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September 15, 2019 National Current Affairs
1. Judge hit by video leak made OSD
• The Lahore High Court on September 14, 2019 made Islamabad accountability court`s former judge Arshad Malik officer on special duty (OSD) from the date of his suspension.
• `The Honorable Chief Justice and Judges are pleased to post Muhammad Arshad Malik, District & Sessions Judge/awaiting posting, Lahore High Court, Lahore as Officer on Special Duty (BS-21) at Sessions Court, Lahore with effect from Aug 22, 2019,` said a notification issued by LHC Registrar Abdul Sattar.
• The Islamabad High Court had suspended and repatriated D&SJ Malik to the LHC, his parent department, for further disciplinary proceedings in light of his affidavit he filed after a video scandal.
2. Sindh govt sets up provincial, district consumer protection councils
• The provincial government has notified the consumer protection councils at the provincial and district levels in compliance with an order of the Sindh High Court.
• On Aug 28, a two-judge SHC bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar had directed the agriculture, supply and prices secretary to complete the process of setting up consumer protection councils at the provincial and district level within 20 days.
• The agriculture, supply and prices secretary, Agha Zaheeruddin, in a notification stated that in exercise of powers conferred under Section 25(1) of the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, 2014 read with Rule 19(1) of the Sindh Consumer Protection Rules 2017 and the approval of the competent authority (Sindh chief minister), the government has set up the provincial consumer protection council comprising a chairperson and 20 members.
3. Ambitious growth plan for Punjab unveiled
• Pakistan can boost its per capita income by 20 times to $30,000 in next 30 years by growing its economy at an ambitious but achievable rate of 12 per cent a year by emulating Chinese growth performance.
• `This kind of growth will require a complete transformation of economic governance,` Salman Shah, the adviser to Punjab government on finance, told journalists while unveiling a fantastic growth plan for the province that targets to modernise the rural and urban economy, change Punjab into the `factory of the world`, and phenomenally expand the size of the national economy from $1 trillion to up to $10tr by 2047, depending upon the rate at which it could be grown in the next 30 years.
• The three scenarios outlined in his long briefing projected the size of GDP (gross domestic product) to increase to $1tr if the country grew at an annual rate of 4.5pc, $5tr at 10pc and $10tr at 12.5pc. The plan envisages the share in the economy of the services sector to rise from 58pc to 60pc and industry from22pc to 30pc. The industrial growth will decrease the share of agriculture to 10pc, according to the plan.
September 15, 2019: International Current Affairs
4. Trump confirms Osama`s son killed in US raid
• US President Donald Trump confirmed on September 14, 2019 said that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden`s son Hamza bin Laden was killed in a US counterterrorism operation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.
• The statement, issued by the White House press office, did not say when the operation was carried out and when did Hamza die.
• `The loss of Hamza bin Laden not only deprives Al Qaeda of important leadership skills and the symbolic connection to his father, but undermines important operational activities of the group,` the US president said.
• He also said that `Hamza bin Laden was responsible for planning and dealing with various terrorist groups`.
5. Taliban send team to Russia after collapse of US talks
• The Afghan Taliban have sent a delegation to Russia to discuss prospects for withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan following the collapse of talks with the United States this month, officials from the militant group said.
• The move, days after US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned meeting with Taliban leaders at his Camp David retreat, came as the movement looks to bolster regional support, with visits also planned for China, Iran and Central Asian states.
• `The purpose of these visits is to inform leaders of these countries about the peace talks and President Trump`s decision to call off the peace process at a time when both sides had resolved all outstanding issues and were about to sign a peace agreement,` said a senior Taliban leader in Qatar.
• Russia, which has hosted meetings between the Taliban and Afghan political and civil society representatives, said recently it hoped that the process could be put back on track and urged both sides to resume talks
6. India sets up fund for housing projects
• India on September 14, 2019 announced a series of measures to revive the housing sector and boost exports as the government tries to kick-start an economy hit by a lending crisis and a slowdown in demand.
• A fund worth 100 billion rupees ($1.41 billion) will be available to complete unfinished affordable and middle income housing projects, India`s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. An equal amount of funding will come from the private sector or from a government insurance company, she added.
7. Turkey orders arrest of 223 military men over Gulen links
• Turkey has ordered the arrest of 223 serving military personnel across the country and in the breakaway state of Northern Cyprus over suspected links to a network Ankara accuses of organising an attempted coup in 2016.
• Authorities are seeking the suspects across 49 provinces in Turkey and in Northern Cyprus, state broadcaster TRT Haber said.Itsaid100 of those facing arrest were from the army, while 41 from the air force and 32 from the navy.
• Ankara blames US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in self imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, of masterminding the failed putsch on July 15, 2016. He has denied any involvement.
8. Saudi Arabia shutting down half of its oil production: WSJ
• Saudi Arabia is shutting down half of its oil production after drones attacked the world`s largest oil processing facility in the kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reported on September 14, 2019.
• The closure will impact almost five million barrels of crude production a day, about five percent of the world`s daily oil production, the report added.
• The WSJ reported that Saudi Arabia could drawing down its oil stocks to sell to foreign buyers to make sure world oil supplies won`t be disrupted by the attack and shutdown. Hours after the drone attacks, business wire (news) services reported that this unexpected reduction in production could cause a temporary price-hike but overall the market will remain stable.
9. Solid gold toilet stolen from Winston Churchill`s birthplace
• Thieves have stolen a unique solid gold toilet worth up to 1 million pounds ($1.25 million) from the birthplace of British wartime leader Winston Churchill.
• The toilet, the work of Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, had been installed only two days earlier at Blenheim Palace, west of London, after previously being shown at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
• Police said the toilet was taken early on September 14, 2019 by thieves who used at least two vehicles. Because the golden toilet had been connected to the palace`s plumbing system, police said its removal caused `significant damage and flooding` to the building, a UNESCO World Heritage site filled with valuable art and furniture.
• A 66-year-old man was arrested. The man has not been identified or charged
September 15, 2019: Sports Current Affairs
10. Waseem knocks out Filipino boxer in 82 seconds
• Pakistan`s star boxer Mohammad Waseem made the nation proud on September 13, 2019 when he won his world-ranking fight knocking out Canrado Tanamor of the Philippines in the First round at Dubai`s Caesars.
• The 32-year-old Wasim took only 82 seconds to knock out the Filipino in the flyweight bout.
• Waseem, who last year floored IBF flyweight champion Moruti Mthalane in a world title bout, but ended up as loser by a unanimous decision, was in action for the first time in 2019.
• Waseem became a professional boxer in 2015 and won his very first professional fight -giving him the vacant South Korea bantamweight title when he knocked Min Wook Lee of South Korea down in the ninth round in October the same year.
