Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (June 24, 2020) for CSS, PMS

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June 24, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. Mir Afzal appointed GB`s caretaker chief minister

• Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is also the chairman of Gilgit-Baltistan council, has appointed Mir Afzal as caretaker chief minister of GB.
• The GB Legislative Assembly completed its five-year tenure at midnight on June 23, 2020.
• According a notification issued by the GB law and prosecution department, the GB assembly stands dissolved on expiration of its term of five years on June 23 at midnight in pursuance of Article 56 (5) of GilgitBaltistan Governance Reforms, 2019, which has been adopted /extended in GB by the president of Pakistan through GB (Election and Caretaker Government) Amendment Order, 2020.

2. India initiates diplomatic spat with Pakistan

• In a sign of escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, Delhi on June 23, 2020 asked Islamabad to cut the size of its diplomatic staff in India by half within seven days after accusing its High Commission (HC) staff of engaging in espionage.
• India said it too would halve its diplomatic presence in Islamabad, in view of the principle of reciprocity in diplomatic ties.
• The decision on reducing Pakistan`s diplomatic footprint in India was conveyed by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to Pakistani chargé d` affaires in Delhi Haider Shah.

3. Interior secretary gets premature retirement

• Prime Minister Imran Khan has accorded approval to a request by Interior Secretary retired Major Azam Suleman Khan for premature retirement.
• An official notification to this effect has been issued by the Establishment Division.
• Azam Suleman, a grade-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, was due to retire in February next year, but sought premature retirement, which will be in effect from June 30.

4. China launches final satellite in GPS-like Beidou system

• China on June 23, 2020 launched the final satellite in its Beidou constellation that emulates and may seek to compete with the US Global Positioning System, marking a further step in the country`s advance as a major space power.
• The launch of the satellite onboard a Long March-3 rocket was broadcast live from the satellite launch base of Xichang, deep in the mountains of southwestern China, shortly before 10am. About half an hour later, the satellite was deployed in orbit and extended its solar panels to provide its energy.
• An initial launch scheduled for last week was scrubbed after checks revealed unspecified technical problems

5. US, Russia divided over Chinese role in nuclear talks

• Crucial negotiations to replace a nuclear disarmament treaty between the US and Russia were overshadowed on June 23 2020 by a divide between Washington and Moscow over whether China should be brought to the table.
• The two sides met in Vienna to discuss a replacement for the New START treaty, which limits each side to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads but which is due to run out in February.
• The leader of the US delegation Marshall Billingslea told reporters on Tuesday that China had an `obligationto negotiate in good faith with us and the Russians

6. Saudi Arabia to allow around 1,000 pilgrims in scaled-down Haj

• Saudi Arabia on June 23, 2020 said only around 1,000 pilgrims of various nationalities already in the kingdom will be allowed to perform a dramatically scaled-down H aj, as it battles a coronavirus surge.
• The decision to exclude pilgrims outside Saudi Arabia, a first in the kingdom`s modern history, sparked disappointment among Muslims worldwide even as many accepted it was necessary due to the health risks involved.
• The reduced number is a far cry from the 2.5 million who attended the five-day ritual last year and it remains unclear what the selection process will be for this year`s Haj, scheduled for the end of July.

7. 40pc poor countries fail to back needy schoolchildren, says Unesco

• A new report of UNESCO has estimated that about 40 per cent of low and lower-middle income countries have not supported disadvantaged learners during temporary school shutdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and among the poorest 20 per cent of households in Pakistan, only 14 per cent own a television making distance learning hard.
• The `Global Education Monitoring Report 2020` published by UNESCO on June 23, 2020, says low and middle-income countries are at a far more disadvantaged starting point for an effective transition to online learning platforms.
• The share of households with internet access at home was 47 per cent in developing countries, and 12 per cent in the least developed countries in 2019, compared with 87 per cent in developed countries. Internet bandwidth per internet user was 91 kbit/s in developing countries and 21kbit/s in developed countries.

8. Chinese, Indian forces agree to disengage after fatal border clash

• Indian and Chinese military commanders have agreed to step back from a confrontation over a disputed stretch of border where a clash last week left 20 Indian soldiers dead, government officials in New Delhi and Beijing said on June 23, 2020.
• `There was a mutual consensus to disengage,` an Indian government source said, commenting on the outcome of a parley on Monday that lasted almost 11 hours at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) or the de facto border, high in the western Himalayas.
• During the clash in the Galwan Valley on June 15, soldiers from both sides beat each other with rocks and wooden sticks embedded with nails

9. UN seeking to verify record after mercury hits 38°C in Arctic

• The United Nations said on Tuesday it was working to verify reports of a new Arctic record temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in a Siberian town over the weekend.
• The suspected record temperature was measured in the Russian town of Verkoyansk on Saturday during a prolonged heat wave, which has also seen a hike in wildfires, the UN`s World Meteorological Organisation said.
• The region of eastern Siberia is known for extreme temperatures both in winter and summer months, WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told reporters in Geneva

10. Govt reconstitutes Pakistan Sports Board comprising eleven members

• The Government has taken a major step this week and has reconstituted the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), reducing it to just 11 members from the previous strength of 35 members. On June 18, the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) notified that an 11-member board which is supposed to take policy decisions on sports in the country have been formed.
• The officials of the newly formed PSB are optimistic about playing their due role for promotion of sports in the country during the coming months. The various PSB officials Dawn spoke to on Tuesday said that the newly formed 11-member board will prove effective for the promotion of sports in the country. PSB spokesperson Azam Dar also said that he is pinning high hope on the new board which will hold its first meeting soon to draw the road map for future course of action.

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