Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (May 25, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. Richest countries contributing to destruction of environment: UN

• The world`s richest countries-including Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Norway are providing healthier environments for children within their borders, yet they are disproportionately contributing to the destruction of global environment, putting the present and future of all children globally at risk, Unicef said in a new report released on May 24, 2022.
• The majority of wealthy countries is creating unhealthy, dangerous and noxious conditions for children across the world, according to the latest `Report Card` published by Unicef Office of Research Innocenti.
• The `Innocenti Report Card 17: Places and Spaces` compares how 39 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Union (EU) fare in providing healthy environments for children

7. Russia eyes prolonged war in Ukraine

• Russia signalled on May 24, 2022 it was bedding in for a long war in Ukraine as the conflict entered its fourth month with heavy fighting in the east but signs of some normality returning elsewhere.
• `We will continue the special military operation until all the objectives have been achieved,` Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, using Moscow`s name for the war.
• Three months after Moscow`s invasion, Western funds and weapons have helped Ukraine hold off its neighbour`s advances in many areas, including the capital Kyiv.
• Russia is now focused on securing and expanding its gains in the eastern Donbas region, near the border and home to pro-Russian separatists, as well as the southern coast

8. Taliban sign pact with UAE on running Afghan airports

• A United Arab Emirates company signed a contract with the Taliban authorities on May 24, 2022 to provide ground handling services at Afghanistan`s three airports, officials said, as the country seeks to resume international transit.
• Capital Kabul`s only airport was trashed in August when tens of thousands of people rushed to evacuate as the US-led forces withdrew.
• While some domestic and international flights are still operating out of the facility, it needs significant upgrades for major foreign airlines to restart full service. The full operation of Kabul airport is crucial for reviving Afghanistan`s shattered economy

9. Chinese, Russian jets patrol East Asian skies during Biden`s presence in Japan

• Chinese and Russian military planes conducted joint exercises to patrol the Asia-Pacific region on May 24, 2022 in a pointed farewell to US President Joe Biden as he concluded an Asia trip that rankled Beijing.
• Japan scrambled jets after Russian and Chinese warplanes neared its airspace while Tokyo was hosting the leaders of the Quad group of countries, which includes the United States, said Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi, who called the move a provocation.
• It was the first joint military exercise by China and Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb 24 and it came at the tail end of Biden`s four-day trip

10. Six Pakistani peacekeepers to be honoured posthumously

• Six peacekeepers from Pakistan will be honoured posthumously with `Dag Hammarskjold Medal` at a ceremony at UN headquarters on May 26 in observance of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
• According to a United Nations announcement, the Pakistani peacekeepers to be honoured are: Tahir Ikram (police), Adil Jan (police) and Muhammad Nil Naeem (military) who all served with UNAMID in Darfur; Tahir Mehmood (military), deployed with the UN Stabilisation Mission in Congo (MONUSCO); Muhammad Shafeeq (military) from the UN Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA); and Abrar Sayed who served in a civilian capacity with MINURSO.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will lay a wreath to honour the nearly 4,200 UN peacekeepers who have lost their lives since 1948 and will preside over a ceremony at which the `Dag Hammarskjold Medal` will be awarded posthumously to 117 military, police and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their lives serving under the UN flag last year