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 November 12, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. Most Pakistanis do not know what the internet is: report

• Around 69pc Pakistani users between the ages of 15 and 65 do not know what the internet is, revealed an information communication technology (ICT) based survey launched last week.
• The survey was conducted by Lirne Asia, a think-tank based in Sri Lanka that carries out research on information communication technology.
• The report is based on a survey of 2,000 households in Pakistan. LirneAsia claims that the sampling methodology was designed to ensure representation of 98pc target population aged 15 to 65 at a national level. Conducted between October December 2017, this demand side survey helps understand how users use or do not use ICT services.
• The 152 million active cellular subscribers mentioned on Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) website, despite a good SIM registration system, tell nothing about the subscribers whether they are men and women, rich or poor and does not really help understand access and usage gaps,` LinreAsia report.

2. Health cards launched for artists in Punjab

• The new government will pay special attention to culture and the promotion of cultural activities, Punjab Information and Culture Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said on November 11, 2018 at the concluding ceremony of the Lok Mela at Lok Virsa.
• The minister said the Punjab government has introduced an artist`s health card with which artists will be able to get free medical treatment worth Rs 400,000 every year.

November 12, 2018: International Current Affairs

3. Alibaba Singles` Day smashes $25bn sales record

• Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd smashed the 2017 record for its Singles` Day sales event on Sunday, surpassing 168 billion yuan ($24.15 billion) sales in under 16 hours and closing the day at 213bn yuan ($30bn).
• Singles` Day, also called `Double 11` is the world`s biggest online sales event, outstripping US shopping holiday Black Friday.
• The Chinese event was originally a novelty student holiday to celebrate being single, countering Valentines Day, but has since grown into a month-long online shopping festival that peaks with a 24-hour sales frenzy on November 11.
• A disproportionately large number of sales are recorded in the first minutes of the 24-hour spending spree, when transactions are recorded for items that have been put on hold.

4. JetBlue launches service from Boston to Havana

• A Jet Blue flight from Boston landed in Havana on November 10, 2018, as the US airline expanded its routes to Cuba despite a drop in American visitors amid tensions between the countries.
• The plane with more than 120 passengers on board was received with flags from both countries at the Jose Marti airport in Cuba`s capital.
• The number of US visitors to the island dropped. A Cuban report shows that in the first quarter of 2018 the number of Americans visiting the island fell by 43 per cent compared to the same period last year.

5. Ukraine rebels elect leaders in defiance of West

• Voters in rebel-held east Ukraine chose new leaders Sunday after Russia defied Western calls not to sabotage peace talks and Kiev urged fresh sanctions against the Kremlin.
• In the Donetsk and Lugansk “People’s Republics” in Ukraine’s industrial east, voters headed to polling stations after a top rebel was killed in a cafe bombing in August.
• Wary of possible violence, separatist authorities tightened security, with gun-toting, camouflage-clad soldiers deployed to ensure order.
• Campaign posters around the Donetsk rebel stronghold called on people to vote “with Russia in your heart.”
• Washington and Brussels had asked Russia not to hold what they call “illegal” polls, saying they will further hamper efforts to end a conflict that has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014. Kiev urged the West to punish Russia for violating a 2015 peace agreement.

6. Dubai Police start training on flying motorbikes

• The flying motorbike is back in Dubai – and you could see the police riding one in the not-too-distant future.
• A year after California-based startup Hoversurf showcased its hover bike at tech expo GITEX in the white and green livery of the Dubai Police, the company has returned with a new model and evidence its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle might be, well, taking off.
• Making good on a deal signed in 2017, Hoversurf has now gifted Dubai Police its first serial production unit of the S3 2019 Hoverbike and has begun training officers to fly it.

7. Link between brain activity, mood disorders discovered

• US scientists at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have found a new pattern of brain activity that may help develop new therapies in the future to treat mood disorders like depression.
• Most human brain research on mood disorders has relied on studies in which participants lie in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner and look at upsetting images or listen to sad stories.
• However, the scientists from UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences recruited 21 patient volunteers with epilepsy who had had 40 to 70 electrodes implanted on the brain’s surface and in deeper structures of the brain to record brain activities for seven to 10 days.
• By using computational algorithms, they matched patterns of brain activity to changes in the patients’ reported mood and analyzed the recordings of brain activity in each patient to identify so-called intrinsic coherence networks (ICNs), which are groups of brain regions where their activity patterns fluctuate at a common frequency.

November 12, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

8. Rain washes away Pakistan`s hopes of series win over Kiwis

• Persistent rain dashed Pakistan`s hopes of beating New Zealand in a one-day series for the first in seven years on November 11, 2018 after the third and final match in Dubai hadtobe abandoned.
• New Zealand, set a daunting 280run target against a potent Pakistan bowling attack, were 35-1 after 6.5 overs when rain halted play.
• That left the series tied at 1-1 after New Zealand won the first match by 47 runs while Pakistan claimed the second by six wickets. Both games were played in Abu Dhabi.
• Pakistan have not beaten the Kiwis in a one-day series since their win in New Zealand in 2011, having lost in 2014 (2-3 in UAE), 2015 (0-2 in New Zealand), in 2016 (0-2 in New Zealand) and in January 2018 (0-5 in New Zealand).

9. Momota wins China Open

• World champion Kento Momota won badminton`s Fuzhou China Open on November 11, 2018 to add another title to his already spectacular season.
• Japan`s world number one survived a spirited challenge from Taiwan`s Chou Tienchen, defeating the fourth seed 21-13, 11-21, 21-16 in 66 minutes.
• The 24-year-old Momota collapsed to the court floor and lay on his back exhausted after finally seeing off Chou.
• Momota has been in scorching form this year, winning the World Championships, the Asia Championships and now four events on the World Tour.

10. Kashima Antlers win Asian Champions League for first time

• Separated from male supporters, hundreds of Iranian women watched as Kashima Antlers of Japan won the Asian Champions League for the first time on November 10, 2018.
• Kashima beat Iranian champion Persepolis 2-0 on aggregate after the second leg ended in a goalless draw at the imposing Azadi Stadium.
• Women have been mainly prohibited from attending men`s games and other sports events in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
• The fact that over 1,000 women could cheer their favorite team and that this took place during Asian football`s most important game of the season makes this occasion even more special.