Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
National, International News & MCQs
NATIONAL
July 16: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah dissolved the board of directors of the Fishermen Cooperative Society and appointed Livestock & Fisheries Secretary Noor Mohammad Leghari its administrator for a period of six months.
July 16: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) ordered grounding of four aircraft of Shaheen Air.
July 17: Rangers raided the Nine Zero headquarters of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and took into custody two senior leaders of the party Kaif-ul-Wara and Qamar Mansoor, the in charge of its coordination committee.
July 17: Army asked the United Nations Military Observers Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to investigate latest ceasefire violations by India along the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary (WB).
July 17: CM Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah extended the Rangers’ stay in the province by one year.
July 22: The Sindh government reallocated portfolios of five cabinet members and announced a major reshuffle in the provincial bureaucracy.
July 22: The Supreme Court (SC) expressed dissatisfaction at the federal government’s report showing a lack of progress on the establishment of the Joint Investigation Directorate (JID) at the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta), the most important organisation tasked to implement the National Action Plan to deal with the menace of terrorism.
After Change of Portfolios
Nisar Ahmed Khuhro
Irrigation; Information
Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani
Education & Literacy
Sharjeel Inam Memon
Archives; Works & Services (additional charge)
Mukesh Kumar Chawla
Information Technology, Public Health Engineering and Rural Development
Dr Sikandar Mandhro
Parliamentary Affairs, Environment and Coastal Development Authority; Cooperation (additional charge)
July 22: Pakistani students and young professionals clinched eight out of 14 awards in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Biannual Congress held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. A delegation of 24 students from Pakistan participated in the biggest event in Asia Pacific region
July 22: The Supreme Court stayed the execution of Christian woman Aasia Bibi and granted her leave to appeal against her conviction on charges of blasphemy.
July 23: Syed Nasir Hussain Shah was administered the oath of office as Sindh’s Minister for Local Government.
July 23: The 3-member Judicial Commission constituted to investigate allegations levelled by the PTI and other parties about rigging in the 2013 general elections declared in its “final report” that despite shortcomings of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the polls were largely “conducted and organised fairly and in accordance with the law”.
July 23: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan announced to accept the report of the Judicial Commission on the 2013 general elections.
July 23: According to a new US survey, Pakistan is among five nations where people’s hopes for a better future have improved in the past one year, registering a 10pc improvement.
Other nations on this list include Nigeria, Argentina, India and Spain.
July 23: A local election tribunal disqualified Jamaat-i-Islami MPA Malik Behram Khan over impersonation in his graduation examination.
July 24: A two-judge bench of the Sindh High Court, headed by Chief Justice Faisal Arab, restrained the provincial authorities from allotting over 21,000 acres of forest land in Sujawal and other districts for industrial purposes and from dispossessing the farmers from there.
July 24: Junaid Zaidi, the rector of Comsats, which initiated the National Testing Service (NTS), told the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology that NTS is a non-profit organisation and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), though it does not have shareholders.
July 24: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) asked the cellular operators to get no objection certificate (NoC) from the security agencies to continue the BlackBerry Enterprises Server (BES) which are going to be shut down after November 30.
July 24: President Mamnoon Hussain gave assent to the Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
July 26: The International Monetary Fund placed Pakistan among the countries that spend 4 to 8 per cent of their GDP on providing energy subsidies.
In a report, the IMF estimates that Pakistan would be spending a total of $10.15 billion on energy subsidies during the current fiscal year.
July 26: A report, titled “China Pakistan Economic Corridor: The Route Controversy,” prepared by the Balochistan government says that the federal government is artificially inflating the cost of the China-Pakistan economic corridor by preferring a route that passes through Punjab and Sindh rather than Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
July 27: A Reuters analysis of 180 people hanged since December 2014 said that fewer than one in six were linked to militancy.
July 28: President Mamnoon Hussain approved a summary for conferment of Nishan-i-Imtiaz upon Dr Ishrat Hussain, former governor State Bank of Pakistan, in recognition of his services for the country in education sector, economic development and social reforms.
July 28: Observing World Hepatitis Day, experts said viral hepatitis was a national health problem and carried enormous economic and psychosocial implications as in Pakistan about 15 million people, or one in 13, harboured hepatitis B or C virus.
July 29: A government bill to provide for party-based elections for local government in the Islamabad Capital Territory finally got through parliament.
July 29: The outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) chief, Malik Ishaq, was among 14 terrorists killed in a shootout in Muzaffargarh. Six Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel were also critically injured in the encounter.
July 29: The urban population in top 25 cities of Pakistan has mounted up to 73 percent during the last ten years, whereas the urbanisation of these cities has been projected even with more pace during next 15 years. The ratio of urbanisation of medium-sized cities is much higher than the mega cities, the World Urban Population report of World Bank (WB) said.
July 30: New projections released by the United Nations say Pakistan is among six of the 10 largest countries in the world whose population has been projected to exceed 300 million by 2050. At present, the country’s population has been estimated to be around 190m. By the year 2030, the population would be 244m, and by 2100, Pakistan’s population could reach 364m.
July 30: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif constituted a committee of nine jurists to review the criminal laws of the country.
Attorney General for Pakistan Salman Aslam Butt will be heading the committee while the other members include PBC Vice Chairman Azam Nazeer Tarar, Supreme Court Bar Association president Fazl-e-Haq Abbasi, former SCBA president Kamran Murtaza, former SCBA president Asma Jahangir, Rasheed A Rizvi advocate, Muhammad Akram Quraishi, Khawaja Haris Ahmad and Abdul Lateef Afridi. PBC’s secretary will act as secretary of the committee.
July 30: Pakistan’s Foreign Office announced the postponement of second round of Afghan peace talks following reports about the death of Taliban chief Mullah Omar.
July 31: The European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, formally conferred its associate membership on Pakistan. Pakistan has thus become the first member of CERN among Asian countries.
July 31: Pakistan Navy assumed the command of the multi-national naval maritime security and counter-terrorism coalition named Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150) from the French Navy.
This is the eighth time that Pakistan has been given the command of the naval coalition.
July 31: The ruling PTI won majority of the seats during the re-polling in 11 wards of Peshawar for the district council.
July 31: Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated work on the 1,320 megawatt coal power plant, which will be operational by Dec 25, 2017 in Qadirabad.
The plant is being built with the cooperation of China.
July 31: The MQM moved the United Nations to get relief and justice for its missing persons and excesses being committed what they described at the hands of Rangers while in detention.
Aug 02: The Balochi Academy launched first comprehensive Balochi dictionary.
The Chief Editor of the dictionary is renowned author Mir Jan Mohammad Dashti, a former chairman of the Balochi Academy.
