Day by Day Current Affairs (August 15, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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August 14, 2018

1. Stretched Afghan army loses base to Taliban

• Taliban fighters overran an army base in northern Afghanistan, officials said on August 14, 2018, killing at least 17 soldiers with dozens feared captured in a stinging blow to security forces already struggling to push insurgents from eastern Ghazni.
• The fall of the base in Ghormach district of volatile Faryab province came with security forces who have struggled to hold back the Taliban since Nato combat troops pulled out in 2014 already stretched by the days offighting in Ghazni, a strategic provincial capital two hours fromKabul.
• Militants gained control of the base after days of heavy fighting, according to army spokesman for northern Afghanistan Mohammad Hanif Rezaee.
• He said around 100 soldiers were on the base when it was first attacked on Sunday.
• At least 17 were killed in the attack, according to defence ministry spokesman Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed, while a local MP said Taliban fighters capturedanother 40 in the base, known as Chenaya.

2. Table of Contents

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   Karachi ranked among world`s least liveable cities

• Karachi has been named among the least liveable cities in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) the research and analysis division of the Economist Group.
• The annual EIU survey ranks 140 cities on a range of factors, including political and social stability, crime, education and access to healthcare.
• This year, Karachi has been ranked 137th on the list the fourth least liveablecity in the world only managing to fare better than Damascus in Syria, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Lagos in Nigeria.
• The survey found that civil war and terrorism played a `strong role` in the worst performing cities. Of the cities with poor scores, 11 occupied the very bottom tier of liveability, where ratings fell below 50 per cent and most aspects of living were severely restricted.
• The [low] rankings of cities like Damascus, Karachi and Tripoli suggested that conflict was responsible for many of the lowest scores.
• This is not only because stability indicators had the highest single scores but also because factors defining stability could spread to have an adverse effect on other categories, the EIU observed.
• At the other end of the spectrum, Austria`s capital Vienna beat Melbourne to be named the world`s most liveable city, ending the southern Australian city`s seven-year reign. It`s the first time a European city has topped the rankings of the EIU annual survey.
• Australia and Canada dominated the top ten, each boasting three cities.
• Australia had Melbourne, Sydney (fifth) and Adelaide (10th) while Canada had Calgary (fourth), Vancouver (sixth) and Toronto (joint seventh).
• Japan which alongside Osaka boasted Tokyo in the top 10 (joint seventh) had a nationwide average of 347 people per square kilometre, but its cities were still famed for their transport networks and living standards.
• Copenhagen was the only other European city in the top 10, at the ninth place.

3. Two indigenous satellites become fully operational

• After their successful tests in orbit, Pakistan`s first Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1) and its Technology Evaluation Satellite (PakTES-1A) became fully operational on August 14, 2018.
• The control of the PRSS-1 satellite was successfully transferred to ground control stations in Pakistan.
• The satellites were successfully launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China on July 9.
• According to the statement, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister retired Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk have praised the efforts of Suparco`s engineers and scientists in achieving another milestone in space technology.

4. President Mamnoon grants awards to 450 military personnel

• President Mamnoon Hussain on August 14, 2018 allowed grant of awards to over 450 officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force in recognition of their services for the motherland.
• The president granted Sitara-i-Basalat to two personnel, Tamgha-i-Basalat to 59, Commendation Certificates to 34, COAS Commendation Cards to 156, Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military) to 17, Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Military) to 77 and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Military) to 106 personnel.
• The civil and military awards are announced every year on Independence Day and the president confers these awards at a ceremony held on the next Pakistan Day.

5. First Russian language radio channel launched

• The first online Russian language Radio News broadcasting has launched its services on Pakistan Independence day for linking South Asian countries to Russian speaking listeners.
• The project, launched on 71st Independence Day of Pakistan would help promoting cultural activities, music and social developments of South Asian , Central Asian and Eastern European countries through its 24/7 Radio Broadcasting.
• The Online “DND Radio” would be available in all formats of smartphones, tablets and desktop computers.
• DND Radio is new initiative of Dispatch News Desk (DND) News Agency which launched first-ever online Russian Newspaper and News Agency in the year 2012 (www.dispatchnewsdesk.com) through its team spreading over South Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

6. Neelum Jhelum attains full capacity of 969MW

• The strategically important Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project achieved a historic landmark as the project attained its maximum generation capacity of 969 MW. All units of the project are generating power to their maximum.
• Meanwhile, Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) Chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (Retd) has congratulated Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project’s management, Wapda engineers and other employees on this historic achievement.
• Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project has four generating units, each of them having a generation capacity of 242.25 MW. Wapda has commissioned this project in a phased manner. The first unit was commissioned in April this year, followed by the remaining three units coming into operation after one month’s interval each. The fourth and last unit was synchronized with the National Grid yesterday, and attained its maximum generation capacity.
• Neelum Jhelum is a state-of-the art hydropower project with 90 percent being underground and beneath the high mountainous areas. The project, constructed on River Neelum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, has a dam at Nauseri, an underground waterway system consisting of 52-km long tunnels and an underground powerhouse at Chattar Kalas with four power generating units. The project will provide about 5 billion units of electricity to the National Grid every year with annual estimated benefits of Rs.55 billion. Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project will significantly contribute to meet the electricity requirements in the country.

7. Kurds meet Syrian govt to discuss self-rule

• Representatives from Syria`s Kurdish-run northeastern region met with the government in Damascus last week to discuss selfadministration in a postwar Syria.
• It was the second meeting between the two sides, and they agreed to continue their discussions, said Ilham Ahmed, the co-president of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council.
• The SDC delegation pressed for constitutional reforms to enshrine regional self-administration, said Ahmed, who described the government`s response as `not positive.
• President Bashar Assad is demanding the departure of US troops, who are embedded with the military arm of the SDC, the Syrian Democratic Forces, in the northeast Rojava region.

8. Israeli minister confirms Netanyahu met Sisi over Gaza

• Israel`s finance minister confirmed on August 14, 2018 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah alSisi in Egypt in May to discuss a long-term ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
• Egypt and the United Nations have been trying to mediate a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, following a spike in cross-border violence in the past few months.
• The two leaders discussed the easing of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza, rehabilitation of its infrastructure and terms for a ceasefire, the Channel Ten report said.

9. Hungary to stop funding gender studies courses

• Hungary`s government will stop financing gender studies university courses, Prime Minister Viktor Orban`s chief of staff said on August 14, 2018, marking one of the first concrete steps in a cultural shift signalled last month.
• Re-elected in April to a third consecutive term, right-wing nationalist Orban said in July that major cultural and intellectual changes were in the works.
• The move against the gender studies courses is one of the first specific such government policies. Others included a move to reduce the independence of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in the allocation of public research funding.
• Gender studies courses are taught at the state-run university ELTE and Central European University, which are among the top universities in Hungary.
• Gulyas said those already enrolled could finish their studies but Budapest would stop financing the courses from the next academic year.

10. Former Brazil finance minister charged with corruption

• Former Brazil finance minister Guido Mantega was indicted on money laundering and other charges as part of the corruption scandal that has rocked the country’s business and political elites.
• Mantega, 69, is accused of taking money from construction giant Odebrecht in exchange for helping to advance legislation that favored the company, Judge Sergio Moro wrote.
• It is the first time Mantega has been charged in the so-called “Operation Car Wash”, a vast probe of a pay-to-play relationship between Brazilian companies and politicians centred around the state oil company Petrobras