Day by Day Current Affairs (June 14, 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 14, 2018

1. Provincial set-ups reshuffled in run-up to polls

• The caretaker set-up on June 13, 2018 changed the top bureaucracy of the four provinces and the federal capital with a view to conducting fair and free general elections scheduled to be held on July 25.
• Under the decision taken by the federal cabinet, chief secretaries and police chiefs of the four provinces have been changed. The commissioner and the inspector general police of Islamabad have also been changed.
• PUNJAB: Akbar Hussain Durrani has been appointed chief secretary of Punjab by replacing retired Capt Zahid Saeed.
• Dr Kaleem Imam has been appointed inspector general (IG) of Punjab police by replacing retired Capt Arif Nawaz Khan.
• SINDH: Retired Maj Azam Suleman Khan has been transferred as chief secretary of Sindh, replacing Rizwan Memon.
• Amjad Javed Saleemi, has been appointed IG of Sindh police by replacing Allah Dino Khawaja.
• KP: The government has appointed Naveed Kamran Baloch chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He has replaced Mohammad Azam.
• Muhammad Tahir, has been appointed IG of KP police by replacing Salahuddin Khan.
• BALOCHISTAN: Akhtar Nazir will now serve as chief secretary of Balochistan by replacing Aurangzeb Haque.
• Mohsin Hassan Butt has been posted as IG of Balochistan police by replacing Moazzam Jah Ansari.
• ISLAMABAD: Joudat Ayaz has been appointed chief commissioner of Islamabad.
• Retired Lt Jan Muhammad has been chosen for the post of IG of Islamabad. He has replaced Dr Sultan Azam Khan Temuri.

2. World Bank to help build modern water, power infrastructure

• The World Bank has agreed to provide $565 million to Pakistan to help build modern water and power infrastructure and remove supply bottlenecks on an urgent basis at a total cost of $688m.
• The loan agreements were signed on behalf of the government of Pakistan by Secretary Economic Affairs Division Syed Ghazanfar Abbas Jilani while representatives of the government of Sindh and National Transmission Despatch Company (NTDC) signed the agreements of their respective projects and Patchamuthu Illangovan, Country Director, on behalf of the World Bank.
• Under the agreements, the World Bank will provide $565m, including $425m for the NTDC and $140m for the Sindh government.
• The first loan of $425m for the National Transmission Modernisation (Phase-I) Project is designed to increase the capacity and reliability of selected segments of the national transmission system in the country and modernize key business processes of the NTDC.
• The project will support investments in high-priority transmission infrastructure, information and communication technology (ICT), and technical assistance (TA) for improved management and operations.

3. Saudi-led forces launch biggest assault of Yemen war

• A Saudi-led alliance of Arab states launched an attack on Yemen`s main port city on June 13, 2018 in the largest battle of the war, aiming to bring the ruling Houthi movement to its knees at the risk of worsening the world`s biggest humanitarian crisis.
• Arab warplanes and warships pounded Houthi fortifications to support ground operations by foreign and Yemeni troops massed south of the port of Hodeidah in operation `Golden Victory`.
• Fighting raged near Hodeidah airport and al-Durayhmi, a rural area 10km south of the city, media controlled by the Arab states and their Yemeni allies reported.
• The United Nations says 8.4 million Yemenis are on the verge of famine, and for most the port is the only route for food supplies.

4. World Blood Donor Day today

• The World Blood Donor Day will be marked in the country today (June 14, 2018) to pay tribute to the voluntary blood donors for saving millions of lives or improving the quality of people’s life.
• The WBDD also served to encourage healthy people to come forward and donate blood voluntarily and on a regular basis.
• For the last many years, the day is celebrated widely in Pakistan by blood transfusion stakeholders with the increasing participation and collaboration of the World Health Organization

