Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (August 09, 2021) for CSS, PMS

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August 09, 2021: National / International Current Affairs

1. Sindh govt eases Covid restrictions till Aug 31

• The Sindh government on August 8, 2021 lifted the week-long lockdown, relaxing the coronavirus restrictions from Monday (today) till Aug 31 in the province.
• As per the new set of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs), all business activities would continue till 8pm. However, the restriction will not apply to pharmacies, petrol pumps, grocery shops and fish, meat, chicken, vegetable and fruit vendors. According to a home department notification, Fridays and Sundays will be closed days.
• The new order imposed a complete ban on indoor dining.

2. Two police martyred in Quetta bike bomb blast

• Two policemen were martyred and 21 others, including 12 policemen, suffered injuries in a motorcycle bomb blast at Hali Road roundabout, near Balochistan Assembly and High Court, on August 8, 2021.
• Police officials said that the miscreants had targeted a police van carrying policemen who were returning to Police Lines after completing their traffic duty in the area.
• `Terrorists had parked an explosive-rigged motorcycle near the roundabout and detonated it with remote control when the police van reached there,` Liaquat Shahwani, spokesman for the Balochistan government.

3. PM to inaugurate Miyawaki urban forest today

• Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate the world`s biggest Miyawaki urban forest in Lahore on August 9, 2021 (today) under the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project.
• The forest has been developed on over 100 kanals having a total of 165,000 plants that will grow 10 times quicker than in a normal forest owing to the unique Miyawaki technique. It uses special isedland preparation as well as indigenous varieties with varying growth rates to produce fast growing urban forests.
• Another 53 Miyawaki forests are being grown in different parts of Lahore to create sinks for carbon as well as for better pollution abatement in the city. All have been geo-tagged to monitor their growth and development.

4. Saudi Arabia to reopen borders for vaccinated Umrah pilgrims

• Saudi Arabia will begin accepting vaccinated foreigners wanting to make the Umrah pilgrimage, authorities said on August 8, 2021, a move that will boost an economy hit by the Covid pandemic.
• Nearly 18 months after it closed its borders to battle coronavirus, Saudi Arabia would from Monday begin `gradually receiving Umrah requests from various countries`, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
• The Umrah can be undertaken at any time, unlike the annual Haj. The Covid-19 pandemic hugely disrupted both the pilgrimages, which are usually key revenue earners for the kingdom that rake in a combined $12 billion annually

5. Saudi Aramco`s profits bounce back to pre-pandemic levels

• Energy giant Saudi Aramco`s second quarter profits for 2021 have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels due to higher oil prices, nearly quadrupling compared to the same period last year.
• The company`s success comes after its debts climbed last year, when Saudi Arabia was hammered by the double whammy of low prices and sharp cuts in production triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
• Aramco said on Sunday its net profit rose to $25.5 billion in the second quarter of the year, compared to $6.6 billion in the same quarter of 2020, owing to a stronger oil market and higher refining and chemicals margins, and with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions

6. Mozambican, Rwanda armies retake port held by jihadists

• Rwandan forces deployed last month to help Mozambique`s army battle jihadists said on Sunday they had recaptured the key northern port of Mocimboa da Praia from the extremist militants.
• `The port city of Mocimboa da Praia, a major stronghold of the insurgency for more than two years has been captured by Rwandan and Mozambican security forces,` the Rwandan Defence Forces said in a tweet.
• Force spokesman colonel Ronald Rwivanga confirmed this, saying `yes (Mocimboa da Praia) has fallen`

7. Taliban seize two more provincial capitals

• The Taliban tightened the noose over northern Afghanistan on Sunday, capturing two more provincial capitals as they take their fight to the cities after seizing much of the countryside in recent months.
• The insurgents have snatched up four provincial capitals in Afghanistan since Friday in a lightning offensive that appears to have overwhelmed government forces.
• Kunduz and Sar-e-Pul in the north fell within hours of each other Sunday, lawmakers and residents in the cities confirmed, but not without fierce fighting.
• Pro-Taliban social media accounts claimed the insurgents were also close to overrunning the provincial capital of Talogan.

8. Iran records over 500 Covid deaths as infections soar

• Iran reported over 500 daily Covid deaths for the first time on August 8, 2021, its health ministry announced, as new infections also hit a record high.
• Iran registered 39,619 new infections in 24 hours to Sunday, taking the total since the pandemic started to 4,158,729, the ministry said.
• During that same period it recorded 542 deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 94,015, it added.
• Iranian health officials have acknowledged that the Islamic republic`s Covid figures underestimate the real toll

9. US top medal table as pandemic-era Games close

• Eliud Kipchoge produced a marathon masterclass and the United States edged China at the top of the Tokyo Olympics medals table as the curtain fell on the biggest sports event since the pandemic on August 8, 2021.
• After Kipchoge`s marathon win for Kenya, the United States scored victories in volleyball, track cycling and basketball to top the tally with 39 gold medals, just one ahead of China.
• The 339th and final gold medal went to Serbia`s men`s water polo team, capping a Games that were in serious danger of cancellation after they became the first postponed Olympics last year

10. Curtain falls on Tokyo Olympics

• It began with a virus and a yearlong pause.
• It ended with a typhoon blowing through and, still, a virus. In between: just about everything.
• The Tokyo Olympics, christened with 2020 but held in mid-2021 after being interrupted for a year by the coronavirus, glided to their conclusion in a Covid emptied stadium on Sunday night as an often surreal mixed bag for Japan and for the world.
• A rollicking closing ceremony with the theme `Worlds We Share` an optimistic but ironic notion at this human moment featured everything from stunt bikes to intricate light shows as it tried to convey a `celebratory and liberating atmosphere for athletes after a tense two weeks` It pivoted to a live feed from Paris, hosts of the 2024 Summer Games. And with that, the strangest Olympic Games on record closed their books for good.

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