Day by Day Current Affairs (August 3, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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 August 3, 2018

1. Kazakh envy discusses security with COAS

• Kazakhstan`s Ambassador to Pakistan Barlybay Sadykov called on Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquaners (GHQ) on August 2, 2018.
• Matters of mutual interest, including regional security issues, were discussed during the meeting.

2. SECP registers 1,076 companies in July

• The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 1,076 new companies in July, up 30 per cent compared to the corresponding month of previous year, raising the number of registered companies to 88,701.
• The massive increase is the result of SECP`s various reforms measures which include the introduction of simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, reduction of fee as well as assistance for incorporation by CRO facilitation wings.
• Around 73pc of the companies were registered as private limited, while around 24pc were registered as single-member companies. The remaining 3pc were public unlisted, non-profit associations, foreign companies and limited liability partnership.

3. US Senate passes huge defence bill

• The US Senate easily has passed a $716.3 billion Defence authorization bill that ramps up military spending and bolsters America’s posture against Russia, while avoiding policy changes that would have antagonized President Donald Trump.
• The National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) passed 87 to 10 in the Senate a week after clearing the House of Representatives, and now heads to the White House for Trump’s signature.
• The bill provides $69 billion in war funding known as overseas contingency operations, authorizes a 2.6 percent pay raise for members of the armed forces, and invests tens of billions in modernizing the Pentagon’s air and sea fleets and missile Defences.
• It notably prohibits delivery of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Turkey, a NATO ally with increasingly fraught relations with Washington, until Ankara can confirm it will not buy Russia’s S-400 anti-aircraft missile system.
• And while China and Russia are classified as “strategic competitors” to the United States, the legislation negotiated between the House and Senate left out a proposal by senators that would have blocked a deal Trump reached with Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE that eases tough financial penalties on the firm for helping Iran and North Korea evade American sanctions.

4. China wants military drills with ASEAN in disputed sea, excluding US

• China wants military exercises and energy exploration with Southeast Asian nations in disputed waters, according to a draft document, but insists on outside countries being excluded in what analysts say is a bid to diminish US influence.
• Beijing’s suggestions are part of efforts to expand its influence in the South China Sea, which it claims almost entirely, and push back at Washington which has backed countries with overlapping claims to the waters. A code of conduct between Beijing and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to govern behaviour in the strategic sea has been years in the making.
• The draft document, seen by AFP, outlines different countries’ bargaining positions as they work towards an agreement, and analysts said it represented some initial progress.
• In the text, Vietnam offers the strongest opposition to Beijing’s activities – calling for countries to stop building artificial islands and establishing military installations.
• But there was little sign of serious resistance from other countries, signalling how opposition to China’s aggressive expansion in the resource-rich waters has ebbed in recent years in Southeast Asia.
• At a meeting of foreign ministers in Singapore on Thursday, Beijing and ASEAN announced they had agreed on the negotiating text for the code.

5. Israel blocks fuel supplies to Gaza

• Israel on August 2, 2018 blocked supplies of fuel and gas to the Gaza Strip in response to the continued sending of incendiary kites across the border.
• The measure will affect the Palestinian enclave which already suf fers power cuts, especially for hospitals.
• Egypt trying to broker broad Israel-Hamas truce Egypt is trying to broker a broad ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza`s Hamas rulers that is to pave the way for Gaza`s reconstruction and an eventual prisoner swap.
• Repeated ceasefire deals over the years collapsed, but there were signs of possible momentum toward a new agreement, after weeks of escalation along the Gaza-Israel frontier.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to put of f a trip to South America to keep an eye on the situation in Gaza, a government official said on August 2, 2018. Israeli media reported Netanyahu is to convene his security cabinet on Sunday to discuss developments.

6. Iran conducts naval exercise in Persian Gulf

• Iran launched a naval exercise in the Persian Gulf on August 2, 2018, just days before the US reimposes sanctions on Tehran.
• The timing of the exercise is unusual, as it appears to be similar in scale and nature to a drill that ordinarily happens later in the autumn. The official said several dozen boats were out training early on Thursday morning.
• The vessels are mostly small attack boats, and there have been no interactions with US ships in the area, the official added.
• The exercises come at a time of increased tension between Iran and the United States, which has pulled out of a historic nuclear pact and is slapping fresh sanctions on Tehran.

7. New Zealand PM returns to work from maternity leave

• New Zealand Prime Minister and new mum Jacinda Ardern, only the second world leader to give birth while in office, resumed her duties on August 2, 2018, ending six weeks of maternity leave.
• The 38-year-old has opted to work from home in Auckland until the weekend when she will relocate to the capital Wellington.
• Ardern`s partner Clarke Gayford, who hosts a television fishing show, plans to be astay-at-home dad and the main caregiver for their daughter.

8. Apple hits $1tr mark

• Apple became the first $1 trillion publicly listed US company on August 2, 2018, leading a rebound in technology stocks and pushing the benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq higher.
• Market sentiment was also lifted by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross`s comment, who said the tariffs that United States is threatening to impose on Chinese goods would not be disastrous for the Asian nation.
• Technology stocks, which were trading lower earlier in the session, rose 1.03pc.
• Apple jumped 2.8pc to a record $207.05 to hit the $1tr mark, crowning a decade-long rise fueled by its ubiquitous iPhone that transformed it from a niche player in personal computers into a global powerhouse spanning entertainment and communications.

9. Multi-sport European Championships launched in Glasgow

• The inaugural multi-sport European Championships were launched in Glasgow on August 2, 2018 when the preliminaries of the rowing and gymnastics events kicked off 11 days of action in Scotland and Germany.
• For the first time, the continental championships for six different sports aquatics, gym-nastics, cycling, rowing, triathlon and a new team golf event are all being clustered together in and around the same host city, Glasgow.
• The only exception will be the athletics championships which start next week in Berlin, but which will still come under the same new European Championship s umbrella.The first of the 4,500 athletes competing at the event, which is intended to instil the sort of onecity, multi-sport vibe felt at an Olympic Games, were Europe`s top rowers at Strathclyde Country Park 15 miles outside the city.
• The qualification for the women`s gymnastics team event was also being staged at the SSEHydro arena while the track cycling championships were due to begin on Thursday evening at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, named af ter Scotland`s most successful Olympian.

10. Google developing censor-friendly search engine for China

• Google is crafting a search engine that would meet China’s draconian censorship rules, a company employee told AFP on Thursday, in a move decried by human rights activists.
• Google withdrew its search engine from China eight years ago due to censorship and hacking but it is now working on a project for the country codenamed “Dragonfly”, the employee said on condition of anonymity.
• The search project — which works like a filter that sorts out certain topics — can be tested within the company’s internal networks, the source said.
• The tech giant had already come under fire this year from thousands of employees who signed a petition against a $10-million contract with the US military, which was not renewed. “There’s a lot of angst internally. Some people are very mad we’re doing it,” the source said.