Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (February 20, 2021) for CSS, PMS

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February 20, 2021: National / International Current Affairs

1. Five soldiers martyred in South Waziristan attack

• Five soldiers were martyred and another was injured when terrorists attacked a security check-post in the Sara Rogha area of South Waziristan tribal district late February 19, 2021 night.
• Police said that the martyred soldiers belonged to 223 Wing of Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force which has been fighting militants in the tribal districts.
• Officials said that terrorists used light and heavy weapons in the attack.

2. PDM candidate wins Nowshera constituency in by-poll upset

• While poll-related violence claimed lives of two persons in Punjab, the victory of a Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz candidate from a stronghold of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came as a big surprise for the ruling party as it failed to retain the provincial assembly seat it won in 2018.
• Polling for by-elections on two National Assembly seats, in Daska (NA-75) and Kurram tribal district (NA45), and as many provincial constituencies, in Gujranwala (PP-51) and Nowshera (PK-63), was held on Friday amid a supercharged environment with traditional rivals contesting against each other

3. App launched to evaluate ACs` performance

• The Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Punjab Office has introduced Performance App to review the performance of assistant commissioners (ACs) to check their on-spot efficiency.
• Through this app, the performance of ACs with regard to various performance indicators related to general administrative matters, land administration and provision of facilities to the public in all tehsils would be monitored directly in the office of ACS Punjab

4. Prime Minister to visit Lanka from 23rd

• The Foreign Office on February 19, 2021 announced Prime Minister Imran Khan`s two-day visit to Sri Lanka that has been hit by a controversy over the cancellation of his planned speech to the country`s parliament.
• A statement issued by the Foreign Office said that Mr Khan would visit Sri Lanka from Feb 23 to 24 on the invitation of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
• He would be accompanied on the trip by some federal ministers and senior officials.
• This will be Mr Khan`s first visit to Sri Lanka after assuming the office of prime minister.

5. Tax exemption on sugar import notified

• The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has notified exemption of sales tax and value-added tax on import of 500,000 tonnes of sugar, as an international tender has been floated to import at least 50,000 tonnes of the commodity by Eid ul Fitr.
• A sales tax notification (SRO215 of 2021) was issued here to exempt the whole of 17pc sales tax and minimum value-added tax of three per cent. This facility will only be available to the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).
• The TCP will import and subsequently supply the sugar in the current season.

6. China says it lost four soldiers in Ladakh clash

• China`s military said on February 19, 2021 that four of its soldiers were killed in a high-mountain border clash with Indian forces last year, the first time Beijing has publicly conceded its side suffered casualties in the deadliest incident between the Asian giants in nearly 45 years.
• The announcement, coming more than six months after the bloody hand-to-hand fighting, should help global audiences understand the truth and the right and wrong of the incident,` Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said

7. Harry and Meghan permanently quit royal life

• Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan have permanently quit royal duties, Buckingham Palace said on February 19, 2021, just over a year after they rocked the British monarchy by announcing plans to `step back` from their roles.
• Queen Elizabeth II ordered the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they are formally known, to relinquish their honorary titles and patronages following the confirmation that they would not be returning as working royals

8. US offers to hold talks with Iran on N-deal; Tehran seeks end to sanctions

• The Biden administration said on February 19, 2021 it was ready to hold talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, in a sharp repudiation of former president Donald Trump`s maximum pressure campaign that sought to isolate Tehran.
• The administration also took two steps at the United Nations aimed at restoring policy to what it was before Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018. The combined actions were immediately criticised by Iranian hawks and drew concern from Israel, which said it was committed to keeping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons

9. Nasa`s most advanced astrobiology lab lands safely on Mars

• Nasa`s Mars rover Perseverance, the most advanced astrobiology lab ever sent to another world, streaked through the Martian atmosphere on February 18, 2021 and landed safely inside a vast crater, the first stop on a search for traces of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet.
• Mission managers at Nasa`s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)near Los Angeles burst into applause, cheers and fist-bumps as radio beacons signaled that the rover had survived its perilous descent and arrived as planned on the floor of Jezero Crater, site of a long-vanished Martian lake bed.

10. PSL 6 rolls into action as Kings face Gladiators in opener

• The boys are once again back in this teeming city of lights as the HBL PSL 6 season rolls into action with high hopes of uninterrupted T20 cricket entertainment when Karachi Kings begin their title defence against the 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators here at the National Stadium on February 20, 2021.
• It`s not just about the galaxy of stars be they our own national players or the famed international ones the most heartening part of HBL PSL 6 will be the return of fans, albeit in limited numbers, as the Karachi and Lahore stadiums will be filled up by 20 percent of their respective seating capacity as per decision of the National Command Operation Centre and according to the Covid-19 protocols

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February 2021:
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January 2021:
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