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

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June 12, 2018

1. Six-member caretaker Punjab cabinet sworn in

• A six-member caretaker Punjab cabinet took oath on Monday and committed to stay apolitical and hold general elections 2018 in the province in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
• The cabinet is expected to be expanded to 10 members as the officials concerned are contacting different professionals, including women in this connection.
• Mr Zafar Mahmood, Dr Jawad Sajid Khan, Shaukat Javed, Anjum Nisar, Zia H Rizvi and Ahmad Waqas Riaz took oath of their offices at a ceremony held at Governor House here.
• Punjab Governor Malik Rafique Rajwana administered the oath.

2. Dr Najmi resigns as law secretary

• Punjab law and parliamentary affairs secretary Dr Syed Abul Hassan Najmi, who has been serving on contract basis since October 2009, has resigned from his position, giving a free hand to the caretakers to post some other officer in his place.
• Dr Najmi`s one-month notice will expire on June 30.
• After joining the depanment, Dr Najmi restructured it on corporate lines and helped the government enact around 250 pieces of legislation.
• During his tenure he ensured the department made all legislation available online and dovetailed laws` rules and regulations without putting extra financial burden on the Punjab government.
• It may be mentioned that Dr Najmi had retired as Punjab Assembly secretary in 2004 and then served as law faculty dean at University of Central Punjab till 2006.-

3. Sub-divisions, districts introduced in Fata

• Following the landmark merger of the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the provincial government has set up offices of deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners while introducing the administrative units of sub-divisions and districts in the areas that had been, until recently, governed under the colonial Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCRs) for nearly a century and a half.
• This information was shared with the participants of a meeting on Fata reforms, which was chaired by caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk at the Prime Minister Office on June 11, 2018.
• The merger of Fata and the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) with KP was rolled through towards the end of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government`s tenure on May 31. While the transition process is going, it will be monitored by the interim set-up formed to hold the next general elections scheduled for July 25.
• The agencies and frontier regions had now been re-designated as districts and sub-divisions of KP, and the posts of political agents and assistant political agents had been redesignated as deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners.

4. First Tarbela unit begins power generation

• Following improved hydrological conditions and availability of water, the first unit of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project has started electricity generation.
• The unit, which is passing through its reliability run test these days, has been providing 335MW of electricity to the national grid, which will be gradually increased to its maximum capacity of 470MW.
• First unit was completed in April, it could not start electricity generation owing to non-availability of water caused by low inflows in River Indus at Tarbela in current year.
• The second unit of Tarbela 4th Extension Hydropower Project has also been put into wet commissioning three days ago. This unit is scheduled to enter its reliability run test phase in next month`s first week.
• The 1,410MW Tarbela 4th Extension Project having three electric power generating units each of them 470MW capacity has been built at the Tunnel 4 of Tarbela Dam. The project is a component of least-cost energy generation plan being implemented by Wapda on priority to meet electricity requirements in the country and increase the ratio of hydro electricity in the National Grid to stabilise electricity tariff for the consumers.
• With completion of the project, generation capacity of the existing Tarbela Hydel Power Station will increase to 4,888MW from the existing 3,478MW. The project will provide 3.84 billion units of electricity to the national grid per annum.

5. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait offer $2.5bn in aid to crisis-hit Jordan

• Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have offered $2.5 billion in aid for Jordan to ease its economic crisis following a wave of anti-austerity protests on June 11, 2018.
• Jordan has been rocked in recent days by mass protests against price rises and a proposed tax hike as the government pushes measures to slash the country`s debt, leading to the prime minister`s resignation.
• A four-nation summit in Makkah, hosted by Saudi King Salman, offered Amman a bailout in the form of a deposit in the Jordanian central bank, World Bank guarantees as well as budgetary support over five years.

6. Qatar takes UAE to UN top court over `rights violations`

• Qatar on June 11, 2018 said it brought a case against the United Arab Emirates at the UN`s top court, accusing its Gulf rival of human rights `violations` and `discrimination`.
• Last year on June 5, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt abruptly severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and Iran. Doha denies the claims. They also took several measures, including barring the state owned airline from using their airspace and expelling Qatari residents from their territories. Saudi Arabia closed its land border with Qatar.
• On June 11, 2018 the Qatari foreign ministry denounced `human rights violations arising from the UAE`s discrimination against Qatar and Qatari citizens`. It also condemned `an unlawful land, sea and air siege against Qatar as part of a campaign of political and economic coercion`.

7. US offers `unique` guarantees to N. Korea before historic summit

• The US has offered North Korea `unique` security guarantees to persuade it to give up its nuclear arsenal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on June 11, 2018.
• The White House said preparatory negotiations had `moved more quickly than expected` and Donald Trump would leave after his talks with Kim Jong-un, ruling out the possibility the unprecedented tete-a-tete would run to two days.
• The meeting, long sought by Pyongyang, will be the first ever between a serving US president and a North Korean leader, and will focus on the nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles the North has spent decades developing.

8. UK to offer Hawking fellowships

• Exceptional students in mathematics and physics can compete for research fellowships in honour of the late British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died in March.
• Up to 10 fellowships will be awarded each year for the next five years to candidates completing doctoral studies in Maths, Physics and Computer Sciences, according to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
• The 50 recipients will receive financial support allowing them to continue their work in any British institution for up to three years, it said. The creation of the “Stephen Hawking Fellowships” follow discussions with his family.

9. Azerbaijan envoy meets Gen Bajwa

• Azerbaijan Ambassador Alizada met Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa in Rawalpindi on June 11, 2018.
• Matters of mutual interest, including regional peace and stability were discussed during the meeting. The Ambassador acknowledged Pakistan Army’s contributions towards regional peace and stability and expressed the desire that his country wishes to play a role towards a prosperous region

10. Vettel claims 50th win and goes top in title race

• Sebastian Vettel claimed the 50th win of his career and reclaimed the lead of this year’s world championship when he ended Lewis Hamilton’s run of supremacy at the Canadian Grand Prix.
• The four-time champion German drove his Ferrari with near flawless aplomb to convert his 54th pole position into a triumphant afternoon ahead of Finn Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes and determined Dutchman Max Verstappen, who was third for Red Bull.
• Vettel’s third victory this season lifted him to 121 points ahead of Hamilton on 120 after seven races, ending the defending four-time champion’s hopes of a record-equalling seventh win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where he won from pole for the last three years.
• It was Ferrari’s first win in Canada since 2004 and came from their first pole there in 17 years. It was also Vettel’s second win in Canada where he won in 2013 for Red Bull.