Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
US President Joe Biden inaugurated the first White House Summit for Democracy. It was launched as a two-day virtual summit.
The US President Biden warned about a global slide for democratic institutions and called for world leaders to demonstrate democracies can deliver. Over 100 participants representing governments, civil society and private-sector leaders participated in the summit.

Notes:
Catherine Russell, an assistant to US President Joe Biden, has been appointed as the next head of the UN children’s agency UNICEF.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced  that Russell will succeed Henrietta Fore, who resigned in July. Russell heads the White House Office of Presidential Personnel and had served as the ambassador-at-large for global women issues.

Notes:
Indian weightlifter Jhilli Dalabehera has won the gold medal in the women’s 49kg category at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Earlier, Sanket Mahadev Sargar clinched the gold medal in the men’s 55kg snatch category and also created a new snatch national record. India is competing in both Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships and World Weightlifting Championships.

Notes:
Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) is a US government program, launched in 2019, under former President Donald Trump. It is also dubbed as “Remain in Mexico” policy.
It mandates that certain citizens and nationals of countries other than Mexico be returned to Mexico while their American removal proceedings are pending. UNICEF has expressed concern about the re-implementation of the program.

Notes:
The Log4j vulnerability is a software flaw as reported by cyber-security researchers that could allow attackers to have uncontrolled access to computer systems.
Dubbed CVE-2021-44228, it could impact several products from those of Apple to Microsoft. US government’s cyber-security agency has also issued a warning on the same. The issue was discovered in Microsoft-owned Minecraft.

Notes:
As per a new research, Quetzalcoatlus was the largest known flying animal to have ever lived on Earth.
The animal is claimed to have a 12-metre wingspan, as per a research collection published by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. The research team found that the creature took flight like a fighter jet off an aircraft carrier after years of research.

Notes:
OSCAR 1 (Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio) is the world’s first non-governmental satellite, first amateur Radio Satellite. It was launched successfully on December 12, 1961.
It was also the first satellite built by a collection of private individuals. OSCAR 1 operated for nearly 20 days, testing radio reception from space.

Notes:
Chief Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose inaugurated the digital platform named LokpalOnline, which enables people to file corruption complaints with the Lokpal.
At present, complaints are being sent by post, e-mail or hand-delivered. The new portal can be accessed by the citizens of the country and complaints can be filed from anywhere, anytime at lokpalonline.gov.in. In 2019, Justice Ghose was appointed as the country’s first Lokpal.

Notes:
India voted against a UN Security Council (UNSC) draft resolution that linked climate change with global security challenges.
Moved jointly by Niger and Ireland, the draft resolution called on “integrate climate-related security risk as a central component into comprehensive conflict-prevention strategies.”India argued that this resolution would only create friction among the UN membership.

Notes:
For the first time in European Union, Malta has become the first country to legalise cannabis at home and for personal use.
Under the new law of Malta, people aged 18 and above will be allowed to have up to seven grams of cannabis and grow up to four plants at home. But consuming cannabis in public remains illegal and punishable by a fine. The new law is set to go to the President for approval.