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October 17, 2019: National Current Affairs
1. Royals arrive in Lahore today
• Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Prince William and Kate Middleton are scheduled to visit Lahore today on the third leg of their visit to Pakistan.
• Punjab Governor Ch Mohammad Sarwar will receive the royal couple at the airport. The royals are scheduled to visit Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, Minar-e-Pakistan, SOS village and National Cricket Academy.
• Meanwhile Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has welcomed the royal couple Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton on the occasion of their visit to Lahore today (October 17, 2019)
2. Dr Moeed takes charge as SPPC chairman
• Renowned expert on international affairs, Dr Moeed Yusuf has taken charge as Chairman of the newly-created Strategic Policy Planning Cell.
• Dr Yusuf is the author of several books and has been affiliated with the world’s leading think tanks and universities for several years. His appointment as Chairman was approved last month.
• Housed in the National Security Division at the Prime Minister’s Office, the SPPC will be responsible for preparing research-based policy input on important national issues for the National Security Committee. As Chairman, Dr Yusuf will be a member of the NSC
3. Air pollution caused 400,000 premature European deaths in 2016: agency
• Poor air quality caused about 400,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2016, the most recent year data is available, and almost every city-dwelling European is exposed to pollution levels that exceed healthy levels, according to a report on October 16, 2019.
• `Air pollution is currently the most important environmental risk to human health,` the European Environment Agency (EEA), the EU`s health agency, said in the report.
• The report`s author, EEA air quality expert Alberto Gonzlez Ortiz, said that while the level of dangerous particles in European cities was dropping, it was not dropping fastenough.
• EU law currently requires countries to assess the level, notably in urban areas, of a range of pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter, and take action if certain limits are hit.
October 17, 2019: National Current Affairs
4. Trump rushes officials to Turkey for emergency talks on Syria
• The Trump administration dispatched its top officials to Turkey on Wednesday for emergency talks to try to persuade Ankara to halt an assault on northern Syria, while Russian troops swept into territory abandoned by Washington in a sudden retreat.
• Robert O`Brien, White House national security adviser since last month, arrived in Turkey aiming to meet Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on October 16, 2019.
• Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are expecting to meet the following day with President Tayyip Erdogan.
• The administration is trying to contain the fallout from Erdogan`s decision to send forces last week to attack Syrian Kurdish militia that were Washington`s close allies.
• Acting last week after a phone call with Erdogan, President Donald Trump swiftly up ended five years of US policy with his unexpected decision to withhold protection from Syria`s Kurds.
5. Kenya opens $1.5bn Chinese-built railway linking Rift Valley town and Nairobi
• Kenya opened a $1.5 billion Chinese-built railway line linking Nairobi to Naivasha on October 16, 2019, despite delays in building an industrial park in the Rift Valley town to encourage freight.
• The extension links to another Chinese funded and built $3.2 billion line between the port of Mombasa and Nairobi that opened in 2017 but is so far underutilised for cargo services.
• Upgrading Kenyan railways has been pan of Beijing`s `One Belt, One Road` initiative, multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects aimed at improving land and maritime trade routes between China and Europe, Asia and Africa.
• Kenya had planned to open an industrial park in Naivasha, offering companies tax breaks for investing in manufacturing, and preferential tariffs for electricity generated in the nearby geothermal fields. But that has been delayed.
6. India`s top court concludes hearings on Ayodhya land dispute
• India`s Supreme Court on October 16, 2019 ordered an end to hearings in a long-running dispute between Hindus and Muslims over a historic place of worship, laying the ground for a verdict that could lead to further divisions.
• Hindus claim the site in the northern town of Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram and want a temple built on the ruins of a historic mosque that was torn down by extremists in 1992, triggering deadly riots across the country.
• Muslims, on the other hand, want the 16th century mosque to be rebuilt and leaders from the two sides have been arguing over the matter for decades.
• `Enough is enough,` Supreme Court`s Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said in a packed courtroom in New Delhi, sitting alongside four other judges.
7. US carried out secret cyber strike on Iran in wake of Saudi Arabia oil attack
• The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran in the wake of the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran.
• The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation took place in late September and took aim at Tehran’s ability to spread “propaganda.”
• One of the officials said the strike affected physical hardware, but did not provide further details. The attack highlights how President Donald Trump’s administration has been trying to counter what it sees as Iranian aggression without spiraling into a broader conflict.
• Asked about Reuters reporting on Wednesday, Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said: “They must have dreamt it,” Fars news agency reported.
8. NASA unveils new spacesuit for next Moon landing
• The US space agency has unveiled the prototype for a new spacesuit that could be worn by the next astronauts on the Moon.
• NASA chief Jim Bridenstine shared a close-up look at the next-generation suits for the agency’s Artemis programme.
• The xEMU prototype suit looks similar to ones used at the International Space Station.
• But Nasa said it had been improved for comfort, fit and mobility on the Moon.
• The new Moon suit, which is known formally as the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), is designed to give the wearer a customised fit whatever their size.
• That would be a significant shift from the current situation. In March, the first all-female spacewalk on the ISS had to be called off because there wasn’t an available suit in the correct size for Nasa astronaut Anne McClain.
October 17, 2019: Sports Current Affairs
9. Barca`s Messi wins third straight European Golden Shoe
• Barcelona forward Lionel Messi picked up a record extending sixth and third consecutive European Golden Shoe award on October 16, 2019 following his outstanding individual 2018-19 domestic campaign.
• The award is presented to the top goal scorer in league football across Europe, with the Argentine finding the net 36 times last season as Barca retained their La Liga title.
• Messi was three ahead of nearest rival Kylian Mbappe, who scored 33 times for Paris St Germain as they won France`s Ligue 1.
• Messi`s sons Thiago and Mateo, presented their father with the trophy supervised by his wife, Antonella Rocuzzo and watched by team-mates, including Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba.
10. Captain among three UAE cricketers charged with corruption
• Captain Mohammed Naveed is one of the three United Arab Emirates cricketers who have been charged with corruption, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on October 16, 2019.
• Batsman Shaiman Anwar and right-arm pace bowler Qadeer Ahmed have also been charged by the ICC, the three players facing a total of 12 counts of breaching the governing body`s anti-corruption rules.
• All three have been provisionally suspended with immediate effect.
• A fourth individual, Mehardeep Chhayakar, was also charged for refusing to cooperate with the ICC.
