Day by Day Current Affairs (July 12, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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July 12, 2018

1. 55,000 people avail amnesty scheme thus far

• Nearly 55,225 people have filed returns declaring their Rs577 billion worth of foreign assets and Rs1,192bn domestic assets under the tax amnesty scheme, new data released by the finance division on July 11, 2018 shows. The declarants have paid around Rs97bn in taxes thus far with more in the pipeline.
• The break down showed that the government received a tax amount of Rs36bn on whitening of foreign assets and Rs61bn on domestic assets. In addition, $40 million has been repatriated. This response to the amnesty schemes has been unprecedented.
• The last date for the tax amnesty scheme has already been extended until July 31.An official statement said the amnesty scheme for foreign assets applied to both liquid and immovable assets such as bank accounts, shares and mortgaged properties. Tax rates range from two per cent to 5pc, depending on the type of asset. Special tax rate of 2pc is applicable to liquid assets which are repatriated into Pakistan.
• The amnesty scheme for domestic assets covers all types of assets and income, with tax rates of 2pc and 5pc.
• For payment of tax on foreign assets, the State Bank of Pakistan has devised a procedure, whereby tax in US dollar is deposited into SBP`s account through wire transfer.
• The government has issued Government of Pakistan`s US Dollar Denominated Amnesty Rules, 2018, whereby the SBP has been authorised to issue these bonds having a maturity period of five years and annual profit of 3pc to be paid semi-annually.
• According to the rules, the citizens of Pakistan can invest in these bonds out of remittances declared under the foreign amnesty or through encashment of foreign currency accounts held in Pakistan.

2. Trump, Merkel clash at Nato summit

• US President Donald Trump traded barbs with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a tense Nato summit July 11, 2018 after he accused Berlin of being “captive” to Russia and demanded it immediately step up defence spending.
• President Trump shocked allies at the summit by suddenly demanding that members double their defence spending commitments. Trump’s surprise demand came after he clashed with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• The summit in Brussels is shaping up as the alliance’s most difficult in years, against a backdrop of deepening transatlantic tensions in fields ranging from trade to energy and defence.
• Nato allies agreed at their Wales summit in 2014 to try to spend two percent of GDP on defence within 10 years, but the White House said Trump suggested that was not enough.
• All 29 NATO leaders including Trump backed a joint statement committing themselves to greater “burden sharing” and to the alliance’s founding commitment that an attack on one member is an attack on them all – with no mention of the four percent.

3. Balochistan police given special package

• Balochistan Caretaker Chief Minister Allauddin Marri has approved the summary of a special package for police officers in the province.
• Officers of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP) group belonging to Balochistan were deprived of the special package which their colleagues in other provinces were enjoying.
• Police officers belonging to other provinces were getting the special package for serving in difficult conditions of Balochistan, but police officers belonging to the province were deprived of that package and it was discrimination with them and, therefore, it should be abolished.
• Mr Marri agreed with the stance of the Balochistan PSP officers and approved the summary, giving them the same perks and facilities enjoyed by police officers of the PSP group belonging to provinces other than Balochistanunder the special package.

4. India building new airbase near Pak border

• Indian Air Force has begun constructing a ‘forward’ airbase in the western Indian state of Gujarat to counter a similar facility located across the border in Pakistan’s Sindh province.
• India’s Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “quietly” approved the construction of the base at Deesa in March for an estimated $581 million.
• The move followed the inauguration in December 2017 of Pakistan Air Force’s main operating base at Bholari, which is located some 420 km northwest of Deesa and about 145 km northeast of Karachi

5. Muslim scholars plead for peace in Afghanistan

• More than 100 Muslim scholars from around the world meeting July 11, 2018 in the Saudi holy city of Makkah issued an urgent appeal for peace in Afghanistan as they ended a two-day conference.
• “The solution to the cause of the Muslim Afghani must particularly go through mutual understanding and direct peaceful negotiations,” read the closing declaration.
• “Reconciling between battling Muslims is one of the greatest and most honoured acts of worship,” it said.
• The international gathering, which focused on prospects for peace in Afghanistan, was sponsored by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, based in nearby Jeddah. Yousef al-Othaimeen, the head of the 57-member pan-Islamic organisation, ended the meeting by urging a ceasefire for Afghanistan.
• The scholars were received on July 11, 2018 by Saudi King Salman, who expressed his country’s commitment to a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan.
• The Taliban ignored an invitation from the OIC to attend the Makkah conference.

