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 October 24, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. S. Arabia pledges $6bn package to Pakistan

• After weeks of speculation, Saudi Arabia on October 23, 2018 stepped forward with a $6 billion bailout package for Pakistan`s ailing economy.
• The package includes $3bn balance of payments support and another $3bn in deferred payments on oil imports.
• Agreements in this regard were signed on the sidelines of the second edition of the annual Future Investment Initiative (FII) Conference in Riyadh. It showcases economic and investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia as it pursues Vision 2030 for diversifying its economy. The Pakistani delegation was led by Prime Minister.
• This was the prime minister`s second visit to Saudi Arabia in five weeks. The primary objective of both trips was to seek financial assistance to deal with impending balance of payments crisis.
• A MoU was signed between the Finance Minister Asad Umar and the Saudi Finance Minister Muhammad Abdullah Al-Jadaan.

2. Justice Anwar sworn in as LHC chief justice

• Justice Muhammad Anwarul Haq on October 23, 2018 took oath as 47th chief justice of the Lahore High Court.
• Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar administered oath to Justice Haq at a ceremony also attended by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar.
• On his arrival at the LHC after the oath taking ceremony, a guard of honour was presented to Chief Justice Haq by a police contingent.
• Later, Chief Justice Haq administered oath to six newly confirmed judges and eight newly appointed additional judges of the high court.
• The confirmed judges include Justice Mujahid Mustaqeem Ahmad, Justice Asjad Javaid Ghural, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh, Justice Jawad Hassan, Justice Muzammil Akhtar Shabbir and Justice Chaudhry Abdul Aziz.
• The newly appointed additional judges include Justice Anwarul Haq Pannu, Justice Farooq Haider, Justice Shakilur Rehman Khan, Justice Muhammad Waheed Khan, Justice Ahmad Raza, Justice Risal Hassan Syed, Justice Asim Hafeez and Justice Sadiq Mahmud Khurram.
• Meanwhile, Chief Justice Haq issued transfer and posting orders of different officers of the court. According to a notification, Registrar Bahadar Ali Khan has been relieved from the position while District & Sessions Judge Shakeel Ahmad has been posted as registrar.

3. Father`s name not necessary on identification documents, SC told

• Senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan on October 23, 2018 suggested it was not necessary to display the name of the father on the identification documents provided such information was available in the official records and databases.
• `In the present age, identification documents and databases are computerised and CNICs issued by Nadra [National Database and Registration Authority] contain microchips,` the counsel explained, adding that the passports issued by the DG Passports were also machine-readable.
• `Persons are identified through thumb impressions, facial recognition technology and retina scans at all major airports in Pakistan and abroad,` said Mr Khan, who was appointed amicus curiae by the Supreme Court in the unusual case of a 22-year-old girl seeking removal of her father`s name from the parentage column of her passport and identification documents because he abandoned her in childhood.

October 24, 2018: International Current Affairs

4. Saudi king, crown prince meet Khashoggi family

• Saudi Arabia`s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with family members of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh on October 23, 2018.
• The Saudi rulers met with Khashoggi`s son Salah and brother Sahel at the royal palace.
• King Salman and Prince Mohammed offered their condolences to the family of the Saudi journalist.
• Khashoggi a Washington Post contributor and critic of the crown prince was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct 2.
• After more than two weeks of vehemently denying Khashoggi was dead, the Saudi government on October 20, 2018 said he was killed in a fight inside the consulate and said the murder was not state-sanctioned.

5. Erdogan urges Riyadh to punish Khashoggi`s killers

• Turkey`s president on October 23, 2018 dismissed Saudi Arabia`s efforts to blame the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on rogue operatives, calling it a `planned, savage killing`, and called upon Riyadh to punish those responsible, no matter how highly placed.
• But Tayyip Erdogan stopped short of mentioning Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the powerful de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia who some US lawmakers accuse of ordering the killing of the Washington Post columnist.
• Turkish investigators meanwhile found some of Khashoggi`s personal possessions during a search of a Saudi consulate vehicle in Istanbul on October 23, 2018.
• Erdogan said the person who orchestrated the killing must `be brought to account`. The comments were his most explicit yet in a case that has sparked global outrage.
• Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi, a US resident and critic of the crown prince, was killed and dismembered inside the consulate by Saudi agents on Oct 2. Turkish sources say authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the killing. Erdogan madeno reference to any audio recording.
• `Intelligence and security institutions have evidence showing the murder was planned,` Erdogan told members of his AK Party in parliament

6. New US-led sanctions target Iran-Taliban ties

• The US Treasury and allies in the Gulf took aim at Iran`s support for the Taliban on October 23, 2018 with new sanctions against nine individuals from both countries.
• The Riyadh-based Terrorist Financing Targeting Centre (TFTC) said the sanctions aimed to `expose and disrupt Taliban actors and their Iranian sponsors that seek to undermine the security of the Afghan Government.` The list included two Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials identified as Mohammad Ebrahim Owhadi and Esma`il Razavi.
• According to a TF TC statement the two involve d in providing training, financial and logistical support to the Taliban.

7. France`s ban on Islamic veil violates human rights: UN

• The UN Human Rights Committee said on October 23, 2018 that France`s ban on full-face Islamic veil was a violation of human rights and asked it to review the legislation.
• France had failed to make the case for its ban, the committee said, giving Paris 180 days to report back what actions it had taken. The panel`s findings are not legally binding but could influence French courts.
• The panel of 18 independent experts oversees compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
• Implementation of its decisions is not mandatory, but under an optional protocol of the treaty, France has an international legal obligation to comply `in good faith`.
• There was no immediate reaction from French authorities.

8. World`s oldest intact shipwreck found in Black Sea

• An ancient Greek trading ship dating back more than 2,400 years has been found virtually intact at the bottom of the Black Sea, the world`s oldest known shipwreck, researchers said on October 23, 2018.
• The vessel is one of more than 60 ship wrecks identified by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project including Roman ships and a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet.
• During the three-year project, researchers used specialist remote deep-water camera systems previously used in offshore oil and gas exploration to map the sea floor.

9. China opens mega-bridge linking Hong Kong to mainland

• China on October 23, 2018 opened the world`s longest sea-crossing bridge linking Hong Kong to the mainland, a feat of engineering carrying immense economic and political significance.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a ceremony in the city of Zhuhai to open the 55-kilometre bridge linking it to the semiautonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Digital fireworks exploded on a screen behind him as leaders of the three cities watched.
• The $20 billion bridge took almost a decade to build while incurring major delays and cost overruns. It includes an undersea tunnel allowing ships to pass through the Pearl River delta, the heart of China`s crucial manufacturing sector.
• The bridge forms a physical link between the mainland and Hong Kong, an Asian financial hub that was handed over from British to Chinese control in 1997 with the assurance it would maintain its own legal and economic system for 50 years.

October 24, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

10. Sana Mir becomes top-ranked ODI bowler

• Former Pakistan captain Sana Mir`s impressive performance with the ball in the One-Day International series against Australia has catapulted her to the top of the ICC women`s ODI rankings for bowlers.
• The off-spinner who reached a career-best 663 points swapped places with Australia`s Jess Jonassen, who slipped to the fourth position.
• She also overtook South Africa`s Marizanne Kapp and Australia pacer Megan Schutt, who is placed second with 660 points.
• Mir finished the three-match series as the highest wicket-taker with seven scalps boasting figures of three for 53, one for 57 and three for 26.
• For Pakistan, Nahida Khan is the topranked batsman on the 25th position after scores of 17, 66 and 37 in the ODI series