CURRENT AFFAIRS
China goes into emergency mode as number of confirmed Wuhan coronavirus cases reaches 2,700
India successfully test-fires nuclear-capable K-4 Ballistic Missile
India successfully test-fired nuclear-capable, K-4 ballistic missile from an underwater platform in the seacoast of Andhra Pradesh. K-4 ballistic missile has a strike range of 3500km and can be launched from a submarine. This missile was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be deployed on the fleet of the Arihant Class nuclear submarines being built by India. The length of the missile is three-meter tall and can carry a nuclear warhead of over one tone. It has a circular error probability lower than that of the Chinese ballistic missiles. K-4 ballistic missile is very important for India’s air, land, and sea nuclear triad.
US, Russia and China are the other three countries having submarinelaunched ballistic missiles with a strike range of 3,500km. More tests of the K-4 nuclear-capable missile will be carried out by India before deploying these missiles on nuclear submarines. Presently, only the first nuclear boat INS Arihant is operational for the Navy.
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February 2020
The death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus reached 80, with almost 2,800 cases confirmed across China, as the country initiated emergency procedures to try and rein in the pathogen’s global spread.Making that task more difficult is the fact that the virus can be spread before any symptoms appear, Chinese health authorities said, meaning carriers may not realize they are infected before they transmit the virus to others. Across China, 15 cities with a combined population of over 57 million people -- more than the entire population of South Korea -- have been placed under full or partial lockdown. Wuhan itself has been effectively quarantined, with all routes in and out of the city closed or highly regulated. The government announced it is sending an additional 1,200 health workers -along with 135 People’s Liberation Army medical personnel -- to help the city’s stretched hospital staff. The disease has also spread widely across China, with almost 70 cases confirmed in the capital Beijing, including a nine-month-old girl -the youngest known case to be confirmed so far. China has extended the Lunar New Year holiday to February 2 in an attempt to dissuade people from traveling and spreading the virus further. Almost all mass celebrations for the Executive Knowledge Lines
