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January 21, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. PIA connects Sialkot to European countries
• The national flag-carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) launched direct international passenger flights to Europe from Sialkot International Airport on January 20, 2019.
• Federal Minister for Aviation Muhammad Mian Soomro formally inaugurated the start of PIA’s flights to Europe from Sialkot International Airport.
• Special Assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan on Youth Affairs Usman Dar, Chairman SIAL Nadeem Anwar Qureshi, Punjab Minister for Special Education Ch Muhammad Ikhlaq, senior PIA officials and leading people from travel industry accorded a warm welcome to the passengers of PIA flight (PK-720), with 300 male and female passengers, from Paris-France via Barcelona-Spain with special bouquets, which landed at Sialkot International Airport here. The aviators and ground staff presented water cannon salute to the PIA aircraft here.
• Later, PIA’s flight (PK-769) took off for Paris-France and Barcelona-Spain from Sialkot International Airport. Senior officials of PIA and SIAL seen off the passengers.
• Both PIA and SIAL jointly hosted a prestigious launching ceremony at Sialkot airport here wherein Federal Minister for Aviation Muhammad Mian Soomro presided over the event.
2. Nationwide polio drive starts today
• The first three-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign of 2019 is going to start on January 21, 2019 (today).
• During the campaign, 260,000 frontline workers will go door to door across the country to ensure that more than 39 million children under the age of five receive two drops of the vaccine, which will protect them against poliovirus.
• Last year, 12 cases of wild poliovirus were reported in the country five from Bajaur tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, three from Dukki district in Balochistan and one each from Charsadda, Lakki Marwat and Khyber in KP and Gadap, Karachi. This indicates 97 per cent decrease in the number of annual polio cases from the high tally of 306 reported in 2014.
• Despite this significant achievement, the cunning poliovirus has been able to find a way for its survival. During December 2018, sewage water samples collected from Karachi, Peshawar, Bannu, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Qila Abdullah, Pishin and Quetta tested positive for poliovirus.
3. Pak-Iran train service restored in Chaghi
• The Pakistan and Iran train service has been restored after completing the repair activities here on January 20, 2019.
• Three days back a cargo train de-tracked due to failing of engine resulting in damage to around 100 feet railway track. After hectic efforts by Railways department with the help of several labourers the service reopened and the track reconstructed in a short time period
4. PTA sets up Cyber Vigilance Division
• Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has established a Cyber Vigilance Division (CVD) to handle complaints against unlawful online content under Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).
• In order to handle this gigantic role, PTA has also developed a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for lodging complaints and their disposal has been developed accordingly.
• All such contents which are hosted on unsecured websites is being currently handled through telecom operators of Pakistan and same is being done by PTA itself through an automated system.
• On the contrary, any content which is unlawful and hosted on secured website is handled differently. The popular social media websites like Facebook, Youtube and Twitter etc. are a few examples of secured websites which are hosted outside of physical boundaries of Pakistan.
• As per PTA’s latest report, the Authority, in this regard, has developed close liaison with all such platforms to honour requests made for removal of such content. It said historically and predominantly, PTA has been acting under functions and powers given by Pakistan Telecom (Re-organization) Act, 1996.
January 21, 2019: International Current Affairs
5. US withdrawal to drag neighbours back into Afghan war, warns report
• The Taliban will lose interest in negotiating peace and Afghanistan`s neighbour s will get even more involved in war if the United States withdrew its forces, a US report warns.
• But a Republican senator, Rand Paul, said after a recent meeting with Donald Trump that the US president was ready to end America`s 17-year involvement in Afghanistan.
• The report co-authored by two former US special envoys for Afghanistan and two former defence officials highlights the consequences of a possible withdrawal of half of the 14,000 US from Afghanistan that President Trump suggested last month.
• The report written for the RAND Corporation, a US think tank that specialises in defence affairs argues that Pakistan, Russia, Iran, India and Uzbekistan, have a history of backing various ethnic groups, such as the Pashtuns, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara.
