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April 24, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. Three soldiers martyred by firing from `across Afghan border`
• Three Pakistani soldiers were martyred and four others injured in firing from across the Afghan border in North Waziristan tribal district on April 23, 2022 amid reports that the Ghulam Khan border crossing has been closed for an indefinite period.
• A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in Peshawar said that security forces responded in a befitting manner in which, according to credible intelligence reports, the attackers suffered heavy casualties.
• Independent sources reported the killing of one suspected terrorist in the retaliatory firing. They said the deceased belonged to the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (T TP).
• The statement said that during the exchange of fire Havaldar Taimoor, 30; Naik Shoaib, 38; and Sepoy Saqib Nawaz, 24, embraced martyrdom
2. Current account deficit doubles in March to $1bn
• The country`s current account deficit almost doubled in March to $1 billion compared to the preceding month, taking the total gap during the first nine months (July-March) of the ongoing fiscal year to over $13 billion.
• The latest data issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Saturday could be shocking for the new government, which is in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for the release of $1 billion.
• Since the beginning of the current fiscal year, the government has failed to control the widening trade deficit, which is leading to higher current account deficits.
• `Despite high global commodity prices, the turnaround in the current account continues, with a deficit of $1bn in March, $500m lower than the average during FY22
3. IT exports up 29pc to $1.94bn
• Remittances from the IT exports, including telecommunication, computer and information services, during July to March FY22 surged by 29.26 per cent to $1.94 billion from $1.50bn during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
• According to the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication`s data, in March 2022, ICT export remittances reached $259 million at a growth rate of 23.92 per cent when compared to $209m reported in March 2021.
• The IT exports in the month of March were also $58m higher than remittances received in the month of February 2022 which were $201m
4. France braces for Le Pen-Macron showdown today
• France on April 23, 2022 prepared to choose between centrist President Emmanuel Macron and farright challenger Marine Le Pen to rule the country for the next five years after a bitterly contested and polarising election campaign.
• Macron is the favourite to win re-election in the run-off ballot on Sunday, and there are indications he bolstered his advantage with a combative performance in the one off election debate against a somewhat defensive Le Pen this week.
• But the president and his allies have insisted over the last week that nothing is in the bag, with a strong turnout crucial to avoid a shock in France comparable to the 2016 polls that led to Brexit in Britain and Donald Trump`s election in the United States
5. Turkey closes airspace for Russian planes flying to Syria
• Turkey has closed its airspace to Russian civilian and military planes flying to Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying on Saturday by local media.
• The announcement marks one of the strongest responses to date by Turkey, which has cultivated close ties with Moscow despite being a member of the Nato defence alliance, to Russia`s two-month military assault on Ukraine.
• `We closed the airspace to Russia`s military planes and even civilian ones flying to Syria. They had until April, and we asked in March,` Turkish media quoted Cavusoglu as saying
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