Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
Research institute of Brazil, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has announced that the Amazon rainforest witnessed deforestation of 829 sq km in May 2020.
This is the highest monthly level of deforestation observed in the forest since 2015. The institute also announced that deforestation increased by 91 sq km compared to the same period last year. The Prime Minister of Brazil is advocating for farming and mining in protected areas to improve economy.

Notes:
Vasant Raiji, India’s oldest first-class cricketer, passed away at his residence in Mumbai, at his 100th year.
Vasant Raiji was a chartered accountant by profession. He was a right-handed batsman and played nine first-class matches for Mumbai and Baroda in the 1940s. He started playing in the Mumbai team under the leadership of Vijay Merchant. He was also a veteran cricket historian.

Notes:
The World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on June 14, every year across the world. The day is celebrated to raise awareness about the need for safe blood and blood products.
On this day, general public and other institutions thank blood donors. The theme of ‘World Blood Donor day 2020’ is – Safe blood saves lives. In the year 2005, the World Health Assembly designated this date to thank blood donors and encourage more people to donate blood. It also calls governments to provide resources for blood collection.

Notes:
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is celebrated on June 15 every year across the world by the United Nations.
The UN General Assembly recognised June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day through its resolution in 2011. The proposal was initiated by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) in 2006. As per a study, 15.7% of people aged 60 years and older were subjected to some form of abuse.

Notes:
Veteran Hockey coach Sreedhar Shenoy from the state of Kerala has recently passed away. He has produced more than 5000 players including Olympian Dinesh Naik.
He played a crucial role in nurturing hockey at the school level in the state. He served as a great coach and tournament organiser of hockey matches. He has trained various national players including P.R. Sreejesh. He was also the coach for the State senior and junior hockey teams.

Notes:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that a commission to look at racial equality in the UK will be established.
The proposed body would look at all forms of inequality in employment, health outcomes, academics, criminal justice system and all aspects of life. This announcement has been given after protests have been undertaken after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Notes:
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has launched ‘e-Office’ application in over 500 GST and customs offices.
The application has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC). This will enable the automation of internal processes of handling files that have been handled manually and help improve e-governance. Over 50000 officers and staff will use this application.

Notes:
Technology Giant Microsoft has recently launched a new feature called ‘Teams for Education’, to support online education.
The new feature seeks to engage and prepare students and teachers for new remote learning ecosystem. It also has an expanded audience view of up to 49 participants, custom backgrounds and virtual breakout rooms among others. Students can digitally raise their hands during class meetings in the feature.

Notes:
‘International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR)’ is celebrated on June 16, every year across the world.
This year, the International Day is observed with the theme of “Remittances are a lifeline”. The United Nations that designated the day, also calls upon governments, private sector companies and the civil society, to maximize the impact of remittances through individuals.

Notes:
Leading social-media platform Twitter has recently launched a dedicated search prompt that will direct people looking for domestic violence-related keywords to authentic information from the Ministry of Women and Child Development and National Commission for Women.
The search prompt will be available on iOS, Android and will be in English and Hindi languages. The prompt will also direct them towards sources of help available on Twitter. This initiative is an expansion of #ThereIsHelp prompt, which was launched to provide information on critical issues.