Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2021

Notes:
The Chandra X-ray Observatory, previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, was launched by NASA, aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Recently, an image from this observatory was released by NASA. It shows threads of superheated gas and magnetic fields weaving around each other, at the center of our Mily Way Galaxy. These new observations stretch above and below our galaxy’s plane, where most of the stars are found.

Notes:
The state government of Karnataka has introduced a city sewage surveillance system in Bangalore. This is aimed to track coronavirus at an early stage.
This effort of Karnataka is supported by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and COVIDactionCollab (CAC). CAC is supporting the state by providing training to sanitation workers in collecting samples and analysing them in labs.

Notes:
Tiananmen Square is located in central Beijing, China. In May 1989 more than a million young Chinese crowded in the square for a protest in favour of greater democracy.
As a repressive measure, Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square and fired extensively on the protesters. At least 300 were killed and more than a 1000 arrested. This incident is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Recently, Hong Kong organisers lost appeal to hold Tiananmen vigil.

Notes:
Marine mucilage or “sea snot” is reported to have accumulated along the coast of Turkey. The sea snot is a thick jelly-like layer of slime which is formed by the population explosion of microscopic plants called phytoplankton.
Some Researchers believe that the increase in sea surface temperature due to climate change, has led to this effect while few others see over-fishing as the root cause.

Notes:
As a measure to mitigate the distress caused due to COVID 19 pandemic, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in India have announced to provide financial assistance to individuals in the form of unsecured loans up to a limit of Rs 5 lakh.
This is a part of the three new loan products introduced by the PSBs to provide financial support to vaccine manufacturers, hospitals/dispensaries, pathology labs etc.

Notes:
Every year, 31st May is observed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the “World No Tobacco Day”. The theme for this year is “Commit to quit”.
This day was created by the WHO members in the year 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the deaths associated with using tobacco. A resolution was passed in 1988 to observe 31st May as the No Tobacco Day.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has announced additional benefits for workers enrolled under ESIC and EPFO schemes, to remove fear and anxiety about the well-being of their family.
As per the new benefit, in case of an employee’s death due to COVID, all dependent family members of the insured person would be entitled to receive the same benefits as in the case of death resulting from employment injury.

Notes:
China has reported the first human infection of a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3. The case has been confirmed in a 41-year-old man, by China’s National Health Commission.
This bird flu variant is supposed to be low pathogenic, which means it causes relatively less severe disease in poultry. No other case of this infection has been reported in the world.

Notes:
Recently, a piece of space debris hit and damaged a part of the ISS’s robotic arm, called as Canadarm2.
The astronomers confirmed that the arm’s functions will not be impacted by the damage. Canadarm2, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), is used to move objects outside the station and to help in repairing works in the station.

Notes:
Two Russian cosmonauts named Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov ventured out of the International Space Station on a 7-hour spacewalk to prepare for the arrival of a new Russian module.
It’s the first spacewalk for both the cosmonauts, who arrived at the space station in April. They conducted technical works including replacing the old batteries outside the International Space Station, before the arrival of the new Nauka (Science) multipurpose laboratory module.