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August 13, 2020: National / International Current Affairs
1. COAS to visit S. Arabia on 16th
• The army chief will visit Saudi Arabia this weekend, officials said, seeking to calm diplomatic strains over Kashmir as financial support for Islamabad hangs in the balance.
• The two countries are traditionally close and Saudi Arabia in 2018 gave Pakistan a $3 billion loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis.
• But Riyadh is irked by criticism from Pakistan that Saudi Arabia has been lukewarm on the Kashmir territorial dispute, two senior military officials told Reuters, motivating Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa`s planned visit on August 16, 2020.
2. Govt expands soft-loan scheme for entrepreneurs
• While declining to talk about the financial and oil support from Saudi Arabia, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on August 12, 2020 announced expansion of the Kamyab Jawan Programme.
• Dr Shaikh said he would refrain from talking about the details of Saudi financial support or oil facility at this stage, as such bilateral issues remain under discussion.
• However, Special Assistant to the PM on Petroleum Nadeem Babar said Pakistan had requested Saudi Arabia to extend the oil facility on deferred payment after the expiry of one-year agreement between the two countries for provision of $3.2 billion worth of oil.
3. Reforms initiative introduced to improve quality of education in schools, colleges
• The Ministry of Federal Education has introduced a reforms initiative to improve the quality of education in Islamabad`s public sector schools and colleges.
• There are currently 423 schools and colleges in Islamabad that are under the control of the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE). Sources said that the quality of education at these schools has declined significantly in the last 20 or so years.
• Sources said that Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mehmood and his team have introduced a reforms initiative for FDE schools and colleges that they will be bound to implement.
4. Alternative energy policy unveiled
• The government on August 12, 2020 formally announced the Alternative and Renewable Energy (ARE) Policy 2020 that offers generous tax facilities to investors and promises induction of power plants on open competitive bidding for lowest tariff and technology transfer.
• The policy, approved in a recent meeting of the Council of Common Interests, targets increasing the share of ARE in total power supply to 20 per cent by 2025 and 30pc by 2030 from about Spc at present.
• He said hydropower would soon be included in the ARE category under which its share would increase to 60pc of power generation by 2030. Coupled with Thar coal and nuclear power, the total share of power generation from indigenous sources would reach 75pc, he said
5. NA passes 5 Amend Bills
• The national assembly with majority of votes passed ‘the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) bill, 2020’ on August 12, 2020, which prohibits provision of loans or financial assistance to those associated with banned organizations.
• The bill, presented by Minister for law Farogh Naseem, restricts all the banks and financial institutions from issuing credit cards to persons barred. “No new licenses will be issued to the persons barred under the bill and they will be penalised for carrying weapons,” one of the clauses of the bill says.
• According to the approved amended clauses of the bill the armed licenses already issued to such persons would be revoked and said weapons would be sealed
6. Government to launch Ehsaas Nash-o-Numa programme today
• The government will launch today (August 12, 2020) Ehsaas Nash-o-Numa programmeme which will help to address the issue of stunted growth faced by 40 per cent Pakistani children.
• Prime Minister Imran Khan would formally launch the ‘Ehsaas Nash-o-Numa’ programmeme along with her by visiting the Ehsaas Nash-o-Numa Center in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber tribal district, said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar while addressing a press conference here on August 12, 2020.
7. Senate session starts today to take FATF legislation
• The federal government has summoned the fresh session of Senate for today to take up the legislation related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti-money laundering watchdog.
• A notification issued by the Senate Secretariat says that President Dr Arif Alvi has summoned the session on August 13. The Senate Secretariat has separately issued orders of the day for Thursday’s session
8. Galaxy discovered 12bn light years away
• A golden halo glinting 12 billion light years away is the farthest galaxy resembling our Milky Way yet spotted, astronomers said on August 12, 2020, adding the `surprisingly unchaotic` infant star system challenges our understanding of the early years of the Universe.
• The galaxy, called SPT0418-47, is so far away that it took billions of years for its light to reach Earth and so our image of it is from deep in the past, said the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which was involved in the discovery.
• This was when the Universe was 1.4 billion years old just 10 percent of its current age and galaxies were still forming
9. 4,500-year old ‘timber circles’ discovered in Portugal
• Circular structures dating back 4,500 years have been unearthed in Portugal that were once used for ancient ceremonial services. Called ‘timber circles,’ the Bronze Age monument is 65 feet in diameter and akin to the famous Neolithic Stonehenge – but is completely constructed from wood.
• The entrance aligns with the sun rise in the summer months, as well as during the winter solstice and is the first of its kind to be discovered in the country
10. Rs748m sports projects approved in KP
• The Departmental Development Working Party on August 12, 2020 approved 107 schemes for the development of sports facilities in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the cost of R s748 million.
• The DDWP met here with sports secretary Mohammad Abid Majeed in the chair.
• The schemes are part of the 1,000 Playing Facilities Project launched recently to set up new sports facilities and rehabilitate the old ones in the province, said a statement issued here.
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