• `These relationships will likely be reinforced as the central government`s financial base collapses, its writ weakens, and its cohesion erodes,` the report warns, adding that a US withdrawal will do both-undermine the Kabul government and weaken the Afghan economy.
6. Tshisekedi declared DR Congo president, but runner-up revolts
• Congo`s election crisis deepened early January 20, 2019 when the Constitutional Court confirmed the win of Felix Tshisekedi, rejecting claims of fraud, and runner-up Martin Fayulu promptly declared himself the country`s `only legitimate president`.
• The court, however, said Fayulu offered no proof to back his assertions that he had won easily based on leaked data attributed to the electoral commission.
• Fayulu urged Congolese to take to the streets to peacefully protest what he called `constitutional coup d`etat`, accusing the court of validating false results. `It`s no secret … that you have elected me president,` he said. Neither Congolese nor the international community should recognise Tshisekedi, nor obey him, Fayulu added.
7. World’s oldest man, 113, dies at his home in northern Japan
• The world’s oldest man has died at his home — a hot springs inn — in northern Japan at the age of 113. Masazo Nonaka died in the early hours of Sunday while sleeping at home in Ashoro on Japan’s northern main island of Hokkaido.
• The super centenarian, whose family has run a hot springs inn for four generations, was certified by Guinness World Records in April 2018 as the world’s oldest living man at 112 years and 259 days.
• Born on July 25, 1905, Nonaka grew up in a large family and succeeded his parents running the inn. The 106-year-old inn is now run by his granddaughter Yuko.
8. US scientists find potential treatment of osteoporosis
• Scientists from two U.S. universities have found a potential new treatment for older women who suffer a medical condition in which their bones become weak and break easily, suggests a new study published recently in the journal Nature Communications.
• Life scientists from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have found a handful of brain cells deep in the brain may play a surprising role in controlling women’s bone density.
• During experiments on mice, the researchers discovered that female mice, instead of male mice, witnessed their bones growing extraordinarily strong when a particular set of signals from a small number of neurons in their brain were blocked, and their super-strong bones could maintain in old age.
• The study suggests “we may have uncovered a completely new pathway that could be used to improve bone strength in older women and others with fragile bones,” said senior author of the study Holly Ingraham, professor and vice-chair of cellular and molecular pharmacology at UCSF.
9. NASA cooperates with China on moon exploration
• The United States space agency said that its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is expected to image the landing site of China’s lunar lander Chang’e-4 on Jan. 31.
• NASA said it discussed in the past month with China to explore the possibility of observing a signature of the landing plume of Chang’e-4, as in a manner similar to what was done for Chang’e-3.
• NASA and China National Space Administration (CNSA) have agreed that “any significant findings resulting from this coordination activity” will be shared with the global research community at a UN meeting for peaceful uses of outer space to be held in Vienna in mid-February, according to NASA. NASA said data linked to this activity would be publicly available and its cooperation with China was “transparent, reciprocal and mutually beneficial.”
• NASA was not able to phase LRO’s orbit to be at the optimal location during the landing of Chang’e-4 on Jan. 3 “for a number of reasons,” but was “still interested in possibly detecting the plume well after the landing.”
January 21, 2019: Sports Current Affairs
10. Pakistan humble India to win Asian Jr Squash title
• Top seeds Pakistan humbled arch-rivals India 2-0 to win the 19th Asian Junior Team Squash Championship 2019 in Pattaya, Thailand on January 20, 2019.
• The final turned out to be a one-sided affair, as after giving their 100 percent in the semifinals against Malaysia, Indian boys seemed tired and exhausted against Pakistan. The entire arena was packed with Indian supporters and it was looking like Indians were playing at home rather than in Thailand. They were chanting slogans and cheering for Indian team, bucking them up to win the final. But the Pakistani lads had other ideas as despite being handicapped with the injury of Haris Qasim, who was though available for the final yet Pakistan team management banked on talented Farhan Hashmi and Abbas Zeb to carry the national hopes.