Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (July 15, 2020) for CSS, PMS

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July 15, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. 41pc MNAs did not take part in budget debate this year

• As many as 141 of the total 342 members of the National Assembly (41pc) did not partake in the debate on Finance Bill2020 during the budget session held between June 5 and June 30.
• The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in a report said most of such lawmakers belonged to the ruling PTI and its allies (75 MNAs) while the number of those belonging to the opposition benches was 65.
• Among the non-participating members, 60 belonged to PTI, 36 to the PML-N, 24 to PPPP, five to the PML, four each to BAP and MMA, three to GDA, two to the MQM and one each to the AMLP and JWP and an independent

2. Three soldiers martyred in Panjgur attack

• Three soldiers were martyred and eight others, including an officer, received injuries in a terrorist attack on security forces in Panjgur district of Balochistan on July 14, 2020.
• According to a statement of the Inter-Services Public Relations, terrorists opened fire on a patrolling party of security personnel near Gichak valley of Panjgur.
• `Three soldiers embraced Shahadat while 8 soldiers received injuries, including an officer. Five of the injured are critical,` the ISPR statement said, adding the injured soldiers were taken to the Combined Military Hospital, Quetta

3. Amendments to LG law rushed through KP Assembly

• Abrupt amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, allows private land developers for launching housing schemes and receive membership fees from general public even before getting a no objection certificate in this regard from the relevant quarters for launching a scheme.
• The amendment was hurriedly tabled before the provincial legislature on Tuesday and passed by house the same day without debate that raises many eyebrows.
• The provincial cabinet had approved the bill last week.
• An interesting provision in the amended act is that every developer has to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs500 million in favour of the tehsil local government to issue membership to the people.

4. Pakistan set to implement single window system for trade

• The government is all set to comply with the World Trade Organisation provisions to implement Pakistan Single Window (PSW) to streamline cross-border movement of goods and regulatory bottlenecks.
• The government has set a deadline of 2022 to put in place the whole system which will be implemented at a cost of $67 million. This will not only improve the ease of doing business but also enhance controls through integrated risk management.
• A senior customs officer told Dawn on Tuesday that the first phase of the PSW will be ready by the end of the current year, which will cover 80 per cent volume of various licenses, permits, certificates and other documents currently issued to regulate trade

5. Pakistan-born scientist becomes first woman to head section at renowned body

• Pakistan-born scientist Asifa Akhtar has become the first international female vice president of the biology and medicine section at Germany`s prestigious Max Planck Society.
• The Max Planck Society is Germany`s most successful research organisation. Since its establishment in 1948, no fewer than 18 Nobel laureates have emerged from the ranks of its scientists, putting it on a par with the best and most prestigious research institutions worldwide.
• During her term of office, Ms Akhtar will be in charge of the institutes of the sections and will also be the contact person for the Max Planck Schools.

6. Iran drops India from key Chabahar project

• Iran and China have finalised a $400 billion strategic partnership deal, and a significant political casualty is the Chabahar to Zahedan rail project with India, which Iran has called off citing delayed finances.
• It said Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami last week inaugurated the track-laying process for the 628km Chabahar-Zahedan line, which will be extended to Zaranj across the border in Afghanistan.
• The development comes as China finalises a massive 25-year, $400bn strategic partnership deal with Iran, which, the paper said, could cloud India`s plans

7. Britain bans China`s Huawei, handing US big win

• Britain on July 14, 2020 bowed to US pressure and ordered the phased removal of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from its 5G network despite warnings of retaliation from Beijing.
• The policy reversal hands a major victory to US President Donald Trump`s administration in its geopolitical and trade battle with China.
• But it threatens to further damage Britain`s relations with the Asian power and carry a big cost for UK mobile providers that have relied on Huawei equipment for nearly 20 years.

8. Qatar wins air blockade case at UN court

• The UN`s top court on Tuesday backed Qatar in a bitter row with four Middle East nations that imposed an air blockade against Doha after accusing it of backing militants and Iran.
• The decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) covers a key part of the acrimonious standoff that erupted three years ago pitting Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against Qatar.
• Qatar said after the decision that its rivals would `face justice`. `We welcome today`s decision by the ICJ that will see the blockading states finally face justice for violating international aviation rules,` Qatar Minister of Transport and Communications, Jassim Saif Ahmed al-Sulaiti, said in a statement.

9. Armenia-Azerbaijan border fighting escalates; 16 killed

• Armenia and Azerbaijan forces fought on July 14, 2020 with heavy artillery and drones, leaving at least 16 people killed on both sides, including an Azerbaijani general, in the worst outbreak of hostilities in years.
• Skirmishes on the volatile border between the two South Caucasus nations began on Sunday.
• Azerbaijan said it has lost 11 servicemen and one civilian in three days of fighting, and Armenia said four of its troops were killed on July 14, 2020

10. India locks down IT hub as virus cases top 900,000

• India`s IT hub Bangalore went into a new week long lockdown on July 14, 2020 as the number of coronavirus cases surged, while economic data from Singapore to Britain revealed the shocking extent of the damage wrought by the global pandemic.
• India joins a raft of countries and cities across the globe to re-impose restrictions in the face of new outbreaks of the disease.
• After imposing one of the world`s strictest lockdowns in late March, the country of 1.3 billion people had been steadily easing rules to lessen the huge economic impact particularly on vast numbers of poor Indians who lost their jobs.

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