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November 07, 2018: National Current Affairs
1. Pakistan to maintain strategic balance with India
• Adviser to the National Command Authority (NCA) retired Lt Gen Khalid Kidwal on November 6, 2018 said Pakistan would not follow India`s suit in developing a defence system against ballistic missiles because it found little value in such systems, but would continue to seek to redress the imbalances caused by Indian moves.
• `Pakistan remains unfazed and as before, we have adequate response options which will disallow any disturbance of the strategic balance or strategic stability. That fundamental policy will prevail,` Gen Kidwai told a conference on `Nuclear Deterrence and Strategic Stability in South Asia` hosted by the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI).
• India had been working on the development of a multi-layer ballistic missile defence system for over a decade now. Besides the S-400 deal, India has large-scale cooperation with Israel for BMD development.
• `Much hype has been created around this particular technology induction and some have gone to the extent of calling it a game changer for South Asia,` he said, adding that this was wrong.
2. IDEAS 2018 to feature culture show, sports festival
• With a change in its format, the 10th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) 2018 will include a Sindh culture show, a sports festival and a golf tournament.
• This was disclosed by the media director of Defence Export Promotion Organisation (DEPO), Commodore Tariq Javed.
• The biennial event, with `arms for peace` as its motto, will be held from Nov 27 to Nov 30. The golf tournament, however, will take place on Nov 26 as it would prove helpful in generating interaction and networking among the visiting delegates while also promoting a soft image of Pakistan.
• There will also be a seminar with experts along with a services conference that will be divided into three sessions and will commence on the morning of Nov 28.
• The Pakistan Army will be in charge of the morning session, the Navy will cover the afternoon followed by the Pakistan Air Force the next day. It will provide a good chance to listen to and meet policy and decision-makers. All the three armed forces chiefs will remain available during the conference.
3. Pakistan offers to multiply efforts for US-Taliban talks
• Pakistan November 6, 2018 offered the United States to multiply efforts to engage Taliban for talks with Washington as Islamabad hoped to escape further action by the Financial Action Task Force.
• Pakistan and the US agreed to engage Taliban in talks for peace in Afghanistan.
• Ambassador Alice Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, visited Islamabad for talks. She called on Finance Minister Asad Umar and held delegation-level talks at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• The two sides discussed possible talks with the Taliban and Pakistan’s steps to avert severe sanctions by the FATF.
• The Force had placed Pakistan on grey list during FATF Plenary in Paris in June for not acting against terror financing on its soil. The United States, Britain, Germany and France voted in favour of placing Pakistan on grey list during FATF meeting while Pakistan’s closest allies Turkey, China and Saudi Arabia also backed them. Then caretaker finance minister Shamshad Akhtar and senior officials of the financial monitoring unit were in Paris to defend Pakistan.
4. KP Govt, Korean company sign MoU for 496MW project
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and a South Korean energy sector company (KHNP) Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for initiation of work on 496 megawatts Spot Gah Power Project in district Kohistan under public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
• The Secretary Energy & Power, Mohammad Saleem Khan signed the MoU on behalf of the KP government while Chief Executive KHNP represented the Korean company. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan was chief guest on the occasion.
• Besides, the South Korean Ambassador, Kwak Kyu Sung, Provincial Minister for Finance, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Advisor to CM on Energy, Himayatullah Khan, Chief Executive Officer PEDO, Engineer Zainullah Shah and other higher authorities attended the ceremony. The project will be completed in next five years and will be the largest hydel power project in the history of the province so far. The Spot Gah Hydel Power Project to be completed with joint cooperation of South Korean company and KP government will generate 496 megawatts electricity and will earn a receipt of Rs.3 billion per annum for the province.
• The feasibility study of the project was completed in the year 2010.
5. Opening ceremony of Zhuhai Air Show being held in China
• Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Chief of the Air Staff, Pakistan Air Force attended the opening ceremony of Zhuhai Air Show being held in China.
• A large number of delegations from different countries were also present at the occasion. Air Chief along with other high ranking officials and dignitaries witnessed the stunning aerial display of ‘Pride of Pakistan’ JF-17 Thunder aircraft.
• The Air Chief visited the Pakistan Pavilion, being set up by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, where he interacted with the PAF contingent participating in the show.
• He appreciated the performance of PAF personnel in the show and said that the participation of Pakistan Air Force in this Air Show is a matter of pride for the nation.
November 7, 2018: International Current Affairs
6. China unveils its space station as ISS days numbered
• China unveiled on November 6, 2018 a replica of its first permanently crewed space station, which would replace the international community`s orbiting laboratory and symbolises the country`s major ambitions beyond Earth.
• The 17-metre core module was a star attraction at the biennial Airshow China in the southern coastal city of Zhuhai, the country`s main aerospace industry exhibition.
• Outside, China`s J-10 fighter jet and J-20 stealth fighter wowed spectators as they zoomed across Zhuhai`s sky. Back inside, the country displayed its fleet of drones and other military hardware.
7. Afghanistan starts trade with China via air link
• An aircraft on November 5, 2018 flew 20 tonnes of pine nuts from Afghanistan to China, inaugurating their first air cargo link as the landlocked South Asian nation turns to overseas markets to offset its trade deficit.
• Worth about $500,000, the cargo sent to the commercial hub of Shanghai went by the first of what both countries` officials hope will be many flights, allowing Afghan companies to expand international trade.
• By improving links with markets abroad, the service aims to boost prospects for the growth of the farming and carpet-making industries while Afghanistan battles a deadly Taliban insurgency.
8. Israeli minister in Oman to push for rail link with Gulf
• An Israeli minister has travelled to Oman to propose plans for a railway linking the Gulf to the Mediterranean via the Jewish state at a world transport conference.
• Transport and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz, who reportedly arrived in Muscat on Sunday, is to make the pitch at the annual meeting of the International Road Transport Union.
• The `Tracks for Regional Peace` initiative calls for a rail link connecting Saudi Arabia with the Mediterranean Sea, according to local media.
• The proposalis part of a push by Israel to capitalise on regional developments, particularly anti-Iran sentiments, and to overcome decades of Arab hostility.
• The line would extend from Haifa, Israel`s largest port, passing through Jordan before connecting with existing railways in the Gulf.
• Last month, Katz said he had presented the plan to German Chancellor AngelaMerkel, whose government had expressed interest in participating in the project.
9. Kim`s portrait on public display for first time
• North Korea has displayed a portrait of Kim Jong-un in public for the first time, with analysts saying the move could herald the building of a personality cult around the young leader.
• Idealised portraits of Kim`s grandfather and father the North`s founder Kim 11 Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong II are ubiquitous throughout the country.
• But while the current leader`s daily activities and photographs of him are the mainstay of state media, in wider society he is not portrayed in the same omnipresent way, and no statue of him is so far known to exist.
• When Kim met him at Pyongyang International Airport separate giant portraits of the two men hung on the outside of the building, pictures showed.
10. Over 2,000 migrants drowned in Mediterranean this year: UN agency
• More than 2,000 migrants have died since January trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, the UN said on November 6, 2018, adding that more than half of them were headed for Italy.
• `The number of lives lost on the Mediterranean this year has now exceeded 2000` after 17 people were found dead off the Spanish coast this week, said Charlie Yaxley, spokesperson for the UNHCR refugee agency.
• Some 105,000 migrants and refugees seeking asylum have reached Europe so far this year, representing a drop to pre-2014 levels.
• But the drownings this year mean that the rate of deaths has escalated sharply.The UNHCR `has called repeatedly for urgent action to address this situation`, he said.
