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May 31, 2018
- Balochistan`s first health policy okayed
- The Balochistan cabinet on May 30, 2018 approved of the first Balochistan Health Policy. It also gave green light to the Balochistan Drugs Rules 2018 which would be sent to the Balochistan Assembly for approval.
- The outgoing provincial cabinet`s last meeting was presided over by Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo, where the cabinet also approved of an amendment made to the Balochistan Civil Servant Act 1974.During the meeting, the cabinet approved of an amendment in the Ship Breaking Rules 1979 under which the fee per ton on the ships will be Rs 800 instead Rs 50.
- The cabinet also approved the Balochistan Revenue Authority Amendment Bill 2018.
- Govt extends export package of Rs195b for 3 years
- The government on May 30, 2018 has extended the export package worth of Rs195 billion for next three years to increase the exports.
- The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, which met with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the chair, has extended the PM Export Package for the next three years i.e. upto 30th June 2021.
- The package aims at improving the competitiveness of the textile and non-textile export sector to continue the export growth in the coming financial years.
- The package was initially approved in January 2017 for a period of 18 months i.e. till June 2018. The package has vitally contributed towards the turnaround in exports in FY 2018 which had been continuously declining since FY2014.
- KP witnesses drop in terror incidents in 2018
- During the first five months of the year 2018, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province has witnessed a significant decrease in the incidents of terrorism and other crimes as compared to the corresponding period last year.
- According to statistics, four incidents of kidnapping for ransom took place during the current year as compared to 11 in 2017. The incidents of kidnapping for ransom dropped by 64 percent, as compared to last year. Similarly, a total of 16 theft and 17 extortion cases occurred during the current year as compared to 19 theft and 35 extortion cases last year.
- Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has adopted offensive-cum-defensive policy for combating terrorism. During the current year, 31 incidents of terrorism took place as compared to 44 incidents in the corresponding period last year, which showed 13 per cent decrease in the terrorism incidents
- US refuses to place religious sanctions on Pakistan: report
- The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCRIF) has again recommended that Pakistan should be declared a `country of particular concern` but the Trump administration, like its predecessors, has refrained.
- The USCIRF has been making this recommendation since 2002 but successive US administrations have continued to ignore their advice on the grounds that the proposed designation will fail to promote religious freedom in the country.
- On Dec 22, 2017, the US Secretary of State placed Pakistan on a Special Watch List for `having engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom`. The move caused speculations in the media that this year the administration may declare Pakistan a country of particular interest, triggering a set of new sanctions. But Pakistan escaped the designation this year as well.
- PTV Parliament channel launched
- Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday said the PTV Parliament channel would telecast live proceedings of both Houses of the Parliament, Standing Committees and would deepen connectivity between public representatives and masses.
- The launch of the channel was a welcoming step, adding, the content of programmes for the channel would be prepared with the assistance of Pakistan Institute of Parliamentary Studies (PIPS).
- This is first phase of the Parliament Channel and in future, it will become a full fledged channel and the next Parliament will have its role to improve its working.
- Nabila Gazanfer given additional charge of DGPR
- Nabila Gazanfer has been given the additional charge of director general public relations, said a notification issued here May 30, 2018.
- She is a grade 19 officer of the DGPR department. Before this, she was serving as Director Administration and Director Coordination in the head office. She also performed duties as DGPR to Inspector General Police for seven years.
- It is worth mentioning that Nabila Ghazanfar is the first woman who has ever been appointed Director Administration. Before this posting, she also worked as Director Electronic Media, Deputy Controller PTV, Liaison Office Karachi and at other posts.
- US governor resigns amid sex scandal, finance probe
- Missouri Governor Eric Greitens – once a rising Republican political star – has resigned amid expanding investigations of a sex scandal and potential violations of campaign finance laws.
- It was a stunning fall from grace for the military veteran and Rhodes scholar once rumored to be considering an eventual run for the presidency.
- The Midwestern US state’s legislature, controlled by the governor’s own party, was in the midst of a special session to consider whether Greitens should be impeached, when the governor announced his resignation would be effective Friday evening.
- Saudi Arabia outlaws sexual harassment
- Saudi Arabia has passed a new law to criminalise sexual harassment, state media said May 30, 2018, less than a month before the conservative kingdom lifts its decades-long ban on women driving.
- The kingdom’s Shura Council, which advises the cabinet, passed a draft law on May 30, 2018 which would introduce a prison term of up to five years and a maximum penalty of 300,000 riyals ($80,000).
- The law has been approved by the cabinet, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. It is “a very important addition to the history of regulations in the kingdom”, Shura Council member Latifa al-Shaalan was quoted as saying in an information ministry statement.
- “It fills a large legislative vacuum, and it is a deterrent,” she added. The new law appears to be in preparation for the historic lifting of the kingdom’s driving ban on women on June 24.
- The move is part of a highly publicised liberalisation drive launched by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has also ended a decades-long ban on cinemas, allowed mixed-gender concerts and clipped the powers of the long-feared religious police.
- Singapore Airlines to launch world’s longest flight
- Singapore Airlines said on May 30, 2018 that it will re-launch the world’s longest commercial flight in October, a journey of almost 19 hours from the city-state to New York, but it will not be available to economy travellers.
- The daily, non-stop journey from Changi to Newark Airport will cover about 16,700 kilometres (10,300 miles) and take about 18 hours 45 minutes, the airline said in a statement.
- The current record holder is Qatar Airways Flight 921 from Auckland to Doha, which takes 17 hours 40 minutes.
- The Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight will use the long-range Airbus A350-900ULR, which will be configured to carry 161 passengers – 67 in business class and 94 in premium economy.
- The airline had flown a similar route from 2004 until 2013 but cancelled it as it fell short of revenue expectations. However, its latest decision comes as carriers look for new sources of revenue in a competitive environment, while long-haul flights often make more cash than those that require stops.
- Musca helps scientists unravel solar system mysteries
- An Australian study has shed new light on the mystery of how the solar system formed in a cloud of gas and dust in space billions of years ago.
- The joint study, led by The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Crete in Greece, unravelled the mystery when examining a star-forming cloud called Musca, which appears as a needle in the southern sky.
- Lead researcher Dr. Aris Tritsis, from the ANU, said the study visualised the 3D shape of Musca, which lies hundreds of light years away from Earth.
- The large gas cloud, formed mainly of molecular hydrogen and dust, stretches 27 light years across the plain of the sky, with a depth of about 20 light years and width up to a fraction of a light year.
- The study, which was part of Tritsis’ PhD thesis, has made use of data from the European Space Agency’s Herschel space telescope.