Aug 02: The Inspector General Balochistan Police, Muhammad Amlish, accused India and Afghanistan of fuelling religious terrorism in the province through their intelligence networks.
Aug 03: World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that confidence of the public and private sector in Pakistan has been restored, and the Bank considers Pakistan a reliable partner and is looking forward to increasing cooperation. She also offered an IBRD assistance package of $2 billion over a period of four years.
Aug 03: Three government departments, women development, social welfare and health, signed an MoU for implementation of the gender equality programme.
Aug 03: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif said that the nexus between the drug pushers and the terrorists would be eliminated at all costs as the drug peddlers and those involved in its production were as much pernicious to national security as the terrorists.
Aug 04: Shafqat Hussain, a prisoner condemned to death by an anti-terrorism court for abduction and murder of a seven-year-old child in 2004, was hanged at the Karachi Central Prison.
Aug 04: President Mamnoon Hussain approved the Prime Minister’s advice and accorded his assent to the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill 2015 on a summary initiated by the National Assembly Secretariat.
Aug 04: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed sacked two of his cabinet members belonging to the MQM.
Aug 04: In an article titled ‘Pakistan: The Next Colombia Success Story?’ by Daniel Runde, the American business magazine, Forbes, said that Pakistan has the potential to be a global turnaround story with its improving security dynamics and political stability. The story also said that PM Nawaz Sharif is governing with a competent cabinet.
Aug 05: A two-star general Major General Khalid Zaheer, the former head of the military-run National Logistics Cell (NLC), was fired from army service after being found guilty in a multibillion-rupee investment scam, while a former three-star general, Lt Gen Afzal Muzaffar, was reprimanded for his role in the case.
Aug 05: The presidency received the first summary from the Prime Minister’s Office in Urdu which reflects the government has started implementing the Supreme Court’s order to introduce Urdu as the official language of the country.
Aug 05: An Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Tahir Khan Niazi was gunned down in Satellite Town, Rawalpindi.
Aug 05: President Mamnoon Hussain approved the appointment of Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja as new Chief Justice of Pakistan. Justice Khawaja will serve as chief justice for only 24 days as he is also due to retire on Sept 10.
Aug 05: Wasim Akram, legendary pace bowler and former captain of Pakistan cricket team, remained unhurt when a man rammed his vehicle into his car on a busy road and then fired a shot which hit a tyre of the cricketer’s car.
Aug 05: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to the Punjab government for widening Canal Road in two sectors from Dharampura to Harbanspura and from Doctor’s Hospital to Thokar Niaz Baig.
Aug 05: By a majority of 11 to 06, the Supreme Court affixed the seal of approval to the setting up of nine special courts manned by military officers to try hardened militants. However the SC kept with itself the power to review the punishment awarded
Aug 06: Presiding over a meeting of the Apex Committee, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif approved a plan to make Balochistan completely peaceful and take measures to ensure flawless security for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Aug 06: Noor Mohammed alias Baba Ladla, one of the ring leaders of Karachi’s Lyari gang war, was killed in Iran.
Aug 08: NAB arrested senior PPP leader Qasim Zia, who is also an Olympics gold medallist and former president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), on charges of committing fraud through his brokerage house.
Aug 08: Two judges of the Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) Shariat Court, Sardar Mohammad Shehzad Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed Janjua, stood removed after a full bench of the AJK High Court set aside the piece of law under which they were appointed in March.
Aug 08: The chief minister of Sindh extended ‘special powers’ of Pakistan Rangers in Karachi for another four months.
Aug 09: President Mamnoon Hussain removed the vice-chancellor of Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST), Dr Zafar Iqbal, from his post.
Aug 10: In a landmark decision on a damages suit, the Lahore Consumer Court ordered Professor Dr Tahir Masood, a former dean of the Children Hospital, to pay 212,267 pounds sterling (Rs33.963 million) and Rs13.07m to Syed Ali Murtaza for causing permanent damage to the liver of his new-born daughter Syeda Durr-e-Zahra.
Aug 10: Pakistan and Belarus signed 18 MoUs as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif started a three-day official visit to Belarus.
The MoUs cover sectors of information, culture, education, scientific cooperation, information technology, forestry and agriculture.
Aug 10: The Senate and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly unanimously adopted condemnation resolutions against the horrific scandal of child abuse in Kasur.
Aug 11: The National Assembly adopted a resolution demanding that the vision of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah about the status of religious minorities in Pakistan be adopted as the country’s roadmap for the future.
Aug 11: Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution demanding of the federal government to declare GB as the constitutional province of Pakistan.
The resolution was tabled by Pakistan People’s Party member Imran Nadeem Shigri, and Islami Tehreek-i-Pakistan’s Captain (r) Mohammad Shafi.
Aug 12: MQM legislators handed in their resignations from the National Assembly, the Senate and the Sindh provincial assembly.
Aug 12: The provincial cabinet approved an important amendment proposed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013 under which the nazims of district, tehsil and town councils would be elected by majority of the total members of the councils instead of the members in attendance.
Aug 13: Military courts convicted eight terrorists of multiple charges, sentencing six of them to death for their role in the country’s worst-ever act of terrorism at APS Peshawar and one for his involvement in an attack on Rangers in Karachi. The eighth was awarded life sentence.
Aug 13: In a day-long visit to Islamabad Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif made a strong pitch for expanded relations with Pakistan offering greater economic, energy and security cooperation.
Aug 14: More than 400 militants belonging to different banned organisations surrendered at a ceremony held in Quetta to mark the Independence Day.
Aug 14: Sindh Minister for Katchi Abadis Javed Nagori resigned from the cabinet.
Aug 15: Minister for Climate Change Mushahidullah Khan quit his cabinet position over hurling allegations against a former chief of the ISI.
Economy
July 16: The State Bank of Pakistan issued its third quarterly report whereby it praised the government’s economic strategy despite some concerns over low credit off-take by the private sector, stagnant exports earnings and poor foreign direct investments.
July 16: Pakistan’s trade deficit swelled 11 percent during the fiscal year of 2014/15, as fragile textile industry strained the overall exports during the period.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed that the country recorded trade deficit of $22.095 billion in FY15 as compared to $19.963 billion in FY14.
July 22: Afghanistan waived the financial guarantee of 110 per cent customs duty and $100 per 25 tonnes charges on Pakistani goods transiting through the country to Central Asian States.
July 25: The State Bank of Pakistan kept the policy rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, expecting higher monetary expansion during the current financial year.
July 26: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif constituted an 11-member ministerial committee to take crucial decisions about the economic policy on behalf of the federal cabinet.
Headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the committee comprises ministers for planning and development, commerce, industries and production, national food security and textile industry, and parliamentary secretaries of these ministries.
July 27: In March 2015, Pakistan’s automobile industry broke the record for most number of cars to ever be sold in a single month. The introduction of car leasing and financing facilities has given rise to the increase in car sales by a multiplier effect.
Aug. 01: An overwhelming majority of traders, retailers and wholesalers both, across the country kept their shutters down in protest against the Nawaz Sharif government’s decision on extension of the scope of withholding tax (WHT) on banking transactions.
Aug 08: Pakistan and Belarus agreed to initiate joint ventures in textiles, light mechanical engineering, petrochemicals and wood-working as well as sharing technological expertise and scientific advantage for mutual benefits.
Aug 11: The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) approved the divestment of 88 per cent government shares in National Power Construction Company (NPCC).
Aug 11: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) made mandatory for all salaried persons having taxable income to file income tax returns electronically from Tax Year 2015.
Aug 12: Pakistan and China signed 20 MoUs worth $2 billion.
Aug 13: Pakistan and Thailand agreed on the Terms of Reference (ToRs) and the framework to begin negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
EDUCATION
Aug 14: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal launched “ILM Pakistan Movement” with the objective to improve students’ academic achievements and attitudes towards civic responsibility, respect for diversity and tolerance. The launching ceremony was organised by the Higher Education Commission.
APPOINTMENTS & TRANSFERS
July 16: Noor Mohammad Leghari, the Secretary for Livestock & Fisheries was appointed as administrator of Fishermen Cooperative Society for a period of six months.
Aug 07: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) appointed Masood Ahmad Malik as provincial election commissioner Punjab in place of Zafar Iqbal Hussain. Moreover Ashfaq Ahmad Sarwar was appointed as Joint Provincial Election Commissioner Punjab.
Aug 14: The Auditor General for Pakistan (AGP) appointed Syed Mohammad Ayub as Accountant General of Balochistan and Zafar Hussain Reza as Accountant General of Punjab.
Imran Iqbal, the outgoing accountant general of Punjab, was posted as director general at the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Academy, Lahore.
Aug 15: Tariq Masood Arain, a member of the provincial assembly from Nawabshah, was sworn in as a provincial minister.
PEOPLE IN NEWS
Ali Hamza
July 26: Ali Hamza, a 16-year-old fruit vendor from Daska city obtained second position in humanities group (boys) in the annual matriculation examination conducted by BISE Gujranwala.
Prof Hafeez Mirza
July 28: Ambassador of France to Pakistan Martine Dorance gave a French national award (Ordre des Palmes Academiques) to Prof Hafeez Mirza for his contribution and services to promotion of French culture in Pakistan, particularly in Lahore.
Almira Rafeeque
July 31: Pakistan’s first women footballer Almira Rafeeque made history by joining England’s women’s premier league Luton Town Football Club.
Anwar Ali
Aug 01: Anwar Ali, Pakistan’s No.9 batsman, produced a cataclysmic 46 from 17 balls to help prise stunning victory from the clutches of almost-certain defeat.
Tahir Khalil & Syed Mushahid Hussain
Aug 13: Bureau Chief of Daily Jang Tahir Khalil was announced to be convener of media forum for Pak-China Economic Corridor in first annual meeting of Pak-China information corridor in Sinkian, China.
Director Pakistan Studies from Beijing University Dr Professor Tang Ming made the announcement. Senator Mushahid Hussain is announced to be the head of Pak-China Media Forum.
Misbahul Haq
Aug 13: Pakistan Test captain Misbahul Haq got the best ranking in the list of skippers published by The Telegraph, a British newspaper. The popular newspaper published a list of world’s best Test captains, who have been rated and ranked according to their leadership skills, major achievements and scores.
PLACES IN NEWS
Islamabad
July 28: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Mohammed Yousaf organized an interfaith harmony conference in Islamabad in a bid to introduce a saner narrative amid widespread destruction levelled by extremist forces. The purpose of the conference was to give religious minorities a space to feel at ease and express their beliefs, reservations and problems they faced.
Islamabad
July 30: The sixth round of Pakistan-China Strategic Dialogue was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad. During the meeting, Pakistan and China agreed on consolidating the existing “all-weather Pakistan-China strategic cooperative partnership” in political, economic, strategic and other areas. Both sides also agreed that early and effective implementation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project was a key priority for both countries.
OBITUARIES
July 20: Rehmatullah Shohaz, a prominent poet of Balochi language, was shot dead.
July 23: Former international cricket commentator Mohammad Tariq Bucha passed away at the age of 70 years. He was the eldest son of Malik Khuda Bakhsh, former West Pakistan Agriculture Minister.
July 25: Comrade Malik Aslam, lawyer, former secretary general of All Pakistan Trade Union Federation and a leader of Awami Workers Party, died.
July 27: Renowned former Pakistan weightlifter Chaudhry Mohammad Ameen died. Ameen, 62, represented Pakistan in different weightlifting events from 1970 to 1991 in India, Iran, Japan, Syria, Russia and New Zealand.
Aug 01: Comedian and actor Farid Khan, a superstar on stage in the late 1980s and early 1990s, died at the age of 62, after suffering from jaw cancer for 15 years.
Aug 04: A PML-N member of the Punjab Assembly, Kaneez Akhtar, passed away.
Aug 06: Former Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) secretary Mohammad Latif Butt passed away. He was 79.
Aug 08: A former judge of the Peshawar High Court, Justice (r) Shahjehan Khan Yousafzai, died. He was 65.
Aug 12: Former principal Fatima Jinnah Medical College Lahore Professor Dr Khalida Usmani passed away.
Aug 14: Khan Saleem Mitha, former assistant advocate general of Punjab, passed away
INTERNATIONAL
July 16: House of Representatives, the lower house of Japan’s parliament the National Diet, approved two controversial bills that change the country’s security laws, despite protests in Tokyo. The changes would allow Japanese troops to fight overseas for the first time since World War II.
July 16: Barack Obama became the first sitting US president to visit a federal prison when he toured the ‘B’ block of El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma, amid a push to reform America’s expensive and overcrowded correctional system.
July 17: Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal and other top officials from the Palestinian group met with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and senior Saudi leaders in the first meeting between the two sides for years.
July 20: An explosion rocked the Turkish city of Suruc near the Syrian border, killing 30 people and wounding nearly 100 others in an IS-inspired suicide bombing.
July 20: The Cuban flag was raised in Washington after 54 years as the United States and Cuba reopened embassies in each other’s capitals.
In Havana, the US Interests Section officially became the US Embassy. In Washington, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez presided over the reopening of the embassy.
