Day by Day Current Affairs (July 09, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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July 9, 2018

1. Pakistan wasting 10 trillion gallons of water annually

• The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on July 8, 2018 said our country is more concerned about dams being built by a neighbouring country and less concerned about building dams itself.
• All the efforts to stop other countries from building dams have remained futile as international institutions and the world community is not supporting our stance.
• We should stop our efforts on the external front and focus attention on the internal front to ensure availability of water to save Pakistan.
• Small dams should be built on war footing across the country as mega projects attract controversies which are against the national interests.
• Moreover, Pakistan continues to waste thirty million acre-foot or ten trillion gallons of water per annum which can be used to quench the thirst of masses while revolutionising the agricultural and industrial sectors, he added.
• Ninety percent of water is utilised by the agricultural sector in Pakistan but budget allocated for agricultural research is mere 0.18 percent of the GDP which is not enough, he noted.
• Many countries have employed technologies reducing water usage for the agricultural purpose from 90 to 99 percent but we continue to water it mercilessly. A little but effective water tax can discourage the wastage to trigger conservation.
• Current President of the FPCCI: Ghazanfar Bilour

2. Largest passenger plane lands at Islamabad airport

• The New Islamabad International Airport on July 8, 2018 marked a special moment after Emirates’ largest passenger aircraft, A380, touched down the airport for a one-off flight.
• This was for the first time that the iconic double-decker aircraft landed in Pakistan. The landing demonstrated the airport’s readiness to accommodate A380, the world’s largest commercial passenger jet.
• The A380 flight was operated by UAE national, Chief Pilot Capt Abbas Shaban and a Pakistani national, First Officer Qadir Moin.
• The special flight, operating as EK 2524, was joined by a VIP delegation led Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Centre.
• He was joined by Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Al Zaabi, the UAE Ambassador to Pakistan and Pakistan Ambassador UAE to Moazzam Ahmad Khan.

3. Saudi Arabia to host int’l conference on Afghanistan

• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) would host the international conference of Muslim scholars on peace and stability in Republic of Afghanistan in Jeddah and Makkah on July 10 and 11.
• The conference, which will be attended by leaders of religious scholars in Afghanistan and a select group of Muslim scholars from around the world, is aimed at assisting efforts to achieve peace and stability in Afghanistan and to condemn terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations within the framework of the teachings of the true Islamic religion.
• On the occasion, OIC Secretary-General Dr. Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen highly commended the efforts made by the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and the Crown Prince Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.
• The opening session of the conference, which will be held at the Palais des Congrès in Jeddah, will mark the inaugural addresses of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosting the conference, the Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Republic of Afghanistan and the representative of the scholars.

4. Fakhar Zaman’s 91 seals record chase to give Pakistan the title

• Pakistan 187 for 4 (Fakhar 91, Shoaib Malik 43*) beat Australia 183 for 8 (Short 76, Finch 47, Amir 3-33) by six wickets
• With the host nation knocked out and a small crowd watching on, Pakistan clinched their ninth successive T20I series win with a flawed, yet dogged performance.
• Both sides produced more mistakes than moments of genuine quality, Australia had it in the bag and blew it, and Fakhar Zaman, a year on from his Champions Trophy final-winning knock, smashed 91 off 46 balls to help Pakistan complete their highest successful T20I chase.

5. Pakistani students to get Canada scholarships

• Canadian Pakistan Foundation of Friendship (CPFF) has signed an agreement with the Ryerson University of Toronto to provide scholarship to five Pakistani origin students every year for studying at the university.
• The CPFF, officially launched on Canada Day 2018, will provide sufficient funding to five deserving Pakistani students for pursuing higher studies at one of the best Canadian universities.
• The initiative is aimed at funding university programmes in Canada which are focused on Pakistan for the purpose of promoting diversity.
• The Foundation also entered into an agreement with the Ryerson University for donation of CAD $ 50,000 on account of CPFF award for First Generation students at Ryerson.

