Test: Current Affairs (Appointments and Resignations International) - Software Development MCQ

The correct answer is Fumio Kishida.

Key Points

• Fumio Kishida was re-elected as Japan’s Prime Minister on 10 November 2021 after his governing party scored a major victory in key parliamentary elections.
• Elected just over a month ago by parliament, Kishida called a quick election in which his governing party secured 261 seats in the 465-member lower house.
• He was elected as PM of Japan on 4 October 2021.

Additional Information

• About Japan:
  • Capital: Tokyo
  • Currency: yen
  • Japan is located on the Pacific Ocean.
• In November 2021, National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has signed an MoU with Japan Railway Track Consultant Company Limited - JRTC.
• In November 2021, former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was conferred with the Padma Vibhushan award 2021.
• In November 2021, the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) has approved a $2 million grant to provide key knowledge and technical support to an ADB-funded project in Maharashtra.

The correct answer is Daniel Smith.

In News

• The Biden administration announced the appointment of Daniel Smith, the Director of the Foreign Service Institute, as the new interim envoy at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi.
• The position of US Ambassador to India had been lying vacant since January 20, 2021, when Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.

Additional Information

All information as of July 2021

The correct answer is Hilary Charlesworth.

Key Points

• Veteran Australian judge Hilary Charlesworth has been elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
• She will replace James Crawford, who died in May 2021 and had been on the Court since 2014.
• She will serve the remainder of Mr. Crawford’s nine-year term, which has some two years remaining.
• Professor Charlesworth has become the fifth women judge ever at the ICJ.

Additional Information

• ​ICJ:
  • It was established in 1945 by the United Nations charter and started working in April 1946.
  • It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, situated at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
  • It settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions in accordance with international law, on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
  • The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. These organs vote simultaneously but separately.
  • In order to ensure a measure of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every three years and Judges are eligible for re-election.
  • The 15 judges of the Court are distributed in following regions:
    • Three from Africa.
    • Two from Latin America and Caribbean.
    • Three from Asia.
    • Five from Western Europe and other states.
    • Two from Eastern Europe.

The correct answer is Parag Agrawal.

Key Points

• At the outset of Parag Agrawal being named as the new Twitter CEO, after incumbent Jack Dorsey announced to part ways with the micro-blogging site, India has prominently climbed up the corporate ladders globally.
• Parag Agarwal, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, had joined Twitter in 2011 and worked his way to becoming the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) by 2018.
• He is also an alumnus of Stanford University where he studied Computer Science and earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy.
• Besides, the new Twitter CEO has also given his services to companies like Microsoft and AT&T.
• Agrawal joined Twitter as an Ads Engineer in the month of October 2011 and gradually moved up to hold the title, 'Distinguished Software Engineer.'
• In 2018, he was appointed as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
• He was responsible for the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI)​
• Elon Musk is the new CEO of Twitter(As of dec).

​

Additional Information

• Indian-Origin CEOs:

The correct answer is Nigeria.

Key Points

• In February 2021, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala was appointed as the first woman Director General of World Trade Organisation. She belongs to Nigeria.
• Okonjo-Iweala assumed office on 1 March 2021, and became both the first woman and the first African to hold this position.
• She is the seventh Director-General of the WTO. Her term of office will expire on 31 August 2025.

Additional Information

• The World Trade Organisation is an international organization set up in 1995 by replacing the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) under the Marrakesh Agreement.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
• The WTO has 164 members and 25 observer governments.
• Headquarters - Geneva, Switzerland. 

The correct answer is ​PV Sindhu.

Key Points

• PV Sindhu has been appointed as a member of the Badminton World Federation's (BWF) Athletes' Commission.
• She was named alongside five others who will serve as members till 2025.
• The six members of the BWF Athletes’ Commission 2021 – 2025 are Iris Wang, Robin Tabeling, Greysia Polii, Kim Soyeong, Pusarla V Sindhu, and Zheng Si Wei.
• Sindhu had won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Games in 2021.

Important Points

• The new Commission will meet soon and decide the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Commission amongst the six members.
• The Chair of the BWF Athletes' Commission, following a vetting process as required for all Council members, will become a member of the Council until the next elections in 2025.

Additional Information

• Sindhu also won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
• At the prestigious world championships, Sindhu has won two silvers, besides two bronze and the coveted gold in 2019. 

The correct answer is Barbados.

Key Points

• Barbados has elected its first-ever President.
• It will remove Britain's Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state.
• Dame Sandra Mason is set to be sworn in on November 30, 2021, which will mark the country's 55th anniversary of independence from Britain.
• The first woman to serve on the Barbados Court of Appeals.
• She has been Governor-General since 2018.

The correct answer is Bimal Patel.

Key Points

• Professor Bimal Patel has been elected to the International Law Commission.
• He is the Vice-Chancellor of the Rashtriya Raksha University and a member of the National Security Advisory Board of India.
• He will serve a five-year term starting January 1, 2023.

Additional Information

• ​The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly in 1947.
• The International Law Commission is a body of experts responsible for helping develop and codify international law.
• It is composed of 34 individuals recognized for their expertise and qualifications in international law, who are elected by the United Nations General Assembly every five years. 

The correct answer is Canada.

Key Points

• Indian-origin Canadian politician Anita Anand was appointed as the new Defence Minister of Canada.
• In the latest cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
• Ms Anand (54 years old) will replace long-time Defence Minister Indian-origin Harjit Sajjan.
• Whose handling of the military sexual misconduct crisis has been under criticism.
• She also led the procurement effort of the vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic and was the Procurement Minister of the country.

Additional Information

• About Canada
  • ​Country In: North America
  • Capital: Ottawa
  • Currency: Canadian dollar
  • Prime minister: Justin Trudeau

The correct answer is Gordon Brown.

Key Points

• The World Health Organization announced the appointment of Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, as WHO Ambassador for Global Health Financing.
• More recently, Mr Brown has tirelessly called on wealthy nations as well as the private sector to ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
• Note:
  • He served as the Prime Minister of the UK from 2007 to 2010.

Additional Information

• About World Health Organization
  • ​Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  • Founded: 7 April 1948
  • Head: Tedros Adhanom (Director-General)