July 20: China and Taiwan inked a landmark deal that will see water pumped from China’s south-eastern province of Fujian to the 100,000 residents of a Taiwanese-controlled archipelago by 2017.
July 20: British cosmologist Stephen Hawking launched the biggest-ever search for intelligent extraterrestrial life in a $100-million (92-million-euro), 10-year project to scan the heavens.
July 20: The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that endorsed the historic deal on Iran’s nuclear programme. All 15 members of the Council voted for the resolution which endorsed the agreement reached in Vienna between Iran, on the one hand, and the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, on the other, after 18 straight days of negotiations.
July 21: The Paris Airport Authority imposed a fine of 40,000 euros on the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) for violating ‘curfew hours’ (at the airport).
July 21: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced that its first ship since the eruption of conflict in Yemen in March berthed in the port of Aden after repeated attempts to reach large numbers of increasingly desperate people.
July 21: Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, imposed tougher penalties of up to 20 years prison for people throwing stones at vehicles and roads, a move one Palestinian official branded racist and excessive.
July 21: Health-obsessed former Soviet Turkmenistan emerged as the country with the world’s lowest proportion of smokers where just 8 per cent of the population smoke, according to WHO figures.
July 21: Kyrgyzstan announced to end a cooperation agreement that was signed in 1993, with the United States after Washington awarded a rights prize to a jailed ethnic minority campaigner. The strategically located Kyrgyzstan hosted a key US military base supplying the war effort in Afghanistan until 2014.
July 21: Eight senior executives at Toshiba, the Japanese industrial conglomerate, including the chief executive, resigned, as they took responsibility for a $1.2 billion accounting scandal, one of the country’s largest.
July 22: A Holy Quran manuscript was carbon dated to close to the time of the Holy Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), making it one of the oldest in the world, a British university said.
The two leaves of parchment, filled with “surprisingly legible” text from Islam’s holy book, have been dated to around the early seventh century, the University of Birmingham said.
July 22: The Maldives parliament sacked the country’s vice-president, Mohamed Jameel, and accused him of treason. The 45-year-old vice president, who was abroad at the time of the vote, was also accused of colluding with the opposition
July 23: Astronomers hunting for another Earth found what may be the closest match yet, a potentially rocky planet circling its star at the same distance as the Earth orbits the Sun, NASA said.
July 23: US Secretary of State John Kerry told American lawmakers that the deal he and other world leaders signed with Iran in Vienna, was the “only viable option” to peacefully resolve the nuclear dispute with Tehran.
July 23: Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen approved a law allowing foreign ownership of land for the first time, triggering concern over a possible land grab by China in the strategic Indian Ocean region.
July 24: US President Barack Obama arrived in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, making his first visit to the country of his father’s birth since his election as president.
Obama was greeted by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as he stepped off Air Force One.
July 24: The government of an Indian state Maharashtra passed a resolution saying no child must carry to school a backpack that exceeds 10 per cent of his/her body weight.
Five-year-olds in grade one are being asked to pop their satchels on weighing scales when they arrive for class so teachers can check they don’t exceed 2.5 kilograms.
July 24: Turkish warplanes hit positions of fighters of the self-styled Islamic State (IS) group across the border in Syria.
July 24: The world’s first malaria vaccine got a green light from European drugs regulators. The shot, called RTS,S or Mosquirix and developed by British drug-maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in partnership with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative, would be the first licensed human vaccine against a parasitic disease.
July 25: The Tunisian parliament adopted a new anti-terror law aimed at beefing up powers to confront a jihadist threat following deadly attacks.
July 25: President Bashar Al Assad granted an amnesty for people in war-torn Syria who have dodged service or defected from the army state news agency Sana reported.
July 26: The Taliban took control of a large police base in a remote part of north-eastern Afghanistan after some 100 police and border guards surrendered and joined the militants.
July 27: The US and Turkey agreed to work together to drive fighters of the self-styled Islamic State (IS) from northern Syria.
July 27: Ten people including three civilians were killed when gunmen wearing army uniforms stormed a police station in northern India near the border with Pakistan, sparking a shootout lasting about 11 hours.
July 27: The Indian government increased the limit of multiple visa facility for Pakistani businessmen to three years from one year to promote bilateral trade.
July 28: A British lawmaker Lord Sewel resigned from parliament’s upper house after a criminal investigation was launched against him.
July 28: Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak sacked his deputy premier and attorney general as part of a major cabinet reshuffle.
July 28: A Libyan court sentenced Seif al Islam, Muammar Qadhafi’s son, and eight aides of the slain leader to death for crimes during the 2011 uprising, in a verdict denounced by rights campaigners. The United Nations also said it was “deeply disturbed” by the outcome and criticised the trial for failing to meet international standards.
July 29: The Israeli army indiscriminately and deliberately targeted civilians during a brutal 2014 assault known as “Black Friday”, according to a joint study by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture.
July 29: Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that sought to set up a special tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down flight MH17 over Ukraine.
Eleven of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the resolution.
July 29: India’s Supreme Court rejected a final curative petition by the 1993 Mumbai terror convict Yakub Memon.
July 29: Microsoft began rolling out its Windows 10 operating system as a free upgrade for computer users in 190 countries.
July 30: Taliban formally confirmed Mullah Omar’s death but insisted that he had never gone out of Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion.
July 30: Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a pact in Cairo aimed at boosting military and economic ties between the two Arab allies.
Relations have warmed since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, with Saudi Arabia offering billions in aid to Egypt and Cairo participating in a Saudi-led bombing campaign against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.
July 30: Authorities in Wenzhou, known as China’s Jerusalem, gave Christian churches a deadline to remove prominent crosses’ stepping up a long-running campaign.
July 30: India executed convicted bomb plotter Yakub Memon for conspiring in the country’s deadliest attack, a series of blasts that killed hundreds in Mumbai more than two decades ago.
Memon was hanged on his 53rd birthday after India’s president and Supreme Court rejected his 11th-hour appeals for clemency.
July 31: An Ebola vaccine provided 100 percent protection in a field trial in hard-hit Guinea, researchers and officials said, mooting ‘the beginning of the end’ of the killer West African outbreak.
“This is an extremely promising development,” added Margaret Chan chief of Geneva-based WHO.
July 31: Some western Alaska Natives can travel back and forth to a Russian region without a visa under a 1989 agreement that was recently revived.
Vera Metcalf, a Native leader who works part time with the State Department, said that the programme allows indigenous residents from both sides of the Bering Strait to visit for up to 90 days without the documentation.
July 31: France’s top court upheld a ban on new cockfighting pits, as the country seeks to stamp out the ancient blood sport that continues in some regions despite being banned in most parts of the world.
