Day by Day Current Affairs (July 13, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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July 13, 2018

1. Pak, Iran, China, Russia spymasters discuss anti-IS steps

• In a rare meeting, heads of intelligence agencies of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran have discussed counter terrorism cooperation, with particular focus on the build-up of the Islamic State (IS) in turmoil-hit Afghanistan.
• Pakistan hosted the unprecedented meeting in which detailed discussions on joint measures to stop Afghan-based loyalists of the Middle Eastern terrorist group from threatening the territorial boundaries of the four nations.
• The unusual huddle brought together spymasters from the countries which are “directly affected” by IS-led terrorism. However, it was “not targeted against any other country as it may be viewed,” cooperation involving Russia, China and Iran could undermine US-led efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.
• A spokesperson for Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service also confirmed that the emergence of IS in Afghanistan prompted the deliberations in Islamabad.
• The director of the Russian spy agency, Sergei Naryshkin, attended the Islamabad meeting along with Chinese and Iranian counterparts. They “stressed the need for a more active inclusion of regional powers in the efforts” to end the war in Afghanistan.
• Russian envoy to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, while addressing a Security Council meeting on Afghanistan last month, asserted that IS is creating training camps in the country for its fighters, including those who come from Central Asian states.
• Iran, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, has raised similar concerns in the wake of IS’s growing terrorist activities in the region.
• They cite US military assessments that the Afghan government controls less than 60 percent of the territory.
• Islamabad, Moscow, Beijing and Tehran have all maintained contacts with the Taliban, saying they are meant to persuade the insurgency to seek a negotiated settlement to the Afghan war.

2. Italian climber dies on Karakoram peak

• An Italian mountaineer attempting to summit Gasherbrum IV has died after he was hit by falling ice.
• The accident involving Maurizio Giordano, 32, occurred at an altitude of 6,300 metres.
• At an elevation of 7,925 metres, Gasherbrum IV is the 17th highest mountain on Earth and the sixth highest in Pakistan in the Karakoram range.
• The aspiring mountain guide was a member of an expedition that included Valerio Stella, Marco Majori, Marco Farina and Daniele Bernasconi. The expedition was arranged by Hunza Guides, a leading tour agency.
• Their goal was to ascend the 7,925-metre summit of the `shining mountain` precisely 60 years after the peak was conquered by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri, who formed part of the famous expedition led by Riccardo Cassin.

3. First-ever deployment of PN ship in Gulf of Aden

• Pakistan Navy ship Saif has visited Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the first regional maritime security patrol (RMSP) deployment instituted recently by the PN.
• The PN said it had deployed its first-ever ship in Gulf of Aden Southern Red Sea Region.
• The objective of RMSP is to maintain presence along critical choke points and maritime areas to fulfil international obligations for maritime security and safeguard national shipping, while observing freedom of navigation across high seas.
• PN Saif is the frontline destroyer of PN fleet and is the third ship of sword class frigate, fitted with state-of-the-art robust weapons and sensors.
• The ship is capable of undertaking all types of maritime operations in multi-threat environment. PN Saif is also embarked with organic anti-submarine sarf are helicopter Z9-EC.

4. Feasibility study of Main Line 1 project completed

• The feasibility study of a preliminary design of the first phase of the expansion and reconstruction of Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar railway track, known as the Main Line 1 project (ML1), an early harvest and a strategic project of CPEC framework, has been completed and is in the final stages of review process.
• A delegation of China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) held a meeting with senior officials of the ministry of railways on July 12, 2018 to review the preparations to launch the project, which is an early harvest and a strategic project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
• Pakistan is exploring with China to finance the project.
• Headed by Mr Sun, head of CREC Pakistan mission, leading a consortium in terms of the framework agreement held talks with Chairman Ministry of Railways Muhammad Javed Anwar.
• CREC holds a large share of the Chinese construction market and participates in many large-scale infrastructure projects overseas, especially in countries in Southeast Asia and Africa.

5. Trump arrives in Britain, questions May`s Brexit plan

• US President Donald Trump arrived in `hot spot` Britain on July 12, 2018 after casting doubt on Prime Minister Theresa May`s plans for leaving the European Union and with protests planned across the country where he says the people like him a lot.
• After a Nato summit where he provoked a crisis session to force allies to raise their defence spending, Trump landed in Britain having described the closest US ally in Europe as being in turmoil over Brexit.
• May hopes Trump, who arrived at Stansted airport from Brussels, will help accelerate a future free trade deal, though his public comments on Brexit have cast a shadow over the visit.
• The trip coincides with a tumultuous week for May af ter two senior ministers resigned in protest at her plans for trade with the EU after Britain leaves next March.

