Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (October 17, 2020) for CSS, PMS

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October 17, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. FDI slumps 51pc in September

• Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country fell 50.7 per cent year-on-year in September to $189 million against $383.5m last year, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on October 16, 2020.
• On a cumulative basis, the FDI fell 24pc in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, compared to 40pc increase in the first two months of FY21.
• The SBP`s data showed the FDI fell to $415.7m during July-September FY21 compared to $545.5m in the same period last fiscal year, witnessing a decline of 23.8pc.

2. All major airports to be outsourced

• Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan chaired a high level meeting regarding outsourcing of major airports at Aviation Division, said a spokesman on October 16, 2020.
• The minister was briefed on the process of outsourcing of airports. He was informed that as per directions of the Cabinet, an audit firm shall be hired in the initial phase to carry forward the process in accordance with the best international practices. Federal Minister for Privatization, Adviser to PM for Institutional Reforms and Austerity, Chairman Board of Investment, Secretary Aviation along with senior officials of Aviation Division and CAA were also present in the meeting.

3. Shaheed-i-Millat ‘Liaquat Ali Khan’ remembered on death anniversary

• First Prime Minister of Pakistan Shaheed-i-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan was remembered on his 69th death anniversary on October 16, 2020.
• Born in Karnal‚ East Punjab, Liaquat Ali Khan got education from Aligarh Muslim University, India and Oxford University, United Kingdom. Then he struggled with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to get a separate homeland for Muslims of the sub-continent.
• Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated this day in 1951 during a public meeting at Company Bagh in Rawalpindi which was later named after him as Liaquat Bagh He is buried at Mazar-e-Quaid compound in Karachi

4. Last night out in France as 20m face virus curfew

• Millions of French people were looking forward to a last night of freedom on October 16, 2020 before a Covid-19 curfew in Paris and other large cities comes into force for a least a month, prompted by an alarming surge in new cases.
• The curfew aims to keep some 20 million people home from 9pm to 6am 30 per cent of the French population.
• It was ordered by President Emmanuel Macron this week as the number of new infections and deaths raised the spectre of hospital overloads like those seen in March and April.

5. UK ready to walk away from EU without major change

• Britain said on October 16, 2020 there was no point in holding any more Brexit talks without a dramatic softening of the EU`s position, bringing a potentially nasty divorce at the end of the year a step closer.
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded after a European Union summit on Thursday proposed a fresh round of talks next week in London, while demanding Britain give ground on key stumbling blocks.
• `As far as we`re concerned the trade talks are over,` Johnson`s official spokesman told reporters.

6. Israel halts visas for UN rights staff after dispute over settlement data

• Israel, which was angered in February by the UN listing companies with activities in illegal Israeli settlements, has granted no visas to UN rights staff for months, the agency said on October 16, 2020.
• `Visa applications have not been formally refused, but the Israeli authorities have abstained from issuing or renewing any visas since June,` UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said in an email.

7. Teacher killed in France after showing blasphemous sketches in class

• A history teacher who had shown sketches of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in class was on October 16, 2020 decapitated and his assailant shot dead by French police as they tried to arrest him, police and prosecutors said.
• French anti-terror prosecutors said they were investigating the assault which happened on the outskirts of Paris at around 5pm near a school in Confians Saint-Honorine, a western suburb of the French capital

8. Underwater vehicles developed to collect data in plateau lakes

• Chinese researchers have developed autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that can carry out plateau lake investigations, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
• The AUVs, jointly developed by the Shenyang Institute of Automation and the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under CAS, conducted underwater investigations in Karakul Lake on the Pamir Plateau in September

9. Doha to host single leg Asian Champions League final

• Qatar will host the postponed Asian Champions League final after staging the knockout rounds as a competition hub during the coronavirus pandemic.
• The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced the decision Friday to stay in Doha without saying which 2022 World Cup stadium will stage the game on Dec. 19.

10. Wimbledon plans return in 2021, with or without fans

• The Wimbledon tennis tournament is planning its comeback in 2021.
• Wimbledon was the only Grand Slam tournament cancelled this year for the first time since World War II because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the All England Club announced plans for its return next year

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