Day by Day Current Affairs (June 08, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS

WELCOME TO CSS TIMES DAY BY  DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS, YOUR BEST SOURCE FOR UP-TO-DATE AND DAILY TOP CURRENT AFFAIRS 2018 FOR PREPARATION OF CSS, PMS, BANKING, NTS, RAILWAYS AND ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS.  “DAY TO DAY CURRENT AFFAIRS” BASICALLY IS TOP 10 NEWS SUMMARY ON CURRENT HAPPENINGS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS

 June 8, 2018

1. ECP named Professor Dr Hasan Askari and Alauddin Marri as caretaker chief ministers of Punjab and Balochistan

• The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on June 7, 2018 named Professor Dr Hasan Askari and Alauddin Marri as caretaker chief ministers of Punjab and Balochistan, respectively.
• Earlier, former chief ministers and opposition leaders of Punjab and Balochistan had failed to reach consensus on selection of caretaker chief ministers of their provinces.
• The parliamentary committees in both the provinces could also not make headway and the matter was referred to the commission under the law.
• The name of Dr Hassan Askari was proposed by the opposition after their withdrawal of the name of Nasir Mahmood Khosa.
• The previous Balochistan government had proposed the names of Alauddin Marri and Sardar Shaukat Popalzai as interim chief minister of the province.

2. US reaches out to Bajwa, offers ceasefire to Afghan Taliban

• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo launched a new peace initiative for Afghanistan on June 7, 2018, reaching out to the man Washington believes can help them achieve this objective, Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
• Mike Pompeo announced that American and Nato troops in Afghanistan will also observe a temporary ceasefire that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has offered to the Taliban.
• A statement released by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauertsaid the top US diplomat telephoned the army chief and discussed with him the `need for political reconciliation in Afghanistan and the importance of targeting all militant and terrorist groups in South Asia without distinction.
• All three subjects relations with Pakistan, Afghan reconciliation and fighting terrorists are Washington`s main concern in the South Asian region.
• Like previous US governments, the Trump administration also believes that the Pakistan Army has a key role in restoring peace to Afghanistan and that`s why Mr Pompeo called GenBajwa, instead of the country`s political leadership.
• There must be `an urgent reason` for making this unusual call, as Americans prefer to use the Pentagon channel to communicate with a general. They point out that even strained relations with Pakistan did not prevent the Pentagon from maintaining its contacts with Rawalpindi, as top US generals often speak with their counterparts in the Pakistani military establishment

3. Kamila Shamsie wins UK`s prestigious Women`s Prize

• British-Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie has been awarded UK`s prestigious Women`s Prize for Fiction 2018 for her seventh novel Home Fire, reported The Guardian.
• Home Fire follows the story of Aneeka, a young Londoner who falls in love with the son of a powerful British Muslim politician, which she hopes to use in order to save her missing brother who is drawn towards religious extremism.
• Home Fire is about identity, conflicting loyalties, love and politics, she added, recommending the `remarkable book`.

4. MoU signed with Russia to carry out feasibility of undersea pipeline project

• Pakistan and Russia have finalised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for conducting a `feasibility study` of the planned undersea gas pipeline.
• Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Dr Muhammad Faisal said: `The ministries of energy of Pakistan and the Russian Federation have finalised a MoU for conducting feasibility study for implementation of undersea gas pipeline project.
• The undersea gas pipeline project would eventually involve four countries Pakistan, Iran, Russia and India. The project has been under discussion since last year.
• The purpose of the MoU is to assist in providing support for the realisation of the project. Based on the results of the feasibility study, the two sides will take a decision for its future.
• Russia, had been keen on promoting energy cooperation with Pakistan as the two countries strengthened their ties. The two countries have concluded various proposals in the energy sector, including construction of North-South Gas Pipeline, import of LNG from Russia, installation of air mix plant and establishing a 600MW combined cycle power plant.

