Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (October 14, 2021) for CSS, PMS

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October 14, 2021: National / International Current Affairs

1. Bajwa, Bagheri agree on response to terrorism

• In a sign of growing defence ties, Pakistani and Iranian militaries on October 13, 2021 agreed on training exchanges and enhanced counterterrorism cooperation.
• The understanding was reached during a meeting between Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Bajwa and visiting Iranian Chief of General Staff Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri at the General Headquarters. The two commanders held one-on-one talks that were followed by a delegation-level meeting.
• Discussions, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, covered a wide range of issues including the situation in Afghanistan, regional security and border management particularly fencing along Pak-Iran border

2. Panel chief rejects draft bill on forced conversion

• In an unusual move, the chairman of the parliamentary committee concerned turned down the draft bill on stopping forced conversions by reading a printed message that the draft was against public interest.
• Senator Liaquat Khan Taraki, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee to Protect Minorities from Forced Conversion, read out on Wednesday the message as soon as the members demanded a vote on the draft after a heated debate spanning more than two hours

3. First Transgender Protection Centre opens in Islamabad

• Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari inaugurated the first Transgender Protection Centre in the country in H-9/4 on October 13, 2021.
• Speaking at the event, Dr Mazari said similar centres would be established in other cities to ensure the rights of the transgender community, emphasising that members of the community should be provided the same employment and health facilities as other citizens of the country.
• She said the PTI government had included the transgender community in the Ehsaas Programme and health card initiatives with the aim to provide them opportunities for development

4. 10-year tax holiday for oil refineries abolished

• Following negotiations with the refining industry, the petroleum division has wiped out 10-year tax exemption protection, reduced government`s contribution to finance upgrades of existing oil refineries and enhanced compliance requirements.
• The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) led by Planning Minister Asad Umar had earlier approved an incentives package for modern refineries that also included 20-year tax holiday but had refused to allow such protections to existing refineries for refurbishment

5. Qatar advises West not to isolate Taliban

• Qatar`s foreign minister said isolating Afghanistan and its new Taliban rulers will never be an answer and argued on October 13, 2021 that engaging with the former insurgents could empower the more moderate voices among them.
• Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke amid a flurry of diplomatic meetings taking place in Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office for years in the lead-up to their takeover of Afghanistan in August

6. Netherlands develops `virtually painless` needle-free injection

• Researchers in the Netherlands are developing laser technology to enable `virtually painless` injections without needles in what they call a breakthrough that will ease fear and lower the threshold for vaccinations.
• The `Bubble Gun` uses a laser to push tiny droplets through the outer layer of the skin, said David Fernandez Rivas, a professor at Twente University and research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who founded the idea.
• The process is quicker than a mosquito bite and `should not cause pain` because nerve endings in the skin are not touched, he said, adding this would be studied further.

7. 195 nations back `Kunming` pledge to tackle ecological destruction

• Almost 200 nations pledged on Wednesday to tackle ecological destruction at a key UN conservation summit in China, but environmentalists criticised the proposal as vague and lacking accountability. Delegates from some 195 countries said they would support the `Kunming Declaration` working to tackle issues around biodiversity and species protection in the first segment of the two-part COP15 summit in the southern Chinese city Kunming.
• The pledge is expected to pave the way for a new accord next year that will set out global conservation targets for 2030 and 2050

8. Iran tests anti-missile defences after US, Israeli warnings

• The Iranian military said on October 13, 2021 it had successfully tested anti-missile defences for `sensitive` sites during war games in central Iran, after Israeli and US warnings over its nuclear programme.
• `The country`s air defences are perfectly prepared to protect sensitive and vital installations through a multilayered defence system,` said General Amir-Qader Rahimzadeh, commander of Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya airbase at Semnan, quoted by Fars news agency.
• The exercises, which began on Tuesday, combined the army`s `Majid` defence system with the `Dezful` system of the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps to destroy incoming cruise missiles

9. Star Trek`s Shatner becomes world`s oldest space traveler

• Having made a career out of playing an explorer of the cosmos, William Shatner Captain James Kirk of `Star Trek` fame did it for real on Wednesday, becoming at age 90 the oldest person in space aboard a rocketship flown by billionaire Jeff Bezos`s company Blue Origin, an experience the actor called profound.
• Shatner was one of four passengers to journey for 10 minutes and 17 seconds to the edge of space aboard the white fully autonomous 60-foot-tall New Shepard spacecraft, which took off from Blue Origin`s launch site about 20 miles (32 km) outside the rural west Texas town of Van Horn

10. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa defend National T20 title

• Clinical Khyber Pakhtunkhwa defended their National T20 title after thrashing Central Punjab by 7 wickets in the final played here at the Gaddafi Stadium on October 13, 2021 night.
• It was an outstanding knock by man-of-the-final Iftikhar Ahmed who helped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reach home safely with 18 balls to spare. Phenomenal Iftikhar punished Central Punjab bowlers severely by hammering quickfire unbeaten 45 runs off 19, wrapped with six boundaries and two smashing sixes. He was ably assisted by Adil Amin, who also batted sensibly and slammed unbeaten 21-ball 25 runs, with the help of two fours

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