Day by Day Current Affairs (April 18, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018 FOR PREPARATION OF CSS, PMS, BANKING, NTS, RAILWAYS AND ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS. “DAY TO DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS” BASICALLY IS TOP 10 NEWS SUMMARY ON CURRENT HAPPENINGS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS

April 18, 2018

Pakistan elected to two key UN bodies
- Pakistan was elected to two important United Nations panels on April 16, 2018.
- The panels are: the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and the UNICEF Executive Board.
- The elections took place at a session of the 54-member Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the economic arm of the United Nations.
- Re-elected for the sixth time to the UN Committee on NGOs, Pakistan polled 43 of the 53 member States present and voting.
- Five candidates were competing four seats in the Asia Pacific Group.
- “Pakistan’s election to the Committee is a strong vote of confidence by the international community in our positive role and contribution in the work of the United Nations”, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said after the election.
World Bank to give Punjab govt $500m to restore religious sites

The World Bank will provide the Punjab government with $500 million to promote religious and cultural tourism and improve infrastructure at nine religious sites.
Nine projects include three Sikh sites, three Islamic sites, two Buddhist sites and one Hindu site.
The Gurdwara Sacha Sauda in Sheikhupura, Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpura in Narowal and Gurdwara Rori Sahib Eminabad in Gujranwala will be restored and provided with tourism facilities, while the tomb of Bibi Jawindi, Uch Sharif Bahawalpur, the shrine of Shah Rukn-i-Alam Multan and the shrine of Hazrat Ghulam Fareed in Kot Mithan Rajanpur will also be restored and uplifted.
Tourism facilities will also be provided at the Taxila Museum, the Mankiala stupa will be restored and tourism facilities will be provided at the Katas Raj temples in Chakwal.

Rs474bn approved for Bhasha dam
- The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on April 17, 2018 approved Rs474 billion for the construction of DiamerBhasha Dam to help the country tackle two major issues-water shortage and power generation.
- The ECNEC meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, approved the much-awaited funding for the project. The delay was due to reluctance from international financial institutions and China. The project is expected to complete in five years.
- As per proposed plan, the dam will have a 6.4 million acre foot (MAF) live storage capacity and installed power capacity of 4,500 MW. After completion, the project will increase national water storage capacity of Pakistan from 38 days to 45 days and will enhance life span on downstream reservoirs including Tarbela Dam.
US official confirms restriction on Pak diplomats

A senior official of the Trump administration has confirmed that Pakistani diplomats cannot move without seeking prior permission from the concerned authorities in the State Department.
Thomas Shannon, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, said this restriction was placed in response to the same conditions Islamabad has imposed on US diplomats in Pakistan. Shannon stressed that this is nothing new and such steps are routine matters

Turkey to extend state of emergency for seventh time

Turkey`s top security body on April 17, 2018 recommended extending the state of emergency imposed since a failed July 2016 coup for a seventh time, despite mounting calls from Ankara`s partners to lift it.
The state of emergency was introduced five days after the July 15 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan but critics say it has been used to crack down on his opponents and stifle the media.
The attempted coup was blamed by Turkey on a former Erdogan ally, the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen and his Hizmet movement.

UN to launch new Yemen peace roadmap
- The United Nations` new peace envoy for Yemen said on April 17, 2018 he will present a plan within two months to relaunch negotiations to end the war but warned that missile strikes on Saudi Arabia risked derailing the effort.
- Addressing the Security Council, Martin Griffiths said a possible sharp escalation from the missile attacks on Saudi Arabia and intensified fighting could `in a stroke, take peace off the table`. `My plan is to put to the council within the next two months a framework for negotiations,` Griffiths said in his first council report since taking over as special envoy in February.
Cubans prepare to turn the page on Castro era
- Cuban President Raul Castro steps down on April 19, passing the baton to a new generation in a transition that brings to a close the Castro brothers` six-decade grip on power.
- The 86-year-old has been in power since 2006, when he took over after illness sidelined his brother Fidel, who seized power in the 1959 revolution.
- Between them, father of the nation Fidel and younger brother Raul ruled Cuba for nearly 60 years, malking the Caribbean island a key player in the Cold War and helping keep communism afloat despite the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Diamonds in rocks came from long-lost planet: study
- A car-sized asteroid that exploded in Earth`s atmosphere in 2008, raining down diamond-bearing rocks, was a fragment of a Solar System planet that existed billions of years ago, researchers said on April 17, 2018.
- The parent planet was about as large as Mars or Mercury, and was formed in our Solar System`s first 10 million years before being shattered to pieces in collisions with other space rocks, a European team reported.
- Using high-definition microscopy, the researchers measured the composition of diamonds locked up in rocks left scattered in the Nubian desert of northern Sudan after an asteroid dubbed 2008 TC3 crashed into Earth.
Pakistan to stage first Asian Tour event in 11 years

Pakistan will host its first golf tournament with the Asian Tour in 11 years, organisers announced, as international sports gradually returns to a terror-hit country where security has improved.
The Chief of Naval Staff Open Golf Championship is set to tee off from July 24 to 27 in Karachi, attracting a talented cast of Asian Tour stars to the $300,000 (Rs34.59 million) event.
Regular Asian Tour events have been absent in the country since 2008, when a tournament was cancelled over security concerns amid a wave of militant attacks across Pakistan.

NY Times, New Yorker win Pulitzer for #MeToo watershed
- The New York Times and The New Yorker have won the Pulitzer Prize for public service for explosive reporting that brought down Harvey Weinstein and spawned a cultural watershed on the issue of sexual harassment.
- The prestigious prize was awarded to the Times team led by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey and New Yorker contributor Ronan Farrow, for reports that disgraced the Hollywood mogul and sparked an avalanche of accusations against other powerful men.

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