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 October 22, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. Indian firing, explosion kill 14 in held Kashmir

• Violence across India-held Kashmir (IHK) left at least 14 people dead on October 21, 2018.
• The victims included six who were killed when an explosion occurred among a crowd protesting against Indian occupation.
• Thousands of demonstrators, some hurling stones, marched on a village in southern Kulgam town where Indian forces were battling an unknown number of armed Kashmiris. Three Kashmiri fighters were shot dead in the exchange but a subsequent explosion at the scene killed five demonstrators.
• As the fighting raged, anti-India protesters tried to reach the site of standoff. They threw stones at Indian forces hoping to help the trapped Kashmiri fighters escape.
• Indian forces fired shotgun pellets and tear gas at the protesters, leaving many injured.
• Pakistan has repeatedly called for resolving the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
• After years of peaceful protest, more and more Kashmiris are once again picking up arms as the Indian authorities have refused to consider their demand for the right to self-determination.
• India has some 500,000 troops deployed in IHK.

2. Cooperation between PAF and UAE air force reviewed

• Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan visited the headquarters of the United Arab Emirates Air Force in Abu Dhabi on October 21, 2018.
• During the meeting, the air chief said excellent mutual cooperation had always been a matter of pride for the two sides.
• The commander of AF&AD lauded the glorious history of PAF and acknowledged the endeavors made by the air force in modernisation and indigenisation of its fleet in recent years.
• Both the dignitaries discussed ways and means to continue and funher enhance exemplary cooperation between the two air forces.

3. The Rebel Optimist bags another international award

• Perween Rahman: The Rebel Optimist has won another international award, this time at the 7th Delhi International Film Festival 2018.
• Directed by Mahera Omar, Perween Rahman: The Rebel Optimist, won the award for best documentary in the category of cinema across the border.
• Of the 600 films received from more than 75 countries, 194 films from 56 countries were shortlisted for final competition in Delhi international film festival. The week-long festival, which kicked off on Oct 14, showcased the 194 films, including five entries from Pakistan. They were two documentaries, Perween Rahman: The Rebel Optimist and Breaking Barriers, a short film Rang Raaz: the Secret of Colour, a film by students Zawaal and a feature film Parchi from Pakistan.

4. Pakistan reopens Chaman border crossing

• Pakistan on October 21, 2018 reopened the friendship gate at the Afghan border in Chaman, resuming trade activities, NATO supplies and the transit trade between the two countries.
• Pakistan had closed the border at Chaman and Torkham on October 19, 2018 in connection with parliamentary elections in Afghanistan that had suspended trade activities in the border town Chaman and Spin Boldak.
• The Afghan government had requested the Pakistani authorities to close the border at Chaman and Torkham.
• Hundreds of trucks carrying NATO supplies and transit trade goods crossed into Afghanistan af ter reopening of the border.
• Pakistan had closed the border soon after the Kandahar Police chief, the governor and intelligence chief of Kandahar and a cameraman were killed in the firing in the Governor House.

5. Salman Sufi receives Mother Teresa Award in India

• International Public Policy and Gender Reforms specialist, Salman Sufi received the prestigious Mother Teresa Award in Mumbai on October 21, 2018.
• This award was conferred upon him by Harmony Foundation and Missions of Charity for the unprecedented work he did to empower women of Pakistan during the last 4 years.
• Salman Sufi who authored the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act 2016 has also conceptualized South Asia’s first One stop help center (VAWC) for Women survivors of Violence.
• The first of which opened in Multan in 2017 and has revolutionized how crimes against women are reported and resolved. Targeting lack of mobility for Women, Mr Sufi is also credited for launching Pakistan’s first campaign for women’s mobility called Women on Wheels, which trained women across Punjab on how to ride motorcycles and take charge of their lives.
• Mr Salman Sufi was former Director General of a Strategic Reforms Unit which for the first time in Pakistan introduced strategy based long term reforms in the fields of Women Empowerment and Public sector development. Instead of relying on short term projects, The SRU worked on comprehensive strategic shift in governance with a team of just 5 people that has paved way for technocrats to work alongside public servants for public benefit but without costing exchequer exorbitant amount of funds

