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March 19, 2020: National / International Current Affairs
1. Coronavirus kills first two victims in Pakistan
• The inevitable finally happened on March 18, 2020 when Pakistan joined the rapidly growing list of countries with coronavirus fatalities after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded the country`s first two deaths from the pandemic.
• The deceased were identified as Saadat Khan, 50, and Abdul Fatah, 36. Saadat Khan, who belonged to Mardan, had returned from Saudi Arabia after performing Umra while Abdul Fatah, who hailed from Hangu, had returned from Dubai.
• KP Adviser on Information Ajmal Wazir confirmed the deaths.
• Earlier in the day, as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Control and Command Centre (CCC) announced that overall 247 cases have been confirmed across the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan paid a visit to a quarantine centre established at the agriculture campus of Ghazi University Dera Ghazi, adjacent to Dera Ghazi Khan airport.
2. ADB, WB to give $588m for fight against virus
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank on March 18, 2020 committed to providing $588 million to Pakistan for its emergency response to fight coronavirus and cater to the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic.
• This was announced by the Planning Commission after a meeting with country representatives of the two lending agencies on Pakistan`s preparedness and response to fight COVID-19.
• The meeting, presided over by Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, was attended by World Bank Country Director Illango Patcha-muthu, ADB Country Director Xiaohong Yang, besides Member Social Sector Dr Shahnum Sarfraz, Member Private Sector Asim Saeed, Director General Health Dr Safi and representatives of the ministries of economic affairs, finance and national health services
3. SC restores Arshad Malik as PIA chief
• The Supreme Court allowed Air Marshal Arshad Malik to function as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation with full authority.
• He was restrained from functioning as CEO of the national flag carrier by the Sindh High Court on Dec 23 last year.
• A three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed on Wednesday asked the PIA management to furnish a thorough business plan and different business contracts the airline had entered into with international organisations as well as the liabilities it was burdened with
4. All exams in the country to be postponed till June: minister
• Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mahmood said on March 18, 2020 that all examinations in the country, including O and A Levels exams, will be postponed until June 1 in the wake of the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
• Addressing a press conference at the Press Information Department, he said that the government was taking every possible step to protect people and its students because of the extraordinary situation around the world.
• He said all Pakistani educational board exams, O and A Level exams and other tests such as the GAT have been postponed
5. Sialkot-Lahore Motorway formally opens for public
• The newly-constructed Sialkot-Lahore Motorway was opened for the general public, here on March 18, 2020.
• No formal ceremony was held keeping in view coronavirus situation in the country.
• Assistant Commissioner Sambrial Muhammad Izhar-ul-Haq Bajwa, senior officials of the National Highway Authority (NHA) and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) visited the Siakot-Lahore Motorway near Daska.
• People have welcomed the opening of the motorway
6. China to donate 100,000 more COVID-19 test kits to Philippines
• China has decided to donate 100,000 more test kits and other urgently-needed medical supplies to the Philippines to help the south east Asian country fight COVID-19 spread.
• Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said March 18, 2020 the assistance includes another 100,000 test kits, 100,000 surgical masks, 10,000 N95 masks, and 10,000 sets of personal protective equipment. China donated 2,000 test kits to the Philippines on Monday. “The Chinese people stand ready to help their Philippine brothers and sisters to go through this difficult time,” Huang said in a statement.
• “Thank you, my brother,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin tweeted after he was informed of the new donations. The Philippines now has 202 confirmed corona-virus cases, including 17 deaths
7. Iraq names new PM as rockets hit base hosting foreign troops
• Iraq’s president on March 17, 2020 named pro-Western lawmaker and former Najaf city governor Adnan Zurfi as the next prime minister, tasked with ruling a country hit by military unrest, street protests and the coronavirus outbreak.
• The nomination came as Iraq faced two separate rocket attacks, one near the high-security Green Zone in Baghdad late Tuesday after a dawn attack hit a military base hosting US-led coalition and NATO troops.
• In a statement late Tuesday, 54-year-old Zurfi pledged elections within a year of forming his cabinet and vowed to respond to the demands of protesters hitting the streets for months over government graft and inefficiency. He served multiple terms as governor of the holy city of Najaf and was elected in the 2018 parliamentary vote under the Nasr coalition, led by ex-PM Haider al-Abadi
8. World’s first panda cubs born in 2020
• The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda on March 17, 2020 welcomed the birth of the world’s first pair of captive-bred giant panda twins this year.
• The mother panda Fuwa gave birth to the male twins, weighing 159.8 grams and 119.5 grams, respectively, on Tuesday.
• Both are healthy and breast-fed by their mother, said Wu Kongju, an expert with the center. “The twins are the earliest to be born in any year on record at the panda base, which surprised all of us,” she said.
9. US PGA Championship called off amid COVID-19 pandemic
• The US PGA Championship, scheduled for May 14-17 at Harding Park in San Francisco, has been postponed, the second 2020 major golf championship to be derailed by the coronavirus pandemic.
• The PGA of America said March 17, 2020 they hoped to reschedule the event at Harding Park later in the year.
• The news came after Augusta National Golf Club announced that the Masters would not be held April 9-12.
• The decision by the PGA of America to postpone the PGA Championship comes as mil-lions of San Francisco residents have been ordered to stay home in a bid to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
10. African Nations Championship in Cameroon postponed
• Africa`s second biggest international football tournament was suspended on March 18, 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic as the game on the continent neared total shutdown.
• The Confederation of African Football said the African Nations Championship (CHAN) scheduled for April 4-25 in Cameroon was postponed indefinitely. The 16-team tournament is held every two years and restricted to quasi-national teams, made up of home-based players only.
• Africa`s top tournament, the 24-team African Cup of Nations, is due to be played early next year, also in Cameroon, where 10 cases of COVID-19 have been reported
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March 2020:
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