Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (July 17, 2020) for CSS, PMS

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July 17, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. Indian spy given consular access second time

• Pakistan on July 16, 2020 provided second consular access to convicted Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav.
• `Two consular officers of the lndian High Commission in Islamabad were provided unimpeded and uninterrupted consular access to Commander Jadhav at 1500 hours,` a statement issued by the Foreign Office said.
• The development came a week after the disclosure about Jadhav turning down an offer to file a review petition against his conviction and was seen by many as a sign that some Indian diplomat would shortly be availing the concession offered through an ordinance promulgated on May 20

2. Ehsaas programme being enhanced from Rs144bn to Rs203bn

• Amid adverse impact of the coronavirus on the poor and people belonging to low-income groups, the government has decided to enhance the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme from Rs144 billion to Rs203bn.
• Under the first phase of the programme [of Rs144 billion] 12 million families were provided four-month stipend of Rs12,000. Now with the increase in its funds the programme will facilitate around 17m families.
• `It means that almost half of the population of the country will be covered under the programme,` said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Safety and Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar at a pressconference on Thursday.

3. Fuel imports plunge 28pc in FY20

• Petroleum imports declined 27.84 per cent in FY20 owing to a steep reduction in domestic demand as a result of lockdowns across the country.
• It is estimated that petroleum consumption since March 22 has fallen significantly since the full lockdown was enforced and private transport came to a standstill.
• Data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed the total import bill of fuel group dipped by 27.84pc year-on-year to $10.42bn. Of these, petroleum product imports declined by 24.54pc in value despite increasing by 3.7pc in quantity

4. US, Pakistan sign accord on child abduction

• The United States and Pakistan have signed a legal framework to prevent international child abduction, the State Department announced on July 16, 2020.
• International parental child abduction is the removal or retention of a child outside their country of habitual residence in breach of another parent or guardian`s custody rights. The UN and human rights organisations regard this as child abuse and an extreme form of parental alienation.
• According to the US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), nearly 800,000 children are reported missing each year. That is more than 2,000 a day. The NCMEC says that 203,000 children are kidnapped each year by family members.

5. Govt finalises policy to check Covid-19 disinformation

• The government has finalised a framework to closely monitor both mainstream and social media for Covid-19 disinformation and directed media regulatory bodies to take strict action against individuals propagating `fake news`.
• Last week, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had formed a committee under the chairmanship of Interior Minister retired Brig Ijaz Shah to prepare a legal framework to counter the spread of false information about the pandemic.
• The Shah-led committee on `Covid19 disinformation prevention` held its first meeting on Thursday at the interior ministry

6. ECNEC approves road projects worth Rs290bn

• The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on July 16, 2020 approved four major road projects worth Rs290 billion in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• The Ecnec meeting presided over by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh gave a go ahead to the construction of the 306-kilometre-long Hyderabad-Sukkur Motorway at a cost of Rs165.67bn.
• The project to be completed on the Build-Operate Transfer basis envisages and involves a six-lane, access-controlled highway.

7. China becomes first economy to grow since pandemic

• China became the first major economy to grow since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, recording an unexpectedly strong 3.2 per cent expansion in the latest quarter after anti-virus lockdowns were lifted and factories and stores reopened.
• Growth reported on July 16, 2020 for the three months ending in June was a dramatic improvement over the previous quarter`s 6.8pc contraction Chinas worst performance since at least the mid-1960s. But it still was the weakest positive figure since China started reporting quarterly growth in the early 1990s.
• We expect to see continuous improvement in the upcoming quarters, said Marcella Chow of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report.

8. World`s first e-pilgrimage held at Lourdes shrine in France

• France`s Lourdes Roman Catholic shrine, which usually attracts millions of pilgrims every year, organised the first-ever e-pilgrimage on July 16, 2020 designed to gather people from all over the world, but virtually.
• Lourdes is usually thronged in summer with pilgrims who travel, sometimes across the world, to light a candle in the sanctuary where Catholics believe the Virgin Mary appeared.
• But with flights grounded, many international borders still closed and social distancing rules in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lourdes had to find another way.

9. Top Jordanian court dissolves Muslim Brotherhood branch

• Jordan`s top court has dissolved the country`s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist movement, an official said July 16, 2020, citing the group`s failure to `rectify its legal status`.
• `The Court of Cassation issued a final verdict ruling that the Muslim Brotherhood group is dissolved… for f ailing to rectify its legal status under Jordanian law,` the official said.
• The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, is a pan-Islamic movement with both charitable and political arms

10. Pakistan`s first online squash coaching course begins

• Pakistan`s first online squash coaching course was launched on July 17, 2020 with Commissioner Karsachi Iftikhar Shallwani inaugurating it in a simple ceremony.
• The online course of two weeks duration will see scores of squash players and coaches attending it from across the country. It has been jointly organised by Pakistan Sports Welfare Association (PSWA) and Sports for Life.
• The Commissioner said on the occasion that while every sphere of life has been affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, sports is also suffering a lot. `It is unfortunate that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, sports grounds are barren and no activity is happening. Therefore, it is a big challenge to keep sportspersons and officials motivated in these times and I must laud PSWA and Sports For Life for arranging these very beneficial online courses,` said Iftikhar Shallwani

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