Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (February 18, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. Israeli navy joins US-led exercise with S. Arabia, Pakistan

• The Israeli navy confirmed on February 17, 2022 that it has participated in a US-led exercise with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and some other countries that do not have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
• The US Navy said in a statement that more than 9,000 people from 60 militaries took part in the International Maritime Exercise (IMX), which kicked off on Jan 31.
• The participants included Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Comoros, Djibouti, Somalia and Yemen who do not have diplomatic ties with Israel.
• Several countries with which Israel recently normalised relations such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also participated. Bahrain is a close US ally and hosts the 5th Fleet of the US Navy

7. African leader asks EU: `Are we equal?

• Sierra Leone`s leader challenged Europeans on February 17, 2022 to remember there are `human beings on the other side` in Africa who have been left behind in the unequal global response to Covid-19.
• By the start of February, only 11 percent of Africans were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus far fewer than in richer parts of the world where vast and expensive inoculation campaigns have reached most of their populations.
• `We feel left out, President Julius Maada Bio said in his speech at the European Union-African Union summit. `So at a meeting like this we really want to ask these critical questions.
• Are we equal partners in this? Do we consider there are human beings on the other side?` Many developing countries have called for intellectual property rights for Covid vaccines and treatments to be waived, but face opposition from rich nations, including many in the EU.

8. France announces Mali withdrawal after decade-long jihadist fight

• France announced on February 17, 2022 that it was withdrawing its troops from Mali after a breakdown in relations with the country`s ruling junta, ending a near 10-year deployment against jihadist groups that pose a growing threat in West Africa.
• France sent soldiers to its former colony in 2013 to beat back advancing Islamic extremists, but its initial battlefield success was followed by a grinding anti-insurgency operation and rising hostility from Malians.
• Anger in Paris about the alleged arrival of Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group, as well as deepening ties between the Malian regime and Moscow, also hastened the French departure
9. Draft of Iran`s nuclear deal revealed
• A US-Iranian deal taking shape to revive Iran`s 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers lays out phases of mutual steps to bring both sides back into full compliance, and the first does not include waivers on oil sanctions, diplomats say.
• Envoys from Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and United States are still negotiating details of the draft accord amid Western warnings that time is running out before the original deal becomes obsolete.
• Delegates say much of the text is settled but some thorny issues remain.
• The broad objective is to return to the original bargain of lifting sanctions against Iran, including ones that have slashed its crucial oil sales, in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities that extend the time it would need to produce enough enriched uranium for an atomic bomb if it chose to

10. Australia to list Hamas as terror group

• The Australian government intends to list the entirety of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas as a terrorist organisation under the country`s criminal code, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said on February 17, 2022.
• A listing by Australia of the whole group, rather than just its military wing as at present, would bring Canberra`s stance in line with the United States, the European Union and Britain.
• `The views of Hamas and the violent extremist groups listed today are deeply disturbing and there is no place in Australia for their hateful ideologies,` Andrews said in a statement.
• Andrews said she had written to Australia`s state and territory leaders to consult with them on listing the whole of Hamas, `and will finalise the listing as soon as possible`