Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs/News (April 22, 2020) for CSS, PMS

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April 22 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. PM undergoes coronavirus test

• As the total number of deaths from coronavirus surpassed 200 on Tuesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan underwent a test for Covid-19. Health authorities collected his sample and the result is expected on April 21, 2020 (today).
• The decision was made as per a standard operating procedure (SOP) suggesting that every contact of a confirmed Covid-19 case should undergo a test.
• The confirmation about the test came from the prime minister`s focal person on Covid-19 Dr Faisal Sultan. `Prime minister will undergo Covid-19 test as he met philanthropist Faisal Edhi who later tested positive for the deadly virus,` he said at a news conference along with Prime Minister Khan.

2. Food items bulk import at Gwadar for Afghanistan okayed

• Pakistan has allowed import of bulk shipments of food items through Gwadar port for transit to Afghanistan to help Kabul maintain food supply while coping with the fallout of the Covid-19 outbreak.
• Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, subsequent lockdown and closure of the western border of Pakistan, more than10,000 Afghan transit trade containers have been either stranded at Karachi ports, en-route to the border stations, or awaiting clearance at the border stations of Chaman and Torkham.
• Under special permission, the government has resumed handling of Afghan cargo at Gwadar port under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement-2010 which will help in early clearance and quicker transportation of sugar, wheat, and fertiliser to Afghanistan.

3. Contract for internet service in tribal district awarded

• To provide high-speed internet service in a region of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the Universal Service Fund (USF) has awarded a Rs92 million contract for developing broadband in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• The contract has been awarded to Jazz to develop next generation broadband for a sustainable development project in Kurram, including the tehsils of FR Kurram, Lower Kurram and Upper Kurram.
• Through the project, broadband coverage will be provided to 224 mauzas in Kurram district, covering an un-served area of about 2,980 square kilometres.

4. Lockdown extended in Balochistan

• The Balochistan government has extended the lockdown for another two weeks in the province.
• With another 21 positive cases being reported on April 21, 2020, the numbers of coronavirus cases reached 486 in the province, including 268 patients who were infected locally. The virus has so far claimed six lives in Balochistan.
• `Lockdown will continue till May 5,` said a notification issued by the Provincial Home and Tribal Affairs Department on Tuesday. It said that the increasing number of patients through local transmission of coronavirus might cause devastating consequences, illness and deaths across the province.

5. Govt to launch $595m funding appeal

• Pakistan is launching a $595 million funding appeal for meeting its needs for halting the spread of the coronavirus and recovering from its impact.
• The appeal will be launched at a virtual event on Thursday. Besides Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and other senior Pakistani officials, the meeting will also be attended by World Health Organisation director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Asian Development Bank`s vice president and the World Bank`s managing director.
• `The Government of Pakistan is launching an initial US$ 595 million coordinated multi-sectoral Preparedness and Response Plan to combat Covid-19 in a bid to suppress and mitigate the spread of Coronavirus,` a statement from the Foreign Office said

6. Pakistan ranks 145 on press freedom index

• Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres or RSF) on April 21, 2020 released the 2020 World Press Freedom index, indicating that Pakistan has slid down another three places to reach 145th position out of 180 countries.
• The top slot remained with Norway for a fourth consecutive year, followed by other Scandinavian countries, while the lowest ranking was given to North Korea. China maintained its 177th position this year.
• Some other countries in the region slipping from their positions included India, whose ranking dropped to 142 from last year`s 140, Iran that fell to 173, Afghanistan that went down to 122nd position

7. US college to help set up heritage centre in Baltistan varsity

• The Boston Architectural College (BAC) and the University of Baltistan, Skardu, have agreed to jointly launch a US-funded academic partnership project for `cultural heritage management` in Gilgit-Baltistan.
• Under the agreement, BAC will help the varsity establish its `cultural heritage centre` in Skardu.
• The understanding about the partnership was reached during a 60-minute teleconference among the officials of the varsity, BAC, US Department of State and US Embassy the other day, according to a press release issued here on Tuesday.

8. Indian presidential palace isolates 500 people after virus alarm

• About 500 people entered self-isolation at India`s presidential palace on April 21, 2020 after a worker`s relative tested positive for the coronavirus in the latest alarm close to public figures as the pandemic struck government figures in densely populated South Asia.
• Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his wife had tested negative for the coronavirus, his spokesman said, after at least 20 palace officials were infected last week. India`s 1.3 billion people have been ordered to remain indoors for 40 days under a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus so that the country`s hospitals are not overwhelmed by a flood of infections.

9. Scientists observe smash-up around nearby star

• Scientists have observed what appears to be the aftermath of a violent collision between two planetary building blocks orbiting a large and luminous star, a glimpse of the type of carnage that may have been commonplace early in our solar system`s history.
• The apparent crash between two icy bodies, each about 200 kilometres wide, occurred around a star called Fomal haut, located a relatively close 25 light years from Earth, that is about twice the mass and 17 times the luminosity of the sun, the researchers said.
• A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion kilometres.

10. Pakistani scholar dies in US quietly after decades of service

• Prof Hafeez Malik, a scholar, social activist and a torch-bearer of the Pakistani-American community, passed away at his home in Radnor, Pennsylvania, on April 20, 2020. He was 90.
• `Hafeez Malik was one of the founders of American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), a pivotal organization in enhancing scholarship about Pakistan,` said Prof Farhat Ihsan, the institute`s current president. `He will be greatly missed

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