Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 22 August 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 22 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

Uttarakhand begins Sputnik V vaccination service with help from Dehradun-based firm

  • Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday inaugurated the Sputnik V vaccination service started by the Dehradun-based Graphic Era Institute of Medical Sciences. This is the first time a Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccination service has been initiated in the state.
  • The chief minister said that the Covid-19 vaccination drive is running in the state at a good pace. He said Uttarakhand has set a target of 100% vaccination in the state by December. “The state is getting full cooperation from the Centre. The state has got nearly 17 lakh Covid-19 vaccines from the Centre so far this month,” he added.
  • To ensure completion of the vaccination drive in the state, Dhami said vaccination camps are being organised in the remote areas of the state. “The state is fully prepared to deal with the third wave of Covid-19. Efforts are on to further improve healthcare facilities and related infrastructure in the state.
  • State health minister Dhan Singh Rawat said Covid-19 vaccination is being expedited in the state on a continuous basis. “100% vaccination has been completed in Bageshwar district, which has become the first district in the state do so,” he said
  • He said on the first day, nearly 100 people took the jab of the Sputnik V vaccine from Graphic Era Institute of Medical Sciences.
  • In Uttarakhand, over 58 lakh people have received the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination, while the number of people who have received both the doses is over 18 lakh.

::INTERNATIONAL::

260 Afghan Sikhs stranded in Kabul Gurdwara: US body sends SOS for evacuation

  • "There are more than 260 Afghan citizens left at GurudwaraKarteParwan in Kabul including women and over 50 children. This includes three newborns with one born yesterday," United Sikhs said in a statement.
  • So far, only India has helped evacuation of Afghan Sikhs after the takeover of the country by the Taliban.
  • "We are in communication with governments in the United States, Canada, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Tajikistan, Iran and the United Kingdom among others," the United Sikhs said.
  • “We are also in communication with international aid agencies and non-governmental organizations trying to support rescue efforts in Afghanistan. In addition, our teams are communicating with companies that can execute rescue efforts on the ground in Afghanistan," it said.

::ECONOMY::

Bitcoin briefly tops $50,000 level for first time since mid-May

  • The largest virtual coin advanced as much as 3.5% to almost $50,093 in Asian trading Monday, with other tokens including Ether and Cardano’s ADA also rising. Bitcoin was last above $50,000 in mid-May.
  • The largest virtual coin advanced as much as 3.5% to almost $50,093 in Asian trading Monday, with other tokens including Ether and Cardano’s ADA also rising. Bitcoin was last above $50,000 in mid-May. 
  • The revival in virtual currencies has excited animal spirits again among the crypto faithful, putting longer term predictions of $100,000 or more for Bitcoin back in vogue. Others see the speculative, volatile asset carving out a wider trading range for now. 
  • Bitcoin is “getting nearer the higher end of what I expect as a new trading range in the low-$40,000s to low-$50,000s,” Rick Bensignor, chief executive officer at Bensignor Investment Strategies.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

How AI-powered technology landed Chicago man in jail with scant evidence

  • Michael Williams’ wife pleaded with him to remember their fishing trips with the grandchildren, how he used to braid her hair, anything to jar him back to his world outside the concrete walls of Cook County Jail.
  • His three daily calls to her had become a lifeline, but when they dwindled to two, then one, then only a few a week, the 65-year-old Williams felt he couldn’t go on. He made plans to take his life with a stash of pills he had stockpiled in his dormitory.
  • Williams was jailed last August, accused of murdering a young man from the neighborhood who asked him for a ride during a night of unrest over police brutality in May. But the key evidence against Williams didn’t come from an eyewitness or an informant; it came from a clip of noiseless security video showing a car driving through an intersection, and a loud bang picked up by a network of surveillance microphones. Prosecutors said technology powered by a secret algorithm that analyzed noises detected by the sensors indicated Williams shot and killed the man.

::SPORTS::

Tokyo Games is going to be our best outing at Paralympics, says Deepa Malik

  • Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) chief Deepa Malik is expecting the country's para-athletes to create history by recording its best-ever performance at the Tokyo Games beginning.
  • "Absolutely, my expectations have already gone beyond what I was expecting. This year, India is sending the largest-ever contingent. I am very hopeful that we are going to create history," Malik said when asked if she is expecting the best-ever display.
  • "It's a contingent which is three times bigger in number, we have added four more sports in the past 4-5 years of gap between 2016-21.

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