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January 01, 2020: National Current Affairs
1. Indian violations claimed 59 lives along LoC in 2019
• As many as 59 civilians, including women and children, were martyred and another 281 suffered injuries in different areas along the restive Line of Control (LoC) in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in 2019 as a result of ceasefire violations by Indian troops, an official said on December 31, 2019, the last day of the year.
• Syed Shahid Mohyiddin Qadri, secretary of disaster management and civil defence in the AJK government, told Dawn that 43 of the deceased were male and 16 female. Similarly, 157 of the injured were male and the rest female.
• Giving district-wise breakup of the casualties, he said that 13 civilians lost their lives in Kotli, 12 in Neelum, 11 in Haveli, eight each in Muzaffarabad and Poonch, four in Bhimber and three in Jhelum valley.
2. Two MPAs of BAP unseated by election tribunal
• The ruling party in Balochistan on December 31, 2019 suffered a big jolt as the Balochistan Election Tribunal declared the election of two MPAs belonging to Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) null and void and ordered re-election in both the constituencies of the provincial assembly.
• The election tribunal headed by Justice Nazeer Ahmed Langove of the Balochistan High Court after completing hearing of the election petitions filed against provincial Minister Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran and Adviser to the Chief Minister on Fisheries Mohammad Akbar Askani announced the decision.
• The learned judge accepted the petitions filed against the election of Rehman Khetran and Mr Askani and ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to conduct reelection in provincial assembly`s constituencies PB-8 (Barkhan) and PB-48 (Kech).
3. WB-funded literacy programme to be launched in Punjab, Sindh
• A new model of non formal education that combines literacy and labour and market skills for illiterate children and youth is being developed and will be piloted in selected districts of Punjab and Sindh provinces with World Bank assistance.
• The World Bank has agreed to provide $2.73 million for the pilot project, which is expected to be implemented in partnership with the Sanjh Preet Organisation (SPO) a Lahore-based non-governmental organisation which has implemented 34 different projects nationwide in partnership with public, non-public, academic and international agencies and organisations, including Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UNICEF and USAID.
4. NADRA sets up desks to register transgender persons for health cards
• Special desks have been established at National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) centres for the registration of transgender persons so that Sehat Insaf cards could be provided to them.
• `Community members just have to declare them-selves as transgender and in this regard a simple procedure will be adopted as only their personal confirmation is enough. There is no requirement of documentation from any other office in this regard,` said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza at a news conference on December 31, 2019.
• `Each transgender person would be able to get medical treatment of Rs720,000 from as many as 300 private and public sector hospitals which have been put on a panel to provide health services to deserving people.
5. PIA chief stopped from working on petition challenging appointment
• The Sindh High Court has restrained Air Marshal Arshad Malik from carrying out any function as the chief executive officer of Pakistan International Airlines till Jan 22 on a petition challenging his appointment.
• A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui also issued notices to respondents as well as the deputy attorney general for Jan 22.
• The bench in its order said that the contentions raised by the petitioner`s lawyer merited consideration, particularly the apparent titanic gulf between the CEO`s education, qualification and experience and the job requirement.
6. Bangladesh shuts mobile network along border over new Indian law
• Bangladesh has cut service to millions of mobile phone users along its border with India for `security` reasons amid fears a new citizenship law passed by its neighbour could prompt an influx of migrants.
• The country`s telecom regulator ordered the mobile shutdown late on Monday in a one-kilometre band along the Indian frontier, the watchdog`s spokesman Sohel Rana said.
• The directive was issued `for the sake of the country`s security in the current circumstances,` the spokesman said.
• Bangladesh shares a 4,000-kilometre border with India and the shutdown would affect some 10 million mobile phone users, according to a top official from one operator.
7. Germany shuts nuclear power plant
• Germany shut down one of its seven remaining nuclear power plants on December 31, 2019 as part of a planned phase-out of atomic energy production by the end of 2022.
• Utility company EnBW said it had taken the Philippsburg Nuclear Power Plant off the grid after the licence to operate it expired at midnight.
• Under Germany`s energy transition plan, the country aims to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources over the coming decades. The government agreed earlier this year to stop producing electricity from coal-fired plants by 2038 at the latest.
8. Prince William launches prize
• Britain`s Prince William launched a multimillion pound prize on December 31, 2019 to encourage the world`s greatest problem solvers to find answers to Earth`s biggest environmental problems, saying the planet was now at a tipping point.
• The Earthshot Prize, described in its publicity as the `most prestigious environmental prize in history` will be awarded to five winners a year over the next decade with the aim of producing at least 50 solutions to the world`s most pressing challenges
9. Biggest urbanisation in history under way, says study
• The world is seeing the biggest wave of urban growth in history with the United Nations expecting almost 70pc of people globally to be living in urban areas by 2050, up from 56pc today.
• The shift is creating significant challenges for cities around the world, from tackling worsening air pollution in New Delhi to keeping women safe on public transport in Harare.
10. Visionary publisher Sonny Mehta dies aged 77
• Sonny Mehta, the urbane and astute head of Alfred A. Knopf who guided one of the book world’s most esteemed imprints to new heights through a blend of prize-winning literature by Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy among others and blockbusters such as Fifty Shades of Grey and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, has died at age 77.
• Mehta, the husband of author Gita Mehta, died on December 30, 2019 at his home in Manhattan.
• Mehta’s contributions to the world of letters and publishing are without precedent, a statement from the publisher read on December 31, 2019. His exacting standards in editorial, production, design, marketing, and publicity were a beacon to the book industry and beyond.
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