Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2020

Notes:
The private space agency SpaceX has successfully launched a new Dragon resupply mission. Under the mission, the company sent a cargo space craft to the International Space Station, on behalf of NASA.
After the launch, the first stage booster of the rocket returned to Earth and landed on the company’s ship placed in Atlantic Ocean.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is ranked at 41st rank in the Forbes’ ranking of 100 most powerful women in the world, grabbing the highest place.
HCL Corporation CEO and Executive Director Roshni Nadar Malhotra in the 55th spot and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in the 68th rank. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is placed at the first spot.

Notes:
The United Kingdom became the first country in the world to start using the COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was approved by the regulators.
Several hubs across the country are vaccinating the people. The vaccine is given as two injections with 21 days apart. The complete immunity is said to be reached seven days after the second dose.

Notes:
Anil Soni, who is an Indian Origin health expert, has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of WHO Foundation. He is set to assume office on 1st Jan 2021. Erstwhile, he was the head of global infectious disease of the health care company named Viatris.
The WHO Foundation is a newly formed organisation will work alongside the World Health Organisation that would combat the most pandemic disease of the world.

Notes:
NASA has named the 18 astronauts group half of them being women, who will train for its Moon-landing Mission by 2024, named ‘Artemis’.
From this set of astronauts, the first woman to set foot on the moon and the next man on the moon will be picked up. The group includes Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, who performed the world’s first all-female spacewalk.

Notes:
Google launched a new health research app called the ‘Google Health Studies’. It enables the research institutions to connect with potential study participants.
Through this app, android users can take part in health studies by answering survey questions and providing relevant data. Its first study will focus on respiratory illnesses like COVID-19.

Notes:
The French Government has published a draft legislation to combat radical Islamism and calls it a measure to achieve “law of freedom”.
The legislation aims to curb online hate speech, punish doctors who provide “virginity certificates” for marriages, reduce the practice of home-schooling for children over three years old etc.

Notes:
Every year, December 9 is observed as the International Anti-Corruption Day. The day is observed since 2003 after the United Nations passed a resolution in this regard. The theme for this year’s day is ‘United Against Corruption’. ‘
This year’s theme gives a special focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and states that corruption as one of the biggest obstacles in achieving it.

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has recently made a successful demonstration of Quantum communications between two of its labs.
The communication was made using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology which is a highly secure way to share encryption keys. In this method, the encryption keys are communicated in the form of qubits in a fibre optic cable, which is highly secure.

Notes:
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has recently inaugurated the Koilwar bridge over Sone river in Bihar.
This 1.5 km long bridge has been laid in parallel to the 138-year-old two lane rail-road bridge. A six-lane bridge is being constructed with the outlay of Rs 266 crore. The three-lane carriageway has been opened for public.