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February 03, 2019: National Current Affairs

1. First polio case of 2019 detected in Bajaur

• A new polio case emerged in Bajaur tribal district on February 2, 2019, bringing the total number of such cases to six in the region over the last three months.
• Head of the health department Dr Wazir Khan confirmed the latest detection of the polio case in the region.
• The case, which according to him is the first case in 2019, had been reported in Inayat Kalli area of Khar tehsil where an 11-month-old child named Javid Khan was diagnosed with the virus.
• To check the presence of polio various, the official said that a team of health officials had visited the said area twice and had collected stool samples from the child.
• The first sample from the child was collected on Jan 21 while the second was taken on Jan 22.
• Stool samples were then sent to the National Institute of Health Islamabad which confirmed it to be a polio case on Feb 1.

2. PIA to start direct flights between Faisalabad, Jeddah

• Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to start direct international flights between Faisalabad and Jeddah from February 18.
• District Manager (PIA) Qaisar Iqbal said that there would be four weekly direct flights between Faisalabad and Jeddah, adding that these flights will be for Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
• Airbus 320 has been allocated for this profitable route while the departure time for the flight from Faisalabad International Airport would be 4.55 a.m.
• Booking for the first direct flight has been completed

3. Consumers can pay inflated gas bills in installments

• The government on February 2, 2019 announced that the consumers who had received gas bills over Rs20,000 per month can submit it in four installments.
• The government is providing some relief to the masses, as the people who had received gas bills over Rs20,000 per month can submit it in four installments. Similarly, their gas connections would not be disconnected until they pay the bills in installments.
• The gas facilitation centres will extend services to the consumers on weekend too. “Consumption of gas increased during the winter. The consumers using more quantity of gas had received higher bills during the season as their gas units entered the higher slabs where prices are very high,”.
• Sharing the details of gas price increase, he informed the journalists that previous government had bought the gas at expensive rates but it sold it at cheaper rates, causing a loss of Rs154 billion to the national exchequer.
• Current Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Ghulam Sarwar Khan

4. Aamir Sultan Cheema wins NA-91 after repolling

• Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf candidate Aamir Sultan Cheema has won the election in Sargodha’s NA-91 after repolling.
• The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has ordered repolling in the constituency after finding evidence of ballot tampering.

5. NJHP resumes generation

• Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project (NJHP) resumed generation on February 2, 2019 after it was closed on Jan 5 for scheduled maintenance during the low water flow period in the Neelum river.
• The inspection of plant on depressurisation of tailrace revealed that civil, electrical and mechanical works were in good quality while adding that minor repairs were carried out on the 3.5km underground tall race, draft tubes, bonnet gates, the main inlet valves and generating units along with the auxiliary equipment.
• During inspection, the spillway and debris channel gates of the dam structure were also tested at full operational level of the reservoir which functioned satisfactorily.
• The NJHP is expected to achieve annual production of 4.6 billion units during 2019-2020 generating revenue of Rs50bn. Since it was successfully commissioned on Aug 14, 2018 the NJHP has added over 1.8bn units to the national grid.

February 3, 2019: International Current Affairs

6. Iran unveils long-range cruise missile on 1979 revolution anniversary

• Iran displayed a new cruise missile with a range of 1,300km (800 miles) on February 2, 2019 during celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, state television reported.
• Iran has expanded its missile programme, particularly its ballistic missiles, in defiance of opposition from the United States and expressions of concern by European countries. Tehran says the programme is purely defensive.
• The surface-to-surface missile, named Hoveizeh, is from the Soumar family of cruise missiles, which Iran added to its arsenal in 2015.
• Western experts say Iran often exaggerates its weapons capabilities, although there are concerns about its long-range ballistic missiles.
• Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, said at the event Iran had overcome initial problems in producing jet engines for cruise missiles and could now manufacture a full range of the weapons.

7. Egypt unveils more than 40 ancient Greek mummies

• Researchers in Egypt have discovered more than 40 mummies at a burial site in central Egypt dating to the Ptolemaic era.
• The mummies, including adults, children and animals, had been laid on the floor or in open clay coffins in a crumbling underground chamber in Minya governorate, said Antiquities Minister Khaled el-Enany.
• Archaeologist Rami Rasmi said that `40 mummies were discovered, including 12 children and six animals, while the rest were adult men and women.` While mummification is mostly associated with ancient Egypt, the practice continued under the kingdom founded by Ptolemy, a successor to Alexander the Great, which lasted from 323 BC to 30 BC.
• The Minya graves, discovered during an excavation that started in February last year, are in a communal tomb `probably belonging to a petty bourgeois family`.

8. Russia suspends nuclear missile treaty after US move

• President Vladimir Putin on February 2, 2019 said Russia was suspending its participation in a key Cold War-era missile treaty in a mirror response to a US move the day before.
• Moscow and Washington have long accused the other of violating the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces agreement, which was signed in 1987 and resolved a crisis over Soviet missiles.
• President Donald Trump last year announced plans to withdraw unless Russia fulfilled its obligations.

9. Central Africa reaches peace deal with rebels

• The Central African Republic government and 14 armed groups struck a deal on February 2, 2019 to end years of fighting that has killed thousands, the parties and a mediator said.
• The deal, the seventh since 2012, was announced on Twitter by the government of President Faustin Archange Touadera just a day after the African Union and UN-sponsored talks in Khartoum were suspended amid disagreements over amnesty.
• Also on Twitter, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui confirmed the breakthrough, adding some details of the pact still had to be ironed out.

February 3, 2019: Sports Current Affairs

10. Nepal sink Pakistan in blind cricket tie

• Nepal women`s blind team beat Pakistan by ten wickets in the third T20 at the Waqar-un-Nisa College for Women Rawalpindi on February 3, 2019.
• The match was originally scheduled to be played in Faisalabad on Feb 1 but due to heavy rains was shifted to Rawalpindi.
• Pakistan women`s blind cricket team won the toss and decided to bat first and scored 102 for the loss of 6 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Tayyaba was their top scorer (27) and Sadia contributed 17. Bhagwati and Binita Pun took a wicket a piece for Nepal.
• In reply, Nepal chased the target with ease in just 7.3 overs without losing any wicket. Openers Mankisi and Binita remained unbeaten on 58 and 34, respectively.