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July 21, 2019
1. Independents lead in Fata elections
• The polling for first-ever provincial elections in the merged tribal districts concluded on July 20, 2019. Except for a few unpleasant incidents, the voting went smoothly for the 16 seats designated in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for the erstwhile Fata.
• Independent candidates were leading the polls for the 16 general seats named PK-100 to PK-115 in Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Orakzai and Frontier Regions, according to unofficial and partial election results.
• The independent candidates had won two seats and they were leading in five other constituencies, according to unofficial results.
• Ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had won one seat and was leading on three other fronts, while Awami National Party (ANP) had also won one slot and it was leading in another constituency.
• As for the rest of the seats, Jamat-e-Islami was leading in two constituencies while Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) was on first position in one contest.
• Complete unofficial results had arrived from four constituencies PK-103, PK-105, PK-106 and PK-111.
2. PM lands in Washington on 3-day visit
• Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Washington on July 20, 2019 for three-day official visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of US President Donald Trump.
• The prime minister is accompanied by his Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood, Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfiqar Bukhari and Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
• Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mehmood Qureshi is already in Washington who will also be accompanying him during the visit.
• As an unprecedented gesture, the prime minister and his delegation opted to fly by commercial flight to save the public money used to be spent heavily on the chartered flights during the foreign visits in past.
• This is the first visit of the prime minister to the United States after assuming his office.
3. Pakistan hires US lobbying firm
• The Embassy of Pakistan and Holland & Knight signed a contract for lobbying services in the presence of Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
• A leading Republican from New York and former Congressman Tom Reynolds, who represents Washington’s top lobbying firm Holland & Knight, discussed ways to represent Pakistan’s interest effectively.
• Reynolds will be supported by a team comprising former members of Congress, former senior administration officials, Capitol Hill veterans and other professional experts.
• Despite pressing requirements of the unique political scene in the United States, the Pakistani Embassy in D.C. had no lobbyist during the past six years.
4. Three roads in Islamabad to be named after literary personalities
• The Capital Development Authority has planned to name three different roads of the capital after prominent personalities.
• In this regard, recommendations of the CDA board would be submitted to the committee established under the Ministry of National History and Literary Heritage for its consideration. The roads would be named after Josh Malihabadi, Jameeluddin Aali and Hafeez Jalandhari.
• Commemorating their services, the CDA Board has recommended torename Service Road (West), Sector D-12, as Josh Malihabadi Road, Service Road (South), Sector D-12, as Jameeluddin Aali Road and Service Road (East), Sector D-12, as Hafeez Jalandhari Road.
July 21, 2019: International Current Affairs
5. Saudi King approves hosting of US troops for regional security
• Saudi Arabia’s King Salman approved hosting US forces in the Kingdom to boost regional security and stability.
• The ministry tweeted that Saudi Arabia and the United States are “strengthen(ing) their longstanding partnership in (the) face of regional threats.”
• In Washington, the US Defense Department confirmed the move in a statement, saying it would deploy troops and resources to Saudi Arabia to “provide an additional deterrent” in the face of “emergent, credible threats.”
• The US and Saudi Arabia have a strong relationship, one built on trade and security affairs. US President Donald Trump made Riyadh his first port of call for a foreign state visit, holding a summit on counter-terrorism.
6. Iran seizes 2 British vessels, releases one
• Britain has said that Iran had seized two ships in the Gulf, with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt condemning the incident as “unacceptable” and saying he was “extremely concerned”. The second vessel was released just hours after its seizure.
• The website of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, sepahnews.com, said the tanker “Stena Impero” had been seized for “non-compliance with international maritime laws and regulations” and was taken to an Iranian port.
• The tanker “was led to the shore and handed over to the organization to go through the legal procedure and required investigations,” it said. The report did not say what port.
7. Former Delhi chief minister dies
• Veteran Indian politician Sheila Dikshit, New Delhi`s longest-serving chief minister, died on July 20, 2019 after a prolonged illness. She was 81.
• Dikshit died at a hospital in New Delhi, where she had been admitted for treatment for a heart ailment, New Delhi Television channel said.
• A veteran leader of the now-opposition Congress party, Dikshit served as chief minister of the capital for three consecutive terms, from 1998 to 2013. In a tweet on Saturday, the Congress party called her a `lifelong congresswoman` who `transformed the face of Delhi.` Dikshit was elected as a member of India`s Parliament in 1984, representing a seat in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. She served as a federal minister from 1986 to 1989.
July 21, 2019: Sports Current Affairs
8. Pakistan lose West Asia Cup Baseball final to Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka edge out Pakistan 5-4 to retain 14th West Asia Cup-2019 Baseball title in the final played in Colombo on July 20, 2019.
• Pakistan’s efforts to come back from four runs deficit in the eighth innings came up just short, as they fell 4-5 to Sri Lanka. Pakistan put up three runs in the failed comeback. Faqir Hussain, Ubaid Ullah, and Arsalan Jamashaid picked up RBIs to lead the rally.
• Pakistan fell behind early in the loss. Sri Lanka scored on a double by Sameera Rathnayake and a single by Asanka Peiris in the first inning.
9. Algeria win Africa Cup of Nations with freak early goal
• Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time when a freak second-minute goal by Baghdad Bounedjah gave them a 1-0 win over gallant Senegal in the final.
• Bounedjah, who missed a penalty in the quarter-final against Ivory Coast and spent the last few minutes of that game in tears after being substituted, stunned the Lions of Teranga with a shot which took a wicked deflection off Salif Sane and looped over the bewildered goalkeeper Alfred Gomis and into the net.
• Algeria, who committed 32 fouls according to official match statistics, sat back after that and had to scrap for their win in a match that was certainly not a classic but was tense and gripping throughout.
10. Australia seize mixed 3m synchro diving gold
• Matthew Carter and Maddison Keeney of Australia won mixed 3-metre synchronised springboard diving at the world championships, with China scratching after winning gold in the first 11 events.
• Carter and Keeney totalled 304.86 points in Saturday night`s final in Gwangju. They edged Francois ImbeauDulac and Jennifer Abel of Canada, who finished 0.78 points behind for silver. Lou Massenberg and Tina Punzel of Germany took bronze at 301.62.
• It was Keeney`s second medal of the competition. She finished third in women`s 3-metre springboard on July 19, 2019.
