Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
China’s first domestically made nuclear reactor ‘Hualong One’, has started its operations, as per the China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC).
The third-generation pressurised water nuclear reactor has been connected to the national grid. The reactor can generate 10 billion kw-hours of electricity each year and cut carbon emissions by 8.16 million tons. This is expected to reduce China’s dependency in nuclear power from its western allies.

Notes:
Russia has successfully test fired a ‘Tsirkon’ hypersonic cruise missile in the Arctic Region recently. The missile was fired from a frigate war ship named Admiral Gorshkov.
The missile was fired from the white sea on to a naval target located 450 km away in the Barents Sea. The missile cruised at a speed of over Mach 8 and brought down the target.

Notes:
The Petrodava Dacian Fortress is the oldest historical monument located in Piatra Neamt city, Romania. The fort was built around 82 BC and AD 106 by the Dacian people in ancient Europe.
Days after the first mysterious metal monolith disappeared in a remote, uninhabited desert in Utah, USA, a second similar structure has been spotted in Romania, a few metres away from the fortress. The monolith which disappeared and appeared again was a triangular, shiny pillar.

Notes:
The Ministry of Home Affairs has released the rank list of best performing police stations in India.
Nongpok Sekmai Police station in Manipur has topped the list which is followed by the All Women Police Station (AWPS) Suramangalam in Salem of Tamil Nadu. Most of the Police stations in the list are located in South India and in North Eastern India.

Notes:
Recently, a NGR (negotiating group on rules) meeting on fisheries subsidies was organized by the World Trade Organization.
Indian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO has stated that member countries should cut down subsidies on unsustainable fishing which leads to the problem of over fishing. India also asked to reduce the role of dispute panels in fisheries management.

Notes:
CLMV countries are Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. They are also the members of the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN).
During the Inaugural Session of the 6th India – CLMV Business Conclave 2020, India invited the CLMV countries to join the International Solar Alliance and the Resilient Supply Chain Initiative by India.

Notes:
Parkash Singh Badal, who is the former Chief Minister of Punjab and a leader of Shiromani Akali Dal party has returned Padma Vibhushan award back to the Government.
He has returned the award to show his protest against Agriculture reforms brought by the Centre. He was honoured with the prestigious award in the year 2015.

Notes:
Every year December 5 is celebrated as World Soil Day across the world since 2014, to create awareness about the importance of healthy soil and sustainable management of soil resources.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) campaign, the theme of World Soil day 2020 is “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity”. International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) recommended it in 2002 recommended to celebrate this day in 2002.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has recently issued an advisory to all the private satellite channels to ensure that no advertisements that promote prohibited activities are telecasted.
The advisory mentioned that advertisements on online gaming, betting and fantasy sports were misleading and are inconsistent with the Ministry’s Advertising Code.

Notes:
The government of Australia has proposed to charge fee from Facebook and Google’s media outlets, for news content.
This move has been proposed for protecting independent journalism in the country.
These big tech firms have to pay to local publishers and broadcasters for their content that appears on the firm’s platforms.