Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (August 01, 2020) for CSS, PMS

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August 01, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. Islamabad, Kabul trade charges over Chaman clash

• Pakistan and Afghanistan on July 31, 2020 traded allegations over deadly border bring incident that caused casualties on both sides.
• The Foreign Office said in a late evening statement that Pakistani troops had responded to firing by the Afghan forces. `Pakistani Force did not open fire first and responded in self-defence only,` the FO said, rejecting Afghan allegation of firing at the civilian population.
• Information Minister Senator Shibli Faraz said certain people had tried to cross the Chaman border forcibly and at the same time gunshots were fired from the Afghan side.

2. Khidmat centres, web portal launched to facilitate builders

• The government has launched e-Khidmat centres and a web-portal to facilitate builders who have pledged to commence economic activities in the construction sector.
• The decision to set up e-Khidmat centres and a web portal was taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan during a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction and Development (NCCHCD).
• A source privy to the meeting told Dawn on Friday that the meeting served as a morale booster for the builders and developers who welcomed the support being extended by the government towards resolving their issues and providing them conducive environment to start projects in the construction sector

3. MEPCO chief removed following pressure from ministers

• The services of Chief Executive Officer of the Multan Electric Company (MEPCO) have been repatriated to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company which is his parent department.
• Mr Tahir Mehmood had recently complained of political interference in the transfer and posting of officials.
• His transfer was notified by the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) on July 30.

4. Sindh govt, WB to launch solid waste management project

• The Sindh government is designing a Solid Waste Emergency and Efficiency Project (SWEEP), and seeking World Bank`s assistance as an `emergency operation` to address flooding in Karachi due to overflow of sewerage and waste, and to improve the provision of solid waste management services in the city.
• It is officially learnt that the World Bank has started appraising the `Karachi solid waste emergency and efficiency project`, and it is expected that the executive board will approve financing of $105 million for the project which will be implemented in two phases

5. KP amends law to regularise those working for absentee Khasadars

• The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on July 31, 2020 amended the Khasadar Force Act, 2019, regularising those working illegally for absentee Khasadar personnel.
• The law was enforced last year for the reconstitution of the Khasadar Force functioning in the merged tribal districts and their absorption in the regular police force.
• After the legislation, the government faced problems as there were many, who worked as illegal proxies for the enrolled Khasadars, many of whom had already died or worked somewhere else

6. Breathalyser test now a must for PIA cabin crew

• The management of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has made it compulsory for its cabin crew to take a breathalyser test to know how much alcohol they have in their blood before they are permitted to board the flight.
• In a directive issued by the PIA`s medical division, which has come into effect immediately, all the cabin crew must undergo medical check-up before boarding the flights.
• The notification issued by the medical division said the test would be carried out in the cabin crew briefing rooms by flight surgeon/medical officer or the ground staff supervised by the flight surgeon

7. Pilgrims perform last major rites of Haj

• Pilgrims cast sanitised pebbles on Friday as they symbolically `stoned the devil` in one of the last major rites of Haj, which the Saudi king acknowledged had been tough to organise amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• Massive crowds in previous years at times triggered deadly stampedes during the ritual, but this year only up to 10,000 Muslims are taking part after millions of international pilgrims were barred due to the health crisis.
• In the scorching heat, worshippers made their way across Mina Valley near Makkah under the watchful eyes of security forces, to `humiliate` the devil

8. Socially distanced, masked Muslims offer Eid prayers

• Masked and socially distanced to fight the coronavirus, Muslims around the world offered prayers on Friday to mark the festival of Eidul Azha, with mosques at reduced capacity and some praying in the open air.
• Saudi Arabia`s King Salman bin Abdulaziz, 84, whose country is home to two of Islam`s holiest sites, tweeted holiday congratulations a day after leaving hospital in Riyadh. Haj is being held in the country with attendance drastically reduced.
• In Istanbul, Muslims offered Eid prayers at Hagia Sophia for the first time since the historic building was reconverted to a mosque this month following a court ruling revoking its status as a museum that drew criticism from Western countries.
• Around the world, the festival had to fit in with the realities of the coronavirus.

9. US to pay $2.1bn to Sanofi, GSK in Covid-19 vaccine deal

• The US government will pay $2.1 billion to Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline for COVID-19 vaccines to cover 50 million people and to underwrite the drug makers` testing and manufacturing.
• The award is the biggest yet from `Operation Warp Speed`, the White House initiative aimed at accelerating access to vaccines and treatments to fight Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
• The deal, announced by the US Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defence, works out at a cost of around $42 per person inoculated

10. World Cup winner Hoewedes retires at 32

• Benedikt Hoewedes, a German World Cup winner, said on July 31, 2020 that he is retiring aged 32 for family reasons.
• He made 44 appearances for Germany at centre-back and full-back and played every minute on the way to triumph in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
• He played more than 330 times for Schalke before spending the 2017-18 season on loan at Juventus and then moving to Lokomotiv Moscow for two seasons

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