Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (January 19, 2022) for CSS, PMS

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January 19, 2022: National / International Current Affairs

1. Daily Covid cases top 5,000 after eight months

• The second highest number of Covid-19 cases was reported on January 18, 2022 across the country since April 29 last year, when 5,113 cases were reported.
• According to the data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 5,034 cases and 10 deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.
• On Dec 25 last year, Islamabad had confirmed its first case and later it was officially announced that Pakistan had entered the fifth wave of pandemic.
• Meanwhile, the NCOC has referred a case to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against a fake Twitter account that used the title of the centre

2. Pakistan kicks off process for Sukuk bond launch

• As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has finally called its executive board`s meeting on January 28, Pakistan started the process for launching of over $1 billion Islamic Sukuk Bond, with unchanged B3 (stable) rating by Moody`s Investor Service.
• The expected inflow of more than $2bn over the next couple of weeks through two transactions IMF disbursements and Sukuk Bond is likely improve the country`s foreign exchange reserves for now and contain the exchange rate depreciation. The international debt market, however, remains under pressure that can entall relatively higher pricing and hence a tricky choice for the country`s economic managers to go for higher proceeds.
• The IMF on Tuesday announced on its website that its executive board would meet on January 28 to consider Pakistan`s `requests for waivers of non-observance of performance criteria and re-phasing of access` to IMF funds, `sixth review` for revival of $6bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and `Article-IV consultations`

3. IHC restores Dr Banuri as HEC chairman

• A division bench of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on January 18, 2022 restored Dr Tariq Javed Banuri on the post of chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC).
• Dr Banuri was appointed as the HEC chairman in 2018 on a four-year term.
• According to a notification issued by the federal government, he was supposed to retire in May this year.
• However, Dr Banuri was removed from the post in March 2021 on the basis of an amendment to the HEC ordinance 2002 through a presidential ordinance that reduced the chairman`s tenure from four years to two years

4. Home dept okays police proposal for new division in Murree

• The home department has approved the proposal of the Punjab police for the bifurcation of the Rawalpindi`s Saddar division in order to raise a new division comprising two sub-divisions and as many police stations in Murree with a prime purpose of strengthening the existing policing system.
• The development came in the wake of the recent tragic incident in which many citizens had died after they got trapped in heavy snowfall in Murree.
• The police department is of the view that the upgrade of the administrative set-up in Murree will help raise the police supervision to prevent deaths in the hilly area. After initial approval, the home department has sent the proposal/ summary to Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar for final consideration

5. Cop martyred in attack on check post

• Unidentified militants attacked a checkpost manned by both Dir Levies and police personnel in the Takoro Kandao area of Lower Dir district on Monday midnight, leaving a cop martyred and another injured.
• One of the attackers was also killed when the personnel at the checkpost retuned fire.
• Dir Levies constable Qaisar and police head constable Sher Ali received bullet injuries when the attackers opened fire on the checkpost. Qaisar died later.
• Residents said the exchange of fire between the personnel and the militants continued for some time

6. Foreign direct investment increases 20pc in July-December

• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased 20 per cent year-on-year in the first half of 2021-22, reflecting an improvement in the investment environment.
• In the first half of the current fiscal year, FDI amounted to $1.05 billion against the inflow of $879.7 million in the same period of 2020-21.
• The inflow in December 2021 jumped 29pc year-on-year to $218.7m, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Tuesday.
• During the entire 2020-21, the country received just $1.86bn in FDI, which is a relatively small amount compared with remittances and export proceeds

7. Indonesia offers coal to fire up CPEC projects

• Indonesia`s refined coal industry could provide fuel for the power projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and to Large Scale Manufacturing Industries in Pakistan, Ambassador of Indonesia to Pakistan Adam M Tugio said on January 18, 2022.
• Indonesia currently exports 8.51 million tonnes of coal to the world market, accounting for 26 per cent of the total global coal exports, he said.
• The Indonesian envoy met with prominent businessmen in Lahore for promoting bilateral cooperation in various sectors and especially for Indonesian coal in Pakistan, a press release said. The meeting was attended by several businessmen from different sectors including textile industry, steel, ceramic and cement, all of which have the potential to import coal for their energy generators

8. Major US airlines warn 5G could ground some planes, wreak havoc

• The chief executives of major US passenger and cargo carriers on January 17, 2022 warned of an impending `catastrophic` aviation crisis in less than 36 hours, when AT&T and Verizon are set to deploy new 5G service.
• The airlines warned the new C-Band 5G service set to begin on Wednesday could render a significant number of widebody aircraft unusable, `could potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas` and cause `chaos` for US flights.
• `Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded, wrote the chief executives of American Airlines , Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others in a letter.

9. Anti-abortion politician elected youngest EU parliament chief

• Maltese politician Roberta Metsola was elected head of the European Parliament on January 18, 2022, the youngest person ever to clinch the job, but fanning controversy for her opposition to abortion.
• The appointment of the centre-right 43-year-old from the EU`s smallest nation comes a week after the sudden death of outgoing centre-left parliament president David Sassoli, who was already due to step down this month as part of the power-sharing pact.
• Metsola a member of the largest bloc, the European People`s Party won a sweeping majority with 458 votes in a secret ballot after a deal between the leading political groupings. She becomes the third woman to head the chamber

10. Lewandowski wins FIFA `Best` player vote ahead of Messi, Salah

• Robert Lewandowski was voted the best men`s player in the world, retaining the FIFA Best Award he won last year despite being left off the ballot paper filed by runner-up Lionel Messi.
• The Bayern Munich forward over turned the result last month of the Ballon d`Or prize where he placed second behind Messi, who finally led Argentina to a senior title at the 2021 Copa Amrica. Mohamed Salah of Liverpool placed third.
• `I am very honoured to win this trophy,` Lewandowski said on a video link from Munich.
• The trophy was presented by club officials during the online ceremony hosted at FIFA headquarters in Zurich

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