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August 03, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. Govt reverts key planning position to bureaucracy
• The government has appointed former chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue Dr Jehanzeb Khan as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission (DCPC), giving the lucrative post back to the federal bureaucracy after 23 years.
• `Dr Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, a BS-22 officer of Pakistan Administrative Service, presently awaiting posting in Establishment Division, is posted/ appointed as Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, with immediate effect and until further orders,` said an official notification.
• Dr Khan was removed from the position of FBR chairman in May after it became clear to Prime Minister Imran Khan that the revenue collection was heading towards a record shortfall that nevertheless amounted to more than Rs500 billion at the end of the fiscal year 2018-19.
• Until now Minister for Planning and Development Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar was also holding the post of DCPC just like his predecessor Ahsan Iqbal in the PML-N government.
2. Sehat Card for Faisalabad, Chiniot launched
• Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar on August 2, 2019 inaugurated the Sehat Insaf Card programme for Faisalabad and Chiniot at a ceremony at the Punjab Medical University in Faisalabad.
• On this occasion, he distributed Sehat Insaf Cards to deserving people.
• About 30 percent of the Punjab population will be given health cover and 22 percent of the Faisalabad population and 23 percent of the Chiniot population will get free treatment facilities through this programme
3. Sightseeing Bahawalpur Double Decker bus service on the cards
• The Bahawalpur Divisional administration is going to launch sightseeing Double Decker Bus Service for tourists and a huge amount of Rs300 million has been allocated for the project to be kicked off soon.
• Sharing details of the project, Bahawalpur Division Commissioner Nayyer Iqbal told the media that the project aims at promoting tourism, providing opportunity to local as well as foreign tourists to explore rich culture and heritage of Bahawalpur, adding that the project would also help generate employment opportunities for locals.
• The commissioner expressed his hope that more than 3 million local as well international tourists would visit Bahawalpur region once different on-going projects launched to develop infrastructure, completed.
August 3, 2019: International Current Affairs
4. Trump renews Kashmir mediation offer
• After over a week-long hiatus, US President Donald Trump has once again offered to mediate in the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, only to be rejected by the Indian government that insisted it would not accept any third-party mediation on its disputes with Pakistan.
• Mr Trump said he would `certainly intervene` to resolve this 70-year-old dispute if asked to do so when asked at a White House press talk on August 1, 2019 how he wanted to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
• `If I can … if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene,` said the US president.
• When reminded of his July 22 offer to mediate between the two countries on Kashmir, he asked: `Have they accepted the offer or not?` He then said that he was there `if they wanted somebody to intervene or to help them`.
5. Bombs rattle Bangkok during Asean summit; two suspects held
• Two men from Thailand`s insurgency-hit south have been arrested and linked to several small bombs which rattled Bangkok on August 2, 2019 as it hosted a regional summit attended by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, leaving four people wounded but not disrupting the diplomatic event.
• Thailand, which has a grim history of political violence and is fighting a long-running rebellion in the Muslim-majority south, remains deeply divided after a controversial March election returned a junta to power as a civilian government.
• Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who led the former junta, told reporters `there were nine successful or attempted explosions… we haven`t ruled out any motives.` Two men from the far south were arrested hours after wires and ball bearings were found in an inactive device outside Thai police headquarters late on Thursday.
6. Saudi govt lifts travel curbs on women
• Saudi Arabia has allowed adult women to travel without permission and granted them more control over family matters, further eroding a heavily criticized male guardianship system.
• A series of royal decrees published by the official gazette on August 2, 2019 stipulated that a Saudi passport should be issued to any citizen who applies for it and that any person above the age of 21 does not need permission to travel.
• The amendments to regulations also grant women for the first time the right to register child birth, marriage or divorce and to be issued official family documents and be eligible as a guardian to children who are minors.
• Riyadh has long endured international censure over the status of women, who rights groups say are often treated as second-class citizens under rules requiring them to get the consent of a male guardian for important decisions throughout their lives, regardless of age.
7. US, Russia rip up Cold War-era missile treaty
• The United States and Russia ripped up a Cold War-era missile pact on August 2, 2019 in a move that raised the spectre of an arms race between the global powers.
• The 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty limited the use of medium-range missiles, both conventional and nuclear.
• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Washington`s formal withdrawal in a prepared statement at a regional forum in Bangkok, minutes after Russia pronounced the treaty void.
• Both sides had signalled their intention to pull out of the treaty for months, trading accusations of breaking the terms of the deal.
• `Russia is solely responsible for the treaty`s demise,` Pompeo said in a statement issued at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers` meeting.
8. Trump says he’ll put 10pc tariffs on remaining China imports
• President Donald Trump intensified pressure on China to reach a trade deal by saying he will impose 10% tariffs Sept. 1 on the remaining $300 billion in Chinese imports he hasn’t already taxed. The move immediately sent stock prices sinking.
• US consumers will likely feel the pain if Trump proceeds with the new tariffs. Trump’s earlier tariffs had been designed to minimize the impact on ordinary Americans by focusing on industrial goods. But the new tariffs will hit a vast range of consumer products from cell phones to silk scarves.
• The president’s announcement via Twitter came as a surprise, in part because the White House on Wednesday had said Beijing confirmed that it planned to increase its purchases of American farm products. That word came just as US and Chinese negotiators were ending a 12th round of trade talks in Shanghai, which the White House called “constructive.”
• China’s foreign minister criticized the move.
August 3, 2019: Sports Current Affairs
9. Hasan Ali to marry Indian national on 20th
• Ending speculations surrounding his marriage with an Indian national, Pakistan fast bowler Hasan Ali on August 2, 2019 said that he is tying the knot with Shamia Arzoo in Dubai on Aug 20.
• Shamia holds a degree in aeronautics from the Manav Rachna University and has also studied in England.
• The Dubai-based woman is a flight engineer with Emirates Airlines, while her family members are settled in New Delhi.
10. First female referee to officiate UEFA Super Cup
• Stephanie Frappart will become the first female official to take charge of a major UEFA competition match when Liverpool face Chelsea in the Super Cup in Istanbul on August 14.
• Frappart, 35, was the first female referee to officiate a French Ligue 1 match when she took charge of Amiens against Strasbourg in April and also became the first woman to be named in the pool of Ligue 1 referees for next season.
• She also officiated the women`s World Cup final last month, where the United States beat the Netherlands. Her assistants from that game in Lyon (Manuela Nicolosi of France and MichelleO`Neal from the Republic of Ireland) will be on the team of officials for UEFA`s curtain raiser to the season.
