Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2021

Notes:
A US-based rights group ChinaAid has awarded journalist Zhang Zhan with the Lin Zhao Freedom Award. She was jailed by Chinese authorities for reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The journalist was conferred with the award for her work in promoting the Chinese civil society and advancing the rule of law. Lawyer-turned-journalist Zhang travelled to Wuhan and  investigated the area.

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:
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:
A recent terrorist attack on convoy of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) killed seven UN peacekeepers.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack held in Bandiagara region in Mali that resulted in the killing of seven UN peacekeepers from Togo.

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:
Union Minister for Ports Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the River Cruise Services at the Marmugao Port in Goa.
Mormugao Port is a 32- year- old port, located in South Goa. As per the Ministry, any entrepreneur can start a new and similar type of Service from this berthing facility, which is available in the Port.

Notes:
Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program is implemented by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The program comes under the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 and was designed to recognize pilots and flight crew. Recently, FAA announced that it will no longer issue Commercial Space Astronaut Wings, the pins given to individuals reaching space but instead recognise on its website.

Notes:
Indian Government passed an amendment to the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act to ensure that account holders can access their insured deposit amount within 90 days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a bank deposit insurance programme and said that Rs 1,300 crore had been paid to over 1 lakh depositors whose banks faced financial crises. 3 lakh such depositors were set to receive funds stuck in such accounts.

Notes:
The Kashi Vishwanath Temple Corridor project in Varanasi connects the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple and the ghats along the river Ganga.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of the project, which has been built at a cost of ₹ 339 crore. The project aims to provide easy movement of pilgrims and devotees between the ghats and the temple.

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.