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November 29, 2018: National Current Affairs
1. Prime Minister lays foundation stone of Kartarpur Corridor
• Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 28, 2018 laid the foundation stone of the Kartarpur corridor and announced that his government and the army wanted a `civilised relationship` with India, declaring that Islamabad would move two steps forward if New Delhi took one step.
• The long-awaited corridor, connecting Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur area of Narowal district to Dera Baba Nanak in India`s Gurdaspur district.
• `Whenever I visited India, people would tell me that the Pakistan army is not interested in peace… I am telling you that I, the PM, our party, other political parties, our army we are all on the same page in wanting to establish a civilised relationship with India,` Mr Khan reiterated.
• While the historic event was under way, the Indian media reacted strongly when Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa shook hands with a Sikh pilgrim, who had earlier stopped an Indian diplomat from visiting a Gurdwara in Lahore.
2. Indigenous multi-role drone unveiled in IDEAS
• Day two of the 10th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) 2018 on November 28, 2018 was witness to the unveiling of a new indigenous multi-role drone built by Global Industrial and Defence Solution (GIDS).
• The drone was introduced by Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, one of the chief guests of the exhibition being organised under the aegis of the Defence Export Promotion Organisation at the Karachi Expo Centre.
• Named Shahpar, the drone is capable of flying at an altitude of 17,000 feet for up to seven hours. GIDS describes Shahpar as a medium-range tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with autonomous take-off and landing. It is said to be able to carry various types of payloads integrated for reconnaissance and day and night surveillance.
• Shahpar`s other features include accurate lateral, longitudinal trajectory control, mission planning, management and control, geo-referencing and geo-pointing for terrestrial targets.
• The drone`s cameras can focus up to a radius of 250 kilometres and can operate in any weather.
3. Justice Athar Minallah sworn in as IHC CJ
• Justice Athar Minallah on November 28, 2018 assumed the office of Islamabad High Court (IHC) chief justice.
• After taking oath to his office, he appointed Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani as the inspection judge for the lower courts and Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb as the inspection judge for special courts.
• Justice Minallah`s oath was administered by President Dr Arif Alvi at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad and.
• Justice Minallah is the third chief justice of the IHC since it was established in Jan 2011.
• The outgoing chief justice, Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi, retired on Nov 27 after attaining the age of superannuation.
4. Kamila Shamsie wins London Hellenic Prize
• British Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie has bagged the London Hellenic Prize 2017 and was awarded a cash prize of £10,000 for her seventh novel, Home Fire.
• The prize, which is given to the best book inspired by or relating to Greece, celebrates `the cultural cross fertilisation of the Greek and English-speaking worlds`.
• Home Fire is a contemporary re-imagining of the Greek tragedy Antigone that follows three orphaned siblings, elder sister Isma and twins Aneeka and Parvaiz, as the latter leaves them to work for ISIS.
• `Upon conclusion of a heated debate in the grounds of New College, Oxford, Kamila Shamsie was chosen as the winner of the2017 Prize for her novel, Home Fire, published by Bloomsbury,` reads the London Hellenic Prize website.
• Home Fire has also won the Women`s Prize for Fiction 2018
5. Senate body passes bill allowing organ donation
• The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services (NHS) on November 28, 2018 passed a bill which will make it possible for people to donate organs.
• Titled The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill, 2018, the proposed law was moved by Senator Mian Mohammad Ateeq Sheikh. It suggests CNICs should indicate if a person is an organ donor.
• Sri Lanka has earned respect as the largest eye cornea donor across the world and that Pakistan gets eye cornea donations from various countries.
6. Kalasha culture listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage
• The Suri Jagek practice of Pakistan`s indigenous Kalasha people has been approved by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for inclusion in this year`s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH), it emerged on November 28, 2018.
• The nomination was accepted by the UNESCO`s Inter-governmental Committee for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage during its 13th session being held in Port Louis, Mauritius. The 2018 list also includes cultural heritage in Kenya, Algeria, Cambodia, Syria, Egypt and Azerbaijan.
• The 24-member committee`s session, which began earlier this week and will conclude on December 1, 2018, discussed several issues that are important for the safeguarding of living heritage around the world and approved the 2018 list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
• The UNESCO committee accepted Pakistan`s nomination that `as a ruling custom, integral to the formation of the traditional luni-solar calendar dictating times for festivals, feasts and socialevents, as well as animal husbandry and agriculture of the Kalasha and Muslim community residing in the three valleys, consider Suri Jagek to be an integral part of their Intangible Cultural Heritage`.
7. Veteran actor Arshad Durrani passes away
• Veteran television, radio and stage artiste Arshad Durrani passed away in Lahore on November 28, 2018. He was 83.
• He was among the acting troupe of Ajoka Theatre and his stage play `Lo Phir Basant Ayee` was appreciated for his star performance as a kite-maker.
• Arshad Durrani had been suffering from cancer for the last few years. He was admitted to the CMH last week but his health deteriorated and he passed away on November 28, 2018.
• Born in Lahore in 1935, he was the son of scholar and journalist Maulana Tajwar Najeebabadi.
November 29, 2018: International Current Affairs
8. Biggest coral reseeding project launched on Great Barrier Reef
• Scientists have launched the largest-ever attempt to regenerate coral on the endangered Great Barrier Reef by harvesting millions of the creatures` eggs and sperm during their annual spawning.
• The researchers said on November 28, 2018 they plan to grow coral larvae from the harvested eggs and return these to areas of the reef which have been badly damaged by climate-related coral bleaching.
• This is the first time that the entire process of large scale larval rearing and settlement will be undertaken directly on reefs on the Great Barrier Reef.
• The `Larval Restoration Project` launch was timed to coincide with the annual coral spawn on the reef, which began earlier this week and will last only about 48 to 72 hours.
9. Chinese geneticist reveals another `potential` gene-edited pregnancy
• A Chinese scientist at the centre of an ethical storm over what he claims are the world`s first genetically edited babies said on November 28, 2018 he is proud of his work and revealed there was a second `potential` pregnancy as part of the research.
• He Jiankui, an associate professor at Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China, addressed a packed hall of around 700 people attending the Human Genome Editing Summit at the University of Hong Kong.
• `For this case, I feel proud. I feel proudest,` He said, when challenged by several peers at the conference.
• It was unclear whether the pregnancy had ended or not.
November 29, 2018: Sports Current Affairs
10. Hockey WC: India blank South Africa, Belgium battle past Canada
• Hosts India started their Hockey World Cup campaign on a rousing note, blanking South Africa 5-0 in their opening Pool `C` match at a packed Kalinga Stadium here on Wednesday.
• World number five India are eyeing to reclaim the World Cup after 43 years, a title which they won only once way back in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur.
• Belgium began their quest for a maiden men`s World Cup title with a fighting 2-1 win over minnows Canada.
• Ranked third in the world, Belgium took the lead in the third minute through a fine field strike by Felix Denayer before captain Thomas Briels scored in the 22nd with a brilliant strike after he was set up by Arthur van Doren.
