Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (June 23, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. ECC approves Rs133bn for K-Electric, IPPs

• Undecided whether to pass on to consumers or absorb the Rs90 billion outstanding cost of electricity consumed by Karachi residents five years ago, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on June 22, 2022 approved charging57 paise per unit recent quarterly adjustments in July, August and September.
• Presided over by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, the ECC also approved a total of Rs177bn supplementary grants, including the payment of Rs37bn to K-Electric for the tariff differential subsidy (TDS) and Rs96bn to 11 independent power producers (IPPs) set up under the 2002 power policy as the second instalment of the committed payments under the 2021 renegotiated agreements.
• `The ECC approved tariff rationalisation for K-Electric by way of adjustments of increase Rs0.571 per unit with a recovery period of three months,` said an official announcement. This increase in tariff is on account of quarterly adjustments for July September 2021

7. Russian oil tankers get India safety cover via Dubai firm

• India is providing safety certification for dozens of ships managed by a subsidiary of top Russian shipping group Sovcomflot, official data showed, enabling oil exports to India and elsewhere after Western certifiers withdrew their services due to global sanctions against Moscow.
• Certification by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass), one of the world`s top classification companies, provides a final link in the paperwork chain after insurance coverage needed to keep state-owned Sovcomflot`s tanker fleet afloat and delivering Russian crude oil to overseas markets.
• Data compiled from the IRClass website shows that it has certified more than 80 ships managed by SCF Management Services Ltd, a Dubai-based entity listed as a subsidiary on Sovcomflot`s website

8. Key Ukrainian city under `massive` Russian attack

• `Massive` Russian bombardment of Ukraine`s battleground eastern Lugansk region and key city Severodonetsk has been `hell` for soldiers there, Kyiv said, while insisting that defenders would hold `as long as necessary`.
• Moscow`s troops have been pummelling eastern Ukraine for weeks and are slowly advancing, despite fierce resistance from the outgunned Ukrainian military.
• With President Vladimir Putin`s forces tightening their grip on the strategically important city of Severodonetsk in the Donbas, its twin city of Lysychansk is now coming under heavier bombardment.
• More than half a million Jeddah residents are impacted by the demolition of over 60 neighbourhoods under the project, which began last October and has continued intermittently, Amnesty International said in a statement issued on Wednesday

9. Kuwait crown prince dissolves parliament, calls for early polls

• Kuwait`s crown prince on June 22, 2022 dissolved parliament and called for an early election following a stand-off between the government and elected assembly that has hindered fiscal reform.
• Crown Prince Sheilch Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah said in a televised speech that decrees would be issued for the dissolution of parliament for `elections in coming months`.
• Kuwait`s ruling emir, who has the constitutional power to dissolve parliament, made a brief appearance to say that Sheikh Meshal, his half-brother and designated heir, would speak on his behalf, effectively blessing the move

10. Saudi prince in Turkey to normalise ties after Khashoggi murder

• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Turkey for the first time in years on June 22, 2022 for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan aimed at fully normalising ties that were ruptured after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• The visit marks a step in Prince Mohammed`s effort to rehabilitate his image beyond the Gulf, and comes as Erdogan seeks financial support that could help relieve Turkey`s beleaguered economy ahead of tight elections for the president.
• In April, Erdogan held one-on-one talks with Prince Mohammed also known as MbS for short in Saudi Arabia after a months-long drive to mend relations between the regional powers, including dropping the Turkish trial over Khashoggi`s 2018 murder in Istanbul