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April 16, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. IMF bailout package agreed upon in writing: Asad
• Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have finalised, documented and signed a bailout package on exchange rate, public finance, fiscal deficit and energy prices and an IMF mission will be visiting Islamabad in the third week of the current month to work out technical tables, said Finance Minister Asad Umar.
• `We have reached an agreement and all the major issues have been settled and documented,` Mr Umar told a meeting of the National Assembly`s Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Monday after a weeklong visit to the US.He also reported that Pakistan had dispatched a compliance report to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that would be reviewed by the Paris-based agency before sending its delegation to Islamabad by the third week of May for on-ground inspection.
• He said the IMF staff mission would visit Islamabad this month to conclude various technical tables that would then be shared with the NA committee.
2. PM set to visit Iran from 21st
• Prime Minister Imran Khan will pay a two-day official visit to Iran from April 21.
• `Prime Minister Imran Khan will pay an official visit to Iran on 21-22 April 2019 on the invitation of President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, His Excellency Hassan Rouhani. This will be the first visit of the Prime Minister to Iran,` the Foreign Office announced on April 15, 2019.
• Pak-Iran relations were `marked by close historic and cultural linkages and strong people-to-people exchanges`.
3. Punjab police get fourth chief in eight months
• The government on April 15, 2019 removed Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Amjad Javed Saleemi and appointed Federal Narcotics Control secretary retired Capt Arif Nawaz new head of the provincial police force.
• Mr Nawaz is the fourth IG since the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf came to power some eight months ago. The move follows April 14, 2019`s removal of some administrative secretaries in Punjab.
• A notification was issued, directing Mr Saleemi to report to the Establishment Division in Islamabad for further orders.
• Earlier, Mr Nawaz served as the Punjab IGP for 11 months. He has over two years of service remaining. He has also served at other key posts in Punjab, including additional IGP of operations and establishment, besides serving for over three years in Balochistan.
4. Air chief lays foundation stone of PAF Airmen Academy
• Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan April 14, 2019 laid the foundation stone of PAF Airmen Academy at PAF Base Korangi Creek in Karachi.
• It was a momentous occasion in the history of Pakistan Air Force, as the air chief laid the foundation stone of PAF Airmen Academy.
• To mark this historic event, a ceremony was held, in which Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan unveiled the plaque of this “unique institution.”
5. Navy launches mangroves plantation campaign
• The Pakistan Navy on April 15, 2019 launched its `Mangroves Plantation Campaign 2019` by planting saplings at the Bin Qasim port.
• Commander Coast Vice Admiral Fayyaz Gillani, chief guest on the occasion, inaugurated the campaign, which entails an effort to plant two million mangroves in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan in line with the government`s vision of a `Clean and Green Pakistan`.
6. Use of plastic bags banned in Hunza
• The use of plastic shopping bags has been banned in Hunza in order to prevent environmental degradation.
• According to a notice issued by Hunza district administration on April 15, 2019, Gilgit Baltistan Environmental Protection Agency (GBEPA) and Hunza district administration decided to impose ban on use of plastic bags in the district.
• The decision was taken in light of implications of plastic bags usage on environmental and human health, it said.
• The notice warned shopkeepers and people dealing in plastic bags to end already existing stock of such bags till April 20, as after the date, manufacture, sale, purchase and their usage would be considered a crime, the notice said.
April 16, 2019: International Current Affairs
7. Nuclear fuel removed from crippled Fukushima power plant
• The operator of Japan`s crippled Fukushima power plant on April 15, 2019 began removing atomic fuel from inside a building housing one of the reactors that melted down in 2011.
• The delicate operation represents the first time the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) has pulled out fuel rods from inside a highly contaminated building containing the melted-down reactor, and comes four years behind schedule.
• Due to high radiation levels, technicians used remote-controlled equipment to haul fuel from a `storage pool` inside the building.
• Operations were briefly suspended early on Monday afternoon after a problem with the equipment removing the fuel, but resumed shortly afterwards.
8. `First` 3D print of heart with human tissue, vessels unveiled
• Scientists in Israel unveiled a 3D print of a heart with human tissue and vessels on April 15, 2019, calling it a first and a `major medical breakthrough` that advances possibilities for transplants.
• While it remains a far way off, scientists hope one day to be able to produce hearts suitable for transplant into humans as well as patches to regenerate defective hearts.
• The heart produced by researchers at Tel Aviv University is about the size of a rabbit`s. It marked `the first time anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart replete with cells, blood vessels, ventricles and chambers,` said Tal Dvir, who led the project.
9. Ancient Aus indigenous site recreated with VR technology
• Researchers from Australia’s University of Newcastle have digitally mapped and recreated an ancient Aboriginal site, allowing users to step 6,500 years back in time using a virtual reality headset.
• Revealed on April 15, 2019, the project maps an archeological dig the size of a family swimming pool, where approximately 5,500 stone tools were uncovered in 2009.
• The study is giving archaeologists a better understanding of the cultures which existed amongst Australia’s earliest inhabitants.
10. One of the world’s rarest turtles dies
• One of the world’s rarest turtles, a Yangtze giant soft shell, has died in China, leaving just three known survivors of the species. The female turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) died in Suzhou zoo in southern China.
• Experts had tried to artificially inseminate the creature, which was over 90 years old, for a fifth time shortly before she died. The species has suffered from hunting, overfishing and the destruction of its habitat.
• One male, estimated to be more than 100 years old, is left in the Chinese zoo while two other turtles live in the wild in Vietnam. The elusive nature of the turtle means it has been difficult to identify the gender of the pair.
