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January 17, 2021: National / International Current Affairs
1. Drap gives go-ahead to AstraZeneca for use in emergency
• In a major development, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has approved AstraZeneca`s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use and was expected to register the Chinese state-owned firm Sinopharm`s medicine next week.
• Though Pakistan might not get the vaccine through a bilateral agreement as the drug is being prepared in India, it will pave the way for getting free vaccine through Covaxfor 20 per cent of the country`s population.
2. Indian anchor knew about Balakot attack well in advance: report
• Firebrand Indian television anchor Arnab Goswami knew of the Modi government`s plan to stage a strike in Pakistan days before the Feb 26, 2019, Balakot episode between the two countries, evidence submitted by the Mumbai police as part of an ongoing investigation into manipulation of television ratings suggests, multiple Indian media outlets reported on January 16, 2021.
• Police have included purported WhatsApp conversations between Goswami, chief editor of Republic TV, and Pratho Dasgupta the incarcerated head of ratings company Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) in a transcript that is part of a 3,400-page supplementary charge sheet filed in their investigation into the alleged ratings scam, said a Dawn.com report quoting The Hindu newspaper
3. Iran test-fires ballistic missiles on targets at sea
• Iran`s Revolutionary Guards test-fired ballistic missiles against targets in the Indian Ocean as they wrapped up a two-day exercise.
• The missiles of `various classes` targeted `the enemy`s battleships and destroyed them from 1,800 kilometres (1,125 miles) away,` according to the Sepah news website.
• The missiles were fired from central Iran at targets located in the northern Indian Ocean, the Guards said
4. India starts world`s largest Covid-19 vaccination drive
• India started inoculating health workers on January 16, 2021 in what is likely the world`s largest Covid-19 vaccination campaign, joining the ranks of wealthier nations where the effort is already well underway.
• India is home to the world`s largest vaccine makers and has one of the biggest immunisation programmes. But there is no playbook for the enormity of the current challenge
5. Trump signs Malala education act into law
• In his last week in office, US President Donald Trumped signed into law an act that would award at least 50 per cent of scholarships under a merit-based higher education scholarship programme to Pakistani women.
• The new act is named after Malala Yousafzai.
• Earlier this month, the US Congress passed the proposed law and sent it to the White House for the president to sign
6. Biden inducts another Pakistani American into his team
• US President-elect Joe Biden has inducted a second Pakistani American, Salman Ahmed, into his foreign policy team, said a statement issued on January 15, 2021.
• Mr Ahmed, who served as head of strategic planning in the Obama National Security Council, is joining the US State Department as director policy planning.
• Last month, Mr Biden announced that another Pakistani American, Ali Zaidi, will join his team as Deputy National Climate Adviser
7. Saudi embassy to reopen in Qatar soon
• Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said Riyadh will reopen its embassy in Qatar as part of a deal to normalise ties with its neighbour and end a three-year rift.
• The kingdom will restore full diplomatic ties with Qatar as part of the deal struck earlier this month, and the Saudi embassy in Doha will reopen within days, the foreign minister said
8. Nepalese team makes history, scales K2 in winter
• Ten Nepalese climbers on January 16, 2021 set a record by scaling Pakistan`s K2 (8,611m), the world`s second highest mountain and the only one among the 8,000m peaks that had never been climbed before in winter.
• The same day, however, a Spanish climber lost his life after falling into a crevasse at camp 1.
9. South Africans arrive for first Pakistan tour after more than 13 years
• A 32-member South Africa cricket squad, led by Quinton de Kock, arrived here on January 15, 2021 for their first tour of Pakistan during which they will play two Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals after a long wait over 13 years.
• The squad, which includes 21 players and 11 support staff officials, flew into Karachi at 9:00am after boarding a special charted flight after they had undergone two coronavirus (Covid-19) tests all of them reporting negative prior to their departure from Johannesburg
10. Dar to make home Test umpiring debut
• Aleem Dar will officiate in his first-ever Test at home, while on-field umpire Ahsan Raza and match referee Mohammad Javed Malik will also make their Test debuts as the Pakistan Cricket Board, on behalf of the International Cricket Council, confirmed match officials’ appointments for the two-match series between Pakistan and South Africa, which starts in Karachi on January 26
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