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January 18, 2020: National / International Current Affairs
1. Foreign investment in treasury bills reaches record $2.2bn
• Pakistan received a record foreign investment of $2.225 billion in treasury bills during the current fiscal year. The latest T-bills auction held on Jan 15 yielded $537.9 million the highest amount for a single auction which was also confirmed by the State Bank of Pakistan.
• While the speedy foreign investment helped the government improve its reserves, it set off a debate among economists and analysts, with some believing the `hot money` could leave the country in one go, spelling disaster for the economy. However, others supported the idea of increasing the reserves by accepting foreign investment in the local papers.
• The government had during the Jan 15 auction received Rs1.1 trillion, but raised Rs274bn in T-bills.
• The data issued by the State Bank on Friday showed that over 95 per cent investment in T-bills came from the United Kingdom and United States. Out of the total investment of $537.9m, $456.7m came from the UK and $80.2m from the US.
2. Balochistan to give 750 acres land in Pasni for shipyard`s construction
• The Balochistan cabinet on January 17, 2020 approved allotment of 750 acres of land to the Ministry of Defence Production for construction of a shipyard in Pasni city of Gwadar district.
• The Balochistan government will allot the land to the ministry for construction of the shipyard on the of basis 30 per cent equity. The provincial share will be 20-30pc in the project.
• `Around 10,000 jobs will be created in the shipyard, which would help in providing jobs to Balochistan`s youths, Liaquat Ali Shahwani, spokesman for the Balochistan government, said.
3. Ahmer Shehzad Leghari appointed vice chief of air staff
• The government has appointed Air Marshal Ahmer Shehzad Leghari as the vice chief of the air staff, Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
• Air Marshal Leghari was commissioned in GD (P) Branch of Pakistan Air Force in November, 1984. During his illustrious career, he commanded fighter squadron and Operational Air Base, said a PAF press release issued here.
• In his staff appointments, he served at Air Headquarters as Chief Project Director Falcon and Director General Projects and also rendered services as Air Attache at Pakistan Embassy in the United States
4. UNSC review to pave way for settlement of Kashmir issue: China
• China on January 17, 2020 urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to pay at tention to the prevailing situation in India-held Kashmir and affirmed that discussion on the Kashmir issue held at the Security Council`s meeting would help de-escalate tension between India and Pakistan and pave way for a proper settlement of longstanding issue.
• `The UNSC should pay attention to the situation in Kashmir based on the latest developments and the review in the UNSC meeting will help de-escalate tension and proper settlement,` Chinese Foreign Ministry`s spokesperson Geng Shuang said during his regular briefing.
• The Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan had always been on the UNSC agenda and as the permanent member of the UNSC, China would continue to play a constructive role in upholding regional peace and stability
5. China`s birth rate at its lowest since 1949
• China`s birth rate dropped last year to its lowest level since the Communist country was foundedin1949,addingtoconcerns that an ageing society and shrinking workforce would pile pressure on a slowing economy.
• To avoid a demographic crisis, the government relaxed its one-child policy in 2016 to allow people to have two children, but the change has not resulted in an increase in pregnancies.
• In 2019, the birth rate stood at 10.48 per 1,000 people, down slightly from the year before, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday.
• The number of births has now fallen for three consecutive years; still, there were 14.65 million babies born last year
6. No automatic deportation for EU nationals after BREXIT
• Britain will not automatically deport European Union citizens who have not applied for the right to remain in the country after BREXIT, European Parliament BREXIT coordinator Guy Verhofstadt said on January 17, 2020.
• Verhofstadt, who met with British ministers including BREXIT minister Stephen Barclay on Thursday, said he had been reassured there would be a grace period for those who have not applied for Britain`s `settled status` scheme by the June 2021 deadline.
• `What will happen for those people even after the grace period? Well there will be no automatic deportation,` Verhofstadt told BBC Radio.
7. France deploys radar system in Saudi Arabia to `reassure` Riyadh
• France has deployed a radar system on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia to beef up its ally`s defences after missile attacks on the kingdom`s oil infrastructure in September, French officials said.
• Paris has blamed Iran for carrying out the drone and missile attack, which crippled the world`s biggest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia, and had promised to provide assistance to prevent a repeat of the incident.
• `In the Arabian Peninsula and Arab-Persian Gulf, where tensions are mounting, we have deployed in record time the Jaguar Task Force, which contributes to reassuring the Saudi kingdom,`President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech to the French military late on Thursday.
• The initiative had not been announced until now.
8. Rare Edward VIII coin bought for one million pounds
• A rare 1937 Edward VIII sovereign coin has been bought by a private collector for 1 million pounds ($1.31 million), making it the most expensive British coin ever.
• The coin was one of six prepared by the Royal Mint when Edward became king in 1936 and was due to be mass produced for general circulation from Jan 1 1937.
• But he abdicated in December 1936 quitting his job as king to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, meaning that production was cancelled and coinage with his face on never entered circulation
9. UK blacklists entire Hezbollah movement
• Britain`s finance ministry on January 17, 2020 said it had added Lebanon`s entire Hezbollah movement toits list of terrorist groups subject to asset freezing.
• The ministry previously only targeted the organisation`s military wing but has now listed the whole group after the government designated it a terrorist organisation last March.
• The change requires any individual or institution in Britain with accounts or financial services connected to Hezbollah to suspend them or face prosecution.
• The group had `publicly denied a distinction between its military and political wings,` the Treasury said in a notice posted on its website
10. US military admits 11 troops injured in Iran attack on Iraq base
• At least 11 American troops were injured in an Iranian attack on an Iraqi base where American soldiers were deployed, US Central Command said on January 16, 2020, although the US military had previously maintained there were no casualties.
• `While no US service members were killed in the Jan 8 Iranian attack on al-Asad Air base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from the blast and are still being assessed,` US Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban said in a statement.
• At the time of the attack, most of the 1,500 US soldiers at the base had been tucked away in bunkers, after advance warning from superiors.
• The strike caused significant material damage but no casualties, according to previous reports from the US military.
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