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June 14, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. PM arrives in Bishkek to attend SCO summit
• Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on June 13, 2019 to attend the 19th meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The prime minister met the Kyrgyz president to discuss bilateral relations and had an informal interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• It was a brief meeting which took place when the two leaders were walking to the venue of a dinner, which was attended by other dignitaries scheduled to participate in the conference.
2. In a first, Balochistan PA to set up daycare centre
• Women parliamentarians can now bring along their children to the assembly as the provincial government has decided to set up a daycare centre on the premises of the legislature.
• During the last session, Balochistan Awami Party MPA Mahjabeen Shireen was criticised by fellow lawmakers for bringing her child to the assembly session.
• The MPA had cited women politicians of other countries taking their children to parliament sessions so thought it would be the same in Pakistan. However, to her disappointment, Ms Shireen was informed that bringing chil-dren to the assembly was against the law.
• Following the negative response from the provincial political circle, Ms Shireen said that she had decided to run a campaign to establish daycare facilities in assemblies as well as in all government departments.
3. US navy ship Mason sails off
• The United States Navy Ship (USS) Mason an Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer which was on a visit to Karachi, sailed off on June 13, 2019 after attending various harbour events. Upon arrival, the Mason was received with traditional warmth and cordiality, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Navy.
• Pakistan and the US enjoy friendly relations based on mutual interests and cooperation. Both share common views on keeping the sea lanes open for seafarers and have taken concrete steps for ensuring maritime security in the region.
• The Pakistan Navy in line with the government`s policy has always contributed significantly towards safety, security and freedom of navigation at high seas. In the same context, the Pakistan Navy has participated in the Coalition Maritime Campaign Plan since 2004. Thereafter, the Pakistan Navy took the Regional Maritime Security Patrols initiative for ensuring maritime security across the region.
4. Pak Army wins UK drill contest
• Pakistan Army won international military drill competition known as Pace Sticking Competition held at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, UK, on June 13, 2019.
• The Pakistan Army`s team has been winner for the consecutive two years.
• Last year, the army participated for the first time in the event.
• A Pakistan Military Academy team represented Pakistan Army in the competition
5. Punjab presents Rs2.16tr budget today
• The Punjab government is all set to present its budget on June 14, 2019 (today) for the financial year 2019-20, having an estimated total outlay of Rs2.16 trillion, which includes development investment of something between Rs425bn and Rs450bn.
• The Punjab government`s estimated total budget outlay is 6.65pc higher than the original estimates for the ongoing 2018-19 financial year.
• It is learnt that the Punjab government is putting a major thrust on infrastructure and social sectors that may take a big share of the pie, at least 55pc of the total development budget.
• Ahead of the budget session at the Punjab Assembly, the Punjab Cabinet will meet in the morning and approve the budget for 2019-20 and finance bill 2019.
6. Sukhera removed from post of tax ombudsman
• The law ministry removed Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera from the post of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) by de-notifying his appointment on June 13, 2019.
• A notification issued by the ministry said: `In pursuance of President Secretariat (Public) U.O. No 5 (106)/L&J/Dir (Coord-V)/2019 dated June 03, 2019, Ministry of Law and Justice Notification of even number dated August 31, 2018 regarding appointment of Mr Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera (retired PSP/BS-22) as the Federal Tax Ombudsman is hereby withdrawn ab initio.
• According to the Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance 2000, the president appoints FTO for a period of four years.
June 14, 2019: International Current Affairs
7. Two oil tankers attacked in Gulf of Oman
• Two oil tankers were attacked and left adrift on June 13, 2019 in the Gulf of Oman, driving up oil prices and stoking fears of a new confrontation between Iran and the United States.
• The White House said US President Donald Trump had been briefed on the issue, after Washington accused Tehran of being behind a similar incident on May 12 when four tankers were attacked in the same area, a vital oil shipping route.
• Russia was quick to urge caution, saying no one should rush to conclusions about June 13, 2019`s incident or use it to put pressure on Tehran, which has denied the US accusations.
8. Iran rejects talks with US despite Japan PM`s mission
• Iran`s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 13, 2019 categorically ruled out talks with US President Donald Trump, despite an unprecedented Japanese mission aimed at defusing tensions between Washington and the Islamic Republic.
• Iran `has no trust in America and will not in any way repeat the bitter experience of the previous negotiations with America, Khamenei said in comments published by his official website.
• They came after he met with Japan`s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe making an unprecedented visit to Iran the first by a Japanese premier since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
9. Russia uncovers 40,000-year-old wolf head in ice
• About 40,000 years ago, a wolf died in what we know as Siberia. Now its severed head has been found, and because of the freezing conditions, it is so well preserved that its fur, teeth, brain and facial tissue are largely intact.
• A Yakutia resident, Pavel Yefimov, found the head last summer on the banks of the River Tirekhtyakh, close to the Arctic Circle in the region of Yakutia, local media outlet the Siberian Times reported. The head was handed over to the Science Academy of Yakutia. They sent samples and measurement data abroad and with help from colleagues in Japan and Sweden determined its age as approximately 40,000 years, the Siberian Times reported.
10. NASA renames street for black women mathematicians
• Nasa has renamed the street outside its Washington headquarters to honour three black female mathematicians whose pioneering work on the agency`s early space programme was chronicled in the film Hidden Figures.
• Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson provided pivotal contributions to space flight research from the 1940s through to the 1960s, when the United States first sent men to orbit and then walk on the Moon.
• Despite their achievements, all three had to confront the racial segregation of the era.
• They were among dozens of African Americans, both male and female, who worked as mathematicians and physicists for the US space programme, even as they were forced to use separate bathrooms from whites, and were barred from the same restaurants and schools frequented by whites.
