Day by Day Current Affairs (August 6, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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August 6, 2018

1. Kuwait asks Pakistan to upgrade fuel supply network

• Kuwait has asked Pakistan to upgrade its market and fuel supply network to higher grade gas oil, commonly known as High Speed Diesel (HSD), to remain its long-term client.
• Pakistan generally imports half of the country`s diesel requirement from Kuwait under a long-term arrangement between their respective state-run companies Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC).
• `KPC has informed that Euro-II diesel containing 500ppm (sulphur particles per million), which is currently in Pakistan`s use, would not be available to PSO from early 2020 because it would start producing Euro-V containing 10ppm on completion its Clean Fuel Project.
• PSO imports about 0.4 0.5m tonnes of diesel per month from KPC against country`s total monthly consumption of about 0.8m tonnes. About 220,000 tonnes per month production comes from domestic refineries. As a result, the PSO has asked the petroleum division to take note of the situation and review pricing mechanism.
• Pakistan`s total demand for POL products is estimated to increase from 27m tonnes this year to about 32m tonnes in five years, showing an increase of 17.5pc, according to the Oil Companies Advisory Council an umbrella organisation of oil companies.

2. Table of Contents

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   World Bank to fund Punjab`s `green growth` project

• The World Bank has given approval to the `Punjab Green Development Programme` to strengthen environmental governance and promote investment.
• According to a bank document, the project will be launched next month with the installation of the new government in the province.
• The programme`s cost over five years amounts to $273 million, of which $200 million will be unanced by the Internadonal DevelopmentAssociation(IDA)of the World Bank group. The World Bank approved the project on May 25, while the legal agreements were signed just before the completion of previous govern-ment`s tenure.
• Under the programme, the Punjab government will promote green financing as a way to mobilise resources for green investments beyond the programme`s implementation period, and will directly support priority green investments in both the public and the private sectors. To mobilise domestic capital markets as a sustainable source of ñnance for green investments, the finance department will develop a set of principles for the issuance of green bonds.
• In line with the Punjab Environmental Protection Act of 1997 and amended in 2012, which authorises the creation of a provincial fund to ñnance environmental projects, the provincial government will establish a fund with a capital of $55 million from the programme.

3. Zainab`s killer gets death sentence in three identical cases

• In another trial held inside a prison, an anti-terrorism court on August 4, 2018 awarded death sentence on 12 counts to Imran Ali, the convict in the Zainab rapecum-murder case, in three more similar cases carrying same charges.
• ATC Judge Sajjad Ahmad Sheikh handed down the penalty judgement after prosecution established the role of 24-year-old Imran Ali in the rape and murder of three minor girls Ayesha, Laiba and Noor Fatima of Kasur.
• The court sentenced the convict to death on four counts in each case, besides imposing a collective fine of Rs10 million and Rs5m as diyat to be paid to the minors` f amilies.
• The court had on Feb 17 awarded death sentence on four counts to Ali in the Zainab murder case. Appeals of the convict against the sentence were dismissed by all courts.
• Ali was involved in at least nine incidents of rape-cum-murder of minors he had confessed to during the Zainab case investigation.
• In all three cases, Ali was found guilty under sections 364-A (kidnapping or abducting a person under the age of fourteen), 376 (3) (rape of minor) and 302-B (punishment for gatl-i-amd) of the Pakistan Penal Code and section 7(a) (punishment for acts of ter-rorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

4. PA-elect dies of meningitis

• Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf`s (PTI) MPA-elect from PP-296 (Rajanpur) Tariq Khan Dreshak died of meningitis fever on August 5, 2018. He was 48.
• He was shifted to a private hospital in Multan in critical condition where he was admitted to the intensive care unit and remained under treatment for four days.
• The deceased was the nephew of former chief whip of the Punjab Assembly, Nasarullah Khan Dreshak He won the provincial assembly seat by securing 42,119 votes in the July 25 elections.
• He remained Nazim of union council in Mudharafers. He had run for the provincial assembly thrice but was elected only once, in the July 25 polls

5. Pakistan earns over $3.630 billion from export of transport services

• The transport services by Pakistan in other countries increased by 3.29 percent during the first eleven months of financial year 2017-18 compared to the corresponding period of last year.
• Pakistan exported transport services worth $3630.695 million in July-May (2017-18) against the exports of services worth $3514.894 million in July-May (2016-17), showing 3.29 percent growth, according to PBS. Among these, the air transport services export increased by 3.93 percent and reached to $791.260 million during the period under review against $761.350 million last year. Among the air transport services, exports of passenger services surged by 14.55 percent, from $433.980 million to $497.140 million, the data revealed.
• However, the freight service exports witnessed decline of 2.51 percent by going down from $17.950 million to $17.500 million while the exports of all other air transport services also declined by 10.60 percent by slipping from exports of $309.420 million last year to $276.620 million in 2017-18.
• On the other hand, the sea transport exports increased by 12.62 percent by growing from $2049.020 million to $2307.700 million. Among sea transport, the freight service export increased by 13.09 percent from $192.048 million to $2074.620 million while the export of other sea transport service increased by 8.62 percent by going up from $214.580 million to $233.080 million.

