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September 16, 2018: National Current Affairs
1. Pakistan ready to train Afghan law enforcers: FM
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in his maiden visit to Kabul underscored the need for enhanced coordination between the two countries in counterterrorism efforts with an offer to train personnel of Afghan police and other law enforcement agencies at Pakistani institutions.
The foreign minister during his visit met Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah and held delegation-level talks with his Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani.
Mr Qureshi conveyed to the Afghan leadership that the new government in Islamabad attached importance to its relations with Afghanistan and would work towards further deepening cooperation in the fields of trade, development and connectivity.
The visit provided an opportunity to set out the contours of the new government`s future engagement with Afghanistan to build mutually beneficial relationship and enhance cooperation between the two countries.
2. Punjab Governor House opens for families
The governor houses in Lahore and Murree will be open for public on September 16, 2018 (today).
Initially, the Governor Houses are being opened for families from 10am to 6pm.
Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, his wife Parveen Sarwar and MNA Sadaqat Abbasi will welcome the visiting families in Murree, while Punjab ministers and MPAs will greet people in Lahore.
In Lahore, the families will be allowed entry to the Governor House from its Anarkali gate on Kashmir Road. At least the head of a family will be required to display his identity card for security reasons.
The families will be allowed to visit the zoo, lake and other areas of the Governor House except the main building housing offices. The visitors will be allowed to park their vehicles inside the premises.
3. Taliban ex-commander shot dead in Bannu
Unknown armed men gunned down a former Taliban commander and escaped the scene here on September 15, 2018, police said.
According to details, unidentified miscreants opened indiscriminate fire on former Taliban commander Gul Muhammad alias Qari Saifullah in Bannu Township killing him on the spot. The attackers fled the scene after committing the murder and the body was shifted to hospital for postmortem. The police after registering a case against unknown assailants have started an investigation
4. Pakistan ranked 150th in UN’s Human Development Index
Pakistan was placed at 150 among 189 countries in UN’s 2018 Human Development Index’s (HDI) annual ranking that is measured by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income.
The HDI forms part of the Human Development Report (HDR) 2018, a flagship study produced annually by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which was released September 14, 2018.
The report is 28th in a series which began in 1990. The first UNDP Human Development Report (HDR) was prepared and launched under the leadership of the late Dr. Mahbubul Haq, a former Pakistan finance minister.
In other South Asian countries, India ranked at 130 on the index; Bangladesh: 136; Sri Lanka: 76; Maldives: 101; Nepal: 149, and Bhutan 130.
During the period, Pakistan’s HDI value was 0.562; life expectancy 66.6 years; average years of schooling 5.2 years and gross national income per capita $5,311.
Oil-rich Norway, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland and Germany led the ranking, while Niger, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Chad and Burundi have the lowest scores in the HDI’s measurement of national achievements in health, education and income.
September 16, 2018: International Current Affairs
5. Turkey-Russia discord over Idlib defers regime offensive, for now
Disagreement between Turkey and Russia over how to tackle the Syrian rebel stronghold of Idlib seems to have deferred a looming regime offensive on the province.
Russia and Turkey are on opposite sides of the conflict, but key global allies.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian and Iranian leaders Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on September 7 to discuss Syria, just as a major assault by Russia-backed regime forces on Idlib appeared imminent.
But discord at the summit between Erdogan and Putin, in a rare scene captured on camera, may have prompted Russia to postpone the Idlib strike so as not to provoke Ankara, which is fiercely opposed to a military option.
Turkey, which backs rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, co-sponsors – with regime allies
Russia and Iran – the so-called Astana talks launched in January 2017 in the quest for a lasting ceasefire.
6. Nigeria’s finance minister resigns over forgery
Nigeria’s finance minister Kemi Adeosun resigned in a letter to President Muhammad Buhari September 15, 2018 over the alleged forgery of a document exempting her from compulsory national service.
Adeosun, 51, said she was quitting to protect the integrity of the government.
“I have, today, become privy to the findings of the investigation into the allegation made in an online medium that the Certificate of Exemption from National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) that I had presented was not genuine,” the embattled minister said in her letter.
“This has come as a shock to me and I believe that in line with this administration’s focus on integrity, I must do the honourable thing and resign,” said Adeosun, appointed by Buhari in 2015.
Adeosun is credited with helping Nigeria out of recession, plugging leakages in finances, and shoring up foreign reserves.
7. Nasa satellite launched to measure Earth`s ice changes
A Nasa satellite designed to precisely measure changes in Earth`s ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice and vegetation was launched into polar orbit from California early on September 15, 2018.
A Delta 2 rocket carrying ICESat-2 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 6:02am and headed over the Pacific Ocean.
The mission in particular will advance knowledge of how the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contribute to sea level rise.
The melt from those ice sheets alone has raised global sea level by more than 1 millimetre (0.04 inch) a year recently, according to Nasa.
The mission is a successor to the original Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite that operated from 2003 to 2009. Measurements continued since then with airborne instruments in Nasa`s Operation IceBridge.
September 16, 2018: Sports Current Affairs
8. Karachi to host next year`s PSL final on March 17
Karachi will host next year`s final of the Pakistan Super League on March 17, the Governing Council of the PSL decided at a meeting held at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
It was also decided that PSL 2019 will start on Feb 14, 2019 in the UAE and will move to Pakistan for the last eight matches of the tournament, with the final taking place in Karachi on March 17.
Karachi also hosted this year`s PSL final held in March while Lahore had hosted the final of the second edition in 2016.
9. Mushfiqur helps Bangladesh thump Sri Lanka
Senior batsman Mushfiqur Rahim smashed a brilliant career-best hundred to steer Bangladesh to an emphatic 137-run victory over Sri Lanka in the opening Asia Cup match in Dubai on September 15, 2018.
The former captain`s 150-ball 144 with 11 fours and four sixes lifted Bangladesh from a precarious 1-2 in the first over to 261 after they won the toss and batted in the Group B match.
Sri Lanka, who have won five Asia Cup titles, had lost half of their side for 60 in the 17th over before being bowled out for 124 in 35.2 overs, succumbing to their second-worst defeat against Bangladesh in 45 one-day internationals.
Sri Lanka`s worst defeat against Bangladesh was a 163 run loss at Dhaka earlier this year.
10. Football: Maldives beat India 2-1 to clinch SAFF Cup title
Maldives were crowned as the champions of South Asia after they beat India 2-1 in the SAFF Cup final at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on September 15, 2018.
Ibrahim Mahudhee Hussain and Ali Fasir scored for the Red Snappers who clinched their second SAFF title after previously winning it in 2008 Substitute Sumeet Passi`s injury time strike to make it 2-1 for India proved nothing more than a consolation for Stephen Constantine`s U-23 side.
Both sides started with the same line-ups which featured in the respective semi-finals with Lallianzuala Chhangte remaining the only exception after he was suspended following a red card in the 3-1 win against Pakistan.
