Current Affairs 19th August 2018

Current Affairs 19th August 2018  - Important Points

• World Humanitarian Day 2018 observed globally on - 19th August 2018
• Imran Khan sworn in as 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan on - 18th August 2018
• 18th edition of Asian Games to begin in Jakarta, Indonesia on - 2nd September 2018

 Current Affairs 19th August 2018 - Ddetails

World Humanitarian Day 2018 observed globally on - 19th August 2018

The World Humanitarian Day was observed on 19th August 2018 all across the globe in order to pay tribute to workers risking their lives in humanitarian services and to gather support for people affected by crises around the world.

The terrorist attack had hit the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq on 19th August 2003
Where the bombing killed 22 people including UN Representative in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

Fiver years after this incident , back in 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19th August as World Humanitarian Day. Since then every year, the humanitarian community has organised global campaign to commemorate the Day to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian aid workers and for the well-being, survival and dignity of people who were affected by crisis.

Imran Khan sworn in as 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan on - 18th August 2018

Imran Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former cricketer, was sworn in as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan on 18th August, 2018. The President Mamnoon Hussain administered the oath taking ceremony at the President House in Islamabad.

Khan’s PTI party had won the general elections conducted in the nation in July 2018. But his party fell short of getting full majority but it managed to scrape through a simple majority in the Pakistan parliament's confidence vote, which was conducted on 17th August.

Khan secured 176 votes, against 172 needed for majority, beating Shehbaz Sharif, president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, who got only 96.

Important Highlights

• He will be taking the reign of power for the first time in his 22-year-old political career, till now he served a long-time opposition politician only.
• He has led campaign against corruption and government mismanagement after retiring as one of Pakistan's most popular cricketers back in 1992.
• Khan had famously captained Pakistan’s national cricket team to World Cup glory in 1992.
• He also invited his former teammates and contemporaries including Navjot Singh Sidhu and Wasim Akram were in the swearing-in ceremony.
• Khan’s next step after being sworn in would be to form a cabinet and assuming the control of the government.

18th edition of Asian Games to begin in Jakarta, Indonesia on - 2nd September 2018

The 18th edition of Asian Games is scheduled to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from August 18th to September 2nd, 2018. The opening ceremony will be beginning at 5:30 pm Indian time, with most of the events scheduled to commence from August 19th onwards. The games will be taking place in Jakarta simultaneously, capital of Indonesia and Palembang, capital of the province of South Sumatra, so as to accommodate all branches of sports.

Important Highlights

• The event will be witnessing participation from around 11,000 athletes from 45 countries in 40 sports and 67 disciplines consisting of 28 Olympic sports, 8 new non-Olympic sports and 4 new Olympic sports.
• Some of the events, including Handball and Football, already started last week.
• For the first time, eSports, a form of competition using video games, and canoe polo will also be contested as demonstration sports.
• The Indian contingent at the games will be led by Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra,will be India's flag-bearer at the glittering opening ceremony.
• Around 570 Indian athletes are expected to compete for top honours across 36 sports, which will be taking place in Jakarta and in Palembang.
• Renowned Indonesian singers like Raisa, Anggun and Tulus and a total of 4,000 dancers will also be performing at the ceremony.