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November 24, 2018: National Current Affairs
1. Attack on Chinese consulate in Karachi foiled, militants killed
• Three heavily armed militants were shot dead in an encounter with law enforcers during a gun-and-grenade attack on the Chinese consulate in the city that also claimed the lives of two police officials and two visa applicants on November 23, 2018 morning.
• The assault on the consulate, which is situated in the `high security zone` of Clifton`s Block-4, also left a private guard of the foreign mission wounded.
• The attackers lobbed at least 10 hand grenades destroying three vehicles and attempted to break open the armored gate of the consulate with C4 explosives, but were shot dead before they could do so. The banned insurgent group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) promptly claimed responsibility even when the operation against the attackers was still under way.
• The Chinese embassy in Pakistan strongly condemned the terrorist attack and appreciated the law enforcers for their timely action. `We extend our deep condolences to the two Pakistani policemen martyred in the attack,` the embassy stated.
2. Cabinet approves various drafts, laws ahead of govt`s 100 days
• The Punjab cabinet on November 23, 2018 took up a heavy agenda approving various legislative businesses on the recommendations of the cabinet`s standing committee on legislation.
• The cabinet retained the ban on recruitments on posts from BPS-1 to 15. Similar to the previous practice, respective administrative departments will have to move summaries for relaxation of the ban in specific cases after which the cabinet committee will present its recommendations. Health and education departments will be permitted to recruit on priority, the cabinet decided.
• The Punjab Public Service Commission, however, will continue recruiting candidates regularly in BPS-16 and above.
• The cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on November 23, 2018, approved draft law for granung concession on property tax in six computerised districts as well as policy on relocation/shifting of sugar mills in the province. It also approved Punjab Industrial Policy 2018 as well as draft Punjab Occupational Safety and Health Act 2018, Punjab Domestic Workers Act 2018 and Punjab Labour Policy 2018.
3. E-challan for speed, lane violations
• The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has introduced a new scheme to issue fines to speed violators on four major roads in the provincial capital.
• The speed limit will be monitored through speed radar cameras which have already been installed.
• Effective from November 26, 2018, the PSCA has introduced speed limits for light and heavy traffic on Canal Road, Jail Road, Gulberg’s Main Boulevard and Ferozepur Road.
• The speed limit for LTV and HTV on Canal Road is 70km and 50km, respectively, and for rest of the three roads it is 60km and 40km.
4. DIG Islamabad police HQ appointed
• Sarfaraz Ahmed Falki, a grade 20 officer, has been appointed as deputy inspector general of police headquarters Islamabad.
• His predecessor DIG Nasir Mehmood Satti has been asked to report to the Establishment Division.
• According to a notification issued by the Establishment Division, Sarfaraz Ahmed Falki from the Police Service of Pakistan group, who is presently under transfer from the Punjab government to the Establishment Division, has been transferred and his service placed at the disposal of the Interior Division for further posting in Islamabad.
• Later on the recommendation of the office of inspector general of police Islamabad, he was appointed DIG Headquarters.
• Mr Falki started his career as a journalist in 1995. Later, he joined Police Service of Pakistan in 2002 in the 27 common training programme.
5. PM inaugurates four new trains
• The government on November 23, 2018 introduced four new train services in a bid to provide better and safer transport facilities to commuters.
• The train services were inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan at a ceremony. The new train services launched by the Pakistan Railways are Faisalabad Express, Shah Latif Express, Sindh Express and Rehman Baba Express.
• Faisalabad Express will run between Multanand Faisalabad and make stops at Khanewal, Abdul Hakim railway station, Shorkot Cantonment, Toba Tek Singh and Gojra.
• Shah Latif Express will run between Dhabeji and Mirpurkhas and make stops at Jangshahi, Jhimpir, Kotri, Hyderabad, Tando Adam and Tando Allahyar.
• Sindh Express will run between Karachi (cantonment station) and Sukkur, making stopovers at Drigh Road, Landhi, Hyderabad, Tando Adam, Shahdadpur, Nawabshah, Bandi Goth, Mehrabpur, Ranipur, Khairpur and Rohri.
• Rehman Baba Express, which will go into service on Dec 25, will run between Peshawar and Karachi
6. Govt approves Balochistan bank project
• The Balochistan government on November 23, 2018 decided to resume work on establishment of the Bank of Balochistan besides taking other decisions related to the finance department, rural support programme, districts development plan, hospitals and sports.
• The provincial cabinet, which reviewed its 100-day performance, directed the finance department to prepare a feasibility report on the proposed bank.
• The idea of establishing the Balochistan Bank remained on the agenda of the two successive coalition governments of Nawab Raisani and Nawab Sanaullah Zehri. But it was excluded from the annual budget for 2018-19.
November 24, 2018: International Current Affairs
7. Indian troops kill six fighters in held Kashmir
• Indian troops killed six suspected fighters in a gun battle in India-held Kashmir on November 23, 2018, taking the death toll for the year to the highest in nearly a decade.
• So far this year, 400 people have been killed in the disputed Himalayan region and more than half of them were men fighting Indian rule. It is the highest toll since 2008 when 505 people died.
• Indian forces have stepped up an offensive against men fighting against Indian rule. The armed groups have hit back, targeting members of the police in recent months.
• An operation was launched in Sekipora village, around 50km south of Srinagar, after intelligence reports about the presence of a group of fighters there. `Six militants were killed during a fierce gunfight and arms and ammunition along with their bodies have been recovered.
• The number of deaths in violence in Jammu and Kashmir had dropped to 99 in 2012 but has been climbing since.
• The latest crackdown in southern Kashmir was prompted by the abduction of six people from the area by local fighters, according to government officials. While four were let off, two of them accused of being informers for the Indian forces were killed.
8. Spanish PM agrees to strengthen ties with Cuba during historic visit
• Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez agreed with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to deepen bilateral political ties on November 22, 2018, at the start of the first official visit by a Spanish leader to the Communist-run country in three decades.
• The two leaders signed an agreement instituting annual high-level political dialogue meetings between Spain and Cuba, touching on an array of topics including human rights.
• Relations between Cuba and the European Union have steadily improved since being formally re-launched in 2016 after a two-decade chill, even as they have festered between the island and the United States.
9. NASA counts down to landing of Martian quake-sensor
• NASA is counting down to a nail-biting touchdown on November 26, 2018 of the $993 million Mars In Sight, the first space craft to listen for quakes and study the inner workings of another rocky planet.
• No one is on board the spacecraft, which launched nearly seven months ago and has travelled some 300 million miles (482 million kilometres).
• But part of its mission is to inform efforts to one day send human explorers to the Red Planet, which NASA hopes to do by the 2030s.
• The lander is the first to reach Mars since 2012, when NASA`s Curiosity rover touched down to scour the surface and analyse rocks for signs that life forms may once have inhabited Earth`s neighbour, now a frigid and dry planet.
10. China president to visit Panama after Taiwan snub
• China’s President Xi Jinping will in December make his first visit to Panama since the Central American country switched diplomatic ties last year from Taiwan.
• President Juan Carlos Varela said on Twitter that his government has received official confirmation from Beijing about Xi’s visit.
• Xi is to meet Varela on December 3, and the two leaders will witness the signing of about 20 agreements in a range of sectors from science to infrastructure.
• Varela already met Xi in Beijing late last year after the change in diplomatic recognition. In August, El Salvador also switched diplomatic allegiance to Taiwan, as did the Dominican Republic in May under a campaign by Beijing to split democratic Taiwan from its few remaining diplomatic allies.
• China and Taiwan have been governed separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949, but Beijing sees the island as part of its territory to be brought back into the fold.
