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October 20, 2018: National Current Affairs
1. Time to end Palestine tragedy, Pakistan tells UNSC
- Pakistan has called for pursuing, on an urgent basis, diplomatic solutions to the violence-ravaged parts of the Middle East, saying, “It is time to bring an end to the tragedy of Palestine.”
- “As international efforts to bring an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people have faltered, the burning cauldron of anger and pervasive sense of injustice have inescapably sowed the seeds of animosity and violence in the entire region, fueling instability and intensifying insecurity across the Middle East,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told the UN Security Council on October 20, 2018.
- Speaking in a debate on the situation in the Middle East, the Pakistani envoy said the fundamental tenets of the two-state solution are being systematically dismantled in plain sight of the international community. Long-Standing Security Council resolutions on the status of Jerusalem and Israel’s illegal settlement expansion into occupied territories continued to be flouted.
- She also said that the Israeli decision to dismantle the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar revealed its policy of forcibly displacing Palestinians from their land.
- “This measure takes fresh aim at the roots of Palestinian identity and their existence as a people,” she told the 15-member Council.
2. Portal for e-challans launched
- The Punjab Safe Cities Authority has announced introduction of an online portal for e-challans for the ease of public.
- According to a handout, citizens can now access the portal at “echallan.psca.gop.pk” and by giving their vehicle registration number and CNIC they can view and print e-challans, if any, issued to them.
- COO PSCA Akbar Nasir Khan in a press conference held at authority’s headquarters in Qurban Lines on Saturday said since its beginning, PSCA issued 87,000 e-challans so far and the collection of the same amounted to Rs11 million. The PSCA has notified excise and taxation department about more than 9,000 vehicles record for correction so far.
- Since Sept 23, over 1,000 vehicles have been blacklisted for displaying fake registration numbers; over 100 impounded in police stations for further proceedings. More than 800 e-challans of traffic violation is Lahore have been paid in BoP branches across Punjab. PSCA is poised to include speeding and one-way violations in its imminent e-challaning phase.
October 21, 2018: International Current Affairs
3. S. Arabia admits Khashoggi killed in consulate
- Saudi Arabia said on October 20, 2018 that journalist Jamal Khashoggi had died in a fight inside its Istanbul consulate while King Salman dismissed five officials over the incident, which has sparked an international outcry and thrown Western relations with Riyadh into turmoil.
- A US resident and a Washington Post columnist, Khashoggi was a prominent critic of King Salman`s son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
- US President Donald Trump, who has made close ties with Saudi Arabia a centrepiece of his foreign policy, said in Arizona: `I think it`s a good first step, it`s a big step. Saudi Arabia has been a great ally. What happened is unacceptable.
- He said he would speak with the crown prince, but he also emphasised Riyadh`s importance in countering Iran and the importance of massive US arms sales to Saudi Arabia
4. WHO offers support on human resource management
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has offered technical support to the Punjab Health Department for development of Human Resources for Health (HRH).
- The offer was extended during a meeting of a WHO delegation with Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid here on October 20, 2018.
- WHO delegation leader Dr Jamshed Ahmad introduced to the minister with Dr Mario Robedo Dal Paz, an expert of international repute on health workforce planning, who would be assigned task to establish HRH Observatory for Punjab. He would also help in finalizing the HRH profiling 2018 besides recommendations for provincial HRH strategic framework. The draft Punjab health workforce strategy, being technically vetted by Dr Mario Robedo Dal Poz, was also presented during the meeting.
5. 5th ASEAN defence ministers’ meeting wraps up in Singapore
- The 5th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus wrapped up in Singapore October 20, 2018, with Chinese State Councilor and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe being one of its participants.
- The meeting was attended by the Defence Ministers of ASEAN member countries as well as ASEAN’s eight Plus partners, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States.
- It was chaired by Ng Eng Hen, the Defence minister of Singapore which takes over the chairmanship of ASEAN this year. Wei said in his speech that the Asian region is confronted with severe challenges in combating terrorism, and only concerted efforts would prove to be an effective way to cope with the situation.
- During recent years, the Chinese military has strengthened mutual trust and military exchange mechanism with relevant countries in the region, and will continue to do so in order to safeguard regional stability. The Chinese Defence minister noted that the international arena is witnessing profound changes, and there still exist a lot of destabilizing factors and uncertainties in the world. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposals of creating a community of shared future for mankind and of building an Asian community with shared future provide new ideas to tackle the security dilemma as well as to maintain regional and even global peace and prosperity, Wei added.
