Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (May 13, 2021) for CSS, PMS

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May 13, 2021: National / International Current Affairs

1. PM backs Twitter drive for solidarity with Palestinians

• To express solidarity with the people of Palestine, who are treated savagely by Israeli security forces, Prime Minister Imran Khan on May 12, 2021 joined trending Twitter campaigns #We stand with Palestine and #We stand with Gaza.
• Joining millions of Twitter account holders who have posted similar messages of support for the Palestinians under attack by Israel, the prime minister tweeted with a single line post: `I am PM of Pakistan and #We Stand with Gaza, #We Stand with Palestine.

2. First shipment from Uzbekistan under multilateral treaty arrives

• The first shipment under the Convention on International Transport of Goods for traffic-in-transit of goods across the border reached Pakistan from Uzbekistan via Afghanistan in 48 hours, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood announced on May 12, 2021.
• Islamabad signed the Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets in August 2015, which is a multilateral treaty that entails no payment of customs duties and taxes. Pakistan ratified the convention in January 2016

3. Chinese firm to provide 100 energy buses for Karachi

• Chinese bus manufacturers Zhongtong has secured an order to provide 100 units of 18-metre-long buses for Green Line and Orange Line Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) projects in Karachi.
• The buses will be in green and orange colours and provide the people of Karachi a badly-needed comfortable mode of transportation besides easing traffic congestion.
• Tweeting in Urdu from his official account recently, federal Minister of Planning and Development Asad Umar gave the information about the completion of a prototype bus for Karachi`s Green Line Metro bus project

4. A second Pakistani scales Everest in two days

• Pakistani mountaineer Sirbaz Khan on May 12, 2021 scaled Mount Everest (8,848m), the tallest peak in the world.
• Earlier on Tuesday, 19-year-old Shehroze Kashif became the youngest Pakistani to summit Everest and hoist the country`s flag there. On Wednesday, at 6:05am, Sirbaz Khan successfully climbed Mount Everest, Secretary of Alpine Club of Pakistan, Karrar Haidri, told APP while sharing a photo of Sirbaz standing atop the Everest with Pakistan flag.
• This is Sirbaz`s seventh feat to climb above 8,000m mountains. In the last 26 days, he has scaled two 8,000m peaks, he added

5. MSCI raises Pakistan weight to 0.023pc in EM index

• The MSCI on May 12, 2021 announced outcome of its Semi-Annual Index review which to the surprise of some major market participants was addition of Lucky Cement to the MSCI Pakistan Index under the MSCI Global Standard Index in place of Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC), which was eased out as it fell short of the criteria.
• The other two constituents would be MCB Bank (MCB) and Habib Bank (HBL). The changes would be effective from May 28.
• Under the MSCI Global Small Cap Indexes, TRG Pakistan (TRG) has been added while Indus Motors (INDU), Lucky Cement, National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Packages (PKGS) have been removed

6. Johnson apologises `unreservedly` for `71 attack in N. Ireland

• The UK government apologised on May 12, 2021 after 10 civilians were killed during violence in Northern Ireland nearly 50 years ago, Downing Street said.
• The apology came a day after a coroner ruled that British soldiers used `clearly disproportionate` force against protesters in Ballymurphy, west Belfast, in 1971.
• Victims included a priest and a mother of eight children

7. World could have prevented Covid catastrophe, says panel

• The catastrophic scale of the Covid-19 pandemic could have been prevented, an independent global panel concluded on May 12, 2021, but a `toxic cocktail` of dithering and poor coordination meant the warning signs went unheeded.
• The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said a series of bad decisions meant Covid-19 went on to kill more than 3.3 million people so far and devastate the global economy.
• Institutions `failed to protect people` and science-denying leaders eroded public trust in health interventions, the IPPPR said in its long-awaited final report

8. ME situation escalating towards war, warns UN

• The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process warned on May 12, 2021 that the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was `escalating towards a full-scale war`, amid continuing air strikes and rocket attacks.
• `Stop the fire immediately. We`re escalating towards a full-scale war`, Coordinator Tor Wennesland said in a post on Twitter.
• Urging leaders on all sides to take the responsibility of de-escalation, the UN envoy added: `The cost of war in Gaza is devastating and is being paid by ordinary people

9. Tehran ready for closer ties with Riyadh, says Zarif

• Iran`s foreign minister said on May 12, 2021 that his country is ready for closer ties with regional rival Saudi Arabia, adding that he hoped recent talks between the two sides would lead to greater stability in the region.
• Mohammad Javad Zarif was speaking in Damascus after a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
• Baghdad recently confirmed it hosted Iraq-mediated talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia last month

10. Iran has enriched uranium to highest purity yet, says IAEA

• Iran has enriched uranium to slightly higher purity than previously thought due to fluctuations in the process, the United Nations` atomic watchdog said on May 12, 2021.
• The report underscores the challenges diplomats face in ongoing talks, that began in April, to bring the United States back into the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, which is supported by US President Joe Biden.
• The initial announcement from Iran that it would start enriching to 60pc which is not yet weapons grade but its highest purity yet came just as the talks were to begin in Vienna

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