Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2021

Notes:
As per a new study, a 4,000-year-old war memorial known as the ‘White Monument’ in Syria was built to honour soldiers who died in battle.
The White Monument, was first excavated several years ago, is found to be built above layers of buried adult males, may have been a memorial to the community’s dead, rather than a symbol of victory over the enemy.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa has launched a portal named Akanksha, which would provide details on all the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in Karnataka.
This comprehensive portal would help the state Government officials, corporates and donors. It seeks to improve transparency in utilisation of CSR funds by the Government.

Notes:
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that, children who have lost both parents due to COVID-19 would be taken care and supported by the Government of India, under the PM CARES for Children scheme.
Such children would be entitled to receive a monthly stipend once they attain 18 years of age and would receive a corpus of Rs.10 lakh on attainment of 23 years, out of the funds available in PM CARES.

Notes:
The State Government of Goa has constituted a Think Tank named Goa Institution For Future Transformation (GIFT).
This institution would assist, advise and guide the state government on various policy matters and welfare decisions. The functions of GIFT would be very similar to that of NITI Aayog.

Notes:
The Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has launched the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme. The programme has been launched on a pilot basis in 12 clusters covering 11 States/UTs.
This is a central sector programme implemented by the National Horticulture Board (NHB), which aims to make identified horticulture clusters globally competitive.

Notes:
NASA has planned to send 128 baby squids and some 5,000 tardigrades, also called as Water Bears to the International Space Station for research purposes.
The water animals will be launched aboard SpaceX’s 22nd cargo resupply mission to the ISS. The experiments will also help to understand how beneficial microbes interact with animals. The experiments would also help design protective measures for astronauts going for long space travel.

Notes:
The largest warship in the Navy of Iran has recently caught fire and later sank in the Gulf of Oman, according to the media reports.
The support warship Kharg was named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran. Though the firefighters tried to contain the blaze, the vessel sank near the Iranian port of Jask, southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman. It is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Notes:
International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) is being hosted by the Germany’s Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt–UBA).
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the main focus of the eighth triennial conference of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI). It is being held virtually from May 31-June 3, 2021.

Notes:
President Joe Biden’s administration of the USA has formally ended the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which denies asylum seekers entry into the USA.
Under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which was brought into force in 2019, individuals who arrived at the Southwest Border of the USA were returned to Mexico to await removal proceedings in US courts.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet of the Government of India has approved and ratified a MoU between India and Maldives on cooperation in sustainable urban development.
The MoU would strengthen the bilateral ties and generate employment in urban planning, waste management, housing, green mobility, efficient power systems etc. The MoU was signed in the month of Feb 2021, and would be in force for an infinite time period. The Cabinet also approved an MoU with Japan in the same field.