6. Britain to send extra 440 troops to Afghanistan

• British Prime Minister Theresa May will pledge to send 440 extra troops to Afghanistan during the Nato summit in Brussels on July 11, 2018 as US President Donald Trump urges allies to contribute more.
• The extra troops will be from the Welsh Guards regiment, with around half deploying in August and a second contingent to follow in February.
• The last UK combat troops left Afghanistan in 2014 after being involved in the conflict since 2001.
• Nato countries have a total of 16,000 personnel in Afghanistan to support Afghan forces, including 13,000 US troops.
• Nato asked Britain to deploy more forces last year and Trump has repeatedly called on Nato allies to increase their defence spending.
• Britain is one of just five Nato members to meet the target of spending at least 2.0 per cent of GDP on defence.

7. Trade war: US takes aim at $200b in Chinese goods

• The United States has escalated a trade war with China, threatening to impose fresh tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese goods as soon as September, sparking a furious reaction in Beijing.
• The latest shot in a spiralling trade conflict between the world’s top two economies came just days after tit-for-tat tariffs on $34 billion in goods came into effect.
• Analysts have warned that ballooning trade tensions between the two financial powerhouses could have a damaging impact on the global economy and will have a far-reaching across the planet.
• President Donald Trump has therefore ordered the trade department to “begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports,” Lighthizer said in a statement. Officials will hold hearings in late August on the list of targeted products and an administration official said it would take about two months to finalise, at which point Trump would decide whether to go ahead with the levies. The eventual goal is to impose tariffs on 40 percent of Chinese imports, the same proportion of US goods hit by Beijing’s retaliation, an official told reporters.
• If the measures are imposed, it would mean new taxes on thousands of products from fish to chemicals, metals and tires.

8. England’s World Cup dream dashed as Croatia win semi-final in extra-time

• Croatia July 11, 2018 crushed England’s World Cup dream with a 2-1 extra-time victory in their semi-final at the Luzhniki Stadium.
• England made a dream start with Kieran Trippier’s fifth-minute free-kick securing a 1-0 lead. But Croatia came out stronger in the second half and Ivan Perisic levelled in the 67th minute. The teams traded blows for the rest of the 90 minutes but were forced into extra time locked at 1-1. After a tense first period Mario Mandzukic then broke England hearts in the 109th minute.
• Croatia’s opponents in Moscow on July 15, 2018 will be France, who progressed to the final with a 1-0 win against Belgium in their semi-final at the St Petersburg Stadium on July 10, 2018.
• In extra time, a corner provided England with their best chance of retaking the lead. Trippier whipped it in from the right, Stones rose highest but Vrsaljko made a firm defensive header on the line. Croatia swapped an exhausted Rebic for Kramaric. They were still looking the fitter of the two sides, with Rashford and Rose England’s only fresh outlets.
• England then slipped behind for the first time in the match. Perisic beat Trippier to a loose ball, flicking a backwards header into the box. Mandzukic was onside, stealing a march on the defenders and rifling low past Pickford.

9. Tayyab, Faiza lift Circuit-III men’s, women’s titles

• SNGPL’s Tayyab Aslam and Faiza Zafar lifted the men’s $10,000 and women’s $5,000 titles after winning their respective finals in the Jubilee Insurance Pakistan Squash Championship Circuit-III at the RKJK Squash Complex on July 11, 2018.
• In the men’s final, Tayyab proved too hot for Farhan Zaman and outpaced him 3-1. Tayyab started brightly and took the first game 11-8 while in the second game, he had to struggle hard to take the game 12-10. Zaman lost the momentum and was nowhere in the third game, as Tayyab took it 11-1 and shut the doors by taking the fourth game 11-8 to land the title in 44 minutes.
• In the $5,000 women event, Faiza Zafar took sweet revenge of her lost against younger sister Madina Zafar in the last $5,000 event played in Lahore early this month, as she won 3-1 in all-sister affair in the ladies singles final.

10. Researchers create liquid metal heartbeat

• In a breakthrough discovery, University of Wollongong (UOW) researchers have created a “heartbeat” effect in liquid metal, causing the metal to pulse rhythmically in a manner similar to a beating heart. Their findings are published in the 11 July issue of Physical Review Letters, the world’s premier journal for fundamental physics research.
• The researchers produced the heartbeat by electrochemically stimulating a drop of liquid gallium, causing it to oscillate in a regular and predictable manner. Gallium (Ga) is a soft silvery metal with a low melting point, becoming liquid at temperatures greater than 29.7C.
• The discovery has potential applications for fluid-based timers and actuators in artificial muscles, soft robotics and “lab-on-a-chip” microfluidic circuitry.
• Professor Xiaolin Wang, a node leader and theme leader at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Future Low Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET), led the research team from UOW’s Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials within the Australian Institute for Innovative Materials.