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April 19, 2018
- Border management reviewed in Torkham meeting
- Security officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan met at the Torkham border on April 18, 2018 to review progress in the border management policy and maintenance of the security fence erected on the Pakistani side of the border.
- Afghan border forces raised objections over repair and maintenance of a portion of the fence. Afghan officials asked Pakistani officials to repair the fence only on the Pakistani side and leave the other side of the fence unattended.
- The Afghan officials were informed in clear terms that the fence had been erected inside Pakistani territory and the neighbouring country had no right to raise any objection to any activity conducted on Pakistan`s soil. Both sides agreed to extend the border closure time from 8pm to 9pm on a daily basis for the convenience of pedestrians and trucks carrying trade goods to both sides.
- Pakistan reducing dependence on US arms: FT report
- Pakistan is gradually reducing its dependence on American military technology and China is filling the gap, says a Financial Times report, which also warns that this shift will have geo-political repercussions as well.
- The long, almost 2,000-word report notes that the shift started in the last few months of the Obama administration, when Congress blocked the sale of eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.
- In Islamabad, this move was seen as a confirmation of Pakistan`s fear that the United States `could no longer be relied on as their armed forces` primary source of advanced weapons` the report adds.
- So, Pakistan shifted its focus fromF-16s to the JF-17 fighter jets it is developing with China, and which is catching up with the F-16 in terms of capabilities.
- The Financial Times noted that Pakistan has been buying from Beijing for decades, starting after the US placed an arms embargo on it in the wake of the 1965 war with India.
- Govt to file counter rejoinder in Jadhav case by July 17
- Islamabad is expected to file its counter rejoinder on or before July 17 in the Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav`s case as New Delhi has submitted its rejoinder to Pakistan`s counter memorial to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
- The office of the attorney general for Pakistan, which is overseeing the case, is expected to receive the copy of the Indian rejoinder in a day or two after it is received by the embassy of Pakistan in The Hague.
- On Dec 13, 2017, Pakistan filed its counter memorial before the ICJ, a world court that sits at the Peace Palace in The Hague and is seized with the Indian complaint on the conviction of the Indian spy.
- Uzbekistan agrees to boost agricultural cooperation
- Pakistan and Uzbekistan agreed for bilateral cooperation in the field of agriculture and livestock.
- In a meeting held on April 18, 2018, Minister for National Food Security and Research, Sikandar Hayat Khan Bosan met with the Uzbek ministerial delegation which was led by Deputy Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbel(istan Laziz Kudratov.
- Pakistan may offer assistance to Uzbekistan in the areas of livestock feed technology, semen production, processing and preservation and disease diagnostics in livestock and their control.
- Facebook to roll out privacy choices under EU rules
- Facebook announced on April 18, 2018 it would begin rolling out changes to how it handles private data this week to comply with forthcoming EU rules, with European residents seeing the measures first.
- The social network, which has been rocked by disclosures about the hijacking of personal data on tens of millions of its users, said it will start implementing `new privacy experiences` to comply with the EU`s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which become effective on May 25.
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- First cinema launched in Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia launched its first commercial movie theatre on April 18, 2019, ending a nearly 40-year ban on cinemas under a push by the crown prince to modernise the country.
- A red carpet invitation only gala event attracted government officials, foreign dignitaries and select industry figures to watch Marvel`s superhero movie Black Panther on a 45-foot screen at a converted symphony concert hall in Riyadh.
- The first public viewings on April 20, 2018.
- Erdogan sends Turkey to snap polls on June 24
- President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 18, 2018 called snap elections in Turkey for June 24, bringing the polls forward by over a year-and-a-half to sharply accelerate the transition to a new presidential system.
- Erdogan`s announcement upended the political timetable in Turkey, which had been set to vote in simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections on Nov 3, 2019.
- The elections are especially significant as afterwards a new executive presidency agreed in a 2017 referendum and denounced by critics as giving the president authoritarian power s will come into force.
- Iran’s Khamenei quits Telegram
- Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced April 18, 2018 that he would no longer use the hugely popular messaging app Telegram, shifting instead to domestic services.
- The office of President Hassan Rouhani meanwhile issued a directive banning the government and administration workers from using foreign messenger apps to communicate, according to the official IRNA news agency
- Trump confirms CIA chief’s meeting with N Korea’s Kim
- US President Donald Trump confirmed on April 18, 2018 morning that CIA chief Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), in a secret visit to Pyongyang last week.
- “Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea (the DPRK) last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed,” Trump tweeted.
- Trump’s words came one day after reports, citing anonymous officials of the White House, revealed Pempeo’s top-secret visit as Trump’s envoy in recent weeks.
- The trip made by Pompeo, who was also Trump’s pick for the state secretary to replace Rex Tillerson, was seen as an effort to lay the groundwork for direct talks between the leaders of the two countries expected in May or early June.
- Barbara Bush, wife and mother of US presidents, dies
- Barbara Bush, the wife of the 41st president, George H.W. Bush, and mother of the 43rd, George W. Bush, died on Tuesday at the age of 92.
- A private funeral for former US first lady Barbara Bush, the only American woman to see her husband and son both sworn in as president, will be held on April 21, 2018 at a Houston church where her family has been members since the 1950s.
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