WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2019 FOR PREPARATION OF CSS, PMS, BANKING, NTS, RAILWAYS AND ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS. “DAY TO DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS” BASICALLY IS TOP 10 NEWS SUMMARY ON CURRENT HAPPENINGS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS
September 12, 2019 National Current Affairs
1. APG to file report on Pakistan`s steps against terror financing
• Based on Pakistan`s `effective` progress report, the Asia-Pacific Joint Group (APG) will submit next month its assessment of Islamabad`s progress on strengthening of its systems against money laundering and terror financing.
• `The Pakistan delegation effectively presented Pakistan`s progress on each of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan items and provided additional information/clarification to the AP-Joint Group,` said a brief statement issued by the Ministry of Finance after two-day face-to-face meetings with the APG in Bangkok. It said the APG, as per the FATF`s procedures, would present its report in the FATF Plenary and Working Group meetings scheduled for October 13-18 in Paris, France.
• The FATF plenary will conclude if Pakistan has sufficiently delivered on its 10-point action plan committed at the highest level in June 2018 to fight money laundering and terror Financing in order to qualify exit from the grey list or be given some more time to make further progress.
2. ASPs to work as SHOs PM approves reforms for police station level
• The Prime Minister Secretariat has approved introduction of reforms at the police station level with assistant superintendents of police (ASPs) working as station house officers (SHOs) for effective administration.
• Described as unprecedented by senior officials, the move seems to be result of recent criticism of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in the wake of incidents of torture and deaths in police custody, especially in Punjab.
• In the first phase, ASPs (BS-17 officers) would be posted at some police stations in Islamabad as a pilot project. After successful launch, it would be introduced in provinces, particularly Punjab which housed the largest number of police stations -712.
• Under the decades old existing system, a sub inspector or an inspector is posted as SHO throughout the country.
• In Punjab the position is dominated by BS-14 level sub-inspectors.
3. Four promoted to lieutenant generals
• Four major generals of the Pakistan Army have been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.
• According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), those promoted are Maj Gen Muhammad Aamer, Maj Gen Muhammad Chiragh Haider, Maj Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum and Maj Gen Khalid Zia.
• Maj Gen Muhammad Aamer is currently serving as General Officer Commanding 10 Division (Lahore) while Maj Gen Muhammad Chiragh Haider is presently Director General Military Training. Maj Gen Nadeem Ahmad Anjum is Commandant Staff College Quetta and Maj Gen Khalid Zia is General Officer Commanding (GOC) 33 Division (Quetta).
4. PIA launches weekly flight operation on Sialkot-London route
• National flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) formally started its direct international passenger flights to London-UK from Sialkot international airport. The aviators and ground staff presented the water cannon salute to the PIA aircraft upon its landing at Sialkot international airport from London September 12, 2019.
• Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, SIAL Chairman Nadeem Anwar Qureshi, Senior PIA officials and leading people from travel trade accorded rosy welcome to the passengers of PIA flight (PK-778), with 107 male and female passengers, upon its arrival here from London-UK with special bouquets. Later, PIA’s flight (PK-777) with 294 passengers took off to London from Sialkot international airport. Senior officials of PIA and SIAL seen off the passengers.
• Both PIA and SIAL jointly hosted a prestigious launching ceremony at Sialkot airport. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, SIAL Chairman Nadeem Anwar Qureshi, Vice Chairman Muhammad Afzal Shaheen, CEO Maj-Gen (Rtd) Abid Nazir, SIAL Manager Public Relations Abdul Shakur Mirza, senior PIA officials and leading people from travel trade attended this ceremony.
5. Pakistan subscribes to IAEA code
• Pakistan has conveyed to the International Atomic Energy Agency its decision to subscribe to the Guidance on the Management of Disused Radioactive Sources, the foreign ministry statement said.
• The Guidance supplements the Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive Sources which, although non-legally binding in nature, is an important component of the global nuclear safety and security regime, said a foreign ministry statement. The Code of Conduct, along with its supplementary guidance documents, seeks to help countries ensure that radioactive sources are used in a manner consistent with the highest standards of safety and security throughout their life cycle, it added.
• Pakistan has been voluntarily adhering to the Code of Conduct since 2005 and has put in place all the necessary arrangements and systems consistent with the recommendations of the Code.
September 12, 2019: International Current Affairs
6. Trump fires hawkish national security chief Bolton
• President Donald Trump on September 11, 2019 announced the firing of hawkish national security adviser John Bolton, a move widely seen as boosting the president`s push to negotiate with US foes in Afghanistan, North Korea and other trouble spots.
• Trump, who said he had disagreed `strongly` with Bolton on policy, announced via Twitter: `I asked John for his resignation, which was given to me this morning.` A replacement the White House`s fourth national security chief in less than three years would be named next week, Trump said.
• Bolton, who had been scheduled to give a press conference at the White House on an unrelated matter, denied being fired and insisted that he had resigned.
• The news, coming days after Trump caused uproar by revealing he was cancelling secret talks with Afghanistan`s Taliban, stunned Washington.
7. Pakistan-origin billionaire appointed to House of Lords
• Prominent British Pakistani businessman Zameer Choudrey this week was included on the honours list of former British prime minister Theresa May, who awarded peerages, knighthoods and other honours to 57 citizens.
• Ms May`s honours were granted by the Queen at the request of the outgoing prime minister.
• Mr Choudrey is the CEO of Bestway Group, a wholesale empire with a reported turnover of £3.5 billion and a workforce of 34,000. He is also the chairman of Conservative Friends of Pakistan (CFOP), an organisation seeking to build stronger ties between the UK`s Conservative Party with Pakistan and the British Pakistani community.
• The Bestway Group owns Bestway Cement Ltd in Pakistan and also has a controlling share in United Bank Limited (UBL).
8. Brotherhood chief, deputy get life in Egypt
• An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced 11 senior Muslim Brotherhood figures to life in prison on charges of spying for the Palestinian Hamas group.
• They included the Brotherhood`s supreme guide Mohamed Badie and his deputy Khairat al-Shater who were both handed life sentences 25 years in Egypt.
• Five other Brotherhood members were sentenced to jail terms ranging from seven to 10 years while six were acquitted, the source said. The defendants were accused of `committing crimes in collaboration with foreign organisations` namely Hamas and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the source said.
9. US designates TTP chief as global terrorist
• The US State Department on September 11, 2019 designated 15 leaders, individuals and entities affiliated with terror groups. The US also identified the man as Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, the head of the outlawed extremist Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and has targeted a wide array of groups, including entities affiliated with Hamas, Daesh, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods-Force (IRGC-QF).
• “Since the horrific attacks of 9/11, the US government has refocused its counterterrorism efforts to constantly adapt to emerging threats. President Trump’s modernised counterterrorism Executive Order enhances the authorities we use to target the finances of terror groups and their leaders to ensure they are as robust as possible,” US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin said.
10. Glasgow to host UN climate change summit
• A major United Nations climate change summit will take place in Glasgow.
• The UK has won the bid to host the 26th Conference of the Parties, known as COP26, following a partnership with Italy.
• Up to 30,000 delegates are expected to attend the event at Glasgow’s Scottish Events Campus (SEC) at the end of next year.
• It is designed to produce an international response to the climate emergency.
• The UK will host the main COP summit while Italy will host preparatory events and a significant youth event, as part of the agreement.
• Claire Perry, UK nominated president for COP26, said: “In 2020, world leaders will come together to discuss how to tackle climate change on a global scale – and where better to do so than Glasgow, one of the UK’s most sustainable cities with a great track record for hosting high-profile international events.”
Excellent