Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
Switzerland has retained its top spot on the latest World Talent Ranking report, which is published annually by the IMD World Competitiveness Center.
The report ranks 64 economies based on a range of factors including how they invest in and develop local personnel, their ability to attract and retain skilled workers, and the quality of domestic talent pools. All the top 10 countries are from European region.

Notes:
The USA recently announced a new bill named ‘Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA)’.
The bill establishes new rules which could compel social media platforms to share data with “Qualified researchers”. They are defined as university-affiliated researchers pursuing projects that have been approved by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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:
UN General Assembly declared December 12 as the International Day of Neutrality. Neutrality is defined as a legal status which arises when the state decides not to take part in any armed conflict.
International Day of Neutrality aims to raise awareness in public about the value of neutrality in international relations. Article 2 of the UN charter permits the member states to settle their disputes by peaceful means.

Notes:
Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose to stay part of France, in a referendum, hailed by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Sonia Backes, President of the Southern Province region, announced the results, which showed 96 per cent of those who took part chose to stay in France. The vote was monitored by the UN and regional powers.

Notes:
The Indian government has recently finalized an air bubble agreement with Australia, which will allow all eligible passengers to travel between the two countries.
India currently has bilateral air bubble agreements with 33 countries, which include Afghanistan, Australia, France, Germany, Iraq, Japan, Russia, Rwanda, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and the USA among others. Australian airline Qantas has recently started flights between Sydney and New Delhi.

Notes:
Dubai has become the world’s first government to turn completely paperless, the Emirate’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The Government announced that it provided a savings of 1.3 billion Dirham (USD 350 million) and 14-million-man hours. “The Dubai Paperless Strategy” was implemented in five phases. The strategy was implemented across all 45 government entities in the emirate, to provide than 1,800 digital services.

Notes:
The Odisha government and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) signed an agreement to announce the launch of Mission Shakti Living Lab.
It aims to empower women economically and promote gender equality. The Mission Shakti Living Lab will promote the use of digital technologies and e-commerce. The Mission Shakti was originally launched in 2001 for holistic development of women.

Notes:
Embassy of India in Madagascar organized the monthly literary program LaLitTana. It was held in a virtual platform for the first time due to the Omicron spread.
The event witnessed Malagasy and Indian poets reading their translations of poems to each other. The event was attended by several Indian poets. The Indian ambassador to Madagascar & Comoros Abhay Kumar highlighted that the Malagasy language has about 300 Sanskrit words.

Notes:
Four-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles was named Time’s 2021 Athlete of the Year, the Time magazine announced.
She had withdrawn from four event finals at the Tokyo Olympics, stating reasons of her mental health. However, the 24-year-old managed to earn all-around silver and a bronze in balance beam at the Tokyo Olympics.