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January 15, 2019: National Current Affairs

1. Saudi Prince meets with Pak leadership

• Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk province Prince Fahad bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz on January 15, 2019 held intense interactions with civil and military leaders and exchanged views on matters of mutual interest including regional security.
• The visiting dignitary who arrived on a daylong visit was received upon the Islamabad International Airport by the Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak.
• He called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa at GHQ in Rawalpindi and later also separately called on President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.
• A statement issued by the military’s media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said matters of mutual interest including regional security situation came under discussion during Prince Fahad’s meeting with the army chief.
• President Alvi in his meeting with the price said that Pakistan greatly values its close fraternal and brotherly relations with Saudi Arabia and is desirous of further enhancing these relations in all fields.

2. Manzoor Khan Kakar Candidate by BAP won Senate seat

• Candidate fielded by Balochistan Awami Party won another Senate seat in by-election held on January 14, 2019.
• Manzoor Khan Kakar according to provisional results bagged 38 votes while Ghulam Nabi Marri of BNP- Mengal has secured 23 votes and Muhammad Haneef of PkMAP got only one vote out of 62 polled votes in the house of 65 members of the Balochistan Assembly.
• The seat had fallen vacant after death of PKMAP Senator Azam Khan Musakhail passed away last month due to a heart attack

3. Pakistani journalist wins AFP`s Kate Webb Prize

• Freelance reporter Asad Hashim was named as the winner of the 2018 Agence France-Presse Kate Webb Prize on January 14, 2019 for his coverage of problems being faced by Pakhtuns and blasphemy issues in Pakistan.
• The award, named after one of AFP`s finest correspondents, recognises journalism by locally-hired reporters in Asia operating in risky or difficult conditions.
• Hashim, 33, was honoured for a series of articles on ethnic Pakhtuns and other minority groups caught in the crossfire of Pakistan`s fight against militants.

4. Govt borrows Rs113bn in just one week

• The government has borrowed Rs113 billion for budgetary support within just one week, according to latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
• Borrowing for budgetary support has seen manifold increase during the first half of fiscal year as almost all other revenue streams have fallen short of targets.
• During July 31 to Jan 4, the government`s budgetary borrowing increased to Rs835.7bn compared to Rs353.4bn during the same period last year; translating into a 136 per cent jump.
• According to data released by central bank, during the week ending Dec 28, 2018 total borrowing for the fiscal year stood at Rs722bn, however, as of Jan 4, the total amount rose to Rs835.7bn Rs113bn increase in just one week.
• The government is largely dependent on the SBP for its borrowing which has gone up to Rs3.65 trillion during the period under review.

January 15, 2019: International Current Affairs

5. China, Finland vow to write new chapter in bilateral ties

• Chinese President Xi Jinping and his visiting Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto agreed to work together to write a new chapter in bilateral ties during their talks on January 14, 2019.
• Hailing that China and Finland have been committed to forging a future-oriented new-type of cooperative partnership in recent years, Xi said it is not only in line with both countries’ and people’s interests but also conducive to world peace, stability and prosperity that China and Finland enhance dialogue and cooperation.
• The two countries need to adhere to mutual respect and trust, be open-minded and inclusive, respect each other’s development path and take each other’s core interests into consideration so as to promote the steady development of bilateral ties, Xi told Niinisto during the talks held at the Great Hall of the People. Xi encouraged both countries to expand cooperation in new areas driven by innovation.
• China appreciated Finland’s support to the Belt and Road Initiative, said Xi, adding that the country is ready to work with Finland to enhance Belt and Road cooperation

6. China to collect samples from moon this year

• China will launch a probe to collect samples from the moon around the end of this year, weeks after Beijing hailed the successful touch down on the far side of the moon.
• The Chang`e-4 lunar probe landed on Jan 3 and transmitted the first-ever `close range` image of the far side of the moon.
• The tasks of the Chang`e-4 include astronomical observation, surveying the moon`s terrain and mineral makeup and measuring the neutron radiation and neutral atoms to study the environment of its far side.
• The Chang`e 5 mission will lay the ground work for further probes to be sent to the moon`s south pole and possibly to return samples from the far side of the moon, depending on the results collected in the upcoming mission, Wu said

7. Russia loses control of its only space telescope

• Russia has lost control of its only space radio telescope but officials are working to re-establish communication, the country`s beleaguered space agency said on January 11, 2019.
• The incident is the latest setback for Russia`s debt-laden space industry, which in recent years has suffered the loss of spacecraft, satellites, and a failed manned launch.
• The Spektr-R telescope was launched into orbit in 2011 to study black holes, neutron stars and Earth`s magnetic field, among other subjects. Complete with ground-based observatories and a 10-metre-long antenna, RadioAstron is one of the largest telescopes ever made. Some expens say the Spektr-R telescope was one of Russia`s few successful space projects

8. Total lunar eclipse on Jan 20-21 will be last until 2022

• People in North and South America, a large part of Europe and Africa may get a glimpse of a total lunar eclipse overnight from Jan 20 to 21, the last such event until 2022.
• For those in Europe and Africa, the total eclipse will unfold shortly before sunrise. For those in North and South America, the eclipse can be viewed at the beginning or in the middle of the night.
• Although total lunar eclipses happen, on average, about one to three times per year, after this one there will be a gap of three years until another is visible. The next total eclipse will be visible from Europe on May 16, 2022. Some partial lunar eclipses will happen in the meantime

9. 8,000-square-meter violin museum opens in Chongqing

• A large violin museum has opened to the public in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality. Covering over 8,000 square meters, the museum is located in the ancient town of Wanling in Rongchang District.
• It is one of the largest violin museums in the world, said Ye Hao, curator of the museum. The museum displays more than 500 antique violins and parts from across the world, among which some were produced by world-renowned violin makers such as Amati and Stradivarius

January 15, 2019: Sports Current Affairs

10. Olivier steers South Africa to series sweep against Pakistan

• Duanne Olivier, Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander ran through the heart of Pakistan’s lower/middle order as the trio powered South Africa to a comfortable 107-run victory in the third and final Test at the Wanderers.
• In pursuit of a daunting target of 381, the visitors could muster just 273. With this win, the home side also completed a clean-sweep.
• After slipping to a 0-2 series defeat in Sri Lanka, South Africa would be buoyed by their clinical show. Olivier was certainly the star performer for the hosts, finishing with 24 scalps at an astonishing average of under 15. Quinton de Kock (129 in the second innings) and Markram (90 in the first innings) also played their parts in helping South Africa win the final Test.