Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (October 22, 2021) for CSS, PMS

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October 22, 2021: National / International Current Affairs

1. Pakistan remains on FATF grey list

• While acknowledging `good progress`, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on October 21, 2021 retained Pakistan on its `increased monitoring list` the so-called grey list and called upon the government to exhibit terror financing investigation against and prosecution of top cadres of the UN-designated terror groups.
• `Pakistan remains under increased monitoring list,` said Marcus Pleyer, president of the Paris-based global money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) watchdog, at a virtual news conference after FATF`s hybrid plenary

2. ECP sets Dec 19, Jan 16 for LG polls in KP

• The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on October 21, 2021 put its foot down, setting Dec 19 and Jan 16 as the dates for the first and second phase of local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• In a detailed order issued by a three-member bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, the ECP directed the provincial government, chief secretary and local government secretary to make all necessary arrangements and take requisite steps for free, fair and smooth conduct of elections in the province in assistance and aid of the Commission Office to take all necessary steps in this regard, accordingly.
• It is for the first time in the country`s history that the ECP has asserted itself to meet a constitutional obligation, rejecting proposals by the representatives of the KP government.

3. Pakistan commits Rs5bn in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

• Pakistan on October 21, 2021 announced several trade and travel concessions for Afghanistan, besides committing Rs5 billion in humanitarian aid.
• Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced these steps at a press conference after returning from his first trip to Kabul since Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan following the fall of Ghani government in mid-August.
• The foreign minister noted a `positive change` in Kabul as he found new Afghan leaders more open to resolving the irritants in relationship.

4. ADB to provide $600m for Ehsaas projects

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Pakistan have completed their negotiations on a $600 million new programme for integrated social protection development that will support the government`s efforts to implement high priorities from its Ehsaas programme in a coordinated, cohesive and systematic manner. ADB Country Director Yong Ye held a meeting with Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan on October 21, 2021 and elaborated the forthcoming ADB assistance to Pakistan.
• Under the programme, institutional capacity for social protection and climate resilience will also be strengthened. Furthermore, access to primary and secondary education, health services and nutrition supplies will be enhanced for women, especially mothers, adolescents and children, of poor families.

5. Tarin retained as NEC member

• President Arif Alvi on October 21, 2021 signed a summary to retain Shaukat Tarin as member of the National Economic Council (NEC).
• He gave the approval on the advice of the prime minister under Article 156 of the Constitution, the president`s media office said.
• Mr Tarin will now be a member of the advisory council instead of the finance minister

6. Pakistan to become full member of IOC

• The International Olive Council (IOC) has decided to admit Pakistan as its full member, saying the country contains huge potential of producing olive oil not only for domestic consumption but also for export.
• Pakistan is currently an associate member of the IOC which is an intergovernmental organisation of states that produce olives or products derived from olives such as oil.
• IOC`s Executive Director Abdellatif Ghedira is currently on a visit to Pakistan on a request of the Pakistan Oil Seeds Development Board

7. S. Korea launches first local space rocket, but fails to put payload in orbit

• South Korea launched its first domestically developed space rocket on October 21, 2021 but failed to put its dummy payload into orbit, a setback in the country`s attempts to join the ranks of advanced space-faring nations.
• The Korea Space Launch Vehicle II, informally called Nuri and emblazoned with a South Korean flag, rose upwards from Goheung on the southern coast, trailing a column of flame.
• All three stages of the rocket worked, taking it to an altitude of 700 kilometres, and the 1.5-tonne payload separated successfully, President Moon Jae-in said after watching the launch at the control centre

8. UN sets up trust fund for `people`s economy` in Afghanistan

• The United Nations said on October 21, 2021 it had set up a special trust fund to provide urgently needed cash directly to Afghans through a system tapping into donor funds frozen since the Taliban takeover in August.
• With the local economy `imploding`, the aim is to inject liquidity into Afghan households to permit them to survive this winter and remain in their homeland, it said.
• Achim Steiner, the UN Development Programme`s (UNDP) administrator said Germany, a first contributor, had pledged 50 million euros ($58 million) to the fund, and that it was in touch with other donors to mobilise resources

9. Nato agrees on plan to deter Russian threat amid China focus

• Nato defence ministers agreed a new master plan on October 21, 2021 to defend against any potential Russian attack on multiple fronts, reaffirming the alliance`s core goal of deterring Moscow despite a growing focus on China.
• The confidential strategy aims to prepare for any simultaneous attack in the Baltic and Black Sea regions that could include nuclear weapons, hacking of computer networks and assaults from space.
• `We continue to strengthen our alliance with better and modernised plans,` Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after the meeting, which also agreed a $1 billion fund to provide seed financing to develop new digital technologies

10. Pakistan, Turkey to produce TV series on Salahuddin Ayubi

• Pakistan and Turkey will jointly produce a television series on the life of warrior Salahuddin Ayubi as Prime Minister Imran Khan on October 21, 2021 stressed the need to familiarise the young generation with Muslim history and expressed the hope that the use of multimedia could prove helpful in this regard.
• `The series on the life of Salahuddin Ayubi will make the youth aware of his historic role,` the prime said while meeting filmmaker Shehzad Nawaz and Turkish producer Emre Konuk.
• `It is high time to make dramas and films based on historical narrative rather than opting for routine topics,` he said

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