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Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (April 20, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Shahzad F. Malik
Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (April 20, 2022) for CSS, PMS
WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY  DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2022 FOR PREPARATION OF CSS, PMS, BANKING, NTS, RAILWAYS AND ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS.  “DAY TO DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS” BASICALLY IS TOP 10 NEWS SUMMARY ON CURRENT HAPPENINGS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS

April 20, 2022: National / International Current Affairs

1. Allies `not pleased` as new cabinet sworn in

• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on April 19, 2022 finally formed a 33-member federal cabinet, albeit not without some bitterness among the ruling alliance.
• And as expected, President Dr Arif Alvi did not administer oath to the members of the new cabinet and the constitutional duty was performed by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
• Although the oath was taken by 33 lawmakers, a notification issued by the Cabinet Division carried the names of 26 federal ministers and two ministers of state. Besides, the prime minister has also appointed three advisers.
• A source in the Prime Minister`s Office (PMO) told Dawn that portfolios of five members of the cabinet, hailing from the PML-N, were still under consideration. They werenKhurram Dastgir Khan, Abdul Rehman Kanju, Riaz Pirzada, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Murtaza Javed Abbasi

2. PTI-era media regulatory body scrapped

• In her first policy statement, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on April 19, 2022 announced the long demanded scrapping of the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) in `whatever shape or form it was`, vowed that no black law would be enacted that restricted freedom of expression, and criticised the social media drives against journalists and incitement to violence against them.
• Last year, journalists across the country had held protests against what they called the previous government`s ill-conceived proposal to setup through an ordinance the PMDA as an umbrella body to regulate all media print, television, radio, films, social media and digital.
• In her first press conference after taking oath here on Tuesday, the newly-inducted minister stated: `I announce that the PMDA is being disbanded in whatever shape or form it was, and whosoever was working on it in the Ministry of Information has been asked to stop

3. Miftah-led ECC approves Rs69bn reimbursement to oil industry

• The single-point maiden meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the newly formed federal cabinet on April 19, 2022 approved Rs69 billion for immediate reimbursement of price differential claims (PDCs) to the oil industry on account of cheaper sales of petroleum products than the cost of purchase.
• The meeting of the ECC was presided over by Federal Minister for Finance & Revenue Miftah Ismail and attended by another Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Makhdoom Syed Murtaza Mehmood, federal secretaries and senior officers. The ECC `approved a supplementary grant of Rs68.74bn for disbursement of PDC to oil marketing companies (OMCs) and refineries for the month of April and to meet the shortfall for the month of March, an official announcement said.
• The decision is expected to be immediately ratified by the federal cabinet on Wednesday so that funds could be disbursed to OMCs and refineries at the earliest to avoid supply chain disruptions

4. IMF sees current account deficit, inflation at higher levels

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 19, 2022 forecast Pakistan`s economic growth rate at four per cent, and higher than estimated inflation and current account deficit during the ongoing fiscal year.
• The growth forecast is generally in line with similar estimates by other development lenders such as the World Bank`s 4.3pc and Asian Development Bank`s 4pc and credit rating agencies Moody`s 3-4pc but significantly lower than a 4.8pc target set in the budget 2021-22.
• In its World Economic Outlook (WEO) 2022, the IMF projected an11.2pc average rate of inflation for the current year against 8.9pc last year. The Washington-based lending agency also worked out Pakistan`s current account deficit at 5.3pc of GDP (up from just 0.6pc last fiscal year) and 7pc unemployment rate, slightly lower than 7.4pc of last year

5. Political crisis robs country of foreign investment in March

• March proved to be the worst month for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amid a deepening political crisis as the country witnessed a net outflow of $30.4 million against an inflow of $173.4m in the same period last year.
• The latest data issued by the State Bank on April 19, 2022 is shocking for the country as the new government appeared as another challenge to improve the investment climate.
• The no-investment in March badly hit the overall FDI inflows which fell by 2 per cent during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year (FY22). The inflows have been declining since the beginning of this calendar year but March was devastating for foreign investments.

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6. IMF cuts global growth forecast

• The International Monetary Fund on April 19, 2022 slashed its forecast for global economic growth by nearly a full percentage point, citing Russia`s war in Ukraine, and warning that inflation was now a `clear and present danger` f or many countries.
• The war is expected to further increase inflation, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook, warning that a further tightening of Western sanctions on Russia to target energy exports would cause another major drop in global output.
• The IMF said other risks to the outlook include a sharper-than-expected deceleration in China prompted by a flare-up of Covid-19 lockdowns.
• Rising prices for food, energy and other goods could trigger social unrest, particularly in vulnerable developing countries, the IMF said.

7. Ukraine war enters new `phase` as Russia attacks east

• Moscow launched dozens of air strikes across eastern Ukraine overnight, its defence ministry said on April 19, 2022, with Russia`s top diplomat acknowledging `another phase` of the conflict was beginning as fighting raged in the Donbas region.
• Russia`s defence ministry said that `high-precision air-based missiles` had hit 13 Ukrainian positions in parts of the Donbas while other air strikes `hit 60 military assets`, including in towns close to the eastern frontline.
• Ukraine`s armed forces also confirmed that fighting had increased throughout the east, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had kicked off the widely anticipated offensive in Ukraine`s industrial heartland

8. WHO launches traditional medicine hub in India

• The World Health Organisation launched its Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) at a site in India on April 19, 2022, aimed at unlocking its potential by blending ancient practices with modern science.
• The GCTM knowledge hub is intended to create a body of reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products to help inform standards and the cost-effective use of methods that go outside conventional medicine.
• `Harnessing the potential of traditional medicine would be a game-changer for health when founded on evidence, innovation and sustainability,` the WHO said, noting that traditional medicine formed part of the growing health and wellness industries

9. China signs pact with Solomon Islands, alarms US

• China said on April 19, 2022 it had signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, a move set to heighten the concerns of the United States and allies Australia and New Zealand about growing Chinese influence in a region traditionally under their sway.
• However, Solomon Islands officials had earlier appeared to suggest no agreement had yet been signed.
• Douglas Ete, chairman of parliament`s public accounts committee, had told fellow lawmakers that Chinese officials would arrive in mid May to sign cooperation pacts. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare told parliament that a proposed security agreement would not include a Chinese military base

10. Israel hits Gaza as Jerusalem tensions spike

• Israel carried out its first air strike on the Gaza Strip in months early on April 19, 2022, in response to a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave after a weekend of violence around a Jerusalem holy site.
• The army also said its special forces had made five arrests overnight in the occupied West Bank, which has seen a string of deadly Israeli raids since an uptick in attacks and demonstrations four weeks ago.
• Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he told his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog on Tuesday that he had been `very upset` by Palestinians injured or killed in the West Bank and Al Aqsa mosque during the Muslim holy month of Ramazan

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