Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (June 26, 2020) for CSS, PMS

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June 26, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. Interest rate cut by 100 basis points to 7pc
• The State Bank of Pakistan has slashed the interest rate by 100 basis points to 7 per cent in an effort to push up growth which is still sliding downward despite pumping of a huge liquidity into the economy.
• The decision announced by the central bank on June 25, 2020 was expected by both the financial and business circles.
• The bank said inflation was on the decline. The falling inflation trend is helping the policymakers to cut the interest rate.
2. Cabinet approves Salt Range National Park over 13,700 acres
• The Punjab cabinet on June 25, 2020 accorded approval to develop the Sambli (North) Reserve Forest as the Salt Range National Park over an area of 13,700 acres to enhance tree cover and protect the environment.
• Chairing a Punjab cabinet meeting at a local hotel on June 25, 2020 where Punjab Assembly session is in progress, Chief Minister Usman Buzdar said cutting of trees and hunting would be banned in the national park while the land won`t be utilised for any other purpose in this park.
• Directing that a notification for the park be issued promptly, the CM also sought constitution of the management committee to oversee the park`s affairs
3. Two more international airlines suspend flights from Pakistan
• Two more international airlines one from the United Arab Emirates and the other from Qatar on June 25, 2020 suspended their flight operations from Pakistan, a day after several passengers who had travelled to Hong Kong by another airliner tested positive for Covid-19.
• Etihad Airways is the third airline of the UAE after Fly Dubai and Emirates to have temporarily suspended its flight operation for outbound passengers, while Qatar Airways has suspended its passenger services to and from Pakistan.
• An official of Etihad Airways, who didn`t give his name, told Dawn that the outbound flights of Etihad Airways had been suspended till July 1. He didn`t give any reason for the suspension of flight operations from Pakistan, but hinted that the suspension of out bound flights might be extended. However, headded, inbound flights would continue to operate for Pakistan
4. Uniform education system at primary level from next year: PM
• Prime Minister Imran Khan on June 25, 2020 appreciated Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood for preparing a uniform education system which will be introduced across the country next year.
• Speaking on the floor of National Assembly, the prime minister said next year across the country the `apartheid education system` will be replaced with a uniform education system. He said for preparing the uniform education system, Mr Mahmood deserves appreciation.
• He said in the past no attempt was made to introduce a uniform education system as there was no political will.
5. Three Chinese hydel projects get ECC approval after a one year wait
• In fast moving developments, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on June 25, 2020 approved important revisions to the terms on which three hydropower projects, worth more than $5 billion in total, are being executed by Chinese companies.
• The meeting, presided over by Adviser to PM on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also reduced regulatory duties on six categories of smuggling-prone items and approved technical supplementary grants to various agencies and ministries.
• The ECC on April 8 agreed to the demand from the Chinese firms for up to seven per cent foreign exchange loss after resisting it for almost a year.
6. Russians vote to extend Putin`s rule
• Polls opened in Russia on June 25, 2020 for a weeklong vote on constitutional changes that would allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.
• The vote on a slew of constitutional amendments, proposed by Putin in January, was initially scheduled for April 22, but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. It was later rescheduled for July 1, with polling stations opening a week earlier and staying open for seven days to prevent crowds on the main voting day.
• The proposed amendments include a change in the Russian Constitution that would allow the 67-year-old Putin, who has ruled Russia for over two decades, to run for two more six-year terms after his current one expires in 2024.
7. Studies of antibody test accuracy fall short: report
• Many studies assessing the accuracy of Covid19 antibody tests had major shortcomings, a review released on June 25, 2020 concluded, offering further evidence the blood tests are of little use for people seeking to know with certainty if they have been infected.
• Cochrane, a British-based journal that reviews research evidence to help decision makers adopt better health policies, looked at 54 studies, mostly from Asia, that sought to measure the reliability of tests purporting to show whether somebody has developed antibodies against the new coronavirus.
• The studies were often small, did not use the most reliable methods, and results were often incomplete, Cochrane said in its 310-page report.
8. DR Congo ends second deadliest Ebola outbreak ever
• Eastern Congo marked an official end on June 25, 2020 to the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, which killed 2,280 people over nearly two years, as armed rebels and community mistrust undermined the promise of new vaccines.
• Thursday`s milestone was over shadowed, though, by the enormous health challenges still facing Congo: the world`s largest measles epidemic, the rising threat of Covid-19 and another new Ebola outbreak in the north.
• `We are extremely proud to have been able to be victorious over an epidemic that lasted such a long time,` said Dr Jean Jacques Muyembe, who coordinated the national Ebola response and whose team also developed a new treatment for the once incurable hemorrhagic disease
9. Google to pay some news outlets for content
• Google says it will start paying some publishers for their news content, in a move that could pave the way for reduced tensions between the internet search giant and the beleagured news industry.
• The company said on June 25, 2020 that it plans to launch this year a licencing programme to “pay publishers for high-quality content”. The programme will start with local and national publications in Germany, Australia and Brazil, “with more to come soon”, Brad Bender, vice president of product management, said in a blog post.
• “This programme will help participating publishers monetise their content through an enhanced storytelling experience,” Bender said, describing it as a significant step forward in how the company will support high-quality journalism.
10. Australia, NZ chosen to host 2023 women`s World Cup
• Australia and New Zealand will host the 2023 women`s World Cup after the countries` joint bid was chosen by FIFA on June 25, 2020.
• The overwhelming favourites won ahead of their only rival Colombia, with Japan having withdrawn its own bid earlier in the week and Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and a joint Korean proposal already having fallen by the wayside.
• The 2023 tournament is set to be the first 32-team women`s World Cup, up from the 24 nations who competed at last year`s finals in France, won by the United States