Day by Day Current Affairs (July 24, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

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July 24, 2018

1. Table of Contents

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   Islamabad cheapest, Quetta most expensive city in Pakistan: SBP

• Islamabad has been ranked as the cheapest city among five major cities in Pakistan where the consumer price index inflation (CPI) was recorded at 4.5 percent year-on-year in June 2018, compared with 5.0 percent a year ago, according to the central bank.
• However, Quetta emerged as the costliest city of the country with regard to cost of living. The highest inflation was observed in the provincial capital of Balochistan at 9.3 percent. It was 2.7 percent in June 2017.
• The main consumer price index inflation for the country rose to 5.2 percent in June, compared with 3.9 percent in the corresponding month of last year. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in its inflation monitor, published on Monday stated that consumer price index inflation on year-on-year basis in federal and provincial capitals of Pakistan showed mixed trend during June 2018.
• Food inflation for Islamabad was 3.1 percent and non-food was 5.5 percent. The SBP’s report showed that Quetta saw the highest food inflation of 8.5 percent and non-food inflation of 9.8 percent.
• Inflation in Lahore rose to 5.2 percent from 4.9 percent. In Peshawar, the inflation recorded at 4.8 percent, compared with 3.2 percent in June last year. The State Bank of Pakistan expects the average CPI inflation to be in the range of six percent to seven percent in the current fiscal year.

2. CAA gives Shaheen Air special permission to fly back stranded passengers from China

• The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has given Shaheen Air International special permission, on humanitarian grounds, to bring back over300 passengers stranded in China for the last few days.
• Passengers had been stranded in China for the past few days as the CAA, owing to non-payment of its dues/arrears of more than Rs1.5 billion, had recently suspended the airline`s international operations -except for Saudi Arabia.
• The airline`s international operations were still suspended and would continue to remain suspended until the dues were cleared.
• Due to non-payment of dues, the CAA said that they would suspend the airline`s international flights except to Saudi Arabia.

3. Highest number of mountaineers summit K2 this year

• A record-breaking number of climbers have ascended the world`s deadliest peak, K2,in the last three days.
• By July 23, 2018, a total of 63 mountaineers scaled the peak of which 31 had ascended on July 21, 2018 while 32 climbers summitted K2 on July 23, 2018.
• The number of mountaineers to summit the peak is expected to rise in the coming days as more climbers are on their way.
• The 63 climbers, who were on four different expeditions, belong to various countries, including Japan, China, Ireland, the US and Poland. However, one of them did not survive.
• It is the highest record of climbers to summit K2 so far and the number will increase.

4. China rejects Trump accusations of currency manipulation

• China on July 23, 2018 rejected accusations by US President Donald Trump that it was manipulating the yuan to give its exporters an edge, saying Washington appeared “bent on provoking a trade war”.
• Trump launched his latest trade salvo, accusing China and the European Union of currency manipulation and saying he was ready to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports coming into the United States.
• But China’s Foreign Ministry denied the charge during a daily briefing in Beijing, saying the yuan’s rate was determined by market forces.
• “China has no desire to spur exports through competitive devaluation of its currency,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters.
• While it does let market forces play a role, China keeps the yuan within a narrow trading band that its adjusts daily and is widely known to intervene, which has triggered past US allegations of manipulation, including from Trump.

5. Trump hits back at Iran ‘war’ talk

• President Donald Trump on July 22, 2018 hit back at bellicose comments by Iran’s president, warning him of dire consequences as the US intensifies its campaign against the Islamic republic.
• “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE,” Trump said on Twitter in a direct message to President Hassan Rouhani.
• Earlier the Iranian leader had warned Trump not to “play with the lion’s tail,” saying that conflict with Iran would be the “mother of all wars”.
• The US president, writing his entire message in capital letters, continued his riposte:
• “WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!”
• His comments came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a major address to the Iranian diaspora in California, said Washington is not afraid to sanction top-ranking leaders of the “nightmare” Iranian regime.

6. China`s Xi offers fresh $295m grant to Sri Lanka

• Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered Sri Lanka a fresh grant of 2 billion yuan ($295 million), as Beijing looks to expand its influence in the tiny island country off India`s southern tip.
• President Maithripala Sirisena of Sri Lanka, a partner in Beijing`s multi-country Belt and Road infrastructure push, made the announcement on Saturday at a ceremony marking the start of construction of a Chinese-funded kidney hospital in his home constituency of Polonnaruwa, 230 km (142.92 miles) from Colombo.
• `When the Chinese ambassador visited my house to fix the date for this ceremony, he said that Chinese President Xi Jinping sent me another gift, Sirisena told the gathering.
• `He has gifted 2bn yuan to be utilised for any project of my wish. I`m going to hand over a proposal to the Chinese ambassador to build houses in all the electorates in the country,` he added.
• The grant offer comes at a time when a Chinese firm is facing heavy criticism for allegedly financing the last election campaign of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa Last month, the New YorkTimes reported that China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) gave $7.6m for Rajapaksa`s re-election bid, which he lost to Sirisena in early 2015.

7. UAE ordered by UN court to protect rights of Qataris

• The UN’s top court July 23, 2018 ordered the United Arab Emirates to protect the rights of Qatari citizens, wading into a bitter year-long crisis triggered when Gulf countries snapped ties with Doha.
• Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague narrowly ruled in a provisional but binding decision that the UAE must allow families, which include Qatari members, to be reunited, and that Qatari students must be given the chance to complete their education in the Emirates.
• Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and other allies severed ties with Qatar on June 7, 2017, accusing Doha of backing terrorism. Qatari nationals living in the UAE were officially given just 14 days to leave the country.
• But Doha denies the accusations, and last month appealed to the ICJ to impose emergency measures against the UAE to protect its citizens. It has also accused Abu Dhabi of breaking the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

8. Russia foreign minister holds Syria talks in Israel

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on July 23, 2018 for talks on Iran and the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
• The meeting was requested by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• Netanyahu and Putin have held a number of discussions in recent months on the Syrian conflict and Iran’s military presence there, which Israel opposes.
• The July 23, 2018 meeting, attended by the Russian and Israeli military chiefs and Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, dealt with “Iran and the situation in Syria”, a statement from Netanyahu’s office read. “The link between us is extraordinarily important and it exists, as you have seen, in the direct meetings between myself and President Putin and between our staffs,” Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting.

9. Sri Lanka thrash South Africa to sweep series 2-0

• Sri Lanka on July 23, 2018 completed a 2-0 Test sweep of South Africa to record their first series win over the Proteas since 2006 after Rangana Herath wreaked havoc with six wickets.
• The visitors were all out for 290 in the second session of day four in Colombo, 200 runs short of the highly improbable winning target of 490 on a bone-dry wicket. It was South Africa’s first Test whitewash since they went down in the island nation 2-0 in a two-match series almost 12 years ago.

10. Rugby: All Black magic as New Zealand retain World Cup Sevens crown

• New Zealand became the first team in history to win back-to-back World Cup Sevens crowns here Sunday, completing a clean sweep of titles with a 33-12 defeat of England in the final at AT&T Park.
• The New Zealanders — who beat England to win the last tournament in 2013 in Moscow — once again proved too strong for the English, outscoring their opponents by five tries to two. The victory completed a golden weekend in San Francisco for New Zealand after their women successfully defended their own sevens title on Saturday.
• New Zealand’s men and women’s teams now hold world titles in both seven-a-side and 15-a-side versions of the game. New Zealand co-captain Scott Curry, who missed the 2013 victory breaking his hand shortly before the tournament, was ecstatic following the win.