- The 5th ADMM-Plus Defence Ministers issued two Joint statements on Preventing and Countering the Threat of Terrorism and on Practical Confidence-Building Measures
6. New chief judge for 9/11 case at Guantanamo
Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis has instructed military judge Douglas Watkins to oversee court proceedings for 9/11 suspects imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, the Pentagon has said. Watkins, a US army colonel, replaces now-retired colonel James Pohl.
As chief judge, Watkins will be responsible for assigning military judges to each case referred to a special military tribunal. The so-called “9/11 Five” – including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – have been locked up at the Guantanamo Bay military prison for years and were first charged in 2008. But an unending slew of legal missteps, issues with military court proceedings and problems stemming from evidence extracted under duress have seen the men’s prosecution morph into a quixotic attempt at justice. The judicial process is complicated by the fact that the prisoners passed through secret CIA prisons, where some were subjected to “enhanced interrogation techniques” – a euphemism for torture – information from which was used to construct the prosecution’s case.
This is especially true in the case of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and subjected to numerous waterboarding sessions – which simulate drowning – prior to being transferred to Guantanamo in 2006
7. Mercury mission to explore origin of Solar System
Is Mercury’s core liquid or solid, and why – on the smallest planet in our solar system – is it so big? What can the planet closest to the Sun tell us about how our solar system came into being?
An unmanned European-Japanese space mission, dubbed BepiColombo, blasted off early October 20, 2018 morning from French Guiana, to probe these and other mysteries.
“BepiColombo is coming like a white knight with better and more precise data,” said Alain Doressoundiram, an astronomer at the Paris Observatory.
“To understand how Earth was formed, we need to understand how all rocky planets formed,” including Venus and Mars, he told AFP. “Mercury stands apart and we don’t know why.”
First, however, the suite of instruments on board the Ariane 5 rocket will have to travel seven years and nine million kilometres (5.6 million miles) to reach their destination.
8. China makes world’s largest amphibious aircraft
China’s independently-developed large amphibious aircraft AG600 completed its first water takeoff and landing in the city of Jingmen in the central province of Hubei on October 20, 2018.
The AG600, codenamed Kunlong, is designed to be the world’s largest amphibious aircraft. It completed its maiden flight in December 2017.
At around 8:51 a.m., the plane took off from the surface of a reservoir near Zhanghe Airport of Jingmen under the command of captain Zhao Sheng and his crew. It landed smoothly and steadily on water after a 14-minute flight.
The AG600, a large-scale special-purpose civil aircraft designed to assist with forest firefighting and water rescues, is the third member of China’s “large aircraft family” following the large freighter Y-20 and large passenger aircraft C919.
October 21, 2018: Sports Current Affairs
9. India outclass Pakistan in Asian Champions Trophy
India simply outclassed Pakistan 3-1 in an Asian Hockey Champions Trophy match currently underway in Oman on October 20, 2018.
It was the second game for both sides with Pakistan coming victorious over South Korea 3-1 in their match while India thrashing Oman 11-0.
Pakistan drew the first blood and maintained their supremacy over their arch-rivals. It was M Irfan Junior who pushed the ball into the net on a rebound from a penalty corner in the opening minute of the first quarter.
The second quarter helped India bounce back as captain Manpreet Singh equalised with a neat strike and Pakistan players going complacent. Manpreet’s goal was soon followed by a smooth manoeuvre by Mandeep Singh, which ensured India a comfortable 2-1 lead.
The third goal came from Dilpreet Singh’s stick in the third quarter of the game, precisely the 42nd minute.
India, who are currently no. 5 in the world rankings, next face Japan on October 21. Pakistan next meet Oman on October 22.
10. Russia’s Kasatkina wins Kremlin Cup
Sixth seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia won her first Kremlin Cup title on October 20, 2018 when she beat Tunisian qualifier Ons Jabeur in a tough three-setter.
The 21-year-old Kasatkina was runner up here last season and this year she had to battle back from a set down to win 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 in two hours two minutes to chalk up her second win over the Tunisian 24-year-old in as many meetings.