December 2021

Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (December 20, 2021) for CSS, PMS

Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (December 20, 2021) for CSS, PMS
Written by Shahzad F. Malik
WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY  DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2021 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

December 20, 2021: National / International Current Affairs


1. OIC pledges money, food aid for Afghanistan amid fears of chaos

• Amidst calls for urgent help for Afghanistan that is faced with a dire humanitarian situation, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on December 19, 2021 set up a Humanitarian Trust Fund and Food Security Programme for dealing with the rapidly aggravating crisis.
• The 57-member Muslim bloc, which is also the world`s second largest multilateral forum, in a communiqué adopted at the end of the extraordinary session of its Council of Foreign Ministers said it `will play a leading role in the delivery of humanitarian and development aid to the people of Afghanistan`.
• The foreign ministers` meeting had been convened to discuss and prepare a strategy for dealing with the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, whose more than half of the population, nearly 22.8 million people, was faced with an acute food shortage. It is estimated by the UN agencies that 3.2m children were at the risk of acute malnutrition


2. Pakistan, Oman take part in navy exercise

• Pakistan Navy and Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) participated in a bilateral naval exercise titled Thamar Al Tayyib 2021 (TAT21) in the North Arabian Sea.
• The exercise included participation of surface and air units, besides Special Operations Forces from both navies.
• The Omani Navy Task Group comprised RNO ships Al Dhaferah and Al Seeb and Royal Air Force of Oman`s maritime patrol aircraft.
• During the harbour phase of the exercise, which was held recently, operational and tactical-level discussions and pre-exercise conferences were conducted


3. Govt may rethink energy subsidy policy as misuse surfaces

• Amid major gas supply constraints, the government may have to rethink its energy subsidy priorities after coughing up over Rs80 billion per annum in handouts to the export industry in the last over three years as it found little connection between subsidies and export growth, with the textile industry even reneging on its side of the pledge.
• Ministry of Energy had received an independent study from three international reputed organisations The University of Chicago, The London School of Economics and Political Science and International Growth Centre which did not comprehensively support a narrative in the country that gas and electricity subsidies had direct link to export growth.
• The ministries of energy, finance and planning are convinced about rent-seeking and misuse in the textile sector, he said.
• Also, the Ministry of Energy feels aggrieved by the textile industry`s attempts to protect gas supplies and subsidies through courts instead of honouring its commitments to spare gas quantities being used in captive power plants (CPPs) while gas companies struggled to manage supplies for other priority sectors


4. KP local govt polls seem swinging away from PTI

• In the first local government elections since the merger of tribal districts with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) appeared to be losing ground as Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) was leading on many fronts, including the one for the coveted post of Peshawar mayor, unofficial, initial results of the 17 district polls showed in the early hours of Monday morning. The first phase of local government polls, marked by scattered incidents of violence and attacks that claimed five lives and destroyed some polling stations, was held on Sunday after a gap of six years.
• With the unofficial results of mayor/chairman of the 63 tehsil councils being in early stages, IUI-F candidates were ahead of their rivals as the PTI faced setbacks in parts of the province, where the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamaat-i-Islami seemed to have regained strength. In Peshawar, according to initial, unofficial results, JUI-F candidates were leading in three of the seven councils, whereas the PTI and the ANP were ahead in two tehsils each


5. Cotton production up 44pc to 7.3m bales

• The country`s cotton output stood at 7.27 million bales as of Dec 15, showing a year-on-year increase of 44 per cent, the Pakistan Cotton Ginners` Association (PCGA) reported.
• Of the total, Punjab`s cotton ginning factories produced 3.77 million bales, which was 27pc higher than 2.98m bales produced during the same period a year ago.
• Sindh was not far behind and generated over 3.5m bales, an increase of 68pc compared to the same period last year when the output was little over 2m bales.
• A bale of cotton in Pakistan weighs around 170kg


6. Chile votes in polarised presidential election

• Chileans headed to the polls on December 19, 2021 to vote in the Andean nation`s most divisive presidential election in decades, with two candidates offering starkly different visions for the future from pensions and privatisation to human rights.
• Voters were choosing between Gabriel Boric, a 35-year-old former student protest leader allied to the Communist Party, and ultra-conservative Jose Antonio Kast, a law and-order candidate and defender of former dictator Augusto Pinochet. `I want real change,` said Lucrecia Cornejo, 72, a seamstress while waiting in line to vote for Boric, the candidate for a broad leftist front. She cited inequalities in education, pensions and health that Boric has pledged to fix.


7. UAE ends cinema censorship, introduces 21+ rating

• The United Arab Emirates announced on December 19, 2021 it will no longer censor cinematic releases, introducing a 21 and above age rating for films it classifies for mature audiences.
• The UAE, which is made up of seven emirates, is considered one of the more liberal countries in the Gulf region, where movies with adult content are routinely cut or edited.
• The wealthy federation has been continuously amending its laws in recent years, presenting itself as a modernising force in a largely conservative region.
• The country`s Media Regulatory Office said on Twitter that it had introduced a 21+ age category to its motion picture content rating system.


8. UN, US lawmakers back efforts to prevent Afghanistan`s economic meltdown

• The United Nations joined Pakistan on December 19, 2021 in appealing to the world to help prevent Afghanistan`s economic collapse as 39 US lawmakers also backed the call.
• In a message to the 17th Extraordinary Session of the OIC foreign ministers, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths reminded the world that `now is the time` to save Afghanistan from a total collapse.
• `The need for liquidity and stabilisation of the banking system is now urgent not only to save the lives of the Afghan people but also to enable humanitarian organisations to respond,` he said.
• In Washington, 30 lawmakers put their signatures to a letter to US secretaries of state and treasury on Saturday, asking them to help rebuild Afghanistan`s failing economy and to unfreeze the country`s assets


9. France to make it easier for citizens to take mother’s family name

• France will make it easier for citizens to take their mother’s name once they are adults, Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said on December 19, 2021.
• He said the government would support a bill proposed by ruling LREM party lawmaker Patrick Vignal to allow children, when they turn 18, to easily change their family name through a simple procedure at the local town hall.
• French citizens will be free to keep their father’s family name, take their mother’s family name or take both in whichever order they wish.


10. Pakistan thrash BD to set up South Korea semi-final clash

• A thumping 6-2 victory against Bangladesh saw Pakistan get their first victory of the Asian Champions Trophy, jumping up to third in the table and setting up a semi-final against South Korea.
• Pakistan went into their last round-robin game knowing that a two-goal victory would see them leapfrog third-placed Japan, who were hammered 6-0 by India earlier in the day.
• But doubles Aijaz Ahmed and Ahmed Nadeem and goals apiece by Afraz and Mohammad Razzaq saw them clinch a four-goal victory with Bangladesh getting both theirgoals through Arshad Hosein


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    About the author

    Shahzad F. Malik

    Shahzad Faisal Malik is the administrator of CSSTimes.pk and is responsible for managing the content, design, and overall direction of the blog. He has a strong background in Competitive Exams and is passionate and sharing information with others.
    Shahzad Faisal Malik has worked as a Graphic Designer/Content Creator at CSSTimes in the past. In his free time, Shahzad Faisal Malik enjoys watching Cricket, writing blogs for different websites and is always on the lookout for new and interesting content to share with the readers of this website.
    As the website administrator, Shahzad Faisal Malik is dedicated to providing high-quality content and fostering a welcoming and engaging community for readers. He looks forward to connecting with readers and hearing their thoughts and feedback on the website.

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