Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

Notes:
Mohamad Al Jounde (16) from Syria has been honoured with the International Children’s Peace Prize 2017 for his efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee children. Al Jounde, a refugee of the Syrian civil war, set up a school together with his family in a Lebanese refugee camp that currently provides 200 children with education. The prize is an initiative of the KidsRights Foundation, an international children’s aid and advocacy organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children’s rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with HIV/AIDS.

Notes:
Michael I (96), the former King of Romania, has passed away in Aubonne, Switzerland on December 5, 2017. He ruled Romania twice – first in the 1920s, when he was just five years old and then again from 1940 to 1947. He was one of the last people alive to have served as a head of state during World War Two. King Michael was known for ousting fascist ruler Antonescu and ending his country’s alliance with the Nazis in 1944, switching sides to the Allies. However, in 1947 he was forced to abdicate by the country’s communists, who ruled until the revolution of 1989. He went into exile until the 1990s when he returned to Romania after the fall of the country’s communist leader, Nicolae Ceaucescu. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2016, he retired from public life.

Notes:
The 46th Congress of the International Hockey Federation (FIH-2018) will be held in New Delhi from October 30 to November 3. The biennial event will run for four days and will comprise meetings, social events, networking opportunities and presentations. The Congress, which will have representations from the National Associations, will also chart out the future roadmap of the game, including the ongoing Hockey Revolution, FIH’s 10-year strategy to drive hockey’s status as a global sport. Beside this, India will also host the men’s Hockey World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar from November 28 to December 16, 2018.

Notes:
The two-day Aadivasi Mahotsav has started in Raipur, Chhattisgarh on December 10, 2017 to display the rich and diverse tribal traditions of the central state. It was inaugurated by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh. Tribal culture, literature and food festivals, tribal Olympiad and hackathon will be held during the event. The festival has been organised in the memory of 1857 revolutionary from the region, Shaheed Veernarayan Singh on his martyrdom day.

Notes:
Mehuli Ghosh and Tushar Mane became the first Indian shooters to secure the women’s and men’s quota places for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) by winning a gold and bronze each at the 10th Asian Championship 10M Rifle/Pistol at Wako City, Japan on December 9, 2017. Ghosh struck gold to bag one out of three quota places up for grabs in women’s 10m Air Rifle Youth, while Mane settled for a bronze medal to secure one out of four quota places available in the men’s 10m Air Rifle Youth. Apart from booking two quota places at YOG, India bagged a total of three gold and three bronze to add to their five medals won on the first day of the competitions.

Notes:
Lalji Singh (70), the eminent scientist and the father of DNA fingerprinting in India, has passed away in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on December 10, 2017. He was the founder of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) & also served as its director. Singh also found various institutes and laboratories that included laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), Genome Foundation that aims to diagnose and treat genetic disorders affecting the underprivileged people, especially in rural India.

Notes:
India has been declared free from infective trachoma, a contagious bacterial infection of the eye common among children. It causes inflamed granulation on the inner surface of the lids. Recently, the Union Health Minister J P Nadda released the National Trachoma Survey Report (2014-17) in New Delhi. The survey results indicate that active Trachoma is no longer a public health problem in the country. Trachoma is common in children till nine years of age. It is caused by the bacterial agent chlamydia trachomatis and usually spread due to flies, poor hygiene, crowded places, lack of water, and environmental factors such as humidity.

Notes:
The 11th Ministerial conference of the 164-member World Trade Organization (WTO) has started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 10, 2017. At the meeting, India is represented by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu who will be pushing for a permanent solution to the public food stock-holding issue which is crucial for operating the food security programme. In it, he will not only have to safeguard the interests of Indian farmers, but will also have to put his foot down on blocking introduction of new issues such as e-commerce. During the course of the 4-day deliberations, the developing nations will resist the efforts by the developed nations to formally set aside the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) and place new issues including e-commerce on the negotiating table.

Notes:
Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker booked their men’s and women’s quota places for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) by winning a gold and a silver each at the 10th Asian Championship 10M Rifle/Pistol at Wako City, Japan on December 11, 2017. Chaudhary won both the individual as well as the Team gold in the men’s 10m Air Pistol Youth event, while Bhaker clinched a silver in the women’s 10m Air Pistol Youth. Earlier, Mehuli Ghosh and Tushar Mane became the first Indian shooters to secure the women’s and men’s quota places for the 2018 YOG by winning a gold and bronze each in the tournament. In all, India added four medals to their kitty on the final day of the competition to finish with a total haul of 21 medals over four days, including six gold, eight silver and seven bronze, besides four Youth Olympic Games (YOG) quotas.

Notes:
JP Nadda, the Union Health Minister, has launched new initiatives including “LaQshya-A Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative” and “m-health: Safe delivery application” at a function in New Delhi to observe Universal Health Coverage Day (UHCD-2017) on December 11, 2017. The Laqshya initiative is expected to improve the quality of care that is being provided to the pregnant mother in the Labour Room and Maternity Operation Theatres, thereby preventing the undesirable adverse outcomes associated with childbirth. The goal of this initiative is to reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortality, morbidity and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in Labour room. The Safe Delivery Application is an m-Health tool that can be used for health workers who manage normal and complicated deliveries in the peripheral areas. It can play a pivotal role in training, post-training reinforcement, mentoring and demonstration.