6. UN names Pakistani as rapporteur on HR situation in Iran

• The United Nations has appointed Javaid Rehman, a British-Pakistani legal scholar, as UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran.
• Mr Rehman succeeds Asma Jahangir who passed away in February at age 66. Mr Rehman`s appointment was announced on July 7, 2018 during the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
• The UN special rapporteur can hold office for six years at most.
• In 1984, the UNHRC appointed Andrés Aguilar of Venezuela as its first special representative to Iran.
• Tehran refused to engage with him and he eventually resigned, saying he was doing so because he was `unable to persuade Iranian officials to cooperate with him in any way`.
• In May, the UNHRC issued a list of three candidates Javald Rehman of Pakistan, Miloon Kothari of India and Antonio Stango of Italy and eventually selected Mr Rehamn.
• Mr Rehman is professor of international human rights law and Muslim constitutionalism at Brunel University in London.
• As a human rights advocate, Mr Rehman has engaged with a range of stakeholders at the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation.
• The UN consultative group said it considered the candidate`s vast knowledge, experience and determination for appointment.

7. US, Afghan forces clear Islamic State from eastern district

• US and Afghan Special Forces are completing an operation to clear Islamic State fighters from a remote district in Nangarhar, the eastern province where they have their main stronghold in Afghanistan.
• The operation in Deh Bala, on the border with Pakistan, began at the end of April and was largely complete in early June but final mine clearance operations are still under way, said Lt. Col. Josh Thiel, from the US First Special Forces Group.
• The operation, involving three companies of Afghan commandos supported by US air strikes and American Special Forces teams, began with troops arriving by helicopter and setting up an operations base near the village of Gargari, where the Islamic State fighters were trying to establish a local capital.
• Several days of heavy fighting ended in early June with 167 Islamic State fighters killed and large quantities of equipment captured.
• The fight against Islamic State and other militant groups including Al Qaeda is at the heart of the US counterterrorism mission being conducted alongside the NATO-led Resolute Support operation that trains and advises Afghan security forces.

8. Ethiopian PM arrives in Eritrea for historic visit

• Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in the Eritrean capital Asmara on July 8, 2018, the first visit by an Ethiopian leader to Eritrea in 20 years.
• The visit comes after the two countries started tentative steps to end a two decades old bitter border dispute that led to a bloody two-year war from 1998-2000, that left an estimated 70,000 people dead from both sides.
• Ahmed was greeted at the Asmara International Airport by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and is expected to hold discussions on efforts to bring lasting peace between the two nations.
• The Eritrean delegation came to Ethiopia after Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki declared that his country would send a team to Ethiopia to assess a recent Ethiopia peace offer.
• On June 5, the Executive Committee of the ruling party, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) passed decision expressing Ethiopia’s commitment to an unconditional implementation of Algiers peace agreement with Eritrea.

9. Second edition of Pakistan Film Festival opens in NY

• The second edition of Pakistan Film Festival opened in New York July 7, 2018 in the presence of some of the biggest stars of the Pakistani movie industry.
• The festival will conclude with the performance of Zeb Bangash, and her band Sandaraa. Zeb is part of the first generation of Pakistani musicians to have established themselves internationally.
• Since assuming charge as Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to UN, Ambassador Lodhi has undertaken several cultural projects and organized a series of events to promote Pakistan’s soft image and highlight its modern and vibrant culture as well its ancient civilizational roots.

10. Scientists create AI inside test tube

• An artificial neural network that’s made entirely from DNA and mimics the way the brain works has been created by scientists in the lab.
• The test tube artificial intelligence can solve a classic machine learning problem by correctly identifying handwritten numbers. The work is a significant step in demonstrating the ability to program AI into man-made organic circuits, scientists claim.
• This was one of the first tasks tackled by machine vision researchers and an ideal method to illustrate the capabilities of DNA-based neural networks
• Human handwriting can vary widely, and so when a person scrutinises a scribbled sequence of numbers, the brain performs complex computational tasks in order to identify them.