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May 29, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. PSX’s first foreign CEO resigns
• Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Richard Morin, the first foreigner to head the country’s main bourse, resigned from the post on May 28, 2019 after he was served a notice for allegedly running his own wealth management company in Canada.
• Richard Morin’s resignation has been accepted by the Board of Directors (BoD) of the PSX.
• It was revealed that Richard Morin was served a show-cause notice for breaching the terms of his employment by simultaneously running his own wealth management company which is against the policy of the PSX. However, Morin despite answering the notices has tendered his resignation which was accepted by the BoD with immediate effect.
• Morin who has held several top positions in financial and investment houses is the second foreigner to resign as CEO of a major Pakistani institution. In the past, a German CEO of Pakistan National Airlines also left his job after corruption charges were brought against him.
• Morin earned Bachelors in Economics in 1982 from University of Montreal and Masters in Business Administration in 1988 from McGill University. He also passed “Canadian Securities Course” in 1984 and “Partners, Directors and Officers Examination” in 2000 from Canadian Securities Institute. Recently, he has also passed “Chief Compliance Officer Examination”.
2. PM to attend 14th OIC Summit in Makkah on 31st
• Prime Minister Imran Khan will attend the 14th Summit of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Saudi Arabia’s City Makkah on May 31st.
• The OIC session is very important to discuss the Middle East conflict and also the proposed Peace Plan to diffuse the situation.
• Prime Minister Imran Khan will represent Pakistan at the OIC Summit titled ‘Makkah Summit: Together for the Future”, hosted by Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which aims at developing a unified stance of Muslim leaders on rising tension in the Gulf.
3. WHO team arrives to control HIV in Larkana
• At the request of the ministry of health, a team of experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) arrived in Pakistan May 28, 2019 to control outbreak of HIV in Larkana.
• A statement issued by the WHO said that such cases were first reported on 25th April, while a major HIV screening programme was started on 28th April. It was expanded on May 8 with deployment of additional health workers and the testing was ongoing, it said.
• Following its extensive deliberations with the health authorities of the provincial government and other stakeholders engaged to handle the situation the team will reportedly arrive in Larkana in a day or two.
• So far, more than 600 HIV cases have been identified. Majority of the affectees are children and youth. The ill-fated children are mostly below five years of age. Prior to this outbreak, there were over 1200 children diagnosed with HIV who are receiving anti-retroviral treatment in the country, the statement said. On 16th May, local authorities had established a new anti-retroviral treatment clinic for children in Larkana.
4. Ahmed Saeed promoted to rank of Vice Admiral
• Rear Admiral Ahmed Saeed of Pakistan Navy has been promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral with immediate effect.
• Vice Admiral Ahmed Saeed got commission in Pakistan Navy in 1985. The Flag Officer is a graduate of Pakistan Navy War College Lahore, National Defence University Islamabad and has also qualified Senior Naval Command Course from China.
• The Admiral has an illustrious career with vast experience of various Command and Staff appointments. His major Command appointments include Commanding Officer Pakistan Navy Submarine and Commander 5th Submarine Squadron. His major staff appointments include Chief Staff Officer to Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST), Director Submarine Operations, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) at Naval Headquarters and Director General Joint Warfare & Training at Joint Services Headquarters, Islamabad. The Admiral is currently performing the duties of Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff Project-II at Islamabad. In recognition of his meritorious services, the Admiral was awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Military), according to the officials
5. Agreement signed for `innovation lab`
• A tripartite letter of agreement was signed by the government of Balochistan, the University of Balochistan (UoB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on May 28, 2019 to launch an `innovation laboratory` to support the provincial government identify solutions aimedto accelerate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The letter of agreement was signed by provincial Finance Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, UoB vice-chancellor Dr Javed Iqbal and Ignacio Artaza of the UNDP.-Staff Correspondent
May 29, 2019: International Current Affairs
6. Taliban meet Afghan leaders, link peace to US pullout
• A Taliban delegation including the group`s top political adviser met senior Afghan politicians in Moscow on May 28, 2019, saying they were committed to peace in Afghanistan, but insisting that international forces must leave the country for peace to be agreed, amid gathering diplomatic efforts to end the 18-year war.
• In a message the Taliban have not altered since talks with the US started last autumn, Taliban cofounder and political leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said the insurgents want an end to 18 years of conflict but would only sign a deal after foreign forces quit Afghanistan.`The Islamic Emirate wants peace, but the first step is to remove obstacles to peace and end the occupation of Afghanistan,` Baradar said in a rare televised appearance, in what seemed to be a calculated move to establish his legitimacyas one of the main public faces of the Taliban, at the start of the two-day meeting marking 100 years of diplomatic ties between Russia and Afghanistan.
• The Taliban, ousted by US-backed forces weeks after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, refer to themselves as the Islamic Emirate.
7. Sri Lanka signs port deal with Japan, India
• Sri Lanka on May 28, 2019 announced it is entering into partnership with India and Japan to develop a deep-sea container terminal next to a controversial $500-million Chineserun container jetty in Colombo harbour.
• The state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) had been signed between the three countries to develop what is known as the East Terminal of the Colombo port.
• The SLPA said it will retain 51 per cent of the company that will run the terminal while the rest will be owned by India and Japan. It gave no further details of the costs of the project.
8. Two polio cases reported in Africa
• Two cases of polio have been reported in the Central African Republic, the World Health Organisation said in a report on May 28, 2019, the latest setback for global efforts to eradicate the crippling disease.
• The cases, reported to the WHO on May 24, were caused by `vaccine-derived` polio rather than the wild type of the virus that still circulates in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• `There is a high risk of transmission of the virus as both cases were among internally displaced persons [in an area] with an estimated population of 8,000,` the report said.`The two cases had no previous history of vaccination for polio. Vaccination coverage in the affected district is 50pc with insecurity being one of the main obstacles to access.` Latest figures from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative show there have been 10 vaccine-derived polio cases this year: eight in Nigeria, one in Somalia and one in Democratic Republic of Congo. Pakistan and Afghanistan have reported 24 cases of the wild type.
9. Papua New Guinea in crisis as PM stalls resignation
• Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill stalled his announced resignation and took legal action to prevent a vote of no confidence May 28, 2019, deepening the country’s political crisis.
• The veteran leader launched what appeared to be a last-gasp bid to cling on to power, pressing the Supreme Court to thwart a planned parliamentary vote to remove him from office.
• Facing mounting criticism, O’Neill on Sunday announced that he would step down, but has so far avoided formally submitting his resignation to the country’s governor general.
May 29, 2019: Sports Current Affairs
10. Pakistan to host 2020 Asia Cup
• The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in its meeting in Singapore on May 28, 2019 reasserted its decision to award the 2020 Asia Cup to Pakistan, casting serious doubts on the participation of defending champions India. The tournament, which may be organised in T20 format, will be held in September ahead of the World T20 in Australia.
• It was also decided in the meeting that the tournament will be shifted to another venue if diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan do not improve. India had defeated Bangladesh in the final of the previous edition held in the United Arab of Emirates (UAE).
• The ACC decided Pakistan will continue to be the hosts unless the situation demands otherwise. The venue can be changed as it was done a couple of years ago when the event was shifted from India to the UAE. India last played on Pakistan soil in 2008. The Mumbai terror attack later that year meant the tour turned out to be India’s last visit to the country.
Very fruitful informations.