Current Affairs Quiz - June 2022

Notes:
The Didymos Reconnaissance and Asteroid Camera for Optical navigation (DRACO) is the only instrument carried by NASA’s DART mission. It was designed based on the New Horizon Mission’s imager. In recent months, this high resolution camera captured some 150,000 images of various stars.

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The 1973 Roe v Wade ruling of the US Supreme Court held that laws that severely restrict or deny a woman’s access to abortion violates the Constitution’s right to privacy. The US Supreme Court had recently reversed this landmark ruling, allowing individual states to permit or restrict the procedure themselves.

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A joint India-UK Commonwealth Diplomatic Academy programme was recently announced by the foreign ministers of the UK and India.
It aims to equip diplomats from all Commonwealth member states with expertise and skills required for addressing emerging challenges that have global-level impact. This academy programme will be hosted in New Delhi. This was announced during the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which was held in Rwanda, East Africa from June 24 to 25.

Notes:
LGBTQ Pride Month is celebrated every year in the month of June. It commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan – which is recognized as the starting point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.
Initially, the last Sunday in June was celebrated as ‘Gay Pride Day’. This soon grew to encompass month-long celebrations across the country. These events also include memorials for those who have lost their lives because of persecutions, hate crimes or HIV/AIDS.

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June 25 was designated as the Day of the Seafarer (DotS) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN agency responsible for regulating global shipping industry.
It was observed for the first time in the year 2011. The day recognizes the importance of sea transport and honours seafarers for their contribution towards the global economic growth despite the risks involved. The theme for this year’s DotS is “Your voyage – then and now, share your journey”.

Notes:
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which it was ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion.
The US Supreme Court has recently struck down the ruling, which allowed abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Subsequently, protests spread across the country after the ruling.

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An informal inter-governmental grouping called the Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP) was launched by the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
It is a five-nation ‘informal mechanism’ to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region. The Indo-Pacific region accounts for 63 per cent of the global GDP and 46 per cent of the world’s merchandise trade.

Notes:
Tapan Deka has been appointed the new chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), India’s central intelligence agency. He was serving as the Special Director in IB.
Current chief of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) Samant Goel has been given another extension of one year in his tenure which comes to an end on June 30.

Notes:
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said budgetary provisions have been made for giving 300 units of free electricity to the state’s households from July 1.
The state announced that its primary aim is to restore deteriorating fiscal health, ensure effective use of public funds and concentrate on health and education. This is the first budget of the recently-elected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state.

Notes:
China’s central bank has signed an agreement with Switzerland based Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to establish a yuan pooling scheme to counter the dominance of the U.S. dollar.
The arrangement aims to provide liquidity support for participating central banks during market volatility by creating a reserve pool. The Renminbi Liquidity Arrangement initially includes the PBOC and the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Chile.