October 22, 2018: International Current Affairs

6. Jordan tells Israel it won`t renew 1994 land deal

• Jordan said on October 21, 2018 it would not extend the 25-year deal that allows Israel to use two tracts of territory along its border just as Israel said it was still planning to negotiate an extension.
• Much of the land in Baquora in the northwestern part of the kingdom and Ghumar in the south is used by Israeli farmers, some of whom were given private land ownership rights and special travel rights under a 1994 peace treaty between the two countries.
• The agreement will expire next year.
• King Abdullah has been under increasing public pressure to end the arrangements with Israel. He told senior Jordanian politicians the kingdom wanted to exercise its `full sovereignty` over the twoareas, Petra state news agency said.

7. Israel reopens border crossings with Gaza

• Israel ordered the country`s goods and people border crossings with Gaza to be opened on October 21, 2018, just four days af ter shuttering them following a Palestinian rocket attack that sparked retaliatory air strikes.
• The move followed efforts to prevent an escalation in violence that has raised fears of a new war between Israel and the Palestinian territory`s Islamist rulers Hamas.
• `The decision comes after a decrease in the violent events in Gaza over the weekend and efforts Hamas made to restrain` demonstrators.
• On October 17, 2018, Lieberman had ordered the closure of the Kerem Shalom goods crossing and the Erez crossing for people, after a rocket from the Palestinian territory hit a home in southern Israel, prompting the Jewish state to strike 20 Hamas targets in Gaza.

8. Putin warns Trump over `dangerous` plan to quit N-deal

• Russia on October 21, 2018 warned US President Donald Trump that his plan to ditch a Cold War-era nuclear weapons treaty with Moscow was a dangerous step.
• Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said this `would be a very dangerous step` and accused the US of risking international condemnation in a bid for `total supremacy` in the military sphere.
• He insisted that Moscow observed `in the strictest way` the three-decade-old Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, known as the INF, while accusing Washington of `flagrant violations`. The treaty was signed in 1987 by the then US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

9. Israel puts off demolition of Bedouin village

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frozen a plan to demolish a strategically located Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank that has drawn international condemnation, his office said on October 21, 2018.
• The surprise move, which came as Israeli forces were completing preparations for the eviction and demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, raised the ire of Netanyahu`s rightwing coalition partners, while the village`s Palestinian residents remained skeptical that an amicable solution was possible.

October 22, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

10. Abbas jumps from 21st to third in ICC rankings

• Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Abbas has taken only 10 Tests to reach third place in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after a stupendous 10-wicket match haul in Abu Dhabi helped his side defeat Australia by 373 runs.
• The 28-year-old has gained 11 slots to reach the top three and has also crossed 800 rating points, matching compatriot Yasir Shah and South Africa all rounder Vernon Philander who also reached that threshold in 10 Tests.
• Three players who reached the 800-point mark in fewer Tests did so in the 19th century England`s Tom Richardson (eight) matches in 1896, Australia`s Charlie Turner (nine) in 1892 and John Ferris (nine)in 1892, who turned out for both England and Australia.
• Abbas, who started the series in 21st position, is the 10th Pakistan bowler to reach 800 rating points. Apart from Abbas and Yasir, the others to breach the 800-point barrier from Pakistan are Fazal Mahmood (16 Tests), Imran Khan and Wasim Akram (both 37), Waqar Younis (12), Mushtaq Ahmed (25), Shoaib Akhtar (29), Mohammad Asif and Saeed Ajmal (both 19).
• Pakistan off-spinner Bilal Asif is another bowler to gain in the latest update, advancing 17 slots to 52nd position, while Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has gained 17 slots to reach 25th place among batsmen after his knocks of 94 and 81 in the second Test.
• Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman has entered the rankings in 68th position after scores of 94 and 66 on debut while Babar Azam (up nine places to a career-best 76th), Australia`s Aaron Finch (up 15 places to 59th), Mitchell Starc (up seven places to 89th) and Travis Head (up five places to 97th) are the others to advance among batsmen.