5. Pakistan opposes expansion of UNSC

• Pakistan has warned the international community that any “ill-conceived reform of the Security Council would be the greatest disservice to the rules-based international order whose pivot is the UN.”
• “A large, unwieldy and inefficient Security Council, characterised by an enlarged, privileged clique, is an end-State that Pakistan neither desires, nor will ever support, ” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, Permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the long-running Intergovernmental Negotiations aimed at reforming the 15-member body to make it more representative, efficient and effective.
• Full-scale negotiations to restructure the Security Council began in the General Assembly in February 2009. Despite a general agreement on enlarging the Council, as part of the UN reform process, member States remain sharply divided over the details.
• Known as the “Group of Four,” India, Brazil, Germany and Japan ” have shown no flexibility in their campaign to expand the Security Council by 10 seats, with 6 additional permanent and four non-permanent members.
• On the other hand, the Italy/Pakistan-led Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group say that additional permanent members will not make the Security Council more effective and also undermine the fundamental principle of democracy that is based on periodic elections.
• The Security Council is currently composed of five permanent members – Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States – and 10 non-permanent members that are elected in groups of five to two-year terms.

6. Trump hosts Japan PM, says `all ready` for Kim summit

• Five days before meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump said on June 6, 2018 the unprecedented summit was `all ready to go` as he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the White House.
• Since the first inkling that a Trump-Kim summit could be on the cards, Japan has repeatedly insisted that Washington be mindful not to let its guard down with the nuclear-armed regime in Pyongyang. And by coming to Washington to see Trump for the second time in less than two months, Abe wants to be sure to get his point across to the US president, amid the intense diplomatic flurry over the future of the Korean peninsula.

7. New Spanish PM forms women-dominated cabinet

• King Felipe VI on June 6, 2018 swore in Spain`s new pro-EU government, with women holding the majority of ministerial posts.
• Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez named 11 women to top posts including defence and economy in a cabinet with six male ministers.
• That makes it the European government with the highest ratio of female cabinet ministers, ahead of Sweden`s, which has 12 women and 11 men.
• But Sanchez`s administration risks not lasting until the end of the current mandate in 2020, however, given the fragmented state of Spain`s political parties.
• His Socialist Party holds just 84 seats in the 350-seat congress, the smallest parliamentary presence of any Spanish government since the return to democracy in the 1970s.
• They followed the example set by Sanchez, who became the first Spanish prime minister to forego religious symbols during his own swearing-in on Saturday.

8. Saudi Arabia, UAE announce raft of joint economic deals

• Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have unveiled a raft of economic deals, including in the defence industry, as the Gulf powerhouses look to boost ties.
• The two oil-rich Gulf nations signed 20 memoranda of understanding for over 60 joint projects to be implemented over the next five years in sectors including oil and gas, banking, nuclear energy and defence.
• The projects were approved at a meeting of the Saudi-Emirati Coordination Council in Jeddah, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan.
• Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and non-GCC member Egypt all broke diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 last year, imposing a sea, air and land blockade, while accusing the tiny gas-rich state of links to Islamist extremists and supporting Shiite Iran.

9. Rasool Bux Palijo passes away

• Veteran law expert, intellectual and chief of Awami Tehreek Rasool Bux Palijo passed away in Karachi on June 7, 2018.
• He was 88 and left behind four sons and seven daughters.
• He was born on February 21, 1930 in Jung Shahi of district Thatta. He remained in jail for 11 years because of his political struggle. He also headed a number of political parties, campaigns, committees and forums.

10. First movie-themed hotel opens in Dubai

• Majid Al Futtaim and Marriott International announced the opening of Aloft City Centre Deira, the Aloft brand’s third property in Dubai.
• Owned and developed by retail giant Majid Al Futtaim, Aloft City Centre Deira is the first hotel in the region to offer movie-themed suites, alongside a VOX Cinemas outdoor screen.
• Directly connected to City Centre Deira, Aloft features 304 loft-inspired rooms and suites – including four cinema-themed suites where movie lovers will be instantly transported to the magical world of films. Suite themes include Bollywood, Hollywood, Agent House and a specially created Dubai superhero suite.