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 November 19, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. Pak, UAE agree to forge `strategic economic` ties

• During his one-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on November 18, 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan was assured of improved strategic and economic ties with the Gulf nation, but apparently there was no agreement on an immediate financial assistance.
• The prime minister was expecting to secure a bailout package similar to the one he got from Saudi Arabia to ease a financial crisis.
• However, a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office about Mr Khan`s visit did not mention any monetary assistance from the UAE.
• This was the prime minister`s second visit to the Gulf country in as many months.
• Prime Minister Khan invited Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit Pakistan and the UAE prince accepted the invitation.
• Mr Khan visited the UAE on the invitation of Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces.

2. Faiz fest concludes with massive turnout

• The three-day cultural and literary extravaganza 4th Faiz International Festival concluded at the Alhamra Art Centre, The Mall, on November 18, 2018.
• The festival had a biggest turnout of the attendees on November 18, 2018 as compared to previous two days. All three halls of the centre and the lawns were full of people, not only from Lahore but from other cities as well.
• In a session, titled `Meet the Author: Red Birds,` the panelists were Mohammed Hanif and Navid Shehzad. The moderator was Dr Ali Madeeh Hashmi.

3. Tableeghi Jamaat Emir Abdul Wahab passes away

• Tableeghi Jamaat emir Haji Abdul Wahab passed away on November 18, 2018 after a protracted illness. He was 96.
• The third emir of the global movement for preaching Islam was admitted to a hospital for treatment of dengue fever around a week ago. He was put on ventilator after developing asthma and other respiratory problems.
• Born to a Rajput family in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh (India), in June 1922, Haji Wahab graduated from the Islamia College, Lahore, and joined the revenue department as tehsildar. In 1944, he met Maulana Ilyas Kandhalvi, the founder of the Tableeghi Jamaat, and resigned from the revenue department to devote his life for preaching Islam. After Partition, his family moved to Burewala in Vehari district from India. Soon, he moved close to Raiwind Markaz to give maximum time to the cause he had taken up in a young age.
• In 1992, he was made emir of the Jamaat on the demise of then chief Haji Mohammad Bashir.
• He was ranked 10th among 500 most influential Muslims in the world due to his position in the Jamaat. His name hit headlines late in 2013 when Pakistani Taliban had suggested including him in the committee formed by the government to hold peace talks with the militants.

4. Dispute resolution councils to be set up in Punjab

• In a major breakthrough, the PTI-led government in Punjab is going to make amendments to the Police Order 2002 in order to introduce Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism in the province.
• The home department has sent the proposal to the law department to convert it into a bill which will be presented in the provincial cabinet for approval next week.
• The law department has completed its homework in this regard.
• The basic aim of the formation of the ADR councils is to solve local issues out of court which will lessen the burden on the judiciary and the police. The police will be able to focus on the investigation of criminal and other cases instead of involving itself in petty matters.
• Current Punjab Law Minister: Raja Basharat

November 19, 2018: International Current Affairs

5. Pakistan doesn’t ‘care’ about US: Trump

• US President Donald Trump on November 18, 2018 defended his administration’s decision to stop hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Pakistan, saying the country does not do “a damn thing” for the US and its government had helped Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden hide near its city.
• Referring to Laden and his former compound in Abbottabad, Trump in an interview to Fox News said “You know, living – think of this – living in Pakistan, beautifully in Pakistan in what I guess they considered a nice mansion, I don’t know, I’ve seen nicer.”
• The compound was demolished shortly after US Naval Special Warfare Development Group forces, in a daring helicopter raid, killed Laden there in 2011.
• “But living in Pakistan right next to the military academy, everybody in Pakistan knew he was there,” Trump added. “And we give Pakistan $1.3 billion a year. … (Laden) lived in Pakistan, we’re supporting Pakistan, we’re giving them $1.3 billion a year – which we don’t give them anymore, by the way, I ended it because they don’t do anything for us, they don’t do a damn thing for us,” he said.

6. US votes against UN resolution on Golan`s occupation

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on November 18, 2018 welcomed a US decision to vote for the first time against an annual UN resolution condemning Israel`s occupation of the Golan Heights.
• The United States voted against the United Nations resolution on November 16, 2018, dropping its practice of abstaining.
• The non-binding text was adopted in a General Assembly committee by a vote of 151 to 2, with the US and Israel the only two countries opposing the measure.
• Fourteen countries abstained.
• The resolution declares that the Israeli decision to occupy and annex the Golan was null and void, and calls on Israel to rescind its moves.

7. Iraq`s new president meets Saudi king after visiting Iran

• Saudi Arabia`s King Salman received Iraq`s president in Riyadh on November 18, 2018, a day after the Iraqi official visited the kingdom`s rival, Iran.
• Barham Salih`s back-to-back visits to Iran and Saudi Arabia reflect the delicate balance Iraq seeks to maintain in a region where its two powerful neighbours are battling for supremacy.
• Salih was received at the airport in Riyadh by the province`s governor and other Saudi officials. King Salman held a lunch in honour of the Iraqi president with ministers and high-level princes in attendance.
• Salih, a 58-year-old moderate Kurd elected to the largely ceremonial role last month, was on an overnight visit at the invitation of the Saudi monarch.

8. Washington-Beijing tussle mars APEC summit

• AsiaPacific leaders failed on November 18, 2018 to bridge gaping divisions over trade at a summit dominated by a war of words between the US and China as they vie for regional influence.
• For the first time, APEC leaders were unable to agree on a formal written declaration amid sharp differences between the world`s top two economies over the rules of global trade.
• `You know the two big giants in the room. What can I say?` said host and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O`Neill, conceding defeat.
• Canada`s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted the failure came down to `different visions on particular elements with regard to trade that pre-vented full consensus.

9. Marilyn Monroe’s award fetches record $250,000 at auction

• Marilyn Monroe’s Golden Globe Award sold for a record-breaking $250,000 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, California, auction.
• The 1961 award statue for World Film Favourite Female from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association made history as the highest selling Golden Globe sold at auction.
• Monroe’s raven black two-seater, 1956 Ford Thunderbird, which was auctioned for the first time, fetched $490,000 at Icons & Idols: Hollywood, which took place on Friday and Saturday.
• Monroe, one of the most collectible celebrities, was pictured driving in the car with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, shortly after their June 1956 wedding. The movie star owned the vehicle for six years until shortly before her death in 1962.

10. Hippo skull, dog skeleton stolen from Sydney university

• Rare animal skeletons dating back to 1880 including a hippopotamus skull and a full dog skeleton have been stolen from the University of Sydney. The skeletons were stolen from a museum at the university’s Camperdown campus between Wednesday, November 7 and Thursday, November 8.
• Also stolen was a hawksbill sea turtle skeleton with its shell, and the skeleton of a slow loris, a primate distantly related to a lemur. The skeletons are original specimens that were collected by a natural history dealer and taxidermist from Prague and date back to 1880. Three other skeletons were found outside the museum. “They appear to have been left behind by the offenders after the break-in, along with other items that are being forensically examined by specialist police,” Inner West Police Area Command’s Acting Crime Manager Mark George said.
• Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page