists want to investigate whether Europa’s ocean could be a suitable habitat for extraterrestrial life. The mission will also look for active geysers spewing out from Europa.

VIPER, which stands for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, is a robot the size of a golf cart that NASA will use to explore the moon’s south pole in late 2024.

Pair 2 is correct: The JAXA MMX mission concept to study Phobos and Deimos, Mars’ moons. The mission’s main science objective is to determine the origin of Mars’ moons. Scientists aren’t sure whether Phobos and Deimos are former asteroids that Mars captured into orbit with its gravity or if they formed out of debris that was already in orbit around Mars.

Pair 3 is incorrect: Hera is a mission by the European Space Agency to return to the Didymos-Dimorphos asteroid system that NASA’s DART mission visited in 2022. Hera will launch in October 2024, making its way in late 2026 to Didymos and Dimorphos, where it will study the physical properties of the asteroids.

Ans: D

Exp:

The Gulf of Aden is an extension of the Indian Ocean, tucked between the Arabian Peninsula and the African continent. The Gulf connects the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea via the Strait of Bab el Mandeb. It is bounded to the:

• south by Somalia and the Socotra Islands
• north by Yemen
• east by the Arabian Sea
• west by Djibouti. 

The gulf is connected to the Somali Sea to the south by the Guardafui Channel. The Gulf of Aden is mainly shared by three countries-Yemen, Somali, and Djibouti- whose exclusive economic zones extend into the water body. It was also referred to as “the Gulf of Berbera” by various sources, including Ibn Majid, an Arab navigator, and Abu’l-Fida, a Kurdish geographer.