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December 26, 2021: National / International Current Affairs
1. Govt to table bills paving way for $1bn IMF tranche
• The government on December 25, 2021 said it would introduce the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2021 and the State Bank of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the parliament for approval on Tuesday to ensure its sixth review of the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) gets cleared by the International Monetary Fund`s (IMF) executive board on Jan 12, paving the way for the disbursement of about $1bn tranche.
• Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin told Dawn that all fiscal, monetary and reform measures agreed with the IMF as prior actions had been completed. All arrangements were in place to ensure that the entire package including the supplementary finance and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) bills is approved by the cabinet during its meeting on Tuesday.
• `We will take it to the parliament the same day in the afternoon,` he said
2. Islamabad reports first Omicron case
• After its detection in Karachi almost a fortnight ago, Omicron surfaced in Islamabad on December 25, 2021 after a person was found infected by Covid-19`s most virulent strain.
• Pakistan reported its first suspected case of Omicron on Dec 8, which was later confirmed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Dec 13.
• The patient is a 47-yearold man who had arrived from Karachi in the current week. As many as 10 of his contacts have been quarantined and their samples collected for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test
3. Termination of service on verbal order illegal: SC
• No employer can terminate the services of its employees on mere verbal instructions without any written order containing explicit reasons or cause for termination, the Supreme Court has held.
• Authored by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, a verdict issued by the apex court emphasised that there was no provision under the Labour Laws or the Service Laws permitting the employer to terminate the services verbally without a written order containing `explicit reasons or cause of termination or for disciplinary proceedings on account of misconduct`.
• The judgement explained that a separate procedure had been laid down for proper termination of services, which accentuated the issuance of show-cause notice, holding of inquiry unless dispensed with by the competent authority considering all attending circumstances of the case that too after personal hearing
4. Taliban govt scraps Afghan election commission
• The Taliban have dissolved Afghanistan`s election commission, a panel that supervised polls during the previous Western-backed administration, a spokesman for the Islamist government said on December 25, 2021.
• `There is no need for these commissions to exist and operate,` Taliban government spokesman Bilal Karimi said, referring to the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Independent Electoral Complaints Commission.
• `If we ever feel a need, the Islamic Emirate will revive these commissions.` The Taliban swept to power in August as a Western-backed government imploded in the final stages of a US military withdrawal.
• Established in 2006, the IEC was mandated to administer and supervise all types of elections, including presidential, according to the commission`s website
5. Saudi-led force launches Yemen assault after two killed in kingdom
• The Saudi-led coalition on December 25, 2021 launched a `large-scale` assault on Yemen after missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed two people in the kingdom, the first such deaths in three years.
• The Houthis warned Yemen`s oil rich northern neighbour of a `painful` response if the coalition does not stop its `aggression` against the conflicttriven country.
• Yemen has been wracked by civil war since 2014, pitting the internationally recognised government supported by the Saudi-led military coalition against the Houthis who control much of the north.
• Tens of thousands of people have since been killed, in what the UN has described as the world`s worst humanitarian crisis
6. Exemptions allow US to deal with Taliban, Haqqani Network
• Three general licences issued by the US Treasury this week allow US government officials and international agencies to conduct `official business` with the Taliban and Haqqani Network.
• An official statement issued by the Treasury`s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) explains how this `official business` can be conducted.
• `General Licence 17 authorises all transactions and activities involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network that are for the conduct of the official business of the US government by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof, subject to certain conditions
7. China reports highest number of Covid cases in four months
• China on December 25, 2021 reported its highest number of new coronavirus cases in four months as officials rushed to contain outbreaks in several regions, including Xi`an city where millions are still under lockdown.
• China, where the coronavirus was first detected in late 2019, is on high alert for new infections as it prepares to hold the Winter Olympics in February in the capital Beijing.
• Of the 140 new infections, 87 were locally transmitted, according to a statement by the National Health Commission, compared to 55 a day earlier.
• Most were in Xi`an, in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, where 13 million residents have been under lockdown since Thursday
8. James Webb telescope sets off on million-mile voyage
• The world`s most powerful space telescope on December 25, 2021 blasted off into orbit, headed to an outpost 1.5 million kilometres (930,000 miles) from Earth, after several delays caused by technical hitches.
• The James Webb Space Telescope, some three decades and billions of dollars in the making, left Earth enclosed in its Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana.
• `What an amazing day. It`s truly Christmas,` said Thomas Zurbuchen, head of scientific missions for Nasa, which together with the European and Canadian space agencies, ESA and ACS, built the telescope.
9. Pakistan edge India in thriller to reach U-19 Asia Cup semis
• Fast bowler Zeeshan Zemeer`s five-wicket haul backed by a fine 81-run knock by Mohammad Shehzad steered Pakistan to a nail-biting two wicket victory over arch-rivals India in their group `A` match of the U-19 Asia Cup in Dubai on December 25, 2021.
• Chasing 238 for victory, Pakistan achieved their target off the very last ball when Ahmed Khan drove Indian pacer Ravi Kumar for a boundary.
• Earlier, right-handed Shehzad played a fighting knock off 105balls while striking five sixes and four fours.
• At 230-7, Pakistan required eight runs for victory in the final over. On the first ball of the over, Pakistan lost Zeeshan, who was the wrecker-in-chief of the Indian innings with five wickets, for a duck to Ravi. But Ahmed (29 not out) with Ali Asfand (1 not out) survived the tense moments and achieved the target on the last ball.
10. Illingworth dies at 89
• Former England captain Ray Illingworth has died at the age of 89, his county, Yorkshire, announced on December 25, 2021.
• `We are deeply saddened to learn that Ray Illingworth has passed away,` the county wrote on its Twitter account.
• He had been undergoing radiotherapy for oesophageal cancer.
• Illingworth played 61 Tests for England between 1958 and 1973 and captained the country 31 times, winning 12 matches and an Ashes series in Australia in 1970-1.
• He was an all-rounder who scored 1,836 Test runs at an average of 23.24 and claimed 122 wickets with his off-spin bowling at 31.20.
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