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January 01, 2021: National / International Current Affairs
1. Construction sector `amnesty plan` extended
• Prime Minister Imran Khan on December 31, 2020 gave a `new year gift` to those associated with the construction sector by announcing that the fixed-tax regime for them has been extended by another year till Dec 2021 and the facility of non-disclosure of source of income while making investment till June 2021.
• The prime minister also gave one-year extension to construction projects which were supposed to be completed in 2022 and now they can be completed by 2023, the last year of the five-year term of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf-led government.
• `I want to give [the construction sector] good news for the new year that we have extended the fixed tax regime to Dec 31, 2021,` the prime minister said in a live address to the nation
2. Chinese, Pakistani FMs agree on need to deepen cooperation
• Pakistan and China on December 31, 2020 decided to deepen their cooperation and work together for peace and stability in the region.
• This was agreed between the two countries during a telephone conversation between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, which continued for an hour.
• The conversation, the Foreign Office said, was arranged to `reaffirm the depth and breadth` of bilateral `All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership` and exchange views on Covid-19, bilateral relations, and regional and international issues of mutual interest
3. Pakistan, China ink $100m loan agreement for rehabilitation of National Highway N-5
• Pakistan and China on December 31, 2020 signed loan agreement worth $100 million for the rehabilitation of National Highway N-5 Project that would help to improve road infrastructure and augment the north-south connectivity.
• Nong Rong, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Pakistan, and Noor Ahmad, Secretary Economic Affairs Division, signed the agreement on the behalf of respective governments. Later, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Pakistan called on Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar, Minister for Economic Affairs in his office
4. First female DPO posted in KP
• The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for the very first time appointed a female police officer as District Police Officer (DPO), in the province on December 31, 2020.
• Sania Shamroz – a grade-18 SP Officer was posted as DPO Lower Chitral.
• She has served as Principal of the Police Training Center Mansehra. Hailing from Abbottabad district, she joined the police service as Assistant Superintendent of Police, Abbottabad after clearing the Central Superior Services exam in 2013.
• Recently, Sania returned from Britain, where she attended a fellowship certificate programme on violence against women and domestic disputes
5. Magoo elected FPCCI chief
• Mian Nasser Hyatt Magoo and Khawaja Shazaib Akram were elected president and senior vice president of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), respectively, for the year 2021.
• The apex trade body in its annual general meeting held on December 31, 2020 at the Federation House announced the election results
6. Gibraltar joins Schengen as Spain, UK ink 11th-hour deal
• Gibraltar will become part of the Schengen zone to ensure fluidity on its border with Spain in a landmark deal inked just hours before the Brexit deadline, Spain`s top diplomat said on December 31, 2020.
• Negotiators representing the governments in Madrid, London and Gibraltar have been working around the clock to ink a deal to avoid the creation of a new `hard border` between the tiny British territory and the European Union that would have caused huge disruption for travellers and businesses on both sides of the line
7. China grants conditional approval for use of local vaccine
• China has granted `conditional` market approval to a Sinopharm vaccine with a reported 79 per cent efficacy rate against Covid-19, health authorities said on December 31, 2020, a major stride towards inoculating the world`s largest population.
• The Sinopharm jab, which has surged ahead of a raft of Chinese competitors during Phase 3 trials, could signal a breakthrough in the battle to squash the pandemic in Asia
8. White House releases strategy for planetary protection
• The National Strategy for Planetary Protection reflects the critical importance of planetary protection to the future of space science, exploration, and life on Earth.
• Planetary protection refers to the policy and practice of protecting future scientific investigations by limiting biological contamination of other planetary bodies through exploration activities and protecting the Earth’s biosphere by avoiding harmful biological contamination by returning spacecraft.
9. Australian anthem changed to recognise the Indigenous
• A line in Australia`s national anthem officially changed on December 31, 2020 in a move the nation`s leader said was aimed at better recognising the country`s Indigenous people.
• Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the second line in the national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, would change from `For we are young and free` to `For we are one and free`.
10. `Most prolific` serial killer in US history dies
• The man authorities say was the most prolific serial killer in US history, with nearly 60 confirmed victims, died on December 30, 2020 in California. He was 80.
• Samuel Little, who had diabetes, head trouble and other ailments, died at a California hospital, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was serving a life sentence for multiple counts of murder
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