6. Venezuela president survives drone attack

• The United States on August 5, 2018 denied involvement as Nicolas Maduro blamed the opposition and Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos for an alleged “assassination” attempt on the Venezuela president.
• Venezuela’s far-left government said seven soldiers were wounded by the alleged attack using explosive-laden drones during a military parade in Caracas on August 4, 2018.
• Maduro pointed the finger at outgoing Colombian President Santos and “the ultra-right wing,” a term he uses to describe domestic opposition, as a mysterious rebel group claimed responsibility.
• US national security advisor John Bolton insisted there was “no US government involvement” and even suggested that the incident could have been “a pretext set up by the regime itself.”
• Venezuela has already reacted to events with a series of arrests as Attorney General Tarek William Saab, who was also present at the parade, warning: “There will be a ruthless punishment.”
• Once safely entrenched back in the presidential palace, Maduro barked out a defiant message to his detractors in a national address.

7. Iran central bank forex chief arrested

• The Iranian central bank’s top foreign exchange official has been arrested on August 5, 2018 Sunday, a day after he was sacked.
• Ahmad Araghchi, who was a vice-governor at the bank in charge of forex, was arrested along with several other unnamed individuals including a government official and four currency speculators,
• Araghchi, the nephew of deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, was fired by the new governor of the central bank on Saturday, apparently over his handling of the currency crisis

8. Murakami delights fans with radio show debut

• Bestselling author Haruki Murakami, who rarely appears in public, delighted fans on August 5, 2018 as he made his radio debut with a one-off music show.
• Many fans expressed excitement on social media as they heard the show by the 69-year-old Japanese novelist, perennially touted as a contender for the Nobel literature prize.
• The reclusive writer, an avid music fan, introduced songs by US and British musicians. Murakami became a global sensation with the publication of “Norwegian Wood” in 1987 and has written several other bestsellers including “1Q84” and “Kafka on the Shore”. In 2007, he published a non-fiction work, “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”. He has said he uses several iPods to listen to music while running. Music, he told the radio show, had helped him to write.

9. Matloob wins 20th Sind Open Golf

• Matloob Ahmed of Lahore Garrison Golf Club (LGGC) August 5, 2018 clinched the New Jubilee-sponsored 20th Sind Open Golf Championship contested at the Arabian Sea Golf Course over 54 holes.
• Matloob prevailed over champions like Shabbir Iqbal, Hamza Amin and close contenders like M Ashfaq, Anser Mehmood and M Munir to emerge as title winner. His scores for the three rounds were 69, 65 and 70 and a three days aggregate of 204, 12 under par which represents a score of eminence.
• Others, who did not win the title but performed impressively, were M Ashfaq of Airmen Golf Club, Anser Mehmood of MGGC, M Munir of Islamabad and the national golf icon Shabbir Iqbal. The score of Ashfaq (Airmen Golf Club) was 68+66+73=207, Anser Mehmood (MGGC) 68+71+69=208, M Munir (Islamabad) 68+71+72=211, Shabbir Iqbal (Islamabad) 72+69+70=211, M Qasim (DHA) 68+72+74=214, Shahid Javed Khan (Gymkhana) 68+73+74=215, Latif Rafiq (Gymkhana) 70+72+73=215, M Alam (Defence Raya) 72+72+72=216 and M Imran (Defence Raya) 72+74+71=217.

10. Japan`s Momota makes history with world crown

• Kento Momota dedicated his World Badminton title victory on August 5, 2018 to those who stuck by him when a gambling scandal threatened to wreck the history-maker`s budding career.
• The explosive 23-year-old convincingly defeated China`s highly promising Shi Yuqi 21-11, 21-13 in Nanjing, becoming the first Japanese man to win the World Championship.
• Carolina Marin claimed her own slice of history as the Spaniard became the first woman to win three badminton world crowns with an emphatic victory over P.V. Sindhu of India.
• Momota`s career descended into controversy in 2016 when Japanese badminton chiefs suspended him for more than a year for visiting an illegal casino, denying him a place at the Rio Olympics.
• Momota, number two in the world at the time, has been working his way back to the top ever since and was the pre-tournament favourite in Nanjing.
• Momota, now seventh in the rankings.