6. Taliban attacks on Afghan forces leave 40 dead

• Taliban attacks on Afghan security forces in the country`s north have caused heavy casualties on July 12, 2018, putting the number of soldiers killed as high as 40 in ongoing fighting.
• Militants using night-vision goggles launched simultaneous raids on several Afghan military bases and posts in Dashte Archi district in Kunduz province overnight.
• Between 10 and 15 Afghan soldiers had been killed so far, and about the same number wounded, he added.
• But an Afghan security source said that the death toll among security forces was `more than 40`, and another confirmed that 39 had been killed and 10 wounded.
• A separate security source said there had been `heavy casualties` among the soldiers.
• The Taliban claimed responsibility on Twitter for the attacks, confirming their fighters had captured an army base as well as 11 posts, and killed 65 soldiers and `many local police` The night-vision goggles used in the latest attacks helped the Taliban fighters execute their pre-dawn raid, a senior Afghan commander said. He said the attacks were carried out by the group`s elite Red Unit.

7. Iran says will strive to ensure oil supplies to India

• Iran will do its best to ensure security of oil supply to India by offering `flexible measures` to boost bilateral trade.
• Iran is the third-biggest oil supplier to India and has offered refiners incentives including almost-free shipping and an enhanced credit period on oil sales.
• Imports from Iran could take a hit as the United States reintroduces sanctions on Tehran after withdrawing from a nuclear deal with world powers.
• India, Iran`s top oil client after China, asked refiners last month to prepare for drastic reductions or even zero Iranian oil imports.
• India was one of the few countries that continued to deal with Iran during previous sanctions although it had to cut imports from Tehran as banking, insurance and shipping channels were choked.

8. First-ever colour X-ray on a human

• New Zealand scientists have performed the first-ever 3-D, colour X-ray on a human, using a technique that promises to improve the field of medical diagnostics, said Europe`s CERN physics lab which contributed imaging technology.
• The new device, based on the traditional black-and-white X-ray, incorporates particle-tracking technology developed for CERN`s Large Hadron Collider, which in 2012 discovered the elusive Higgs Boson particle.
• This colour X-ray imaging technique could produce clearer and more accurate pictures and help doctors give their patients more accurate diagnoses.
• The CERN technology, dubbed Medipix, works like a camera detecting and counting individual sub-atomic particles as they collide with pixels while its shutter is open.
• This allows for high-resolution, high-contrast pictures.

9. Court allows heirs to access account of dead relatives

• Heirs in Germany have the right to access the Facebook accounts of their deceased relatives, a court said in a landmark privacy ruling on July 12, 2018, saying a social media account can be inherited in the same way as letters.
• The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe ruled that the mother of a 15-year-old girl who was hit by a train in Berlin in 2012 could gain access to her daughter`s Facebook account, which social network locked for privacy reasons.
• Facebook, whose 29 million active users in Germany equate to more than a third of the population, said that weighing the wishes of relatives against protecting user privacy is one of the toughest decisions the company f aces. `While we respectfully disagree with today`s decision . the lengthy process shows how complex the issue under discussion is,` a company spokesman said.
• The deceased girl`s parents wanted access to her account to try to find out whether her death had been by suicide or accident. Facebook had turned the girl`s profile into a `memorial` page, where access to the user data is denied even though the content is still stored on Facebook`s servers.
• The decision comes less than two months after the European Union introduced a new privacy regime, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to strengthens people`s rights to their data and how companies handle it.

10. Pakistan disabled team lift PD tri-series title

• An all-round Pakistan beat hosts England in the T20 International Physical Disability Tri-Series final.
• The Pakistanis posted a formidable 189/7, before bowling England out for 144, a brave half-century from Liam O’Brien going in vain.
• Abdullah Ejaz, the left-arm seamer, tore through the England line-up in a potent spell of fast bowling that yielded 5/22. It reduced the opposition to 42/6 at one point. Leading the defiance was O’Brien, who took the hosts to within 45 runs of victory.
• England had defeated Pakistan the previous day to seal their place in the final over Bangladesh, but they could not repeat the result in the final. “It’s only ever a loss when you don’t learn from it,” said Ian Salisbury, the former England leg-spinner, who is coach of the PD team.