Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced its new working week of 4.5 days, with Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday forming the new weekend for government employees.
The UAE currently has a Friday-Saturday weekend, which corresponds with other countries in the region.  The new plan will align the working with Western schedules. The UAE is the first nation in the world to introduce a national working week shorter than the global five-day week.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Rural) for another three years till March 2024.
The extension of the scheme will help in the construction of the remaining 155.75 lakh houses. It will help achieve the target of 2.95 crore ‘pucca’ houses.

Notes:
Operation Devi Shakti was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan.
Recently, a special flight arrived at Delhi Airport from Kabul in Afghanistan carrying 10 Indians and 94 Afghans including members of the Afghan Hindu-Sikh minority community. The special Kam Air flight was arranged by India under Operation Devi Shakti. India has evacuated over 565 Indian nationals from Afghanistan so far.

Notes:
The NITI Aayog launched Convoke 2021-22, a national level symposium in partnership with Bharti Foundation.
Through this platform, school teachers and heads of government schools and teachers from the Bharti Foundation network will be encouraged to use research-based solutions through scientific approaches, for improving learning outcomes.

Notes:
Mouse opossums are relatively small members of the Neotropical marsupial family Didelphidae. They are endemic to Americas, especially to South America.
Recently a newly-identified species, named the Adler’s mouse opossum (Marmosa adleri), is among the smallest subgenus Micoureus. It was named after the researcher Greg Adler and  has larger ears, with a short furry tail.

Notes:
Global Methane Initiative (GMI) is a voluntary Government and an informal international partnership having members from 45 countries including the US and Canada. It was created in 2004 and India is one of the members since its inception
A Steering Leadership meeting of Global Methane Initiative (GMI) has been held virtually in which India’s representative from the Ministry of Coal was the Vice Chairman. The Chairperson of the Steering Leadership is from Canada.

Notes:
Photodynamic therapy involves the use of light-sensitive medicine, which is activated by a light source. The treatment is used to treat certain cancers, and patients report a side effect due to the treatment.
Many people claim to have better night vision and also vision of unusual patterns and silhouettes in the dark. Researchers discovered Rhodopsin, a light-sensitive protein found in retinas, interacts with chlorin e6, a photosensitive used in cancer treatment.

Notes:
Time magazine has named CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk as Person of the Year.
Elon Musk gained attention for becoming the richest person in the world due to the rise in Tesla’s (TSLA) stock price. As per Time Magazine, “Musk emerged not just as the world’s richest person but also as the richest example of a massive shift in our society.”

Notes:
India’s External Affairs Ministry, along with the Indian Council of World Affairs hosted the eighth Indian Ocean Dialogue.
The theme for this year’s edition was “Leveraging Digital Technologies for Health, Education, Development, and Trade in Indian Ocean Rim Association Member States”. The representatives discussed on the potential for IORA cooperation in health, education, trade, and development.

Notes:
Manohari Gold Tea, a rare variety of tea in Assam has recently created history as it was sold for Rs 1 lakh per kilogram at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre.
The Tea variety broke its own record of 2020, when the tea was auctioned at Rs 75,000 per kg. The North Eastern Tea Association has planned to increase the production of such tea and started making different types of tea like white tea, green tea, yellow tea.