1) Obama to take Cuba off US terror list
- The United States will remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. The move comes amid a normalization of relations between the US and Cuba. Cuba`s presence on the list alongside Syria, Iran and Sudan was a sticking point for it during talks to reopen embassies.
- Obama noted that Cuba had not provided support for international terrorism over the last six months and had assured that it will not do so in the future as well. The move came amid a normalization of ties between the two countries. The Caribbean nation’s presence on the terror list had been a key sticking point for Cuba during talks to reopen embassies.
2) Pakistan Supreme Court stays executions by military courts
- Pakistan Supreme Court on 16th April ordered a stay on execution of convicted militants sentenced by military courts. The petition was filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association
- Chief Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk ruled that the execution of military courts` death sentences to those already awarded is suspended. The Chief Justice added that those convicted by military courts could appeal against their sentences. According to the court’s order, the death warrants of terror convicts awarded by the military courts in future will also be suspended.
3) Julian Assange agrees to questioning in London
- The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has agreed to be questioned at Ecuador’s London embassy over allegations of sexual assault. His Swedish lawyer said that Assange has been in imposed house arrest in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations of assaulting two women in 2010.
4) Pakistan, Sri Lanka ink N-deal
- Current Affirs Pakistan and Sri Lanka on 6th April signed six agreements including one on nuclear cooperation, two months after Sri Lanka inked an atomic deal with India.
- The agreements were signed after Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had a meeting with visiting Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understating for cooperation between Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and Atomic Energy Authority of Sri Lanka.
5) UN sanctions Pakisthn Taliban chief
- The UN Security Council has slapped sanctions on Pakistan Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah, mastermind of the Peshawar school massacre, for perpetrating and financing terror acts. Fazlullah was added to the UN Security Council Al-Qaeda Sanctions list yesterday and will now be subject to assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.
- The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan commander, nicknamed the "Radio Mullah", was seriously injured in air strikes in Pakistan`s restive Khyber tribal area late last month. There were unconfirmed reports of his death in the air strike. The US had in January designated Fazlullah as a global terrorist and had slapped sanctions against him. Fazlullah was the leader of the Taliban in Swat Valley and became the Taliban chief after the killing of his predecessor Hakimullah in a US drone attack in November 2013.
6) Oklahoma set to become first US state to allow nitrogen gas executions
- Oklahoma is set to become the first state in the United States to allow the use of nitrogen gas as a method of execution. The State Legislature has passed a bill, which now awaits the Governor`s signature to become law. Several US states are considering alternative execution methods as they struggle to obtain lethal injection drugs amid a nationwide shortage.
7) Seoul won WWF’s Earth Hour City Challenge
- Seoul city, the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea, on 9 April 2015 was awarded the title of Global Earth hour Capital 2015 after it won the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The challenge saw the participation of 163 cities from 16 countries. The award ceremony was held in Seoul, South Korea. The city of Balikpapan, Indonesia was recognized as the Most Loveable City for 2015.
8) Obama and Castro sit for historic US-Cuba meeting
- US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro have met on the fringes of the Summit of the Americas, the first formal talks between the two countries` leaders in half a century. This is their first full meeting since the thaw began in December. Castro has called for the lifting of the US economic blockade on Cuba, in place since 1959.
- According to Obama the immediate tasks include normalising diplomatic relationships between the two countries and opening a US embassy in Havana and a Cuban embassy in Washington DC.