Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is one of the largest in the world. It is located in the island of Kyushu, and its peak is located 1,592 meters above sea level.
Japan’s Mount Aso volcano recently erupted, spewing a huge column of hot gas and ash over 3,500 metres into the sky. Japan’s meteorological agency raised alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5, and asked people not to approach the mountain.

Notes:
Nabard has recently entered into a MoU with the Assam government for facilitation of Rs 13,200 crore infrastructure projects in the state over a period of three years.
NABARD has also sanctioned Rs 608 crore for different infrastructure projects in rural areas in Assam. The infrastructure projects include rural roads, rural bridges, flood protection projects and soil conservation projects under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) – XXVII.

Notes:
A micro-snail species named Georissa mawsmaiensis has been discovered in Mawsmai, a limestone cave in Meghalaya.
Before 170 years, Georissa saritta, a member of the same genus, was collected and described from the Musmai valley near Cherrapunjee. The researchers involved in the discovery are from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru.

Notes:
Former US President Donald Trump has recently announced plans to launch a new social media network, called TRUTH Social.
Though he was active in social media, Mr Trump was banned from Twitter and suspended from Facebook after his supporters stormed the US Capitol. Last year, Twitter and Facebook even started deleting some of his posts or labelled them as ‘misleading’.

Notes:
Scientists have named a newly identified gecko species, the Jackie’s day gecko (Cnemaspis jackieii), after Jackie Chan.
This lizard is one of 12 new gecko species found in India and all 12 species are endemic to the Western Ghats. Due to its agile nature, similar to the ace martial artist Chan, it has been named so. It is one of 12 new gecko species found in India that the researchers describe in Zoological Research.

Notes:
Ashfaqullah Khan, an Indian freedom fighter, was sentenced to death at the age of 27 for the Kakori train robbery. He was born on October 22, 1900 and he was remembered recently on his anniversary.
Ram Prasad Bismil and Chandrashekhar Azad were among the people who were part of the Kakori train robbery of 1925. He used to write poems in Urdu and Hindi, under the pen name Varasi and Hazarat.

Notes:
The United Nations has recently set up a special trust fund for Afghanistan, amidst its economic crisis.
The primary aim of the trust fund is to inject liquidity into Afghan households. As per the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP), Germany had pledged 50 million euros ($58m) to the fund. International Monetary Fund announced that Afghanistan’s economy is set to contract up to 30 percent this year.

Notes:
Over 650 cases of infection caused by the bacteria salmonella (Salmonellosis) have been reported in the US. The outbreak is suspected to have been caused by contaminated onions.
Though there were no fatalities, over 100 patients were hospitalised. As of now, the infections have been linked to whole, fresh onions imported from Mexico between the beginning of July and end-August this year.

Notes:
Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos became the first non-human creatures to be legally considered people by US courts.
This has been announced as a measure to save the “cocaine hippos” from being culled. There have been proposals in Columbia to kill these hippos since 2009, citing that they are an invasive species. reportedly compete with local wildlife for food and pollute local waterways with their faeces. The hippos are said to reportedly compete with local wildlife for food and pollute local waterways with their faeces.

Notes:
A satellite named Shijian-21, after the Chinese word “practice,” was launched by China recently. It was launched atop of Long March 3B rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
This launched has been questioned by experts that it can be used as a weapon capable of grabbing hold of and crushing American satellites. As per the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the satellite is tasked with demonstrating technologies to neutralize space debris.