Aug 01: Afghan Taliban’s new emir Mullah Muhammad Akhtar Mansoor, in his first audio message, termed the rumours of dialogues between Taliban and Afghan government as propaganda of enemy and asked the Taliban to continue jihad to win hearts of the Afghan people.
Aug 01: Bangladesh and India swapped tiny islands of land, ending one of the world’s most intractable border disputes that has kept thousands in stateless limbo for nearly seven decades.
A total of 162 tiny islands of land — 111 in Bangladesh and 51 in India — were officially handed over to the countries surrounding them after Dhaka and New Delhi struck a border agreement in June this year.
Aug 02: The United States resumed formal security talks with Egypt that were last held six years ago and kept on hiatus until now amid the political unrest that swept the country in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Aug 03: Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Alireza Haghighlan called for stepped up efforts to increase bilateral trade and economic cooperation and said his country is ready to fulfil Pakistan’s energy needs.
Aug 03: Washington agreed to speed up arms sales to Gulf states, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced after talks in Doha on their concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.
Aug 03: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Qatar and invited him to visit Moscow.
Aug 03: India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a peace accord with a faction of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN). The NSCN rebel group over six decades old is seen as the biggest and most violent insurgencies from amongst the dozens of big and small armed tribal and guerrilla armies that operate in India’s seven northeastern states.
Aug 03: Under pressure FIFA President Sepp Blatter was relieved of his International Olympic Committee ex officio membership, seven months before he will be replaced as the head of football’s governing body, IOC President Thomas Bach said.
Aug 03: A Swedish diplomat was expelled from Moscow in a tit-for-tat move after the Scandinavian country recently kicked out a Russian diplomat.
Aug 03: Glaciers worldwide have shrunk to levels not seen in 120 years of record-keeping, with melt-off accelerating in the first decade of the 21st century, reported a study published in the Journal of Glaciology.
Aug 03: India’s parliament suspended 25 opposition lawmakers following days of uproar and disruptions.
Aug 04: Southeast Asian nations want China to stop land reclamation in the disputed South China Sea, but China insisted it has a right to continue the activity.
Le Luong Minh, secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, said Asean foreign ministers expressed concerns in a meeting over massive Chinese island-building activities that have escalated tensions in the area.
Aug 04: The head of the Taliban’s Qatar-based political office, Tayeb Agha, stepped down, a high-profile resignation highlighting discord over the Afghan movement’s recent power transition.
Aug 05: The Malaysian prime minister said that debris found on an Indian Ocean island was from flight MH370, which mysteriously disappeared 17 months ago.
Aug 05: Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit a record high in the first half of 2015, the UN said, as Afghan forces struggle to contain the expanding conflict six months after the NATO combat mission ended.
Aug 06: NASA extended a contract with Russia’s space agency for $490 million to carry US astronauts to the International Space Station.
Aug 06: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi unveiled an expanded Suez Canal in a lavish ceremony, with the first ships passing through the waterway in what Egypt hopes will boost its economy and global standing.
Aug 06: The world’s first ever ant map showing the distribution of the tiny industrious creatures around the globe was launched by the University of Hong Kong in a bid to shed more light on the insect world.
Aug 06: Microsoft’s Bill Gates was the unsurprising leader of the first Forbes list of the richest global tech billionaires, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos saw his personal fortune surge.
The net worth of the 100 people amounted to $842.9 billion, according to the magazine.
Aug 07: Authorities in Indian state Gujarat — PM Narendra Modi’s home state — announced that anyone who fails to cast his or her ballot in elections to local civic bodies without providing a legitimate excuse will have to pay a 100 rupee fine.
Aug 08: Hong Kong recorded its hottest day since authorities began taking temperature readings 130 years ago, due to the influence of a nearby typhoon.
Aug 09: The United States for the first time deployed half a dozen F-16 warplanes to Turkey to help operations against the Islamic State group (IS).
Aug 10: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani launched a blistering attack against Islamabad accusing it of not doing enough to eliminate Taliban bases from which attacks were being launched on his country.
Islamabad immediately rejected the allegations.
Aug 12: A massive explosion at a warehouse in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin sent a fireball ripping through the sky while injuring at least 300 people.
The blast, which could be felt kilometres away, was triggered when a shipment of explosives detonated in the warehouse where it was being stored, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Aug 12: Africa marked one year since the last case of recorded polio, with the United Nations celebrating a key step towards eradicating the disease.
The last recorded case on the continent was in Somalia on August 11, 2014, although health officials must wait two more years before declaring the continent free from the highly infectious, crippling virus.
Aug 12: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon fired the mission chief in the Central African Republic, saying “enough is enough” after a string of allegations of child sex abuse by peacekeepers.
Aug 13: The huge explosions tore through an industrial area in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin where toxic chemicals and gas were stored killing at least 50 people, including 12 fire-fighters.
Aug 13: The United States returned an oil painting by Pablo Picasso that was reported stolen from a major Paris museum 14 years ago.
“The Hairdresser,” which Picasso created in Paris in 1911 during his cubism period, was seized by US customs agents in New Jersey.
Aug 13: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri pledged his group’s allegiance to new Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.
ECONOMY
July 17: The EU approved a short-term loan for Greece. The European Union’s 28 member states unanimously agreed to give Greece 7.16 billion euros ($7.8bn) using a bloc-wide crisis fund.
July 20: Greek banks reopened after a three-week shutdown imposed to stop a run on ATMs from crashing the financial system.
July 21: The “New Development Bank”, a new $100 billion international bank dedicated to the emerging BRICS countries opened in China’s commercial hub Shanghai.
July 21: Germany launched its first fully fledged Islamic bank namely KT Bank AG. The Frankfurt-based bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Turkish lender Kuveyt Turk.
July 24: Major exporters of information technology agreed to cut global tariffs on more than 200 products, in the first such deal struck by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in nearly two decades.
The pact which came after three years of frequently-stalled negotiations, covers products ranging from videogames to touch screens and GPS navigation systems.
July 27: The World Trade Organisation formally accepted Kazakhstan’s bid to join the body.
Meeting at its headquarters in Geneva, the WTO General Council approved the membership terms.
Aug 06: Turkmenistan announced that its state company Turkmengaz will lead the consortium for an 1800-kilometre-long pipeline carrying gas from the former Soviet state to energy-hungry India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The decision was reached unanimously at a meeting of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) steering committee in Ashgabat by ministers from the four countries.
Aug 06: Kyrgyzstan became the fifth member of the Moscow-backed Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), an economic bloc of former Soviet countries.
