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April 6, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. India didn`t shoot down Pakistani F-16: US report
• As a report of the US Foreign Policy magazine contradicted India`s claim of shooting down an F-16 fighter jet of Pakistan during a dogfight amid heightened tension following the Pulwama attack, Pakistan`s military on April 5, 2019 asked New Delhi to speak the truth.
• The prominent American magazine, which published the report on its website on Thursday, also notes that using an F-16 in a dogfight does not violate the end-use agreement that Pakistan signed while receiving the aircraft from the US.
• Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations, said on April 5, 2019 that all four `missile seeker heads` were recovered intact from the wreckage of Indian Mig21 plane, implying that they were never fired.
• He published a picture of the four `missile seeker heads` with a message on Twitter, `IAF claim of hitting F-16 by their MIG 21 before having been shot down by PAF gets exposed.
2. Bold posters ignite feminist firestorm in Pakistan
• Slogans used in some posters that were displayed among dozens during the recent women`s march in Pakistan have invited backlash, including rape and death threats.
• The posters were just part of the colourful spectacle as tens of thousands of women took to the streets for the second annual Aurat March in major cities across the country, marking International Women`s Day on March 8.
• But this year the slogans caught the attention of the media, many of whom showcased them online, while a handful of the most provocative went viral igniting weeks of outrage, with shocked organisers reposting a slew of violent threats.
• The uproar has provoked a rare and at times acrimonious debate on women`s rights and cultural values in a country that has, until now, been largely unconcerned with the global #MeToo movement.
3. IMF deal to be inked by month end
• Finance Minister Asad Umar on April 5, 2019 said an agreement with International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an economic assistance package would be signed by end of this month.
• Talking to a group of media persons, the finance minister said the economic package would be finalised in principle with the fund during spring meetings (April 12-14) of the World Bank and IMF in Washington where he would hold discussions with the Fund authorities. This would be followed by an IMF mission`s visit to Pakistan to formally conclude a programme for signing.
• The finance minister said he would share the medium-term macroeconomic framework with the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Finance and Revenue on Monday to explain the government`s economic roadmap over the next few years. He further said he had committed to the parliamentary panel to strengthen the institution of NA`s standing committee.
4. FBR announces Audit Policy, 2018
• The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on April 5, 2019 announced rules and procedures for the selection of audit cases under the new Audit Policy, 2018.
• The FBR notified that `in line with the earlier practice, this year for Audit Policy, 2018, the FBR would do a parametric selection.` The FBR plans to run data analytics on available population based on `identified risk parameters` to minimise the chances of selecting compliant taxpayers.
• The revenue authority has also listed the applicable exclusions for cases under the income tax, sales tax and federal excise duty (FED) regimes where an audit is not required.
5. SECP registers 1,401 new companies in March
• The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) registered 1,401 new companies in March up 22 per cent compared to March, 2018.
• The increase in registration is mainly attributable to various reforms introduced by the regulator such as introduction of simplified combined process for name reservation and incorporation, reduction of incorporation fee, assistance provided by facilitation wings of company registration offices for incorporation and one window facility for company in corporation and national tax number generation among others, said the SECP press release.
• Around 72pc of the companies were registered as private limited companies, 24pc as single member companies and 4pc as public unlisted companies, nonprofit associations, foreign companies and limited liability partnerships (L LPs).According to the press release, around 54 new companies received foreign investment from Australia, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Libya, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Spain, UAE, and the US.
6. Official website of FBR launched
• Minister of State for Revenue, Muhammad Hammad Azhar April 5, 2019 inaugurated the new state of the art official website of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
• The new official website was user friendly and had the relevant information required by taxpayer needed to fulfill their tax obligations.
• The new website will help usher in a new era of improved taxpayer facilitation.
7. Two women appointed CCP members
• The federal government has appointed Shaista Bano Gilani and Bushra Naz Malik as members of CCP for three years term.
• Both the new members have taken charge of their offices. After the appointment of these two new members, the commission now consists of five members as stipulated in Section 14 of the Competition Act, 2010.
• The other three members include Chairperson Vadiyya Khalil, Dr Shahzad Ansar, and Dr Muhammad Saleem. Shaista Bano has a Master’s Degree in ‘Economics for Competition Law’ from King’s College, University of London, and a Master’s in Business Administration with majors in Finance from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. She is also an ACCA
April 6, 2019: International Current Affairs
8. UK to hold social media bosses liable for harmful content
• Britain will make social media executives personally liable for harmful content published on their platforms, a leaked government proposal said on April 5, 2019.
• The UK government is due to unveil as early as Monday a policy paper outlining ways to fight everything from online hate speech to election interference and manipulation attempts.
• The issue gained added urgency with Facebook`s failure to immediately halt live streams of a March 15 attack by a self-avowed white supremacist on two mosques in New Zealand that killed 50 people.
• The Guardian newspaper said the UK government`s `white paper` outlining its social media oversight proposals would be published Monday after months of delays.
9. IAEA seeks guarantees from Saudis on first N-reactor
• The head UN nuclear inspector said on April 5, 2019 that his agency is asking Saudi Arabia to agree to safeguards on nuclear material for its first atomic reactor that could arrive by the end of the year.
• Satellite imagery recently emerged of the project on the outskirts of Riyadh, which comes amid controversy in Washington over what Democrats say is President Donald Trump`s rush to approve nuclear projects with the oil-rich kingdom.
• But Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said there was nothing secret about the reactor and that Saudi Arabia informed the Vienna-based UN body about its plans in 2014.
10. Social media gets thumbs-down in new US poll
• Americans are fearful about the impact of social media firms such as Facebook and Twitter, with many saying they spread misinformation and divide the country, even though most people still use these networks, a new poll showed on April 5, 2019.
• The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found 57 per cent of Americans believe social media sites do more to divide the country, and 55 per cent said the networks are more likely to spread `lies and falsehoods` than genuine news and information.
• `Social media and Facebook, in particular have some serious issues in this poll,` said Micah Roberts of the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies, which conducted the survey with the Democratic firm Hart Research Associates.`If America was giving social media a Yelp review, a majority would give it zero stars.` According to the survey, 61 per cent think social media does more to spread unfair attacks and rumours against public figures and corporations, compared with 32 per cent who say it helps hold those public figures and corporations accountable.
