Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2023

Notes:
‘Great Barrier Reef’ is the world’s largest coral reef system, located in Australia. UNESCO, the United Nations organization responsible for deciding on the potential in danger listing of the Great Barrier Reef, chose to postpone the decision for another year rather than voting on it.
This is mainly due to the change in approach by the Australian government.

Notes:
NASA’ s Hubble Space Telescope has detected a series of energetic eruptions at a nearby red dwarf star, known as AU Microscopii.
The dwarf star is situated approximately 32 light years away from the Sun. AU Microscopii is approximately 23 million years old.

Notes:
The ‘2023 Plastic Overshoot Day’ Report was released recently by the Swiss-based research consultancy Earth Action.
According to this report, approximately 68,642,999 tonnes of extra plastic waste will be dumped into the environment this year.

Notes:
The Jalesar Dhatu Shilp (metal craft), Goa Mankurad mango, Goan Bebinca, Udaipur Koftgari metal craft, Bikaner Kashidakari craft, Jodhpur Bandhej craft and Bikaner Usta Kala craft were given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
Goa Mankurad variety of mango is also known as malcorada, cardozo mankurad, corado, and Goa mankur. The Portuguese named the fruit malcorada, which means ‘poor coloured’.

Notes:
Brazil’s Operation Shield is a police operation that targeted criminal gangs in slums areas in Rio de Janeiro.
At least 45 people have lost their lives in a recent series of lethal security force operations conducted in Brazil.

Notes:
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), responsible for overseeing cybersecurity incidents in India, documented cyber incidents targeting government organizations or systems for the years 2018 to 2023 (up to June).
The reported incidents were 70,798 in 2018, 85,797 in 2019, 54,314 in 2020, 48,285 in 2021, 192,439 in 2022, and 112,474 in 2023 (up to June).

Notes:
The Union Education Ministry has constituted an expert committee to revisit its regulations and guidelines on anti-discrimination with respect to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes, Persons with Disabilities, and other minorities in higher educational institutions.
University Grants Commission (UGC) had taken this step after a Supreme Court direction, where the top court asked the government to clarify the affirmative steps it had taken to make campuses free of caste discrimination.

Notes:
Port Moresby, the expansive capital of Papua New Guinea, is located to the north of Australia.
The Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri and Kolkata, which are on a mission in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region, reached Port Moresby with the aim of strengthening maritime collaboration and partnership with Papua New Guinea.

Notes:
Study in India is a flagship program under the aegis of the Ministry of Education (MoE). It aims to increase the number of international students in India.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, jointly launched the Study in India Portal. The platform serves as a comprehensive hub, streamlining the academic journey of international students studying in India.

Notes:
In response to the killing of two forest frontline workers by alleged poachers, the Odisha government established a joint task force (JTF) consisting of approximately 200 armed police and forest personnel to safeguard the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) and its wildlife.
The JTF will be led by the field director of STR and will also involve senior forest and police officers.