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January 01, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. New system to replace district HQ hospitals, says PM
• Prime Minister Imran Khan on December 31, 2021 announced that the government would shut down all district headquarters (DHQ) hospitals and facilitate the private sector to ensure provision of health care to people in far-off areas through the Naya Pakistan National Health Card.
• Speaking at the launch of the health card at a ceremony at the Governor House, the prime minister regretted that the DHQ hospitals were lying deserted because of the absence of doctors there. `Why should the government spend money if doctors are not going to the DHQ hospitals to serve the masses?` he asked.
• The prime minister said the health card would be available in Lahore division from Jan 1 (today) and all families across Punjab would be covered by March 2022. Calling it a big step towards the creation of a welfare state, the PM said the government would be spending Rs400 billion to offer health insurance to 30 million families in Punjab.
2. ECC allows subsidy on five essential items for another month
• The Economic Coordination Commitree (ECC) of the cabinet on Friday approved the continuation of untargeted subsidy on five essential food items at Utility Stores outlets for only one month January 2022.
• The decision was taken at a meeting of the ECC presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin.
• December 31, 2021 was the deadline for the untargeted subsidy on wheat flour, sugar, vegetable ghee, pulses and rice effective from July 1, 2021.
• The ECC approved a proposal of the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) for revision of customer pricing and mark-up subsidy period under Tier-I of the government scheme for low-cost housing and inclusion of housing finance companies in the scheme for housing finance. The meeting directed that there should be no direct involvement of commercial banks in the NAPHDA projects
3. Administrators appointed in Punjab Dissolution of local govts notified
• The Punjab government on Friday notified the dissolution of local governments in the province and appointed administrators till the election of new representatives.
• The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf`s (PTI) Punjab government had dissolved the local bodies constituted under the Punjab Local Government Act (PLGA) 2013 in May 2019, soon after coming to power.
• However, the Supreme Court ordered restoration of local government institutions in March 2021 after declaring their dissolution as unconstitutional.
• In October, the local government representatives assumed the charge after the Punjab government formally issued a notification to implement the orders of the Supreme Court for the restoration of the local government
4. SBP injects Rs604bn through 63-day OMO
• In the third consecutive open market operation (OMO)in as many weeks, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Friday injected cash into the money market for an unusual 63-day period.
• The SBP provided banks with Rs604 billion liquidity against the offered amount of Rs963bn. It injected Rs330bn at 9.87 per cent for seven days in addition to providing Rs274bn at 9.88pc for 63 days through the OMO, a tool that the central bank uses to regulate the short term cost of money by trading government debt securities with commercial banks.
• The latest OMO follows the two OMOs held on Dec 24 and Dec 17 in which the SBP lent banks a total of Rs2.85 trillion for seven and 63-day tenors. The move is aimed at bringing down the yields on treasury bills that have risen despite the SBP`s forward guidance suggesting no change in the benchmark interest rate in the immediate term
5. $2.3bn committed to Pakistan in 2021: ADB
• Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) achieved a `historic high level of cooperation` in 2021 with over $2.3 billion committed by the multilateral development bank, its country director for Pakistan, Yong Ye, said on Friday.
• `This reflects our enduring partnership with Pakistan, Mr Ye said in his New Year video message posted on Twitter. He said that despite the challenge posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan continued to make impressive progress and carry out robust economic, fiscal and structural reforms.
• `ADB, guided by its new country partnership strategy, looks forward to deepening its support for Pakistan,` he said, adding that the bank would continue its support for Pakistan`s pandemic response through vaccination, social protection, public sector management, climate resilience, competitiveness and private sector development.
6. US to put more liquidity into Afghan economy, says Blinken
• Outlining US foreign policy goals for 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has promised to look `intensely` at options to put more liquidity into the Afghan economy.
• At a year-ender news conference on Thursday afternoon, the US foreign policy chief identified `Russia`s aggression toward Ukraine, Iran`s nuclear program, and China`s efforts to challenge the rules-based international order` as some of the major challenges of 2022.
• Responding to a question about Afghanistan, he pointed out that the US has participated in the release of about $280 million recently in the Afghan Trust Fund. `And we are looking intensely at ways to put more liquidity into the Afghan economy, to get more money into people`s pockets,` he added
7. Russia test-fires 10 hypersonic missiles
• Russia test-fired 10 new Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles from a frigate and two more from a submarine, Interfax news agency said on Friday.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has lauded the weapon as part of a new generation of unrivalled arms systems.
• Putin has called a missile test, conducted last week, `a big event in the country`s life`, adding that this was `a substantial step` in increasing Russia`s defence capabilities
8. Palestinians object to suppression of content on Facebook
• Palestinian journalists have raised the alarm over what they describe as unjust suppression of their content on Facebook, a claim backed by rights groups but rejected by the social media giant.
• On December 4, Palestine TV correspondent Christine Rinawi posted a video on her Facebook account in which Israeli security forces were seen shooting a Palestinian on the ground, killing him. He had just carried out a knife attack on an Israeli civilian.
• Shortly after she posted her video, Rinawi, who has nearly 400,000 followers, noticed it had been removed from her account.
• This was not her first experience with Facebook`s enforcement, and Rinawi said her account had already been restricted after she shared foot-age of a November attack in Jerusalem
9. Four security men martyred in clash with terrorists
• Four security personnel were martyred in a clash with terrorists in North Waziristan tribal district, while two terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Tank district.
• The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media affairs wing of military, on Friday said the IBO was conducted on the reported presence of terrorists in the area. It said that one terrorist was arrested along with weapons and ammunition.
• The ISPR said the soldiers had embraced martyrdom in a heavy exchange of fire with terrorists thattook place during an IBO on Wednesday. They were identified as Havaldar Munawar, Sepoy Zakaullah,Farhan and Sheraz
10. Rizwan, Shaheen among nominees for ICC Player of the Year award
• Pakistan duo of Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi, England captain Joe Root and New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson were on Friday short-listed for the ICC Men`s Cricketer of the Year Award for their stellar performances across formats.
• The award will be given to the best overall performer in men`s international cricket (Tests, ODIs and T20Is) during 2021. The winner, who will lift the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, will be announced on January 24.
• Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Rizwan had a stunning year with 1915 runs in 44 internationals at an average of 56.32 with two centuries. He also had 56 dismissals behind the wickets
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