Aug 11: China’s central bank devalued its yuan currency by nearly 2 per cent against the US dollar. A cheaper yuan will make Chinese exports cheaper potentially boosting overseas sales, among the main drivers of growth during the nation’s remarkable rise over the past three decades, but which have recently shown signs of weakening.
Aug 13: Russia added Albania, Montenegro, Liechtenstein and Iceland to a list of countries from which it has banned most food imports in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
Aug 13: China weakened its currency for the third consecutive day, but financial markets that had been shaken by the surprise devaluation took heart as authorities pledged not to let the yuan plummet.
SPORTS & GAMES
July 16: Chris Rogers and Steven Smith both scored unbeaten hundreds in a record breaking partnership against Australia in the second Ashes Test against England at Lord’s.
July 17: Yuki Ota won Japan’s first world fencing championship gold medal.
July 21: American golfer Zach Johnson won the British Open.
July 25: A New Delhi court cleared former Test fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and two other players of spot fixing during the Indian Premier League (IPL).
July 26: Tillakaratne Dilshan became the 11th batsman and the fourth Sri Lankan to compile 10,000 runs in one-day cricket, achieving the feat against Pakistan.
July 27: Chris Froome won his second Tour de France title. Briton Froome, 30, crossed the line on the Champs Elysees arm-in-arm with his Sky teammates to clinch a second Grand Boucle crown following his 2013 success.
July 27: Jordan Wilimovsky of the United States won the men’s 10 kilometre open water gold at the world championships in Kazan.
July 27: Bill May and Christina Jones made history when they became the first world champions of a mixed synchronised swimming event.
American pair scored 88.5108 points to defeat Russia’s Alexander Maltsev and Darina Valitova (88.2986).
July 27: A new record of most hundreds in a calendar year was set when Sri Lankan opening batsman Kusal Perera scored 116 in the fifth and final one day international against Pakistan. It was 80th hundred in 101 games in 2015. The previous best tally was 79 in 2014.
July 30: Germany successfully defended their team open water title over five kilometres at the world aquatic championships in Kazan.
July 31: Beijing narrowly won an IOC vote for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games that secured its place in sporting history.
The Chinese capital beat Almaty in Kazakhstan by just 44 votes to 40.
July 31: The International Olympic Committee chose its home city of Lausanne to stage the Winter Youth Olympics in 2020.
The Swiss city beat Brasov in Romania in a vote of its 85 members present.
The IOC moved to Lausanne in 1915, now has an Olympic museum there and has plans to build a state-of-the-art new headquarters there. The 2020 Games will be the third Winter Youth Olympics. Held every four years, the 2016 Games will be in Lillehammer, Norway in February.
Aug 03: Eighteen-year-old American Katie Ledecky broke her own world record in the 1,500-metre freestyle during a preliminary round at the FINA World Swimming Championship in Kazan, Russia.
Aug 03: The closing ceremony for the Special Olympics was held in Los Angeles, USA.
Aug 05: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) recognised beach hockey and has asked all the affiliated units to show support for the newly recognised body.
Aug 08: North Korea won the Women’s 2015 East Asian Cup with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over rivals South Korea in Wuhan, China.
Aug 11: Indian celebrity Pankaj Advani successfully retained world men’s 6-Reds snooker crown, overall 13th world title of his career in cue sports, after beating reigning world champion of another format of the game (15-Reds) China’s Yan Bingtao in the final at hotel Movenpick, Karachi.
Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee became the new women’s world 6-Reds champion when she brushed aside Indian Vidya Pillai in the final.
ELECTIONS & APPOINTMENTS
July 24: Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza won a third consecutive term in office. He won 69.41 per cent of the vote.
July 31: The Taliban Supreme Council notified Mullah Akhtar Mansoor as successor to the late Mullah Omar.
July 31: Philippine President Benigno Aquino endorsed long-time ally Manuel Roxas for the country’s 2016 presidential election, saying the interior minister was the best person to advance anti-corruption reforms.
Aug 05: To oversee international expansion, the Chinese Internet giant, Alibaba Group, named J. Michael Evans, who already serves on its board, as its president.
Aug 05: Senior Afghan Taliban leader Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanekzai took over as the acting head of the group’s political office in Qatar.
Aug 13: The US Senate confirmed the appointment of David Hale as the country’s next ambassador to Pakistan. Mr Hale is a career member of the foreign service and is currently the US ambassador to Lebanon.
PEOPLE IN NEWS
Jane Goodail
July 27: British researcher, environmental activist and UN peace ambassador Jane Goodail received the XXIV International Catalonia Award from Artur Mas, president of the Catalan regional government, at the Generalitat Palace.
Zion Harvey
July 29: An eight-year-old American became the world’s youngest recipient of a transplant of both hands. Surgeons operated for 10 hours to carry out the incredibly complicated surgery on Baltimore native Zion Harvey.
Benjamin Netanyahu
Aug 10: US President Barack Obama has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the only foreign leader he can recall who has forcibly interfered in US foreign policy.
PLACES IN NEWS
The Vatican
July 22: A two-day summit, aimed at spurring efforts to fight global warming following the pope’s environment encyclical denouncing the exploitation of the poor and the earth’s resources, was held in the Vatican. More than 60 mayors from around the world signed a declaration stating that man-made climate change is real and humanity has a moral imperative to take action.
London, UK
Aug 05: London was named the most googled city in the world for its art galleries, performing arts and innovative design.
Dungeness Estate, UK
Aug 10: Britain’s only desert, a 468-acre barren estate in Kent, is being sold for £1.5 million.
The sale of Dungeness estate includes 22 properties which are predominately converted railway cottages.
Minsk, Belarus
Aug 08: The first Pakistan-Belarus Joint Economic Commission meeting was held in Minsk. Pakistan’s Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastagir Khan and Industry Minister of Belarus Vitally Vovk led delegations of their respective countries.
Karamay, China
Aug 12: The two-day historic moot of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Karamay Xinjiang Forum was held in Karamay. The Forum ended with a declaration focussing on increased cooperation in diversified fields.
OBITUARIES
July 17: Alcides Ghiggia, the former Uruguay striker who scored the goal which won the 1950 World Cup against hosts Brazil, died. He was 88.
July 17: Wan Li, the Communist Party leader who helped end the failed Mao-era policy of collective farming, which had left rural Chinese in desperate poverty, died. He was 98.
July 21: British jazz pianist John Taylor died after suffering a heart attack onstage at a music festival in France.
July 22: E. L. Doctorow, a leading figure in contemporary American letters whose popular, critically admired and award-winning novels situated fictional characters in recognizable historical contexts died at 84.
July 27: Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam passed away following a massive heart attack. He was 83.
July 27: Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of the pop stars Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, died. She was 22.
