Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs/News (May 02, 2020) for CSS, PMS

WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2020 FOR PREPARATION OF CSS, PMS, BANKING, NTS, RAILWAYS AND ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS. “DAY TO DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS” BASICALLY IS TOP 10 NEWS SUMMARY ON CURRENT HAPPENINGS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS

May 02, 2020: National / International Current Affairs

1. Loan limit for hospitals raised to Rs500m

• The State Bank of Pakistan on May 1, 2020 enhanced financing limit from Rs200 million to Rs500m for single hospital/medical centre under its Refinance Facility for Combating Covid-19 (RFCC).
• The SBP further reiterated its support for the health sector in the ongoing pandemic. SBP`s RFCC is an emergency funding facility to support hospitals/medical centers to develop their capacities for treatment of Covid-19 patients. Financing under this facility is being made available by the SBP at zero percent to banks that can charge a maximum rate of 3pc per annum to hospitals.
• The health sector is also making efforts to get financing available at much cheaper rates; almost one third of policy interest rate which is currently now 9pc.

2. Working group of experts to assess coronavirus impact

• The Punjab government has constituted a Working Group consisting of local and international experts to assess the health and economic impacts of Covid-19.
• The experts include epidemiologists, public health specialists, applied economists, statistics and public policy specialists who will advise the Punjab government on health and economic impacts through data modeling and predictive analysis regarding smart test sampling and allied matters.
• The senior officers from the Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department, Specialized & Medical Education Department, Planning and Development Board, Home Department, HQ 4 CORPS, PDMA and Urban Unit will represent the Punjab government. The international experts are from Yale Institute for Global Health, Yale University, Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan, Research Center LUMS, Centre for International Development Harvard, London School of Economics and researchers from universities of Georgetown and Washington.

3. NTC managing director given extension

• Ignoring the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan`s (SECP) guidelines, the government has granted one-year extension to the managing director of National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC).
• A notification issued by the cabinet division states that the contract appointment of NTC managing director retired brigadier Vigar Rashid Khan in MP-1 scale has been extended for one-year starting from April30.
• The NTC is under the Ministry of Information Technology; however, both the ministry and the cabinet divisionfailed to observe the Public Sector Companies (Appointment of Chief Executive) Guidelines 2015, issued by the SECP.

4. Trump`s dig at China over pandemic rattles world markets

• US President Donald Trump`s new threat of tariffs against China over the coronavirus sent a shudder through global markets on Friday, as India warned the world`s biggest lockdown would continue for two more weeks.
• In New York, Wall Street opened sharply down after Trump alleged on April 30, 2020 that the virus might have come from a Chinese lab and raised the prospect of more US trade tariffs.
• Asked if he had seen anything to make him think the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China was the source of the outbreak, Trump replied: `Yes, I have.
• When asked about reports that he could cancel US debt obligations to China, Trump said he could `do it differently` by `just putting on tariffs`

5. Canada bans assault weapons in wake of mass shooting

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on May 1, 2020 announced an immediate ban on military-grade assault weapons, responding to a mass shooting and arson spree that left 22 people dead earlier this month.
• `These weapons were designed for one purpose, and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shonest amount of time,` Trudeau told a news briefing.
• He said his government has approved a decree banning the sale, purchase, use, transport and import of 1,500 models of military-grade assault weapons and variants of them.
• `There is no use, and no place for such weapons in Canada,` Trudeau said.

6. Nato withholds key information on Taliban attacks: watchdog

• Nato`s US-led mission in Afghanistan is withholding key information about Taliban attacks, a US government watchdog said on May 1, 2020, potentially making insights into the war harder just as the Pentagon slashes its troop presence.
• The Resolute Support (RS) mission previously disclosed data on `enemy-initiated attacks`, one of the few remaining public metrics of the conflict and the strength of the Taliban and other insurgent groups.
• In its quarterly report released on Friday, the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said RS had stopped providing numbers

7. Record ozone hole over Arctic in March now closed: UN

• Ozone depletion over the Arctic hit a `record level` in March, the biggest since 2011, but the hole has now closed, the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on May 1, 2020.
• The springtime phenomenon in the northern hemisphere was driven by ozone-depleting substances still in the atmosphere and a very cold winter in the stratosphere, WMO spokeswoman Clare Nullis told a UN briefing in Geneva.
• `These two factors combined to give a very high level of depletion which was worse than we saw in 2011. It`s now back to normal again … the ozone hole has closed,` she said

8. Australia topple India from top spot in ICC Test rankings

• Australia have ended India`s almost four-year run at the top of the International Cricket Council`s Test rankings and also moved to No. 1 in the Twenty20 format at Pakistan`s expense.
• All international and first-class cricket has been suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic which has also clouded the out look for this year`s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia but the annual update of the rankings on Friday means that results from 2016-17 were eliminated and the results since May last year are given extra weight.
• That means Australia moved to No. 1 with a rating of 116 after retaining the Ashes in England and going unbeaten in five Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand at home over the southern summer.

9. Taylor wins NZ top cricket award for third time

• Veteran batsman Ross Taylor has won the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal as New Zealand`s cricket player of the year, claiming the top award for the third time in its 10-year history.
• The presentation was made by Sir Richard on May 1, 2020, on the final day of New Zealand Cricket (NZC)`s virtual awards ceremony.
• In a season of milestones, Taylor surpassed Stephen Fleming as New Zealand`s leading Test run-scorer and became the first player from any nation to play 100 international matches in all three formats.

10. Badminton World Championships rescheduled to avoid Tokyo clash

• The 2021 hadminton World Championships will move from its August slot and begin in late November to avoid a clash with the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics next year, the game`s governing body said on May 1, 2020. The tournament will be held from Nov 29 to Dec 5 in the Spanish city of Huelva, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said in a statement.
• The Tokyo Games, originally scheduled to start in July this year, have been post-poned to July 23 to Aug 8, 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will be followed by the Paralympic Games which will run from Aug 24 to Sept 5.
• BWF is yet to finalise remainder of the 2021 tournament calendar, highlighting the extent of the damage caused by the pandemic

Check our daily updated ‘s Complete Day by Day Current Affairs Notes

May 2020:
[catlist name=”May 2020″]

April 2020:
[catlist name=”April 2020″]

March 2020:
[catlist name=”March 2020″]

February 2020:
[catlist name=”February 2020″]

January 2020:
[catlist name=”January 2020″]