Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs/News (Feb 13 2023) for CSS

Table of Contents

6. Farm output per worker stagnant for three decades in Pakistan: WB

• Pakistan`s agricultural output per worker has been stagnant for three decades, lagging all other countries, and it has expanded at an annual rate of less than 0.7 per cent, while the South Asia average has been four times the rate, a World Bank report says.
• The sector`s sluggish productivity performance can be linked to distortions created in part by state interventions that have led to concentration of resources on four major crops (cotton, sugarcane, wheat and rice), increasing the advantage of big landowners and banks (insiders) at the expense of small farmers, consumers and future generations (outsiders), and contributed to environmentally unsustainable practices, the report said

February 13, 2022: International Current Affairs MCQs

7. France hits out at Black Panther over depiction of its army

• Paris` defence minister on February 12, 2023 condemned the latest instalment of Marvel`s Black Panther franchise, which depicts French troops caught trying to steal resources belonging to the fictional African kingdom of Wakanda.
• `I strongly condemn this false and deceptive representation of our armed forces,` Sebastien Lecornu wrote on Twitter, responding to a clip from the November movie posted by a journalist.
• The scene turns on a group of bound French soldiers being brought into a UN meeting, embarrassing Paris` ambassador to the world body, after they were caught on a secret mission to a Wakandan base in Mali

8. Ukraine may be allowed to make British arms under licence, says paper

• British arms and military vehicles could be manufactured in Ukraine under licence, easing the country`s dependence on supplies of arms from Western allies, the Telegraph newspaper reported on February 12, 2023.
• The report said British defence industry executives had travelled to Kyiv to discuss plans to set upjoint ventures to manufacture weapons and vehicles locally.
• Manufacturers from other European countries were also in discussions with Ukraine, it said, citing one executive saying there was a race to put Britain `at the front of the queue`

9. Biden calls for consensus in Israel on plans to tame judiciary

• US President Joe Biden has called for wide agreement to be reached in Israel on sweeping changes to the judiciary which have sparked nationwide protests.
• Israel`s parliament may on Monday begin the legislation process of the judicial overhaul, which would increase the government`s sway in selecting judges while weakening the judiciary`s power to strike down laws or rule against the executive.
• `The genius of American democracy and Israeli democracy is that they are both built on strong institutions, on checks and balances, on an independent judiciary. Building consensus for fundamental changes is really important to ensure that the people buy into them so they can be sustained,` Biden said

10. US jet shoots down mystery `object` over Canada

• A US F-22 fighter jet shot down an unidentified cylindrical object over Canada on February 12, 2023, the second such instance in as many days, as North America appeared on edge following a week-long Chinese spying balloon saga that drew the global spotlight.
• Meanwhile, twice in 24 hours, US officials closed airspace only to reopen it swiftly. On Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly closed space above Lake Michigan.
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first announced Saturday`s shootdown over the northern Yukon territory, which borders Alaska