Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (April 21, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. Air pollution brings down life expectancy in Peshawar: study

• A study on air pollution in the provincial capital has revealed a reduction in life expectancy and said the residents were losing 2.3 years of their life to the higher particulate matter.
• The report of the study on `Status of Air Pollution in Peshawar` was formally launched here on Wednesday.
• The report was produced by the Peshawar Clean Air Alliance (PCAA), a civil society-led network of stakeholders sharing a common vision of improving Peshawar`s air quality in collaboration with NGO Sustainable Energy and Economic Development.
• `The Air Quality Life Index estimates that citizens of Peshawar can add up to 2.3 years to years to their life expectancy if PM2.5 levels meet the WHO guidelines,` it said

7. Russia tests intercontinental nuclear-capable missile

• Russia said on April 20, 2022 it had conducted a first test launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, a new addition to its nuclear arsenal which President Vladimir Putin said would give Moscow`s enemies something to think about.
• Putin was shown on television being told by the military that the missile had been launched from Plesetsk in the country`s northwest and hit targets in the Kamchatka peninsula in the far east.
• The Sarmat has been under development for years and so its test-launch is not a surprise for the West, but it comes at a moment of extreme geopolitical tension due to Russia`s eight-week-old war in Ukraine

8. Moscow has sent 500,000 Ukrainians forcibly to Russia, EU told

• Moscow has deported 500,000 people from Ukraine to Russia, a leading member of the parliament in Kyiv told European lawmakers on Wednesday, calling on the Red Cross to establish contact with those missing.
• `Half a million of Ukrainian citizens were deported from Ukraine to the Russian Federation without agreement from their side,` said Mykyta Poturayev, the head of the Ukrainian parliament`s humanitarian committee.
• This news agency could not independently verify the figure given by Poturayev, who did not give details or supporting evidence. `Unfortunately there is no opportunity for now even (to mal(e) contact with these people,` Poturayev told members of the European Parliament by video link

9. US leads G20 boycott of Russian finance officials

• US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen led a multination walkout of a meeting on April 20, 2022 of finance officials from the world`s richest countries when Russian officials spoke, in protest against Moscow`s invasion of Ukraine.
• Moscow`s attack on its neighbour loomed over the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, the first since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in late February.
• British, French and Canadian officials joined the boycott, officials confirmed, underscoring the boiling tensions at the gathering

10. UK sets target of 40pc women on company boards

• Women should make up at least 40pc of boards at British listed companies and one director should be a person of colour, the country`s financial watchdog said on April 20, 2022 as it set a range of diversity targets for firms` top leaders.
• At least one senior position such as company chair, chief executive or chief financial officer should be held by a woman, the Financial Conduct Authority said, largely confirming early proposals. The FCA said companies will have to make annual statements showing how they are complying with the new rules, or explain any divergences.
• `As investors pay increasing attention to diversity at the top of the companies they invest in, enhancing transparency at Board and executive management level will help hold companies to account and drive further progress,` said Sarah Pritchard, the FCA`s executive director of markets