Current Affairs in Short: 20 December 2021

Mormugao, Indian Navy’s Stealth Destroyer, begins maiden sea sortie

• Indian Navy conducted the maiden trials for Mormugao. It is the second indigenous stealth destroyer of the P15B class.

• Mormugao ship has been built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd and is named after the port town in Goa. Stealth Destroyer was launched in September 2016 when the late Manohar Parrikar was the Defence Minister of India.

• The Indian Navy plans on commissioning the stealth destroyer in mid-2022 after which the shop will be known as the INS Mormugao. It will further add significantly to the combat capabilities of the Indian Navy.

• The sea trials of Mormogao have come less than a month after the recent commissioning of INS Vishakhapatnam which was the first of the P15B contract.

Govt selects 485 participants to perform in Republic Day Parade 2022

• 485 participants have been selected to perform on the 2022 Republic Day parade which will be held at Rajpath in New Delhi.

• In Vande Bharatam Final Competition which was held in New Delhi, 73 groups comprising 850 dancers from all four zones showcased their talent at the Grand Finale of the competition.

• The launch of Vande Bharatam- Nritya Utsav was announced by the Government, The major objective of the event was to select the top dancing talent from across the country as well as to provide them with the opportunity to perform during Republic Day.

• Vande Bharatam- Nritya Utsav has been started with an aim to promote the art and culture of India. The traditional dances of India are thousands of years old and have been preserved in the country.

Deliberations going on for global treaty to deal with future pandemics

• The Chief Scientist of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Soumya Swaminathan has informed that the discussions have been going on at the international level on whether an international treaty is required to combat future pandemics.

• The discussion on the international treaty came amid the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant which is said to be much more infectious.

• The discussions among the nations that are happening are about whether there should be a global pandemic treaty that will bind all the countries across the world into particular types of behaviour. It will be similar to just having rules around the atomic use of nuclear energy.

Low turnout in Hong Kong for its 1st poll under new ‘patriots only’ rules

• The low turnout was recorded in Hong Kong for its first poll under the ‘new patriots only’ rule.

• Only 30 percent of the voters cast their ballots to choose the city lawmakers in the polls that took place on December 19, 2021.

• The recent turnout was lowest since the first-ever direct election in Hong Kong of its legislatures in 1991. The turnout was 58% in 2016 and was 44% in 2000.

• The new rules have drastically reduced the number of directly elected seats in the region. The polling stations in Hong Kong were closed after 14 hours of voting.

Traditional New Year fireworks cancelled in Paris amid Omicron concern

• Traditional New Year Fireworks have been canceled in Paris as Europe braced for the tighter curbs to control the spread of new covid-19 strain Omicron.

• The Chief of the European Union has warned that the Omicron variant can be dominant in Europe by mid-January 2022.

• Many countries around the world decided to reintroduce travel restrictions as well as other containment measures since the variant was first detected in South Africa.

• Ireland has announced the bars and restaurants to be closed from 8.00 pm until January 30, 2022. While Switzerland has also stepped up its anti-covid measures.