July 28: Clive Rice, the former South Africa captain who led the national team on their return from isolation, died at the age of 66.
July 28: Dr James Jude, a thoracic surgeon whose recognition that external manual pressure could revive a stalled heart, and who used that insight to help develop the lifesaving technique now known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, died. He was 87.
July 29: Taliban supremo Mullah Omar died in Pakistan two years ago, the Afghan government said, after unnamed official and militant sources reported the death of the reclusive leader.
Aug 01: Grammy-winning country legend Lynn Anderson, who sprang to international stardom with her 1970s hit “Rose Garden”, died at the age of 67.
Aug 02: Jerome Kohlberg Jr., a veteran financier who pioneered the $2.6 trillion leveraged-buyout industry but later rejected its hunger for huge and aggressive deals, died. He was 90.
Aug 04: Forrest Bird, an American aviator who helped save countless lives by inventing the first modern ventilator, died at the age of 94.
Aug 05: Arnold Scaasi, the Canadian clothing designer whose exuberant creations were worn by generations of first ladies, socialites and Hollywood stars, died. He was 85.
Aug 12: Ann McGovern, a prolific author for children whose work ranged over women’s history, adaptations of folk tales and her own exploits as a globe-trotting adventurer, died. She was 85.
National MCQs
- The headquarters of Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority is in ______.
(a) Islamabad (b) Lahore
(c) Karachi (d) Hyderabad
- The Line of Control (LoC) that separates Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) from Azad Kashmir was established as cease-fire line through the ______ signed on 27th July 1949.
(a) Delhi Agreement
(b) Simla Agreement
(c)Karachi Agreement
(d) Lahore Agreement
- The incumbent Minister for Information of Sindh is _____.
(a) Sharjeel Inam Memon
(b) Nisar Ahmed Khuhro
(c) Dr Sikandar Mandhro
(d) Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani
- On July 22, ______ waived the financial guarantee of 110 per cent customs duty and $100 per 25 tonnes charges on Pakistani goods transiting through the country to Central Asian States.
(a) Afghanistan (b) China
(c) Russia (d) Iran
- Mr Justice Faisal Arab is the current Chief Justice of the ______ High Court.
(a) Lahore (b) Sindh
(c) Islamabad (d) Peshawar
- The National Assembly approved federal budget for FY 2015-16 on ______.
(a) June 23 (b) June 24
(c) June 28 (d) June 30
- The National Testing Service (NTS) was established by COMSATS Institute of Information Technology in July ______.
(a) 2001 (b) 2002
(c) 2003 (d) 2004
- On July 26, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif constituted an ______ ministerial committee to take crucial decisions about the economic policy on behalf of the federal cabinet.
(a) 5-member (b) 9-member
(c) 11-member (d) 15-member
- Malik Ishaq, who was among 14 terrorists killed in a shootout in Muzaffargarh on July 29, was the chief of outlawed ______.
(a) Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT)
(b) Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ)
(c) Tehreek-e-Islami (TeI)
(d) Sunni Tehreek (ST)
- According to the new UN projections, the population of Pakistan would be ______ by 2100.
(a) 364m (b) 370m
(c) 385m (d) 397m
- On July 30, Prime Minister constituted a committee of nine jurists, to be headed by ______ to review the criminal laws of the country.
(a) Attorney General for Pakistan
(b) Chief Justice of Pakistan
(c) Advocate General Punjab
(d) Chief Justice Lahore High Court
- On July 31, Pakistan became the ______ member of European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) among Asian countries.
(a) First (b) Second
(c) Third (d) Fourth
- On July 31, Pakistan Navy assumed, for the ______ time, the command of the multi-national naval maritime security and counter-terrorism coalition named Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150).
(a) Seventh (b) Eighth
(c) Ninth (d) Tenth
- On July 31, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif inaugurated work on the 1,320 megawatt coal power plant in______, which will be operational by Dec 25, 2017.
(a) Qadirabad (b) Sahiwal
(c) Quaidabad (d) Khoshab
- On______, the Balochi Academy launched first comprehensive Balochi dictionary.
(a) Aug 01 (b) Aug 02
(c) Aug 03 (d) Aug 04
- The incumbent IGP Balochistan is ______.
(a) Rao Amin Hashim
(b) Tarik Umar Khitab
(c) Muhammad Amlish
(d) Malik Muhammad Iqbal
- On Aug 03, three government departments, health, women development and ______ signed an MoU for implementation of the gender equality programme.
(a) Education (b) Social Welfare
(c) Justice (d) Finance
- On Aug 04, Shafqat Hussain was hanged for abduction and murder of a seven-year-old child in______.
(a) 2001 (b) 2002
(c) 2004 (d) 2006
- An article titled ‘Pakistan: The Next Colombia Success Story?’ by Daniel Runde whereby the writer said that Pakistan has the potential to be a global turnaround story with its improving security dynamics and political stability, was published in ______ magazine.
(a) Time (b) The Economist
(c) Der Spiegel (d) Forbes
- On Aug 05, ______, the former head of the NLC, was fired from army service after being found guilty in a multibillion-rupee investment scam.
(a) Lt Gen Khalid Munir Khan
(b) Maj Gen Khalid Zaheer
(c) Lt Gen M. Afzal Muzaffar
(d) Maj Gen Saeedur Rehman
- The presidency received the first summary from the Prime Minister’s Office in Urdu on ______,
(a) Aug 01 (b) Aug 03
(c) Aug 05 (d) Aug 14
- On Aug 05, by a majority of ______, the Supreme Court affixed the seal of approval to the setting up of nine special courts manned by military officers to try hardened militants.
(a) 13-04 (b) 12-05
(c) 11-06 (d) 10-07
- On Aug 07, Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) appointed ______ as provincial election commissioner Punjab.
(a) Masood Ahmad Malik
(b) Zafar Iqbal Hussain
(c) Justice (R) Khawaja M. Sharif
(d) Justice (R) Rashid Mahmood
- On Aug 08, the chief minister Sindh extended ‘special powers’ of Pakistan Rangers in Karachi for another ______.
(a) 1 month (b) 2 months
(c) 3 months (d) 4 months
- On______, Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution demanding the federal government to declare GB as the constitutional province of Pakistan.
(a) Aug 08 (b) Aug 11
(c) Aug 12 (d) Aug 14
- On Aug 14, ______ was appointed as accountant general of Balochistan.
(a) Syed Mohammad Ayub
(b) Imran Iqbal
(c) Zafar Hussain Reza
(d) Tariq Bashir Chattha
International
- The National Diet is the bicameral legislature of ______.
(a) Thailand (b) Japan
(c) Indonesia (d) Denmark
- The European Union’s 28 member states unanimously approved a short-term loan for Greece on ______.
