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 October 25, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. PM hails $6bn bailout package as big relief

• Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation soon after returning from Saudi Arabia on October 24, 2018 described the $6 billion bailout package as big relief for Pakistan and vowed to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Yemen to end their ongoing conflict.
• The prime minister said he also expected Saudi Arabia-like monetary assistance from two other friendly countries after which the government might not need to seek as big a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as had been planned earlier.
• Accusing the previous two governments of plunging the country into its worst financial crisis, Mr Khan in his televised address to the nation said the opposition parties` recent plan to form an alliance was aimed at pressing the government to get some relief under a deal like the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that was bestowed upon them by retired General Pervez Musharraf.
• Expressing grautude to Saudi leadership for helping Pakistan at a time of need, the prime minister, who had travelled along with his key cabinet members to Riyadh to attend the Future Investment Initiative Conference on a special invitation of King Salman bin Abdel Aziz, said: `We could go into default but the `tremendous` financial package from Saudi Arabia has relieved our burden.

2. 30,000 children in Islamabad are out of school, minister informed

• The education minister was on October 24, 2018 told there are 30,000 out-of-school children in the capital.
• Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood gave the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) directions to take measures to bring these children into schools.
• The minister was visiting the FDE, which looks after the 423 educational institutions of the capital, for the first time to get a briefing about Islamabad`s education sector.
• The FDE was earlier under the control of the Ministry of Capital Administration and Development Division which the PTI government abolished. FDE has now been placed under the education ministry.
• Mr Qureshi was the chairman of the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (Peira) and looked after FDE affairs as an acting DG for over a year and a half.
• The minister said the government had a vision for bringing 25 million out of school children into schools and that the 30,000 children in Islamabad should be enrolled in schools on a priority basis.

3. Govt appoints interim SECP chairman

• Tahir Mehmood has been appointed as the acting Chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission Pakistan (SECP) on October 24, 2018.
• The government also notified the appointment of Jameel Ahmed as the Deputy State Bank of Pakistan. He was previously working as the executive director in the central bank.
• Former chairman Shaukat Hussian had earlier tendered his resignation on 19 Oct which was subsequently accepted by the finance ministry.
• Hussain`s resignation came after two weeks of confusion after rumours circulating in the federal capital suggested that Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed finance ministry to remove him from the top position

4. Baba Haider Zaman dies in Islamabad hospital

• Baba Haider Zaman, the chairman of Tehreek-i-Sooba Hazara, died at a private hospital in Islamabad on October 24, 2018.
• He was 86.Baba Haider Zaman got nationwide fame after Abbottabad riots in 2010 when he opposed re-naming of the erstwhile NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• He demanded that Harzara division should be given the status of a separate province.
• Till his death, he was organising rallies and holding meetings for creation of a new province for the people of Hazara.
• Although the movement for Hazara province could not be run effectively yet he addressed large public meetings in Karachi, Dera Ismail Khan and other areas for the purpose.
• Baba Haider Zaman was a soft spoken but straightforward person. In his speeches, he would point out the mistakes and wrongdoings of the local and national leaders.

5. Govt allows non-filer overseas Pakistanis to purchase property

• The government has removed the condition of being a taxfiler for overseas Pakistanis to purchase properties in the country and individuals acquiring properties through inheritance.
• The decision was taken to alleviate hardships faced by non-resident individuals investing in the real estate sector. The condition which was imposed by previous government increased challenges for overseas Pakistanis.
• The decision issued via a circular on October 24, 2018 reveals that restriction on purchase/transfer of property having value exceeding Rs5 million by nonfilers will not apply to legal heirs acquiring property through inheritance.

October 25, 2018: International Current Affairs

6. Saudi prince vows to bring Khashoggi killers to justice

• Saudi Arabia`s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed on October 24, 2018 that the killers of Jamal Khashoggi would be brought to justice his first public comments since the journalist`s murder sparked global condemnation.
• Striking a defiant tone, Prince Mohammed told participants at an investment conference in Riyadh that the furor over Khashoggi`s killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul would not derail the reform drive.
• His comments came hours after US President Donald Trump was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying that since he was Saudi Arabia`s de facto ruler, the crown prince bore ultimate responsibility for the operation that led to Khashoggi`s death.
• The world`s top oil exporter has come under increasing pressure over the death of Khashoggi, a columnist and one of the crown prince`s mostprominent critics.

7. EU parliament approves ban on single-use plastics

• The European Parliament voted overwhelmingly on October 24, 2018 for an EU-wide ban on single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery, cotton buds and balloon sticks.
• The European Commission, the 28-nation EU`s executive arm, proposed banning such items that it said account for 70 per cent of the waste in the oceans and beaches.
• `Today we are one step closer to eliminating the most problematic single-use plastic products in Europe,` the EU`s environment commissioner Karmenu Vella said.
• The European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, voted for the ban on single-use plastic by 571 votes for, 53 against and 34 abstentions.

8. To Kill a Mockingbird voted America`s best-loved novel

• To Kill a Mockingbird, a coming-of-age story about racism and injustice, overpowered wizards and time travelers to be voted America`s best-loved novel by readers nationwide.
• The 1960 book by Harper Lee emerged as No 1 in PBS` `The Great American Read` survey, whose results were announced on October 24, 2018 on the show`s finale. More than four million votes were cast in the six-month long contest that put 100 titles to the test.
• Books that were published as a series counted as a single entry.
• The other top-five finishers in order of votes were Diana Gabaldon`s Outlander series about a time-spanning love; J.K.
• Rowling`s Harry Potter boy wizard tales; Jane Austen`s romance Pride and Prejudice; and J.R.R. Tolkien`s The Lord of the Rings fantasy saga.
• Turns out the contest was a Mockingbird runaway. `The novel stahed out at No. 1 on the first day of the vote, and it never wavered,` series host Meredith Vieira said.
• Set in the 1930s South, the book centers on attorney Finch and his young children, daughter Scout and son Jem. When Finch defends an African-American man falsely accused of assaulting a white woman, the trial and its repercussions open Scout`s eyes to the world around her, good and bad.

9. Italy fines Apple, Samsung millions for slowing phones

• Italy`s competition authority on October 24, 2018 said it was fining Apple and Samsung 10 and five million euros ($11.5 and $5.7 million) respectively for the `planned obsolescence` of their smartphones.
• The ruling is believed to be the first against the manufacturers following accusations worldwide that they encourage operating system updates for older phones which slow them down, thereby encouraging the purchase of new phones.
• An investigation by the anti-trust authority revealed that `Apple and Samsung implemented dishonest commercial practices`, a statement said.
• Operating system updates `caused serious malfunctions and significantly reduced performance, thus accelerating phones` substitution.` Samsung told owners of its Note 4 phone to install a new version of Google`s Android operating system intended for the more recent Note 7 but which rendered the old model sluggish.
• Likewise, Apple told iPhone 6 owners to install an operating system designed for the iPhone 7, leading to problems for owners of the older model.

October 25, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

10. Pakistan beat Australia by 66 runs in first T20

• Pakistan crushed Australia by 66 runs in the first Twenty20 international in Abu Dhabi on October 24, 2018 to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
• Pakistan scored 155-8 in their 20 overs as Babar Azam struck an unbeaten 68 before Imad Wasim took three wickets for 20 to bowl Australia out for 89 in 16.5 overs their joint-third lowest total in all T20 internationals.
• Paceman Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Afridi took two wickets apiece for Pakistan.