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August 24, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. Pakistan seeks world aid to cope with flood emergency
• As massive floods across Pakistan have so far claimed at least 830 lives since July, the government on August 23, 2022 decided to launch an international appeal seeking funds for relief and rehabilitation of flood-hit people and restoration of damaged infrastructure.
• This decision was taken during an urgent briefing on the flood emergency in Pakistan by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), which was summoned to reassess the damage done by floods and to apprise the development partners and donors of the magnitude of the crisis.
• In addition to looking outward for assistance to mitigate the devastation caused by abnormal monsoon downpour, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also appealed to the nation to extend help to the flood-stricken people as the government required hundreds of billions to rehabilitate the flood victims
2. Senate body okays bills seeking to repeal MTI Act, abolish PMC
• The Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services (NHS) on August 23, 2022 passed two important bills following which members of the health fraternity have become hopeful that the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Act at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) would be abolished soon.
• It is worth mentioning here that the committee, chaired by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Senator Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, had to discuss two bills titled `The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Bill 2022` and `The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) Bill 2022` moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)Senator Saleem Mandviwalla on Aug 1.
• The house had referred both bills to the standing committee with a suggestion to consider and report within two days but during its last meeting, held on Aug 3, the committee chairman refused to hold voting on the matter and announced to adjourn the meeting despite severe protest by senators of the coalition government parties
3. Pakistan`s political turmoil echoes in US, UN corridors
• The political turmoil in Pakistan echoed far away in the United States as well, where the UN chief urged Islamabad to keep the legal process impartial while the State Department underlined the need to follow `democratic, constitutional and legal` principles.
• The controversy that followed PTI chief Imran Khan`s controversial remarks against a female judge and the Islamabad police also drew the attention of the US media and Washington`s think tanks, where experts urged ruling and opposition forces in Pakistan not to rock the boat.
• On Monday afternoon, the issue came up at a UN news briefing in New York as well when a reporter asked if the UN chief was aware of the recent political developments in Pakistan. Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said the UN chief was `aware` of the charges brought against Imran Khan and emphasised the `need for a competent, independent and impartial legal process`
4. India sacks 3 officials over missile mishap
• India on August 23, 2022 blamed the March 9 firing of a missile into Pakistan on violation of Standard Operating Procedures and sacked three Indian Air Force (IAF) officials.
• A mid-range BrahMos cruise missile had struck a cold storage in Mian Channu after originating from India.
• No loss of life occurred due to the incident, which India had then claimed to have happened accidentally during a routine maintenance operation because of a technical malfunction.
• The missile travelled 124km inside Pakistan for three minutes and 44 seconds, but it was not shot down by Pakistani air defences. The military had claimed to have tracked the missile all along its route till it hit the cold storage
5. Malaysia`s ex-PM Najib gets 12-years jail for graft
• Malaysia`s top court ordered former prime minister Najib Razak to begin a 12-year prison sentence on August 23, 2022 after upholding a guilty conviction on charges related to a multibillion dollar graft scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
• The federal court ruling caps the stunning downfall of Najib, who until four years ago governed Malaysia with an iron grip and suppressed local investigations of the 1MDB scandal that has implicated financial institutions and high ranking officials worldwide.
• Investigators have said some $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB co-founded by Najib during his first year as prime minister in 2009 and that over $1 billion went to accounts linked to Najib
