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December 16, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. Counter Terrorism Cooperation MoU Signed with Beijing, Kabul

• Pakistan, China and Afghanistan on December 15, 2018 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for intensification of their counterterrorism cooperation.
• The MoU was signed on the occasion of the second trilateral foreign ministers` dialogue in Kabul which, Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said, looked at: `building political trust in Afghanistan-Pakistan relations; cooperation on counterterrorism; peace efforts and regional connectivity`.
• Afghan President Ashraf Ghani witnessed the signing of the MoU.
• All three foreign ministers during their discussions at the meeting, according to a communiqué issued at the end, expressed determination to fight and eliminate terrorism `in all its forms and manifestations, and without any distinction`.
• There was consensus that participating countries would not allow their territories to be used by terrorists against any other country.

2. Afghan border fence to be ready by Dec 2019: ISPR

• The Pakistan Army announced on December 15, 2018 that work on fencing along the border with Afghanistan was going apace and that the project would complete by next December.
• Pakistan and Afghanistan share a long porous border and Islamabad believes it could help contain terrorist activities on this side of the mountainous border running from tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to borderlands in Balochistan if cross-border movement of militant elements is checked.
• In May, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa inaugurated the work for erecting fences along the Afghan border near the Panjpai area of Balochistan. The director general of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army`s public affairs wing, released the details of the progress on the construction of fencing and posts in a tweet on December 15, 2018.
• Work on forts & fence continues on Pak-Afg Bdr. Total length 2611 KM. Work on 233 of 843 forts & 802 of 1200 KM pri 1 areas completed. Aiming speedy completion in pri 1 areas, overall completion [is expected] by Dec 2019 IA [InshaAllah]. Shall benefit peaceful people of Pak & Afg while restricting terrorists.

3. PTA chairman elected head of South Asian telecom regulators` council

• Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Mohammad Naveed was unanimously elected as the next head of South Asian Telecommunication Regulators Council (SATRC) at the 19th meeting of the council on December 15, 2018.
• Representatives from nine countries from Asia Pacific region Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iran, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka as well from United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand attended the three day meeting which started on Dec 13.
• The aims and goals of the meeting were to enhance cooperation between regulators and industry and work towards a harmonised regulatory environment.
• Some of the major issues addressed by SAT RC were evolution of regulatory framework in South Asia and Asia Pacific, national ICT policy and regulators` role and its challenges, providing affordable broadband services to all, regulatory measures to enhance broadband experiences, enhanced consumer protection in digital economy and consideration of the regulatory framework for spectrum management etc.

4. WB plan for financial reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

• The World Bank is developing a `Programme for Results` (Pf R) financing instrument that will support implementation of the Public Financial Management Reform Strategy for the period 2017-20 developed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
• The strategy`s overall objective is putting in place a robust public finance management that ensures financial compliance, facilitates prioritization amongst competing claims on scarce resources, encourages efficient delivery of public services and achieves the ultimate goal of efficient, effective and accountable use of public resources.
• The strategy takes an integrated approach to public finance management reforms that cover the whole PFM cycle at both the provincial and local government levels, and organised around six policy objectives: resource mobilisation, asset and liability management; accountability for results; policy-driven planning and budgeting; comprehensive, credible and transparent budget; and predictability and control in budget execution.

5. Senator Azam Musakhel passes away

• Senator of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) and chief of Musakhel tribe Sardar Muhammad Azam Khan Musakhel died at Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi on December 15, 2018.
• Sardar Muhammad Azam Khan had been sick for some time and had been referred to Aga Khan Hospital Karachi where he breathed his last early Saturday morning.
• Sardar Muhammad Azam Khan remained member of the Balochistan Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and was elected as senator in 2015.

December 16, 2018: International Current Affairs

6. World`s debt exceeds $86,000 per person: IMF

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) pointed out that global debt has reached an all-time high of $184 trillion, in a recent updation of its Global Debt Database on December 14, 2018.
• The data showed that on an average, the world`s debt now exceeds $86,000 per person more than two and half times the average income per-capita.
• The updated figure equals 225 per cent of the global GDP in 2017.
• `The top three borrowers in the world (United States, China, and Japan) account for more than half of global debt, exceeding their share of global output,` said an IMF statement released with the data.
• The dataset comprises total gross debt of the (private and public) non financial sector for an unbalanced panel of 190 advanced economies, emerging market economies and low income countries, dating back to 1950. The update offers for the first time a glimpse of global debt developments up to 2017.

7. Rajapakse bows out, ending Sri Lanka`s power struggle

• Sri Lanka`s crisis looked over on December 15, 2018 as strongman Mahinda Rajapakse bowed out of a power battle that had crippled the island nation for seven weeks and sent it heading for a possible debt default.
• Rajapakse held a multi religious service at his home where he signed a letter backing down from the post of prime minister controversially conferred on him on October 26.
• Hours after receiving blessings from the clergy, the 73-year-old ex-president sounded bitter and vowed to make a comeback at local council elections.

8. Egypt unveils ancient tomb, expects more finds

• Egypt unveiled a well-preserved 4,400-year-old tomb decorated with hieroglyphs and statues south of Cairo on Saturday, and officials expect more discoveries when archaeologists excavate the site further in coming months.
• The tomb was found in a buried ridge at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara. It was untouched and un looted, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters at the site. He described the find as `one of a kind in the last decades`.
• The tomb dates from the rule of Neferirkare Kakai, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.

9. Nations inch towards climate deal at UN summit

• Nations on December 15, 2018 inched towards a deal to implement the Paris climate goals, after all-night negotiations over a plan to limit global temperature rises exposed a range of conflicts.
• Speaking to AFP at the COP24 summit in Poland, a senior negotiator said delegates from nearly 200 nations had reached a `landing zone` of agreement.
• But sources close to the talks said differences remained stark on the issues of ambition, how the climate fight is funded and how best to measure and ensure the fairness of each nation`s efforts to reduce emissions.
• Delegates at the UN summit, held this year in the Polish mining city of Katowice, must agree on a common rule book to put the pledges made at the landmark 2015 Paris talks into practice.

10. Australia recognises West Jerusalem as Israel`s capital but embassy not moving yet

• Australia formally recognises West Jerusalem as Israel`s capital, reversing decades of Middle East policy, but will not move its embassy there immediately, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on December 15, 2018.
• `Australia now recognises West Jerusalem, being the seat of the Knesset and many of the institutions of government, is the capital of Israel,` Morrison said.
• Morrison also confirmed Australia`s support for a two state solution with a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem.
• In October, Morrison said he was open to shifting Australia`s embassy from Tel Aviv.
• President Donald Trump`s move of the US embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in May delighted Israel, infuriated Palestinians and upset the wider Arab world and Western allies.