Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2020

Notes:
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) leaders have met during the recent annual summit held via video conference.
ASEAN is a regional association with 10 member countries including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Brunei, Laos. The Chair of ASEAN in 2020 is Vietnam, which hosted the virtual summit, due to travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Notes:
The electoral commission of the East African country Malawi has declared opposition alliance leader. Lazarus Chakwera, as the winner of the country’s presidential re-election.
The result of the previous May 2019 election has been declared invalid by the constitutional court, over allegations of irregularities. Lazarus Chakwera secured the required majority defeating the incumbent President Peter Mutharika, who has been in power since 2014.

Notes:
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a United Nations office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, headquartered at Vienna, Austria.
According to the latest UNODC World Drug Report, about 26.9 crore people used drugs in 2018, which was 30% more than the 2009 count. The largest share of drug users comprised of adolescents and young adults. Overall opioid users in India is estimated to have increased five times, as compared to those in 2004.

Notes:
June 30 is the day designated by the United Nations to celebrate the International Day of Parliamentarism.
The United Nations General Assembly recognized the role of parliaments in developing the world, and designated the special day. On the same day in the year 1889, the global organization of parliaments called the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was established.

Notes:
The United States has recently eliminated the special status under U.S. law and halted Defence Exports to Hong Kong.
U.S has also restricted the access of the country to high technology products. This decision has been taken while China is preparing new Hong Kong security legislation. U.S also proposed to end the export of dual-use technologies to the territory, which have both commercial and military uses.

Notes:
The Union Home Ministry has extended the Armed Forces (Special power Act) (AFSPA) in Nagaland, for six more months.
The whole state has been declared as a “Distributed area” for a period of six months with effect from 30th June. This has been exercised under the powers provided by section 3 of the AFSPA Act. Earlier, Nagaland Governor R. N Ravi has written to the Chief Minister that the law and order has collapsed in the state.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched the world’s first online Diploma and Bachelor of Science Degree in Data Science and programming.
The course has no age limit and students who have passed class 12 can enrol. The course will be conducted online and its exams will be conducted in an offline mode. The course has three levels including the foundation, diploma and degree and it is divided into six semesters.

Notes:
Leading Global Technology company, Microsoft has recently announced a new global skills initiative, which aims to train as many as 25 million people worldwide, in digital skills, by the end of the year.
Under this initiative, Microsoft uses the data to identify the jobs in demand and provides free content to develop the skills of people. It also provides certifications and free job-seeking tools. This programme has been launched amidst Covid-19 crisis, where several people are hit by job losses.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has joined the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).
NGFS is a group of central banks and supervisors who will share best practices about climate risk management in financial sector. It was launched at the Paris One Planet Summit in the year 2017. It also mobilises finance for maintaining a sustainable economy.

Notes:
‘Dharma Chakra Parvattana’ is a famous celebration of Buddhism, which commemorates Gautam Buddha’s first discourse to his first five disciples at Sarnath.
The International Buddhist Confederation, under the Ministry of Culture, celebrates Ashadha Poornima as Dharma Chakra Day. The Prime Minister has recently conveyed his greetings on Ashadha Poornima, also known as Guru Purnima.