5. Afghan Taliban chief calls for direct talks with US

• Taliban leader Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada has called for direct talks with the United States, stating that occupying forces should leave Afghanistan if they want peace in the country.
• In an Eid message Akhundzada said, the US forces and “other occupying forces” should leave the country so that an independent intra-Afghan government “can take root”.
• “If the American officials truly believe in a peaceful end to the Afghan imbroglio, then they must directly present themselves to the negotiation table so that this tragedy, the destructive effects of which mainly harm the American and Afghan people, can be resolved through talks,” Akhundzada said in the statement.
• On June 7, the Afghan government had announced a week-long ceasefire with the Taliban for Eid. The ceasefire will start “from 27th of Ramazan and will last till fifth day of Eidul Fitr,” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted from an official account, indicating it could run from June 12-19. Following the announcement of temporary ceasefire, the US had said it was ready to participate in talks with the Taliban.

6. US launches another trade case against China

• US President Donald Trump’s Commerce Department announced another trade action involving Chinese imports, with producers of steel propane tanks accused of dumping and unfair subsidies.
• It is the latest in a series of disputes the Trump administration has taken up against Beijing, the largest of which are the looming 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods amid complaints the country is stealing US technology. The frictions with the Asian giant, as well as the latest conflict will allies like Canada and the European Union have threatened to spill over into a global trade war.
• The latest complaint, lodged by US manufacturers in Ohio and Tennessee, argues that China is dumping and unfairly subsidizing the steel cylinders, which allegedly land on the US market at below cost, creating unfair competition for US companies, including two that filed a complaint with the Commerce Department.
• The complaint says China subsidizes production by 55 to 109 percent through a variety of programs including taxes, grants and export credits for nearly $90 million in exports.

7. Georgia’s prime minister resigns after mass protests

• Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili announced his resignation June 13, 2018 after a series of mass protests highlighted a dramatic drop in his government’s popularity.
• In a televised speech, Kvirikashvili cited “a number of fundamental disagreements with the chairman of the (ruling Georgian Dream) party,” billionaire tycoon and former premier Bidzina Ivanishvili, as a reason for his decision.
• Kvirikashvili’s move, after two and a half years in power, comes amid growing popular discontent over his government’s handling of the economy and after mass protests in recent months.

8. US approves sale of Apache attack choppers to India

• The United States government has approved a deal to sell the Indian military six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for $930 million.
• The agreement has been passed to the US Congress for approval, but if no US lawmaker raises an objection the contract is expected to go ahead.
• Boeing and Indian partner Tata have begun to produce Apache fuselages at a plant in India, but June 12, 2018 approval concerns a direct sale of finished products from US manufacturers. The lead contractors are US arms, aviations and engineering giants Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Raytheon. In addition to aircraft, the contract includes night vision sensors, GPS guidance and hundreds of Hellfire anti-armor and Stinger air-to-air missiles.

9. Pakistan in clean sweep against Scotland

• Pakistan completed a clean sweep of their two-match Twenty20 series against Scotland after routing the hosts by 84 runs in the final game at the Grange Cricket Club on June 13, 2018.
• After riding on Shoaib Malik`s undefeated 49 to post 166-6, Pakistan bundled out Scotland for just 82 in 14.4 overs to consolidate their top-ranked spot in the ICC T20 rankings.

10. Kiwi teenager sets batting record in women’s one-day cricket

• New Zealand teenager Amelia Kerr shattered a world batting record in women’s one-day international cricket with a blistering 232 not out against Ireland on June 13, 2018.
• Kerr amassed the record total just days after her team’s 490 for four against Ireland set a record for cricket’s highest-ever one-day international total.
• The 17-year-old, whose average was 29 going into the match, blasted 31 fours and two sixes to surpass the 229 scored by Australia’s Belinda Clark against Denmark in 1997 — three years before Kerr was born. Kerr’s 232 is the third-highest individual score by a man or woman in one-day international cricket history.
• India men’s player Rohit Sharma is at the top of the pile with his 264 scored against Sri Lanka in 2014. New Zealand’s Martin Guptill made 237 against West Indies in 2015. At 17 years and 243 days, Kerr is the youngest double-centurion in international men’s or women’s cricket.