Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (April 19, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. Air strikes kill seven in Ukraine as Russian forces mass in the east

• Air strikes killed at least seven people in Ukraine`s western city of Lviv on April 18, 2022, as Russia pounded targets across the country and massed forces for an expected all-out assault in the east.
• The air strikes in Lviv came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of wanting to `destroy` the entire eastern region of Donbas bordering Russia.
• Russia`s defence ministry said it had hit 16 military targets at various locations across Ukraine. Following the attack on Lviv, black smoke billowed from the gutted roof of a car repair shop in the northwest of the city as air raid sirens wailed.
• `Fires were set off as a result of the strikes. They are still being put out.

7. Turkey begins fresh offensive in Iraq

• Turkey on April 18, 2022 said it has launched a new air and ground offensive against outlawed Kurdish militants in northern Iraq involving special forces and combat drones.
• Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said commando units, unmanned aerial vehicles and attack helicopters were pounding Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) hideouts in three restive regions near the Turkish border.
• Designated as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, the PKK has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives

8. Le Pen allies tone down rhetoric on proposed hijab ban to deflect criticism

• A planned hijab ban if French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is elected would come `little by little` and be determined by lawmakers, her allies said on Monday, marking a shift in tone less than a week ahead of the final presidential vote.
• The far-right core of Le Pen`s programme has come under closer scrutiny as campaigning enters its final days.
• Louis Aliot, the far-right mayor of Perpignan and former life companion of Le Pen, said in an interview with France Inter radio that the hijab banwas one of several political tools to fight `Islamism`, but that its implementation needed to come `progressively`

9. Kenyans Jepchirchir, Chebet win Boston Marathon

• Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir edged a thrilling sprint to the line to win the Boston Marathon on April 18, 2022, as fellow Kenyan Evans Chebet dominated a stellar field to win the men`s race.
• With one mile remaining, Jepchirchir sprinted ahead of Ababel Yeshaneh but the Ethiopian refused to bow and retook the lead before the pair battled down the final stretch.
• Jepchirchir, who won in New York in November, needed every ounce of energy to break the tapein two hours 21 minutes and one second, four seconds ahead of her rival

10. India accepts invitation to send baseball team for 2023 SAG

• India which has remained reluctant to maintain sporting relations with its traditional rival Pakistan mainly due to political differences for many years, however, has accepted the invitation to send its baseball team to Pakistan for next year`s South Asian Games (SAG).
• Though several decisions for hosting the SAG by the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) and the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) are yet to be taken, including the dates and venues.
• However, a letter of consent by the Baseball Softball Federation of India received on Monday by Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB) was the first from India showing interest in taking part in the SAG.