Day by Day Current Affairs (August 29, 2019) | MCQs for CSS, PMS

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August 29, 2019: National Current Affairs

1. Pakistan partially closes Karachi airspace till 31st

• The Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) closed three aviation routes of Karachi airspace from August 28 till 31, according to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued on August 28, 2019.
• The decision comes a day after Federal Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the prime minister was considering a “complete closure” of airspace to India.
• The ban will affect all international flights travelling by three routes above Karachi. The upcoming four-day ban will expire on 1 September. It further provides pilots with an alternate route to circumnavigate Karachi airspace.
• The notification comes amid simmering tensions between Pakistan and India and in the wake of reports indicating that Prime Minister Imran Khan has been considering0 closing Pakistani airspace for Indian flights. A report by Reuters also indicates that Khan is considering closing ground trade routes to India.
• In February, Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian flights, only lifting the ban in July. The ban reportedly cost Indian airlines millions of dollars in fuel due to long detours around Pakistani territory.

2. Tax exemption laws for Gwadar port, free zone approved

• The government on August 28, 2019 approved a number of amendments to laws aimed to provide exemptions from income tax, sales tax and custom duties to the Gwadar port and free zone until2039, but could not decide how to give legal cover to the decision.
• A meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet presided over by the Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, asked the law ministry to come up with a legal way out possibly a presidential ordinance or a bill when the Federal Board of Revenue expressed its inability to issue a statutory regulatory order on the matter.
• Earlier this year, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs moved a summary seeking changes in and amendments to 17 clauses of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, the Sales Tax Act, the Federal Excise Duty and Customs Act in line with the concession agreement between the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and China Overseas Ports Authority.

3. HIV/AIDS reaching epidemic level in Shahkot tehsil: report

• A law enforcement agency, in its report to the Punjab government, has stated that the proliferation of HIV/AIDS in Shahkot, a tehsil of Nankana Sahib district, has reached the verge of an epidemic.
• In its report sent to the chief minister recently, the agency unveiled that the number of HIV/AIDS cases has reached 140 in Shahkot after 85 more people tested positive for the virus this year.
• According to the World Health Organisation, HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is one of the world`s most serious public health challenges.
• The agency has pointed out that the district authorities lacked facilities to cater to the health needs of the large number of people who tested positive for the virus. It stressed the need for a detailed province-wide survey to assess the situation, fearing that the virus was spreading fast and some HIV cases may be going unreported.

4. Kabul supports Pakistan on Kashmir: Afghan senator

• The head of a visiting Afghan Parliamentary delegation Senator Mohammed Asif Sedigi on August 28, 2019 said Kashmir was not only a problem of Pakistan and Afghanistan rather an issue of Muslim Ummah.
• Talking to Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz, the Afghan senator said the Kashmiris were being subjected to torture and brutalities.
• He said Afghanistan supported Pakistan`s stance on Kashmir.
• The members of the Afghan delegation said that both Pakistan and Afghanistan were facing the threat of terrorism and extremism and should find a common solution to these issues.
• The leader of the delegation said that Afghan youth should be extended more scholarships so that they could be provided an opportunity to learn Pakistani culture and traditions besides seeking higher qualifications.

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5. Balochistan gets new chief secretary

• The federal government has appointed retired Captain Fazeel Asghar as chief secretary of Balochistan. He will replace Dr Nazeer Akhtar who is serving as chief secretary of the province.
• This was announced through an official notification issued on August 28, 2019.
• The notification said that retired Capt Asghar, a BS-21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service, presently posted as officer on special duty at the Establishment Division, has been transferred and posted as chief secretary of Balochistan with immediate effect and until further orders.

6. KP local bodies complete four-year tenure

• The four-year tenure of the three tiers of the local government system, including district, tehsil/town, and village and neighborhood councils, ended on August 28, 2019.
• The provincial government is likely to task the deputy commissioners with managing administrative affairs at district level, tehsil municipal administrators at tehsil level and assistant directors at village and neighbourhood council level.
• Elections for local bodies were held in May 2015 in which record over 40,000 members were elected to three tiers of the LG system.
• The elections for district and tehsil councils were held on party basis and for village and neighbourhood councils on non-party basis. The 2015 elections were poorly managed giving rise to fears that they will be declared null and void.

7. Mirza restored as SECP Policy Board chairman

• The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on August 28, 2019 restored Khalid Mirza as member and chairman Securities and Exchange Policy Board.
• IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah suspended the notification issued on Aug 23 by the Ministry of Finance appointing Syed Masoud Naqvi as member and the chairman Securities and Exchange Policy Board replacing Mirza.
• The decision was made by the Federal Cabinet on Aug 9 to change both the chairman SECP as well as the chairman Securities and Exchange Policy Board.
• Mirza through his counsel Zainab Janjua challenged the Aug 23 notification.
• The counsel argued before the court that Mirza was appointed as member of the board vide notification dated Nov 16, 2018 for a fixed term of four years.

August 29, 2019: International Current Affairs

8. India’s top court to examine change in Kashmir’s status

• India’s top court August 28, 2019 took up legal challenges to the government’s decision to revoke Indian-controlled Kashmir’s special status and asked it to explain its stance to the court.
• The Supreme Court ordered the federal government to file its replies to 14 petitions and inform the court about media restrictions imposed in Kashmir. It said five judges will start a regular hearing on the matter in October.
• India’s government, led by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, imposed a security lockdown and communications blackout in Muslim-majority Kashmir to avoid a violent reaction to the Aug. 5 decision to downgrade the region’s autonomy. The restrictions have been eased slowly, with some businesses reopening, some landline phone service restored and some grade schools holding classes again, though student and teacher attendance has been sparse. On Wednesday, the court allowed an Indian opposition leader to visit Kashmir to meet a party colleague who he said was under detention, but told him not use the visit for political purposes.

9. British PM sparks outrage with move to suspend parliament

• Prime Minister Boris Johnson on August 28, 2019 announced the suspension of parliament in the final weeks before Britain`s EU departure date, enraging anti-BREXIT MPs.
• The pound slid on the surprise news, which opponents branded a `coup` and a `declaration of war`, although US President Donald Trump weighed into the row by praising Johnson as `great` The Conservative leader`s move to close parliament for a month will give pro-EU lawmakers less time than they expected to try to thwart his plans for a possible no-deal BREXIT on October 31.
• Queen Elizabeth H has approved the request to close what has been the longest session of parliament in nearly 400 years, and reopen it on October 14 setting out Johnson`s fresh legislative programme.
• Seemingly caught on the hop, incensed anti-BREXIT MPs were left scrambling for a way to stop the move.

10. Yahoo Japan to end ivory trade on its websites

• Yahoo Japan said August 28, 2019 it will end the trade of ivory on all its websites from November, after pressure from conservationists.
• The decision follows the internet company’s marketplace rivals Rakuten and Mercari adopting a ban in 2017, responding to international concerns that the Japanese domestic market could fuel smuggling through poor law enforcement.
• A 1989 ban prohibits international ivory trading but the domestic ivory business remains legal in Japan, with the majority of items sold either from registered stockpiles or predating the ban.
• However, some traders in the country have been suspected of dodging the rules

Check August 2019’s Complete Day by Day Current Affairs Notes

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