Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (August 12, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. UN proposes demilitarised zone near Ukraine N-plant

• Russia and Ukraine accused each other of new shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on August 11, 2022 ahead of a UN Security Council meeting to address concerns over the facility`s security.
• Both Moscow and Kyiv said there were five rocket strikes near a radioactive material storage area at the plant, Europe`s biggest nuclear facility which has been a focus of renewed fighting in recent days.
• Ukraine`s nuclear agency Energoatom said later there had been fresh Russian shelling near one of the plant`s six reactors that had caused `extensive smoke` and `several radiation sensors are damaged`

7. Rajapaksa arrives in Bangkok after fleeing protests

• Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on August 11, 2022 arrived in Bangkok after his visa ran out following a month-long stint in Singapore where he had taken refuge from protesters at home.
• The deposed leader landed on a private jet at Don Mueang International Airport around 8pm local time, a senior Thai official said. He left the airport`s VIP section around 40 minutes later with his wife and got into a black sedan, local media reported.
• Rajapaksa flew into Singapore from the Maldives on July 14 after fleeing a deepening economic crisis and widespread protests in Sri Lanka. He tendered his resignation shortly after his arrival. Sri Lankans arriving in Singapore normally receive a 30-day visa, but authorities said they had initially given Rajapaksa only two weeks and later extended the visa by another two weeks

8. Iran brands US claim of Bolton plot `fiction`

• Iran dismissed as `fiction` on August 11, 2022 US allegations it had plotted to kill former White House national security adviser John Bolton in retaliation for the assassination of one of its top commanders.
• The US claim comes at a crunch moment in talks on reviving a nuclear deal between Iran and major powers that Washington had abandoned in 2018 but has said it wants to rejoin, with Iran now considering what European Union mediators have called a `final` text.
• `The US Justice Department has made allegations without providing valid evidence, creating a new work of fiction,` Iran`s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said

9. China explains move to place `hold` on Indian, US bid against JeM leader

• China on August 11, 2022 defended its decision to delay a proposal by the United States and India at the UN Security Council to sanction Abdul Rauf Azhar, a senior commander of Jaishe-Mohammad (JeM) and brother of the militant group`s founder and leader Masood Azhar.
• India and the United States want Abdul Rauf to be subjected to a global travel ban and asset freeze.
• The move has to be agreed by all 15 members of a Security Council sanctions committee. `We placed a hold because we need more time to study the case

10. Australia cricketers donate prize money to Sri Lankan kids

• Australia`s cricket stars have donated prize money from their recent Sri Lanka tour to help the crisis-hit nation`s children, officials said on August 11, 2022.
• Cricket Australia said US$30,000 would be donated as a gesture of support, after the men`s squad witnessed long fuel queues and political demonstrations during the mid-year tour.
• Soaring inflation and widespread fuel shortages have made life tough for millions of Sri Lankans