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December 29, 2021: National / International Current Affairs
1. Tabling of mini-budget in parliament deferred
• The federal cabinet on December 28, 2021 approved the first-ever National Security Policy (NSP) of the country but deferred approval of the supplementary finance bill [mini-budget] which was scheduled to be tabled in the National Assembly on December 29, 2021 (today).
• In a significant decision, the cabinet ordered publication of members of parliament (MPs) 2019 tax directory and observed that `no other sector has as much accountability as politicians`.
• `The cabinet deferred [approval of] the [supplementary finance] bill today as it wants a threadbare discussion on it before presenting it to the parliament for passage,` Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a post-cabinet meeting press conference. He said a special meeting of the cabinet would be held soon on a one-point agenda the supplementary finance bill. He said the bill would be presented in the current session of the parliament and an initial discussion on the draft was held in the cabinet meeting
2. SNGPL resumes supply to textile export industry from today
• After most stay applications against the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) on supply to the industry were withdrawn on December 28, 2021, the company decided to start supplying 75 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas to captive power-run textile export industry from Wednesday (today).
• However, an official source in the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division) said the SNGPL could ensure provision of 75mmcfd of gas to the industry over a long period only if it curtails supplies to gas-fired power plants in Punjab.
• `The situation related to re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) supplies from liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals have improved and may continue till the end of this week. However, if it deteriorates in the near future, which is quite possible keeping in view the increasing demand of the domestic sector, the company will have no option but to curtail RLNG supplies to power plants that may cause disruption in power generation and lead to loadshedding in Punjab,` the official, who requested anonymity, told Dawn on Tuesday
3. `Nine nations agree to cooperate in Belt and Road Initiative`
• Nine regional countries have agreed to cooperate in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and dismissed the possibility for commencement of any `new cold war`.
• Pakistan-China Institute (PCI) hosted an extraordinary nine-nation webinar on regional economic connectivity, `Belt and road cooperation: promoting people-to-people bond`. The webinar was attended by representatives from Friends of Silk Road organisations of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand and think-tanks in Indonesia, Philippines and China.
• Saying the `Asian Century` needs BRI to progress, the speakers called for strengthening multilateral cooperation, promoting the BRI as it represents shared interests of Asian countries.
• The nine countries agreed to institutionalise their interaction, counter disinformation and fake news and rejected any notion of a `new cold war`
4. Pak Refinery unveils $1.2bn expansion plans
• Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL) has decided to expand and upgrade its production capacity at an estimated cost of $1.2 billion, a securities filing said on December 28, 2021.
• Speaking to Dawn, PRL Managing Director Zahid Mir said the project will double the company`s installed refining capacity to 100,000 barrels per day in five years.
• `Daily petrol production will increase from 750 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes while diesel production will rise from 2,000 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes,` he said
5. Peshawar-Dera motorway project approved
• Public-Private Partnership Committee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has approved construction of 360-kilometre Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway and 30-kilometre Dir Motorway.
• The approval was accorded in a meeting of the committee held here on December 28, 2021 with Chief Minister Mahmood Khan in the chair, according to a statement.
• Besides provincial ministers Fazal-i-Shakoor Khan and Riaz Khan, Chief Secretary Dr Shahzad Bangash, Additional Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, the secretaries of finance and communication and works departments, Advocate General Shumail Butt, the managing director of Pakhtunkhwa Highway Authority and other members of the committee attended the meeting
6. First parking plaza of Quetta opened
• Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo inaugurated the first parking plaza of the provincial capital at the Circular Road on December 28, 2021.
• A project of the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation, it has been completed in more than 12 years at a cost of Rs1.02 billion due to negligence of the authorities concerned and lack of funds.
• The parking plaza has six floors which will accommodate more than 600 cars and 678 motorcycles. Its construction will reduce traffic jams in Quetta.
• The commercial areas of the city have been facing traffic pressure since long with its population of 3.5 million
7. China slams US after space station`s `close encounters` with Musk`s satellites
• Beijing on December 28, 2021 accused the United States of irresponsible and unsafe conduct in space over two `close encounters` between the Chinese space station and satellites operated by Elon Musk`s SpaceX.
• Tiangong, China`s new space station, had to manoeuvre to avoid colliding with one Starlink satellite in July and with another in October, according to a note submitted by Beijing to the United Nations space agency this month.
• The note said the incidents `constituted dangers to the life or health of astronauts aboard the China Space Station`
8. Russian court orders closure of rights group
• Russia`s Supreme Court ordered on December 28, 2021 the closure of Memorial, the country`s most prominent rights group that chronicled Stalin-era purges and symbolised post-Soviet democratisation, sparking an international outcry.
• The court ruling against Memorial International, the group`s central structure, caps a year that began with the jailing of President Vladimir Putin`s top critic Alexei Navalny and saw a historic crackdown on rights groups and independent media.
• But the ban against Memorial stands out even in the current climate and would have been unimaginable just a few years ago
9. Time capsule found in base of Gen Lee`s statue
• Workers dismantling the pedestal of a statue of a Confederate general discovered a copper box on Monday believed to have been buried 130 years ago, the second apparent time capsule unearthed at the site.
• According to an 1887 newspaper article, a time capsule hidden in the base of the statue of General Robert E. Lee, who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, contained relics such as buttons and bullets, Confederate currency, maps, a rare picture of assassinated president Abraham Lincoln in his cofin and other items. `Experts believe there may be coins, books, buttons, and even ammunition from the Civil War,` he said.
10. France orders mosque closed over `unacceptable preaching`
• France has ordered the closure of a mosque in the north of the country because of the `radical nature` of its imam`s preaching, regional authorities said on December 28, 2021.
• The mosque in Beauvais, a town of 50,000 people some 100 kilometres north of Paris, will remain shut for six months, according to the prefecture of the Oise region where Beauvais is located.
• The authorities alleged the sermons there incited hatred, violence and `defended jihad`.
• The decision about the mosque, which has a congregation of about 400, comes two weeks after Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he had triggered the procedure to close the site because the imam there `is targeting Christians, homosexuals and Jews` in his sermons
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