Relating it to climate change, gun violence and the very nature of democracy, Dictionary.com chose ‘existential’ as its word of the year. The word earned “top of mind awareness” in sustained searches at Dictionary.com in the aftermath of wildfires and Hurricane Dorian, and mass shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, and El Paso, Texas. It also reared itself in presidential politics and pop culture.
Wreckage of India’s Chandrayaan-2 mission was spotted by a Nasa satellite orbiting the moon, the US space agency revealed. Vikram lander crashed on the lunar surface in September. Nasa released an image taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) that showed the site of the spacecraft’s impact and associated debris field, with parts scattered over almost two dozen locations spanning several kilometres.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa flew in an F-16 with Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan in another American fighter jet as both aircraft proceeded to maneuver for a combat action simulation mission at PAF Base Mushaf, Sargodha. After the mission, the COAS interacted with fighter pilots of the squadron and lauded their professionalism.
Police have taken two young men into custody for questioning in connection with a probe into the shocking kidnapping of Dua Mangi, a 20-year-old female student in Karachi. Dua and her friend, Haris, were strolling in DHA’s Bukhari Commercial area when unidentified armed men in a car intercepted them and took away the girl after shooting and injuring her friend.
Moody’s Investors Services upgraded Pakistan’s outlook from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’, reaffirming the country’s rating of B3. Moody’s had downgraded Pakistan’s ratings outlook to negative last year in June, citing heightened external vulnerability risk due to depleting foreign exchange reserves. The upgrade was welcomed by Pakistan, attributing the development to an “improvement in balance of payments position, supported by policy adjustments and currency flexibility”.
Indian military faced massive embarrassment after their third nuclear-capable missile test ended in failure. The country’s army fired Agni-III missile which crashed into the sea in Odisha as missile deviated from its flight path and the mission team had to terminate it, according to the army sources. Experts believe that the failure could be due to the metallurgical defects.
Knee, the South Korean Superstar, arrived in Pakistan on Nov 28th to practice for the Tekken World Tour Finals 2019. Knee appreciated Pakistani talent and expressed his desire to visit again. During his stay, the Tekken Legend got to enjoy Pakistan’s hospitality and practised during the 3 day sessions in which knee played 41 sets against the strong local talent and ended up winning 38 of them.
Arwa Afridi of Pakistan Railways, with Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited’s support, has won 2 gold medals at the 2nd World Alpagut Championship. The martial arts tournament was held in Baku, Azerbaijan with 600 participants from 24 different countries of different categories. 9 fighters participated from Pakistan, including 2 female and 7 male athletes. Pakistan stood 4th in the overall ranking table.
The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has proposed that a chip be installed on computerized national identity cards which will tell whether or not the CNIC holder wants to donate their organs. The proposal was made during the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice which met with Senator Javed Abbasi, discussed “The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill, 2018”.
According to the weekly report of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan crossed $15.5 billion mark that are at the highest since June 2019. As per the report, the total foreign reserves of State Bank have recorded an increase of $240 million and stand at $8,682.3 million. While the commercial banks have a total of $6,895.4 million of foreign reserves.