Day by Day Current Affairs (January 23, 2018)

WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2017 FOR PREPARATION OF CSS, PMS, BANKING, NTS, RAILWAYS AND ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS. “DAY TO DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS” BASICALLY IS TOP 10 NEWS SUMMARY ON CURRENT HAPPENINGS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS

January 23, 2018 (Day by Day Current Affairs)

Senate passes resolution seeking death sentence in child sexual abuse, murder cases
- Senate Standing Committee on Interior Chairman Senator Rehman Malik suspended the agenda of the parliamentary body`s meeting and announced that the committee will discuss the kidnapping, rape and murder of two girls, seven and four, from Kasur and Mardan
- During his tenure as the interior minister, the then president Asif Ali Zardari had put a moratorium on death sentences on the demand of the European Union
- In the meeting on January 22, 2018, Mr Malik proposed that the child sexual abuse and murderbe punished by hanging
- According to section 364-A of the Pakistan Penal Code, a person can be given the death penalty, life imprisonment or a minimum of seven years of imprisonment for kidnapping or murdering a child of less than 14 years
- Mr Rehman Malik tabled a resolution which was unanimously passed by the committee. He said a draft bill will be moved to make amendments to the law.
Malala, Apple join hands to work for girls education
- Malala Girls Education Fund and computer giant APPLE have teamed up to support girls` education
- Founded by Malala Yousafzai and her father Ziauddin, the Fund aims to empower young girls and help them access the quality education they deserve
- With the support of Apple, the Fund expects to double the number of grants awarded through its Gulmakai Fund and launch its funding programmes in India and Latin America, with the goal of extending secondary educadon to more than 100,000 girls
- Apple will also help the Malala Fund with technology, curriculum and education policy research
Pakistan committed to 2003 ceasefire agreement
- Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Bajwa reemphasised Pakistan`s strong commitment to the 2003 ceasefire understanding, but vowed strong response to violations by India on the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary (WB)
- The army chief visited Khuiratta and Ratta Arayan sectors
- Violations by India have continued last year`s pattern when the highest number of violations 1,881 was recorded during a yearsince the understanding on ceasefire went into ef fect in 2003, resulting in martyrdom of 87 people. Over 200 violations by India have taken place so far this year in which 12 lives have been lost, including four troops
- The army chief appreciated effective and responsibleresponseofthe troops to Indian unethical targeting and high morale of the troops and civilians
- The Indian troops have particularly been targetingwomen and children living in villages along the LoC, whenever they notice their movement or activity
Quran`s Hindko translation launched
- The Hindko translation of the Holy Quran was launched on January 22, 2018
- The translation would help the Hindko-speaking people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other parts of the country understand the Holy Quran in mother tongue
Abbas wins fresh EU backing in Jerusalem row
- The European Union assured President Mahmoud Abbas it supported his ambition to have East Jerusalem as capital of a Palestinian state, in the bloc`s latest rejection of US President Donald Trump`s decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel`s capital
- At a meeting in Brussels with EU foreign minister, Abbas repeated his call for East Jerusalem as capital as he urged EU governments to recognise a state of Palestine immediately, arguing that this would not disrupt negotiations with Israel on a peace settlement for the region
US will `never allow` Iran to have nuclear weapon
- US Vice President Mike Pence vowed in an address to the Israeli parliament that Washington will never allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon
- The 2015 deal that was meant to curb Iran`s nuclear capabilities was fiercely opposed by Israel, but backed by then US president Barack Obama
Richest 1pc made 82pc of wealth created last year
- The world`s richest one per cent raked in 82pc of the wealth last year while the poorest half of the population received none, Oxfam said on January 22, 2018, as the world`s elite prepared to mingle at the World Economic Forum in Davos
- A new report f rom the charity also found that the wealth of billionaires has grown six times faster than that of ordinary workers since 2010, with another billionaire minted every two days between March 2016 and March 2017
- Oxfam also emphasised the plight of women workers, who `consistently earn less than men` and often have the lowest paid, least secure jobs. Nine out of 10 billionaires are men,
- The report, titled `Reward Work, not Wealth`, used data from Credit Suisse to compare the returns of top executives and shareholders to that of ordinary workers
Pakistan ranks 47th on WEF’s index
- Pakistan was ranked at the 47 place among emerging economies on an Inclusive Development Index, while India is behind Pakistan at the 62 rank, according to World Economic Forum (WEF)
- Pakistan was ranked 52nd last year, while India was at 60th among 79 developing economies
- The top-five most inclusive emerging economies are Lithuania, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Latvia and Poland
- Norway remains the world’s most inclusive advanced economy, while Lithuania again tops the list of emerging economies, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said while releasing the yearly index here before the start of its annual meeting, to be attended by several world leaders including US President Donald Trump
Saudi-led coalition announces $1.5b in new aid for Yemen
- A Saudi-led military coalition on January 22, 2018 announced $1.5 billion in new humanitarian aid for Yemen, after the United Nations made what it called a record appeal for assistance for the war-ravaged country
- The latest aid package, which follows last week’s $2 billion Saudi cash injection to Yemen’s central bank, comes amid an ever-broadening crisis in the country, where the conflict, cholera and looming famine have killed thousands and put millions of lives at risk
White House urges Pakistan to expel Taliban leaders
- The US urged Pakistan once again on 22 January 2018 to expel Taliban militants from its territory
- Addressing the daily press brief, the president’s press secretary Sarah Sanders called on Pakistan to take action against militants hurting the US personnel in Afghanistan.
- The US believes that Pakistani authorities provide sanctuaries to terrorist organisations. Both countries have had a rift over the issues that soured since President Trump announced Afghan policy last August.
- The Trump administration earlier this month suspended security assistance to Pakistan as well, and has been pressing the country to do more than it has already done