Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2021

Notes:
Kármán line is the most widely accepted boundary of space, which is 100km above mean sea level. But the United States uses 80km as the edge of space. It was named after aerospace veteran Theodore von Kármán.
Recently, British businessman Richard Branson reached the edge of space, to promote space tourism. But experts are in doubt whether he has really touched the official edge of space. While Branson’s Virgin Galactic flight reached a height of 86km, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin flight is expected to fly above 106km.

Notes:
During the ‘Bol Bom’ yatra usually held in the state of Odisha, the devotees start their barefoot journey to Shiva temple to offer the holy water at Shiva shrines in the month of ‘Shravan’.
Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in Odisha, the state government announced a ban on the religious activities and congregations of ‘Kaudias’ or ‘Bol Bom’ devotees. The Uttarakhand government had earlier cancelled the Kanwar Yatra for the second year in a row.

Notes:
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH) have developed COVIHOME, an artificial intelligence-powered Covid-19 test kit for self-testing at home.
As per the team, the kit can produce Covid test results within 30 minutes at home, for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. This Artificial Intelligence-powered kit is affordable and is also approved by ICMR.

Notes:
Muhammad Yunus, the noble laurate from Bangladesh will receive the Olympic Laurel at the Tokyo Games 2021. This was informed by the International Olympic Committee. (IOC). His pioneering work of micro lending has led to much poverty reduction across the globe.
As per the IOC Muhammad Yunus would be honored for “his extensive work in sport for development”.

Notes:
Operation Sankalp was launched by the Indian Navy in June 2019, after there were explosions on board two oil tanker ships in the Gulf of Oman.
As per the official statement of the Indian Navy, the operation has provided safe passage to an average of 16 Indian-flagged merchant vessels in the Gulf region every day. The Indian Navy ship with an integral helicopter has been continuously deployed in the north-west Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf from June 2019.

Notes:
Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company and Snehakunja Trust are the two Indian institution among the 10 awardees of the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) Equator Prize 2021.
This is a biennial award to recognize community efforts for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited is a 1,700-member cooperative, run by indigenous people from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Snehakunja Trust has protected wetland and coastal ecosystems in the Western Ghats and the Karnataka coast.

Notes:
Julia Ducournau’s Titane has been adjudged as the best movie and has been awarded the Palme d’or award, at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. She becomes the first female director in 28 years, whose movie has made it to the prestigious award.
Prior to this, it was Jane Campion who was the female director, whose movie ‘The Piano’ made it to the top list in 1993.

Notes:
China has recently fire tested its reusable suborbital space vehicle, which is a part of its mission to develop a reusable space transportation system.
The vehicle is reportedly launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and has landed safely in an airport 800 kilometers away. No other details of the spacecraft have been shared by the country.

Notes:
Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE) is the World Chess Federation, headquartered at Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 20, 1924 and has as many as 195 member countries.
To commemorate the formation of FIDE, World Chess Day is celebrated on July 20, every year since 1966. The day encourages more people to play and enjoy the game of chess. Chess originated in India, moved to Persia and spread across the Southern Europe.

Notes:
The United States President’s “nuclear football” or the Presidential Emergency Satchel is said to contain the codes needed for a nuclear strike. One such briefcase nearly came within range of rioters storming the US Capitol on January 6, this year.
The Pentagon’s watchdog said that it would evaluate the safety protocols surrounding the issue and find if it were “lost, stolen or compromised.” Any nuclear strike order would be confirmed and processed only by the Military.