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December 19, 2021: National / International Current Affairs
1. MNA`s father among 15 die in Karachi drain gas blast
• At least 15 people were killed and 16 others injured when a building housing a private bank in the Shershah area collapsed on Saturday due to a huge gas explosion in a nullah on which it was constructed, according to officials and witnesses.
• The death toll is feared to climb up, as doctors described the condition of six of the injured as serious. Among the deceased was father of the ruling party`s lawmaker Alamgir Khan, Dilawar Khan, while most of others who died were bank employees or clients.
• In a tweet, Prime Minister Imran Khan stated: `My heartfelt prayers & condolences go to all the families of victims of the twin blasts at Sher Shah Paracha Chowk, Karachi. I am especially saddened to hear of the loss of our MNA Alamgir Khan`s father who also perished in the blast. May Allah give him strength to bear this loss.
• Officials have ruled out the possibility of any sabotage or terrorist act declaring that the explosion took place due to accumulation of gases in the sewerage line. However, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad All Shah directed the Karachi commissioner to conduct a thorough inquiry in consultation with police
2. Pakistan`s Covid-19 mortality rate much higher than global rate
• Though health experts have been claiming that Covid-19 has proved less lethal among Asians, global data shows that Pakistan`s mortality rate is far higher than many regions.
• Member of the Scientific Task Force on Covid-19 Dr Taved Akram was of the view that more Pakistanis died because they visited hospitals due to complications arising from Covid-19 rather than the infection itself. He also blamed poor health and diagnostic facilities for the high number of casualties.
• A document of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), available with Dawn, said the coronavirus mortality rate of Pakistan was 2.24 per cent against 1.97pc globally. It further showed that 28,870 deaths were reported across the country, out of which 61pc were males and 39pc females.
• The minimum age of a Pakistani national who succumbed to the infection was two months and the maximum age was over 100 years, with the median age calculated at 62 years, the document revealed.
3. One killed, 10 injured in Quetta bomb blast
• A person was killed and 10 others, including women and children, were injured in a bomb blast in the city`s busy Masjid Road area on December 18, 2021 evening.
• Police said that some unidentified people attached an explosive device to a motorcycle and parked it in the area near the Kandahar Bazaar crossing. They detonated the device by remote control.
• All the victims were passing through the area at the time of the blast.
• Soon after receiving information about the blast, security personnel rushed to the area and shifted the body and the injured to Civil Hospital.
• Personnel of the bomb disposal squad also reached the blast site and collected evidence from there.
4. WB approves $195m to improve electricity distribution
• The World Bank`s Board of Executive Directors has approved $195 million to support Pakistan in improving electricity distribution and implementing energy sector reforms to increase service quality for consumers.
• The Electricity Distribution Efficiency Improvement Project will help distribution companies improve operations to manage the electricity supply more efficiently and increase the reliability of the electrical grid.
• The project focuses on cost-saving interventions to increase revenue collection and reduce losses, and on modernising operations by employing technology and information systems
5. LHC orders amendment in Nikahnama to settle dower issue
• The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) has ordered the federal and Punjab governments to amend column 13 of the Nikahnama, which deals with the amount of dower, to avoid problems between a couple after marriage.
• A division bench comprising Justice Mirza Viqas Rauf and Justice Raheel Kamran has been asked by the chief justice to decide a matter relating to questions whether columns 13 and 16 (relating to the dower) in the Nikahnama are to be read separately or in conjunction with each other or entries in the document can operate against a person not privy to it.
• According to facts of the case, a house owned by a man had been mentioned as haq mehr in the Nikahnama of his son. The man was neither a signatory to the document nor had he given any consent for the transfer of the same in favour of his daughter-in-law, so she was precluded to claim the said house. The woman had approached the high court against an order of a sessions court.In the verdict, the judges noted that column 13 exclusively dealt with the amount of dower whereas columns 14, 15 and 16 were in addition to column 13 in order to explain the nature of the dower, part of dower if paid at the time of marriage or the property in lieu of the dower
6. LDA hands over 122 kanals to health department for hospital
• The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) has handed over the possession of its 122 kanal land which once housed the Kot Lakhpat fruit and vegetable market to the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department (SH&MED) for construction of a 100-bed hospital.
• The authority did this after it sold the land, situated at prime location of Ferozepur Road near Arfa Karim Technology Park, to the department for over Rs2 billion, Dawn has learnt. After the 2011 shifting the business to the newly-established fruit and vegetable market in Kaacha village near Hadiara drain on Ferozepur Road, various organisations representing public and private sector showed interest in procuring this precious chunk of land, but the LDA didn`t sold it to anyone.
• However, it found a proposal of the specialised healthcare department to buy the land `reasonable
7. Taliban govt resumes issuing Afghan passports in Kabul
• Afghanistan`s Taliban authorities said on December 18, 2021 they will resume issuing passports in Kabul, giving hope to citizens who feel threatened living under the Islamists` rule.
• Thousands of Afghans have applied for new travel documents to escape a growing economic as well as a humanitarian crisis described by the United Nations as an `avalanche of hunger`.
• Authorities will start issuing the documents from Sunday at Kabul`s passport office, Alam Gul Haqqani, the head of the passport department in the interior ministry, told reporters
8. Russia sends nuclear-capable bombers on patrol over Belarus
• A pair of nuclear-capable Russian long-range bombers patrolled the skies over Belarus on December 18, 2021 on a mission intended to underline close defence ties between the two allies amid tensions with the West.
• The Russian defence ministry said two Tu-22M3 flew a four-hour mission to practice performing joint tasks with the Belarusian air force and air defence. The bombers were escorted by Belarus` Su-30 fighter jets, which Russia has supplied to its ally.
• Saturday`s Russian bomber patrol marked a third such mission since last month. The patrol flight comes amid Western concerns over a Russian troop buildup near Ukraine that raised fears of an invasion. Moscow has denied plans for such an attack, but urged the West to provide security guarantees that would exclude Nato`s expansion to Ukraine and the deployment of the alliance`s weapons there demands that are almost certain to be rejected by the US and its allies
9. Waheed double helps Pakistan hold South Korea
• Rana Abdul Waheed scored twice, including a 57th-minute leveller, to help Pakistan hold South Korea to a 3-3 draw in their round-robin match of the Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, Bangladesh on December 18, 2021.
• Man-of-the-match Afraz`s 24th-minute goal cancelled out Kim Kyu-beom`s opener for South Korea 10 minutes earlier before Wahid put Pakistan in front in the 33rd.
• The Koreans, however, regained the lead with goals by Ji Woo-Cheon in the 42nd and Jang Jong-hyun in the 56th, only for Wahid to secure a point for Pakistan
10. Nasir falls in Asian Individual Squash semi-final
• Nasir Iqbal, Pakistan`s only hope in the men`s event of the 21st Asian Individual Squash Championship, fell to Yip Tsz Fung of Hong Kong in the semi-final after retiring here at the Mushaf Squash Complex on December 18, 2021.
• Yip downed Nasir 11-6, 11-4, 3-1 in a one-sided 29-minute battle.
• Ng Eain Yow of Malaysia outplayed Hong Kong`s Lau Tsz Kwan 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 in the other last-four match that lasted 30 minutes
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