Day by Day Current Affairs (January 30, 2018)

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January 30, 2018 (Day by Day Current Affairs)

Senate to elect 52 new members on March 3
- The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on January 29, 2018 quashed rumours about the uncertain fate of the upcoming Senate polls by announcing that the election for 52 of the total104 seats of the upper house of parliament would be held on March 3, 2018
- While the schedule for the Senate elections is to be of ficially announced on Feb 2, the ECP in an unusual move provided to the media details of the schedule approved by it
- Fifty-two senators are set to complete their six-year term on March 11 and the newly elected senators will take oath of their office on March 12
- The Senate comprises 104 members 23 members from each of the four provinces, eight from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and four from Islamabad Capital Territory.
- Each province has 14 general and nine reserved seats.
- Among the reserved seats, four are reserved for women and an equal number of seats for technocrats while one seat is reserved for a non-Muslim community member
Pakistan, China jointly host Gwadar Expo
- Pakistan and China on January 29, 2018 jointly organised the first international exhibition to showcase the significance of the Gwadar Port and its economic free zone as an emerging global business hub
- The exhibition, jointly arranged by Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and China Overseas Port Holding, was attended by foreign diplomats, entrepreneurs and over 5,000 business representatives from all over the world
- More than 200 companies from both Pakistan and China were present at the Gwadar Expo, while six Chinese provinces also sent their representatives. Foreign diplomats and business leaders were also invited to the opening session of the two-day event
- Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated the International Gwadar Expo and preliminary phase of Gwadar Free Zone
PM unveils `equalisation package` for Balochistan
- PM announced `Equalisation Package` for Balochistan, under which the federal government would share half the development cost in every district of the province, including establishment of hospitals, education andother facilities
- The Equalisation Package will ensure the provision of equal facilities in all districts of the province to achieve the target of sustainable development goals
Writer and Translator Shahid Hameed passes away at 90
- He was born in Parjian Kalaan village of Jalandhar in 1928. He did his Masters in English Literature from the the Government College, Lahore, (now GCU) and worked as a teacher in dif ferent colleges
- Hameed`s acclaimed works include Urdu translations of Leo Tolstoy`s War and Peace, Fyodor Dostoyevsky`s The Brothers Kararnazov, Ernest Hemingway`s The Old Man and the Sea, Jane Austen`s Pride and Prejudice, Jostein Gaarder`s Sophie`s World and Edward Said`s The Question of Palestine
- He also compiled a 2,000 pages Urdu-into-English dictionary which was yet to be published. His last published work was his autobiography, Gayee Dinoo Ki Musafat (published by Readings). It is a record of pre-partition Jalandhar, Lyallpur (Faisalabad) and Lahore
Law being drafted to ensure women`s right of ownership
- Provincial Commission on the Status of Women held a consultation here on January 29, 2018 for formulating a comprehensive law to ensure the right of ownership of women in the province
- The copy of the draft that sought changes to preamble and sections 1,2,3,4,5 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Enforcement of Women Ownership Rights Act, 2012 was circulated among the participants. It says that Islamic Sharia provides equalguaranteefor the protection of the property of men and women
EU warns Britain divorce is not yet resolved
- European Union ministers warned Britain on January 29, 2018 not to fall behind on outstanding divorce matters as they gave their negotiator the mandate for parallel talks with London on the post-Brexit transition
- Britain is set to leave the EU in March 2019 and the remaining 27 member states have now prepared their joint stance on what they expect of London during a transition period until the end of 2020
Netanyahu raises Iran`s role in Syria with Putin
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Russia for talks focused on Syria, reaffirming Israel`s opposition to Iran`s growing military presence there and in neighbouring Lebanon
Moon to stage triple show January 31
- The moon will stage a rare triple show on January 31, 2018 when a blue super moon combines with a total lunar eclipse that will be visible from western North America to eastern Asia
- The overlap of a blue moon the second full moon in a calendar month -with a lunar eclipse while the moon is at its closest approach to the earthis the first such celestial trifecta since 1982
- The moon will reach its fullest at 1327 GMT (6.27pm PST) on January 31, 2018
- A blue moon normally occurs once every 30 months. This month`s first full moon was on Jan. 1
Tank battle rocks Yemen’s ‘coup-hit’ Aden
- At least nine people were killed in heavy fighting between separatists and government troops as a tank battle broke out on the second day of an attempted “coup” in Yemen’s interim capital Aden
- As the fighting escalated, the Saudi-led military coalition which supports the government called for dialogue and for it to hear the demands of the separatists in the southern port city
FBI deputy director, quits after Trump criticism
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s deputy director, whom US President Donald Trump repeatedly accused of political bias, has resigned
- Andrew McCabe was forced to step down ahead of his official retirement date in March
- His exit from the top law enforcement agency comes a week after a report that Mr Trump wanted him out.