Day by Day Current Affairs (April 09, 2020) MCQs for CSS, PMS

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April 09, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. Pakistan stays away from pandemic meeting hosted by India

• The Foreign Office on April 8, 2020 said that Pakistan stayed away from the regional trade officials` video conference on Covid-19 hosted by India because it had not been managed by the secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
• `Activities such as today`s Trade Officials` Video-Conference could only be effective if spearheaded by the SAARC Secretariat. Since the SAARC Secretariat was not part of today`s Video-Conference, Pakistan chose not to participate, the FO said while explaining Pakistan`s absence from the conference.
• Trade officials of all SAARC countries, except Pakistan, held a video conference on Wednesday to discuss the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on intra-regional trade and effect of travel restrictions. The meeting was a follow-up to the SAARC leaders` video conference held last month in which PM`s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zaf ar Mirza represented Pakistan.

2. HED gets 14th secretary

• The Punjab government on April 8, 2020 transferred Higher Education Department Secretary Sajid Zaffar Dall and appointed him as the Dera Ghazi Khan commissioner.
• He is the 14th HED secretary replaced during the last three years. The present PTl government did not appoint any permanent HED secretary as it gave additional charge to different officials.
• According to a notification, Mr Dall was relieved from the post of HED additional secretary and posted as the D G Khan commissioner, relieving Deputy Commissioner Tahir Farooq of the additional charge of the commissioner`s post

3. PM to launch Rs13.lbn KP relief package tomorrow

• Prime Minister Imran Khan will launch a relief package of Rs13.1 billion for over 2.19 million economically vulnerable families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tomorrow (April 10, 2020), say officials.
• The provincial cabinet had approved the relief package on March 28 to mitigate the economic impact of the outbreak of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) on the poorest of the poor for three months.
• The details available with Dawn show that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will provide Rs2,000 to each beneficiary for a period of three months and that will be in addition to the federal government`s cash handouts of Rs3,000 for every beneficiary of the Ehsaas programme.

4. ECC approves Rs2.5bn package for Ramazan

• The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved a Ramazan relief package worth Rs2.5 billion at its meeting on April 8, 2020 and decided to hold a special meeting on Thursday (April 9, 2020) to thrash out a course of action for helping the Pakistan State Oil avoid a default.
• The meeting, presided over by Prime Minister`s Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, directed the State Bank to hold negotiations with a Chinese consortium working on the Kohala Hydroelectric Project for settlement of a dispute over foreign exchange losses.
• It decided to waive taxes on electronic transfer of funds to 1.2 million recipients of Ehsaas programme till June 30.

5. Foreigners` visas extended till 30th

• The federal government has extended visa validity of foreign nationals residing in Pakistan till the end of this month in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.
• According to an announcement by the Ministry of Interior, the decision has been taken in view of the out-break of coronavirus and as part of the government`s measures to mitigate the spread of the deadly virus through `any interaction with the public at large`.
• The nomination says that the government has decided to approve the validity of all types of visas issued to foreign nationals, who are currently in Pakistan.

6. Afghan govt releases 100 Taliban prisoners

• The Afghan government released 100 low risk Taliban prisoners on April 8, 2020, officials said, a day after the insurgents announced they were walking out of talks with Kabul.
• The Taliban, however, said they have yet to verify if those released were on the list they handed over to Washington during negotiations.
• The prisoner release is a critical first step to intra Afghan negotiations aimed at bringing an end to decades of war in Afghanistan.
• A US-Taliban deal signed in February also calls for the Taliban to free 1,000 government personnel they hold hostage.

7. WHO rejects `China-centric` charge after Trump`s criticism

• World Health Organisation officials on April 8, 2020 denied that the body was `China-centric` and said that the acute phase of a pandemic was not the time to cut funding, after US President Donald Trump said he may put contributions on hold.
• The United States is the top donor to the Geneva-based body which Trump said had issued bad advice during the new coronavirus outbreak.
• US contributions to WHO in 2019 exceeded $400 million, almost double the 2nd largest country donor, according to figures from the US State Department. China contributed $44 million, it said.

8. World Athletics Championships moved to July 2022 to avoid Olympics clash

• The world athletics championships have been moved back 11 months to July 2022 to avoid clashing with the Tokyo Olympics, which have themselves been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak, the sport`s governing body said April 8, 2020.
• World Athletics confirmed in a statement that the event, which is usually held every two years and draws around 1,800 athletes from more than 200 countries, would now take place from July 15-24 in 2022 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
• The original dates of August 6-15 2021 would have clashed with the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics which were last month postponed by a year from the original July-August 2020 schedule.

9. Stokes crowned Wisden`s leading cricketer

• Ben Stokes has ended Virat Kohli`s three-year reign as Wisden`s leading cricketer in the world after playing a starring role in England`s World Cup win last year.
• The 2020 Wisden Cricketers` Almanack, to be published on Thursday, crowns the swashbuckling all-rounder as the sport`s pre-eminent player.
• He is the first England player to receive the honour since Andrew Flintoff in 2005.
• The 28-year-old won the man-of-the-match award in the World Cup final against New Zealand at Lord`s and then produced a remarkable match-winning innings of 135 not out in the third Ashes Test against Australia

10. Ex-Italian Olympic finalist dies from Covid-19

• Twice Olympic 800 metres finalist Donato Sabia has died from Covid-19 at the age of 56, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said on April 8, 2020.
• CONI said in a statement that Sabia had been in the intensive care unit of the San Carlo hospital on Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, for `a few days.
• Sabia finished fifth in the 800 metres at Los Angeles in 1984 and seventh in Seoul four years later.
• He won the gold medal in the same event at the European Indoor Championships at Gothenburg in 1984.

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