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December 15, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. Lahore-Wagah shuttle train revived after 22 years
• Pakistan Railways (PR) on December 14, 2019 launched Lahore-Wagah shuttle train, reviving its daily operation after 22 years.
• The service, which was earlier planned to begin from Dec 7, would provide hassle-free travel facility to hundreds of visitors intending to witness flag hoisting and lowering ceremony at Wagah or visiting Jallo Park.
• `We want to start or revive connection of Lahore metropolitan city with its suburbs through rail routes. And Lahore-Wagah is a first step that would be followed by another train from Lahore to Raiwind within next 15 days. And in January, we will launch Lahore Gujranwala train that would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan,` Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid said while talking to media after he inaugurated Lahore-Wagah shuttle train operation
2. New ambassadors posted in 18 countries
• The government has appointed new envoys in 18 countries, including Russia, Germany and Iran.
• According to a notification, Amb Shafqat Ali Khan will be the new ambassador in Moscow. He will replace Amb Qazi Khalilullah, who has retired. Mr Khan was currently Pakistan`s envoy to Poland.
• Director General Europe at the Foreign Office (FO) Malik Mohammad Farooq has been posted to Warsaw (Poland) as the ambassador there.
• Director General South Asia and SAARC Dr Mohammad Faisal, who also served as FO spokesperson, has been designated as the new ambassador to Germany in place of Amb Jauhar Saleem, who will move to Italy as Pakistan`s envoy in Rome.
• Amb Rahim Hayat Qureshi, who was ambassador in Seoul (South Korea), has been appointed as the envoy in Tehran (Iran). Ms Mumtaz Zahra Baloch would replace him in South Korea
3. Baloch scholar`s sculpture installed at Gwadar
• A monumental statue to pay tribute to the Baloch scholar, poet, author and lexicographer late Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi was installed at Padizar Avenue of the port city on December 14, 2019.
• The sculpture was made by renowned Iranian sculptor Hassan Yadgarzadeh with the support of Mir Abdul Ghafoor Kalmati Trust.
• Intellectuals, Baloch writers and academics from Gwadar and other parts of Balochistan, Iran and the Middle East attended the inauguration ceremony at Padizar Avenue.
• In their speeches, they paid tribute to the late scholar and recalled his efforts for the promotion of Baloch language and literature
4. Pakistan elected as Chair of UNCND
• Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Vienna Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan has been elected as the Chair of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) for its 63rd session for the year 2020.
• “Pakistan’s unanimous election reflects another vote of confidence by the international community in Pakistan’s leadership and its important role in the global policy discourse on the world drug problem,”.
• Following its election as the Chair, Pakistan would steer the Commission through dialogue and cooperation with all the stakeholders to address challenges related to narcotic drugs by a balanced, comprehensive and evidence-based approach, it added
5. Pakistan to launch Agosta 90B soon
• The first vessel in the Pakistani Naval Forces’ Agosta 90B Class Submarine Modernisation Project, which provided Turkey with the first export in submarine design and engineering services, will be launched this month.
• In 2016, Defence Technologies Engineering and Trade (STM) won the modernisation tender in a competition with a $350 million contract against a French company that builds submarines.
• As part of the project for the modernisation of the Agosta 90B-class submarines, Defence Technologies Engineering and Trade Co had a tough and long competition process with the French DCNS Shipyard, which carried out the design and production of the submarines. The Turkish company was evaluated as being technically and commercially superior and was chosen as the main contractor by the Pakistani Defence Ministry at the end of the tender process.
6. President reconstitutes National Economic Council
• President Dr Arif Alvi has reconstituted the National Economic Council (NEC), the highest advisory body for economic development in the country.
• According to details, the President on the advice of the Prime Minister has reconstituted the National Economic Council under Article 156(1) of the Constitution.
• The NEC will now comprise of 13 members under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan, and four provincial chief ministers, Advisor to the PM on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to the PM on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production, and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Ishrat Hussain, Provincial Minister of Punjab for Finance Hashim Jawan Bakht, Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra
7. North Korea conducts `crucial test` at Sohae launch site
• North Korea has conducted another `crucial test` at its Sohae satellite launch site, state media reported on Saturday, as nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington remain stalled with a deadline approaching.
• The announcement comes a day before US Special Envoy on North Korea Stephen Biegun is set to arrive in Seoul for a three-day visit, and after the United States tested a medium-range ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean.
• `Another crucial test was successfully conducted at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground from 22:41 to 22:48 on December 13,` a spokesman for the North`s National Academy of Defence Science said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency
8. Sudan`s Bashir gets two-year detention for corruption
• Sudan`s former president Omar al Bashir was on December 14, 2019 sentenced to two years` detention in a correctional centre for corruption in the first of several cases against him.
• The charges stemmed from millions of dollars received by the toppled strongman from Saudi Arabia.
• Bashir, who was deposed by the army in April after months of mass protests against his three-decade rule, appeared in the court in a metal cage wearing a traditional white jalabiya and turban for the verdict.
• He was convicted of `corruption` and `possession of foreign currency`, Judge Al Sadiq Abdelrahman said, charges which can carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years
9. Australia could see hottest day on record
• Australia could experience its hottest day on record next week as a severe heatwave in the country’s west is set to make its way east, forecasters say.
• Temperatures are likely to exceed 40C in many areas from Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) says. The current record of 50.7C was set on January 2, 1960 in the outback town of Oodnadatta in South Australia. Fire weather warnings have been issued for parts of Western Australia and Queensland.
10. Legend Snell is no more
• Famed New Zealand Olympic middle distance runner Peter Snell has died in Dallas at age 80.
• The newspaper reported sports historian and friend Ron Palenski confirmed Snell had died at his Texas home on December 13, 2019 after years of heart problems.
• Palenski said Snell`s wife Miki had telephoned him to share the news.
• Snell, considered New Zealand`s greatest athlete, won three Olympic golds. He took the 800 metres at the 1960 Rome Games and won both the 800 and 1,500 metres at the 1964 Tokyo Games. He is the only man since 1920 to have won both events at the same Olympics
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