June 13, 2018
1. Trump-Kim summit heavy on promises, light on substance
• US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a largely symbolic summit on June 12, 2018, and the US president offered an unexpected concession to the North, saying he would halt joint military exercises with South Korea.
• The two men smiled and shook hands before pledging at their historic summit to work toward the `denuclearisation` of the Korean Peninsula.
• The United States promised its Cold War foe security guarantees.
• The meeting in Singapore, the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader, was in stark contrast to a flurry of North Koreannuclear and missile tests and angry exchanges of insults between Trump and Kim last year that fuelled global worries about war.
• But in a joint statement afterward, the two men offered few specifics about how the relationship would evolve. Noting North Korean promises in the past to denuclearise, several analysts cast doubt on how effective Trump had been at obtaining his pre-summit goal of banishing North Korea`s `very substantial` nuclear arsenal.
• At a news conference later, Trump made a surprise announcement that was sure to rattle South Korea and Japan, which rely on a US security umbrella, saying he would halt the regular military exercises the US holds with South Korea because they were expensive and `very provocative`. North Korea has long sought an end to the exercises.
• The summit gave international standing to Kim, one of the world`s most reclusive leaders.
2. Bajwa visits Kabul amid new peace push
• Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa on June 12, 2018 hoped that the peace initiatives and truce reached between the Afghanistan government and Taliban for the holy month of Ramazan would gain permanence, ultimately lead to enduring peace in the country.
• During his day-long visit to Kabul, the army chief congratulated Afghan authorities on the recent peace initiatives especially the ceasefire truce leading up to Eidul Fitr.
• During the visit, the COAS had exclusive one-on-one meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani followed by delegation-level discussions. He also had meetings with Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and Commander Resolute Support Mission (RSM) General John Nicholson.
• The discussions encompassed wide range of issues, especially the ongoing efforts for reconciliation in Afghanistan, measures needed to check the rise of the ISIS and the issue of terrorists taking benefit of the porous border to indulge in terrorism, smuggling and drug trafficking, being often networked together.
• The COAS reiterated that it was the regions and not countries that developed, for which peace and development remained quintessential.
3. Two Punjab ministers get more portfolios
• Caretaker Chief Minister Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi on June 12, 2018 gave additional charge of some more portfolios to two members of Punjab cabinet.
• Energy and local government minister Zafar Mahmood was given additional charge of the irrigation and housing departments.
• Finance and excise and taxation minister Zia H Rizvi was given additional charge of the law and parliamentary affairs department.
• Meanwhile, Law Secretary Dr Syed Abul Hassan Najmi who has resigned reportedly in view of litigation over his extension in the office will continue to hold the charge till June 30.
4. 11-member Balochistan cabinet sworn in
• An 11-member caretaker cabinet was administered oath by Balochistan Governor Muhammad Khan Achakzai at a ceremony held at the Governor House here on June 12, 2018.
• The caretaker ministers who took the oath are Agha Omer Bangulzal, Imam Baksh Baloch, Dr Nasrullah Khan Khilji, Advocate Malik Inayatullah Kasi, Farzana Ali Baloch, Abdul Salam Khan, Manzoor Hussain, Faizullah Kakar, Hafiz Khalilur Rahman, Naveed Kalmati and Khurram Shahzad.
• Caretaker Chief Minister Alauddin Marri and Chief SecretaryAurangzebHaque as well as former ministers, ex-MPAs, senior officials and tribal elders attended the oath-taking ceremony.
5. Taliban kill Afghan district governor
• Taliban fighters killed a governor and took control of his district in northern Afghanistan as clashes broke out across the country, accusing the militants of defying the start of a government ceasefire with them.
• There was intense fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban gunmen in the northern provinces of Faryab and Sari Pul, with officials reporting an unspecified number of casualties on both sides. The governor of Kohistan district in Faryab was killed along with eight others in an ambush overnight, provincial governor spokesman Jawed Bidar told AFP, blaming the Taliban.
• The militants had seized control of the district. That was confirmed by provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullah Khail. The Taliban claimed the Faryab attack as well as one in Sayad district of neighbouring Sari Pul where provincial governor spokesman Zabiullah Amani said fighting was still under way.
6. World Day Against Child Labour observed
• The global theme this year was to promotion of health and safety at workplace.
• The children as young as 7- 8 years old are involved in child labour and are subjected to long working hours, little rest and vulnerability to physical, mental and sexual torture.
7. The Message to screen in S. Arabia four decades after ban
• The Message, Syrian-American director Moustafa Akkad`s epic film about Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), will be screened for the first time in Saudi cinemas on June 14, 2018 four decades after an initial ban.
• The 1976 film has been widely-watched in the Arab world since its release. But it was banned in the land of Islam`s holiest sites and boycotted by conservatives for its depiction of the prophet and his companions.
• Saudi Arabia lifted a longstanding ban on cinemas last year, part of an easing of social restrictions pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
• Saudi theatres will now screen a restored version of the 1976 epic, produced from the film`s original negatives.
8. Turkey opens gas pipeline from Azerbaijan
• Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan held a ceremony on June 12, 2018 to mark the start of supplies of gas from Azerbaijan to Turkey through the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP).
• The $7.99 billion pipeline, carrying gas from Azerbaijan`s Shah Deniz II field, is also a major step in the European Union`s efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian gas by developing the so-called Southern Gas Corridor.
• The gas will come from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus pipeline extension through Georgia, then the 1,850 km TANAP through Turkey, and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to Greece, Albania and Italy. Erdogan said on Tuesday gas deliveries to Greece would begin in June 2019.
• Output from Shah Deniz II is expected to reach an annual 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas by 2020, with 10 bcm earmarked for Europe and 6 bcm for Turl(ey. Erdogan said the pipeline`s capacity would be increased depending on demand.
9. Greece ends 27-year Macedonia name row
• Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev hailed a “historic solution” on June 12, 2018 after Skopje and Athens resolved a longstanding row by agreeing to rename his country the Republic of Northern Macedonia.
• The 27-year dispute has led to frequent disagreement and protests, but the two countries agreed on the new title of the former Yugoslav republic after months of intensive diplomacy.
• “There is an agreement. We have a historic solution after two and a half decades. Our agreement includes Republic of Northern Macedonia for overall use,” Zaev told reporters in the capital Skopje. Greece has long objected to its northern neighbour being called Macedonia because it has its own northern province of the same name.
• Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also declared a deal had been struck. “We have reached an accord, a good accord that covers all the conditions set by Greece,” Tsipras said in televised comments after briefing Greece’s president Prokopis Pavlopoulos on the accord.
• Macedonia hopes that resolving the name dispute will help clear the way for it to join the European Union and NATO.
10. Pakistan cruise to easy win against Scotland
• Inspired by brilliant knocks from Sarfraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik, Pakistan cruised to a comfortable 48-run victory in the first of two Twenty20 Internationals against Scotland at the Grange Cricket Club here on June 12, 2018.
• After posting an imposing total of 204-4, Pakistan restricted the hosts to 156-6 to take an unbeatable 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Day by Day Current Affairs (June 13, 2018) | MCQs for CSS, PMS, NTS
