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

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July 15, 2018

1. SBP raises interest rate to 7.5pc

• The State Bank of Pakistan on July 14, 2018 raised its interest rate by a sharp 100 basis points to 7.5 per cent, the biggest push in 10 years, and flagged concerns about economic uncertainties, which remain the key factor for policy tightening this year.
• The SBP enumerated four reasons behind this year’s third hike. “The multiplier effect of a strong fiscal expansion during the second half of FY18 is likely to offset the contractionary impact of monetary tightening in the recent months on domestic demand,” it said in a monetary policy statement. “Higher international oil prices have continued to inflate the import bill.”
• The SBP said rising inflation projections and the ensuing fall in real interest rates and a notable reduction in rupee and US interest rate differential are contributing to evolving economic challenges. “This means that the aggregate demand has proved to be higher than previously thought,”
• Current SBP Governor: Tariq Bajwa

2. Iran’s army chief begins Pakistan visit today (July 15, 2018)

• The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces will start a three-day visit to Pakistan on July 15, 2018.
• The visit of Maj-Gen Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, accompanied by a high-level delegation, comes at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
• Baqeri is scheduled to meet Pakistan’s political and military officials during his visit. Bilateral ties, defence cooperation, border security, anti-terrorism, latest regional and international developments would be on the agenda of the meetings.

3. First Haj flight departs for Saudi Arabia

• The Haj flight operation has started as first Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Haj flight PK 7003 carrying 327 intending pilgrims departed for Madina Munawwara from the Islamabad International Airport here on July 14, 2018. The Haj operation will continue till August 15, 2018.
• Pakistan International Airline (PIA) will operate 200 flights to Jeddah and Madina transporting over 55000 pilgrims to fulfil the religious obligation. This year 179,210 Pakistanis would perform Hajj. This includes 119,473 under government Hajj scheme while 59,737 would perform through private operators.
• The flight operation will continue from Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Sukkhur but flights will depart at different timings. On the first and second day of the operation, a total of 1,550 pilgrims will depart from major cities of the country.

4. Putin hosts Abbas in Moscow

• Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was in Moscow on July 14, 2018 to meet Vladimir Putin, just days after the Russian leader hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• Abbas told the Russian leader of his concerns over US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem, as well as Israeli settlement activity. “We are resisting attempts by the Americans to impose their decisions on the most sensitive problems of Palestine,” Russian news agencies quoted him as saying in translated remarks.
• Netanyahu was in Moscow on July 11, 2018 where the situation in Syria and Palestinian relations were on the agenda of his meeting with Putin.
• Israel’s military renewed airstrikes targeting Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Saturday afternoon a day after fierce clashes along the border in which two Palestinians were killed, one of them a teenager.
• More than 220 others were injured according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Strip.

5. Eritrea president hails unity with Ethiopia on historic visit

• Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki pledged to resolve his country’s dispute with Ethiopia on July 14, 2018 in a historic visit to Addis Ababa aimed at cementing peace less than a week after the nations declared an end to two decades of conflict.
• Isaias arrived in the Ethiopian capital just five days after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited Eritrea as part of a dizzying peace process aimed at ending years of violence and animosity between the neighbours who were once part of the same nation.
• Isaias started his three-day visit at Addis Ababa’s airport, where he and Abiy strode down a red carpet as a brass band played and traditional dancers cheered.
• Bajwa visited Iran last November to enhance coordination between the two countries in the defence sector.

6. US to open new military bases in Iraq, Kuwait

• New reports says the United States will open new bases in Iraq and Kuwait in defiance of widespread calls to end its military presence in the region.
• The Erbil-based Bas News reported that the US is planning to inaugurate its third military base in Iraq, near the town of al-Qa’im in western Anbar Province bordering Syria.
• The report quoted a source from Anbar Province as saying that the new American facility will join the already operating US airbases in Iraq, namely Ain al-Assad in Anbar and Habbaniya, both in Anbar.
• The new base will oversee several Anbar cities, the western desert of Iraq and the strategic international road connecting Baghdad to Damascus.
• Earlier this month, US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani broke ground on the largest American consulate building in Erbil.

7. Ukraine inks deal with Airbus to buy 55 helicopters

• Ukraine on July 14, 2018 signed a contract with France’s Airbus to buy 55 of its civil helicopters for 555 million euros in the biggest-ever deal reached between the two countries.
• The deal for the 24 H125, 10 H145 and 21 H225 helicopters was signed in Kiev by a representative of Ukraine’s interior ministry and Airbus Helicopters company bosses.
• The helicopters are expected to be used for various civil security purposes, including border monitoring, policing and emergency situations.
• The deal includes not only the helicopters themselves but also technical support and training for pilots.
• Of the 555 million euros, 85 percent will be covered by a loan from the French treasury and French banks. A delivery of first four H225 Super Puma helicopters is expected this year.

8. Belgium beat England 2-0 to finish third in World Cup

• Belgium achieved their best World Cup finish as goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard secured a 2-0 victory over England in July 14, 2018´s third-place playoff in Saint Petersburg.
• Meunier, who missed the semi-final loss to France due to suspension, scored after just four minutes before Hazard grabbed a late second as Belgium eclipsed the side that came fourth at the 1986 edition.
• Belgium have now defeated England twice in a fortnight, having waited 82 years to beat them before winning 1-0 in their group stage encounter.

9. Korean mountaineer summits Nanga Parbat

• An internationally renowned mountaineer of South Korea has successfully summitted the killer mountain ‘Nanga Parbat’.
• With this success in first week of July, Migon Kim has joined the very exclusive and prestigious club of best mountaineer in the world.
• Kim is the 7th Korean and world’s 41st person to climb all the 14 peaks that are taller than 8,000 meters. Many of these tallest mountains are in Pakistan and they attract large number of mountaineering enthusiasts and climbers every year. Migon Kim is 6th from his country to summit 14 tallest peaks.
• Kim has summitted Nanga Parbat in company with one Taiwan and one Nepalese Mountaineers. Migon Kim is associated with Korean Expressway Corporation that supported his efforts to climb mountains in Pakistan and around the world.

10. Frank Sinatra`s first wife, Nancy, dies at 101

• Nancy Sinatra Sr, the teenage sweethead and first wife of legendary singer Frank Sinatra, has died. She was 101.
• Frank and Nancy Sinatra had three children together.
• Born Nancy Barbato on March 25, 1917 in Jersey City, she met her future husband in the summer of 1934, while they were holidaying with their families on the Jersey Shore. At the time, she was 17 and he was 19. They wed in 1939, then moved into a modest New York apanment while Nancy worked as a secretary.
• In 1950, humiliated by repons in the press of Frank`s affair with screen siren Ava Gardner, Nancy filed for separation and their divorce was finalised in 1951.
• Notorious for his romantic conquests, Frank would go on to marry Gardner (1951-57), then Mia Farrow (1966-68), and eventually model Barbara Marx in 1976. But he remained close with Nancy until his death in 1998, according to The New York Times.