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 October 12, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. IMF team to visit soon for bailout negotiations

• Pakistan officially asked for financial support from the International Monetary Fund on October 11, 2018 in a meeting with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Bali, Indonesia.
• `Today, I met with Pakistan`s Minister of Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, Asad Umar, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Tariq Bajwa, and members of their economic team,` said a statement released by Ms Lagarde`s office. `During the meeting, they requested financial assistance from the IMF to help address Pakistan`s economic challenges.
• `An IMF team will visit Islamabad in the coming weeks to initiate discussions for a possible IMF-supported economic programme,` Ms Lagarde said, adding that the Fund looked forward to `the continuing partnership` with Pakistan.
• This will be Pakistan`s 13th loan from the IMF since 1988 when the era of structural adjustment began

2. Army chief in London on official visit

• Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on October 11, 2018 reached London on an official visit.
• Inter-Services Public Relations chief Major General Asif Ghafoor said that the army chief would hold talks with the civil and military leadership of the United Kingdom.

3. Shaukat Siddiqui removed as IHC judge

• President Arif Alvi has removed IHC judge Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, on the unanimous recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
• The law ministry issued the notification of removal of the senior judge of the Islamabad High Court here on October 11, 2018.
• Earlier the same day, the SJC declared Siddiqi guilty of misconduct as he in a speech at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association on July 21 had levelled scandalous allegations against the judiciary and the intelligence agencies.
• He accused Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of manoeuvring and interfering in judicial affairs – especially during Panama Case in which ex-PM Nawaz Sharif was disqualified.

4. 3 soldiers martyred in Waziristan blast

• Three soldiers were killed and five others wounded in a roadside bomb blast in South Waziristan near the Afghan border on October 11, 2018.
• Soldiers were carrying out routine search operations in Makeen Tehsil of South Waziristan district when the explosion took place, local officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.
• There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb. Pakistan’s army has been battling Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants in the region for years.
• Violence in Pakistan has declined in recent years following a series of military operations along the border with Afghanistan, but militant groups are still able to carry out deadly attacks. There have been a number of fatal assaults in recent months in the northwest, as well as in Balochistan.
• Pakistan’s army launched its operation in mid-2014 to wipe out militant bases in the area and end the near decade-long insurgency that has cost thousands of lives.

October 12, 2018: International Current Affairs

5. Emergency landing by astronauts after booster rocket fails

• A booster rocket failed less than two minutes after launching an American and a Russian towards the International Space Station on October 11, 2018, forcing their emergency but safe landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan.
• It was the latest in a recent series of failures for the troubled Russian space programme, which is used by the US to carry its astronauts to the station.
• NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos` Alexei Ovchinin were subjected to heavy gravitational forces as their capsule automatically jettisoned from the Soyuz booster rocket and fell back to Earth at a sharper-than-normal angle and landed about 20 kilometres east of the city of Dzhezkazgan in Kazakhstan.

6. Indian troops kill key Kashmiri militant in Handwara siege

• A Kashmiri scholar-turned militant and his colleague were killed on October 11, 2018 in a gunbattle with Indian troops, sparking violent anti-India protests by residents in the disputed region.
• The incident could spark more unrest in a region that in recent years has witnessed renewed attacks and public resistance against Indian rule.
• Indian troops laid siege to a village in northwestern Handwara area on a tip that militants were hiding there. As counterinsurgency police and soldiers launched a search operation, a gunfight erupted in which two militants were killed.
• Authorities shut down internet service on mobile phones and ordered the closure of schools in several places in the region fearing student protests. Anti-India protests and clashes erupted as the fighting raged, with hundreds of residents trying to march to the site in solidarity with the militants. Government forces fired warning shots, shotgun pellets and tear gas at the stone-throwing protesters, injuring at least four people.

7. World`s longest flight leaves Singapore for New York

• The world`s longest commercial flight took off from Singapore on October 11, 2018, with excited and apprehensive passengers on board settling in for a marathon 19 hours in the air to New York.
• Flight SQ22 departed at approximately 11:35pm with 150 passengers and 17 crew on board.
• Two pilots, a special `wellness` menu and more than seven weeks` worth of film and television entertainment accompany the travelers on the 16,700-kilometre (10,400-mile) journey to the Big Apple.
• The long-range Airbus A350-900ULR is configured to carry up to 161 passengers -67 in business class and 94in premium economy, with no regular economy seats available.
• For the flight crew which also includes two first officers and a 13-strong cabin contingent the workload will be broken up, the airline said, with each pilot having a minimum eight hours` rest during the flight.

8. Malaysia says it will end death penalty for all crimes

• Malaysia`s new government said it will abolish the death penalty for all crimes and halt all pending executions, a rare move against capital punishment in Asia that human rights groups hailed on October 11, 2018 as a major advance.
• More than 1,200 people are on death row in Malaysia, which mandates hanging as punishment for a wide range of crimes including murder, drug trafficking, treason, kidnapping and acts of terror.
• Law Minister Liew Vui Keong announced that the cabinet had agreed to abolish the death penalty and that amendments to laws with capital punishment were expected to be presented when parliament resumes on October 15, 2018.

9. Uzbekistan seeks India-Pakistan rapprochement under SCO

• India will be invited to help with a key rail link in Afghanistan, during the visit of Uzbekistan`s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to New Delhi early next week.
• It also quoted an Uzbek presidential aide as eyeing an India-Pakistan rapprochement under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The paper quoted a presidential aide as saying the proposed rail link of approximately 650km connecting the Afghan cities of Mazaar-iSharif and Herat which may later be extended to Kabul, is a major project agreed to by President Ashraf Ghani and President Mirziyoyev lastyear, and many of the preliminary surveys for the project have already been completed.
• `If India would be involved in [the railway line] construction, we would welcome them because of India`s proven record and experience, and because of its contribution to bringing peace to Afghanistan,` President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, saying that Uzbekistan had an interest in open trade and connectivity routes `all the way to the Indian Ocean`.

October 12, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

10. Khawaja ton helps Australia foil Pakistan`s victory bid

• Opener Usman Khawaja hit a defiant hundred to foil Pakistan and help Australia escape with a gripping draw in the first Test in Dubai on October 11, 2018.
• The left-hander hit a solid 141 for his seventh Test hundred, while skipper Tim Paine (61 not out) and Travis Head (72) also hit half centuries as Australia finished at 362-8 late in the day with lights coming on at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
• Yasir had shaken the Australian innings with 4-114 but Australia still clung on. They have now won two and drawn two of their 16 Tests in Asia since 2012.