(a) July 15 (b) July 16
(c) July 17 (d) July 18
- On July 20, the United States and ______ reopened embassies in each other’s capitals after 54 years.
(a) Iran (b) Cuba
(c) Venezuela (d) Mexico
- On July 20, the world renowned ______ cosmologist Stephen Hawking launched the biggest-ever search for intelligent extraterrestrial life.
(a) British (b) Austrian
(c) French (d) American
- The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is headquartered at ______.
(a) Pretoria (b) New Delhi
(c) Shanghai (d) Moscow
- The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that endorsed the historic deal on Iran’s nuclear programme on ______.
(a) July 16 (b) July 18
(c) July 20 (d) July 22
- On July 21, Germany’s first Islamic bank, KT Bank AG, was opened with its headquarters at ______.
(a) Berlin (b) Munich
(c) Hamburg (d) Frankfurt
- On July 21, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, imposed tougher penalties of up to ______ prison for throwing stones at vehicles and roads.
(a) 15 years (b) 20 years
(c) 25 years (d) 30 years
- On July 21, ______ ended a cooperation agreement with the United States which was operational since 1993.
(a) Thailand (b) Afghanistan
(c) Azerbaijan (d) Kyrgyzstan
- On July 21, eight senior executives at Toshiba, the ______ industrial conglomerate resigned.
(a) Chinese (b) Japanese
(c) American (d) Italian
- On July 22, the Maldives parliament sacked the country’s ______, Mohamed Jameel, and accused him of treason.
(a) President (b) Vice-President
(c) Speaker (d) Chief Justice
- Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. was a ______ senior governmental economist and the father of the US President Barack Obama.
(a) Nigerian (b) Ugandan
(c) Algerian (d) Kenyan
- On July 24, the world’s first malaria vaccine called RTS,S or ______ got a green light from European drugs regulators.
(a) Pseudomonas (b) Mosquirix
(c) Rhesus (d) Artemisinin
- Sana is the state news agency of ______.
(a) Syria (b) Spain
(c) Switzerland (d) Sweden
- On July 27, the World Trade Organisation formally accepted ______ bid to join the body.
(a) Afghanistan’s (b) Kyrgyzstan’s
(c) Kazakhstan’s (d) Azerbaijan’s
- On July 27, the Indian government increased the limit of multiple visa facility for Pakistani businessmen to ______ years from one year.
(a) Two (b) Three
(c) Five (d) Seven
- On July 29, ______ vetoed a UNSC resolution that sought to set up a special tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down flight MH17.
(a) China (b) Russia
(c) UK (d) France
- On July 30, ______ and Saudi Arabia signed a pact aimed at boosting military and economic ties between the two Arab allies.
(a) Egypt (b) Qatar
(c) UAE (d) Kuwait
- On July 30, India executed Yakub Memon for conspiring in the country’s deadliest Mumbai attacks of ______.
(a) 1984 (b) 1989
(c) 1991 (d) 1993
- The incumbent Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) is ______.
(a) Dr Anders Nordström
(b) Dr Margaret Chan
(c) Dr LEE Jong-wook
(d) Dr G.H. Brundtland
- The Bering Strait connects the Pacific and the ______ oceans between Russia and the US state of Alaska.
(a) Indian (b) Atlantic
(c) Arctic (d) None of these
- The International Olympic Committee, the governing body of the Olympic Movement, is headquartered at Lausanne, ______.
(a) Switzerland (b) France
(c) Sweden (d) Norway
- On Aug 02, the United States resumed formal security talks with ______.
(a) Qatar (b) Iran
(c) Egypt (d) Cuba
- Iran’s current Ambassador to Pakistan is ______.
(a) Masha’Allah Shakeri
(b) Abbas Ali Abdullahi
(c) Hassan Darvesh Wand
(d) Alireza Haghighlan
- Lê Lurơng Minh, the current secretary-general of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) belongs to ______.
(a) Malaysia (b) Vietnam
(c) Thailand (d) Philippines
- On Aug 04, ______, the head of the Taliban’s Qatar-based political office, stepped down.
(a) Tayeb Agha
(b) Abbas Akhund
(c)Haibatullah
(d) Abdul Salam
- On Aug 05, Alibaba Group named J. Michael Evans as its______.
(a) CEO (b) MD
(c) President (d) COO
- On Aug 06, ______ became the fifth member of the Moscow-backed Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).
(a) Armenia (b) Belarus
(c) Kazakhstan (d) Kyrgyzstan
- On Aug 11, Google unveiled a surprise corporate overhaul, forming a new parent company dubbed ______.
(a) Google World (b) Alphabet
(c) Bonanza (d) Explore
- The Suez Canal, an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connects the Mediterranean Sea and the ______.
(a) Bering Sea (b) Red Sea
(c) Arabian Sea (d) Caribbean Sea
Sports
- On July 26, Tillakaratne Dilshan became the ______ batsman and the fourth Sri Lankan to compile 10,000 runs in one-day cricket.
(a) 9th (b) 10th
(c) 11th (d) 12th
- On July 27, Chris Froome of ______ won his second Tour de France title.
(a) United States (b) Great Britain
(c) Australia (d) France
- The 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be held in ______.
(a) Istanbul (b) Almaty
(c) Los Angeles (d) Beijing
- Winter Youth Olympics 2020 will be held in ______, Switzerland.
(a) Lausanne (b) Geneva
(c) Basel (d) Zurich
- Special Olympics 2015 were held in ______, USA.
(a) Philadelphia (b) Los Angeles
(c) New Jersey (d) New York
- On Aug 11, ______ successfully retained world men’s 6-Reds snooker crown, overall 13th world title of his career in cue sports.
(a) Muhammad Asif
(b) Shahzad Akbar
(c) Pankaj Advani
(d) Yan Bingtao
- On Aug 01, Pakistan Street Children Team claimed ______ medal in the Norway Cup in Oslo.
(a) Gold (b) Silver
(c) Bronze (d) Consolation
Obituaries
- Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (A.P.J.) Abdul Kalam was the ______ President of India.
(a) 11th (b) 12th
(c) 13th (d) 14th
- On July 28, Clive Rice, the former ______ captain who led the national team on their return from isolation, died.
(a) S. African (b) W. Indian
(c) Zimbabwean (d) Australian
- Former Secretary of Pakistan Olympic Association (POA), Mohammad Latif Butt. passed away on ______.
(a) Aug 06 (b) Aug 08
(c) Aug 10 (d) Aug 12
- Dr James Jude, an ______ thoracic surgeon who helped in developing the lifesaving technique now known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, died on July 28.
(a) British (b) Swiss
(c) American (d) British
