Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (March 30, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. `Sludge costing Pakistan 39pc of GDP`

• Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) a public sector think tank has concluded that the country`s institutional processes and frictions cost Pakistan almost 40 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) and the exercise of political power by public representatives exacerbate inequalities across the country.
• On the conclusion of the two day conference `Research for Social Transformation and Advancement` (Rasta), economist and PIDE Vice-Chancellor DrNadeem U1 Haque said fresh findings, ideas and things have come to light at the event that required policymakers to take note of.
• Dr Ahmed Waqar Qasim, Senior Research Economist at PIDE, in his study `Sludge: The Administrative Burden` found that `in various sectors sludge at the national level costs Pakistan 39pc of its GDP`

7. Hospitals in Sri Lanka running out of life-saving drugs

• Sri Lanka`s state-run hospitals are running out of life-saving medicines due to a shortage of dollars needed to import essentials as the country reels from a dire economic crisis, officials said on Tuesday.
• Teaching Hospital Peradeniya which serves a population of 2.4 million people in the Central province said it was suspending all routine surgeries and was out of anaesthetic drugs and other essentials for operations.
• A key health trade union said the problem at Peradeniya was common in most state hospitals where suppliers had not been paid for over six months

8. World could turn away from Afghanistan if girls schools stay shut, says UN official

• Afghanistan risks becoming a forgotten crisis unless the Taliban reopen schools for girls, a top UN official warned on March 29, 2022.
• The hardline Islamists sparked outrage last week after ordering girls` secondary schools to shut down just hours after allowing them to reopen for the first time since seizing power seven months ago.
• On March 29, 2022 Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), warned further delays in starting classes not only harmed the girls` future, but risks Afghanistan being ignored

9. US launches satellite TV channel for Afghanistan to counter ban

• One day after the Taliban banned Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts from terrestrial television, the US government-funded news agency on March 29, 2022 launched a 24/7 direct-to-home satellite-delivered television channel for Afghanistan.
• In an earlier statement, the US State Department urged Afghanistan`s Taliban rulers to allow journalists and human rights defenders to operate freely and without fear.
• The VOA announced that the new channel would carry `uncensored news and information` in both the Pashto and Dari languages of the country

10. Russia agrees to scale down fighting at Istanbul talks

• Russia said it would scale down fighting around two Ukrainian cities following talks with Kyiv on Tuesday and raised the possibility of a meeting between the two presidents.
• The outcome of the face-to-face talks held in Istanbul raised hopes after more than a month of conflict that has left thousands dead and forced millions from their homes.
• As he opened the Russia Ukraine talks in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged that both sides had `legitimate concerns`, but urged the delegations to `put an end to this tragedy`