April 2018

Day by Day Current Affairs (April 20, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

MCQs for CSS | Day by Day Current Affairs MCQs
Written by CSS Times

WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY  DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018 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

April 20, 2018

Current Affairs MCQs | CSS Times General Knowledge MCQs

  1. Chairpersons of three Senate committees elected
  • Elections for chairpersons of three Senate standing committees were held on April 19, 2018.
  • These committees included the Senate Standing Committee on Finance in which the Senate deputy chairman will be sitting as a member for the first time.
  • The elections for these three committees` heads were held in the first phase because of the upcoming federal budget, whereas chairpersons for other three dozen Senate standing committees would be elected at a later stage.
  • Senator Farooq H. Naek of PPPP elected chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Finance
  • Senator Agha Shahzeb Durrani of the PML-N has been elected chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reforms, while Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi has been reelected as chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
  1. NA body okays bills to drug test students
  • Two bills that call for the mandatory drug testing of school and university students in the capital were approved by the National Assembly Standing Committee on April 19, 2018.
  • The private member`s bills, titled the `Prevention of Drugs in Educational Institutions Act 2018` and the `Compulsory Drug Test of Students Act 2018`, were tabled by MNAs Shahida Rehmani and Asiya Naz Tanoli respectively.
  • The bills were tabled in the National Assembly in the first week of March and were opposed by Minister for Education Balighur Rehman, who said they were not feasible.
  • They were tabled again on March 13, and sent to standing committees to be considered
  • Check also: CSS Pakistan Affairs MCQs
  1. Qadir made adviser to Balochistan CM
  • Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has appointed a businessman, Muhammad Abdul Qadir, his special adviser to deal with financial and other issues with the centre.
  • The adviser would sit in Islamabad and take up financial and development-oriented matters of the provincial government with the federal government.
  • The appointment before the announcement of federal budget on April 27 is believed to be a smart move on the pan of the provincial government to settle its financial issues with the centre.
  • The adviser will also help expedite the mega development package announced by the federal government for the province titled Aghaz-i-Huqooq-i-Balochistan package.
  1. UN honours seven Pakistani peacekeepers
  • Seven Pakistani peacekeepers who laid down their lives for global peace and security were honoured with a medal at the annual memorial ceremony held at United Nations headquarters in New York. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attended the programme as chief guest and paid homage to the peacekeepers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
  • Pakistan has been one of the largest troop contributing countries for UN peacekeeping missions across the globe. So far, 156 Pakistani blue helmets have embraced martyrdom while serving under the UN umbrella.
  • The seven Pakistani peacekeepers honoured on April 19, 2018 were Naik Qaiser Abbas (UN Multidimen­sional Integrated Stabilisa­tion Mission in the Central African Republic), Sepoy Yasir Abbas (African Union/UN Hybrid operation in Darfur), Sepoy Muham­mad Ishtiaq Abbasi (UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Ha­­v­ildar Zishan Ahmed (MONUSCO Congo), Sepoy Hazrat Bilal (MINUSCA Cen­­tral African Republic), Naik Abdul Ghafoor (MINUSCA Central African Republic) and Naik Attaur Rehman (MONUSCO Congo).
  1. North Korea seeks `complete denuclearisation`, says Moon; US vows continued pressure
  • North Korea has expressed its commitment to `complete denuclearisation` of the Korean peninsula and is not seeking conditions, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on April 19, 2018, as the United States vowed to maintain `maximum pressure` on Pyongyang.
  • Moon said big-picture agreements about denuclearisation, establishing a peace regime and normalisation of relations between the two Koreas and the United States should not be dif ficult to reach through summits between the North and South, and between the North and the United States.
  • Current Affairs MCQs | CSS Times General Knowledge MCQs

  1. Cuba marks end of an era as Castro hands over to Diaz-Canel
  • Cuba marked the end of an era on April 19, 2018 as Miguel DiazCanel was formally elected as the country`s new president, becoming the first leader of the Caribbean island in six decades who is not named Castro.
  • Diaz-Canel, a top Communist Party figure who has served as first vice president since 2013, assumes power from Raul Castro, who himself took over from his elder brother Fidel, father of the 1959 revolution.
  1. King renames Swaziland as `eSwatini` on its independence day
  • The king of Swaziland, one of the world`s few absolute monarchs, announced on April 19, 2018 that his country had changed its name to eSwatini to mark 50 years since independence from British rule.
  • Meaning `place of the Swazi`, eSwatini is the Swazi language name for the tiny nation landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique.
  • Unlike some countries, Swaziland did not change its name when it gained independence in 1968 after being a British protectorate for more than 60 years.
  • King Mswati Ill declared the name change during independence day celebrations at a packed sports stadium in the second city of Manzini.
  • `African countries on getting independence reverted to their ancient names before they were colonised. So from now on the country will be officially be known as the Kingdom of eSwatini.
  1. 17th Sindh Games open amid fanfare as 3000 athletes compete
  • After a lull of almost six years and repeated postponement, the fourday 17th Sindh Games extravaganza which is dubbed as regional Olympics, got off to a spectacular start amidst fanfare at the PSB Coaching Centre on April 19, 2018.
  • Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair inaugurated the spectacle and took salute of the competing teams and scouts who passed in front of the dais.
  • Around 3,000 male and female athletes and officials from Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur, Larkana and Karachi are taking part in the games.
  1. UK firms announce £100m investments in Pakistan
  • UK and Pakistan trade ministers welcomed almost £100 million of new British business investment into Pakistan on April 19, 2018. UK Trade Minister Greg Hands and Minister of Commerce, Muhammad Pervaiz Malik welcomed the investment into fuel stations and manufacturing at a meeting in London.
  • They were joined by the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Pakistan Rehman Chishti MP.
  • It follows Minister Hands’ visit to Pakistan in September last year where the UK and Pakistan confirmed their ambition to increase bilateral trade and the UK confirmed its intention to maintain the preferential access Pakistan receives to the UK to support Pakistani economic growth after the UK leaves the EU.
  • Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell is planning on setting up around one-hundred new fuel stations along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route at selective locations representing up to £13 million of investment by 2020.
  1. Iran to replace dollar with euro in financial reports
  • The government of Iran has announced plans to replace the US dollar with the euro in official financial reporting, according to state-run media.
  • The move on April 18, 2018 is seen as part of efforts to circumvent restrictions on accessing the US currency amid tensions with Washington, as well as prevent market instability generated due to fluctuations in the value of Iranian rial against the dollar.
  • In a cabinet meeting, the government decided that all ministries, state organisations and companies should report based on a euro-rial exchange rate, which the Central Bank of Iran will be tasked to report frequently.

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