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November 17, 2020: National / International Current Affairs
1. PM imposes restrictions on public gatherings
• As Covid-19 infections continue to rise, Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 16, 2020 imposed restrictions on public gatherings, once again calling on citizens to observe standard operating procedures (SOPs).
• He also suspended Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf`s public gatherings and asked other political parties to follow suit.
• In his address to the nation after the National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting which he chaired, Prime Minister Khan called on people to wear masks and maintain social distance. However, the much-awaited decision on closing of educational institutions was delayed till next week.
2. Cabinet okays Children`s Hospital upgrade to child health varsity
• The Punjab cabinet on November 16, 2020 granted approval to upgrade of the Institute of Child Health/Children`s Hospital to University of Child Health to overcome the challenges confronting the heath of mothers and children.
• The cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Usman Buzdar approved the proposed draft of the university and also to a proposal that the varsity would also have three schools under its umbrella School of Postgraduate Nursing, School of Allied Medical Sciences and School of Paediatrics.
3. Justice Qaiser takes oath as PHC acting chief justice
• Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan was sworn in as the acting chief justice of the Peshawar High Court here at the Governor`s House on November 16, 2020.
• Governor Shah Farman administered the oath to him.
• The chief justice`s post fell vacant on Nov 12 after the incumbent, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, died of novel coronavirus
4. FDI jumps 68pc in October
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country jumped by 67.9 per cent month on-month to $317.3 million in October compared to $189m in September, latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan showed on November 16, 2020.
• Inflows in October were highest in 10 months since peaking at $493.03m in December, 2019.
• Year-on-year, FDI increased by 150.9pc to $317.3m from $126.49m in October 2019.
5. E-visa facility set to be extended to 16 more countries
• The online visa facility currently available to the residents of 175 countries is set to be extended to another 16 countries.
• A summary to this effect had been moved by the interior minister and was most likely to be passed by the cabinet on November 16, 2020 (today).
• An official said that after approval of the summary, the facility of applying an online visa in different categories, including tourist, business and student visas, will be available to citizens from 191 countries
6. PM says US pressuring Pakistan to recognise Israel: report
• Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the country is facing great pressure from the United States to recognise Israel, especially in the wake of peace deals between several Arab states and Tel Aviv, but this will not be possible `unless there is a just settlement, which satisfies Palestine`.
• The prime minister was quoted as making these remarks by the Middle East Eye (MEE) website a portal with a focus on the region in a report carried on November 16, 2020.
• MEE said Mr Khan made these remarks `last week` talking to `local media`. The website quoted the prime minister as saying that pressure to recognise Israel was `extraordinary during the Trump stint`.
7. Pro-West candidate wins Moldovan presidential election
• Maia Sandu, a former World Bank economist who favours closer ties with the European Union, has won Moldova`s presidential runoff vote, decisively defeating the staunchly pro-Russian incumbent, according to preliminary results released on November 16, 2020.
• Sandu captured over 57 percent of the vote, leaving the incumbent, Igor Dodon, behind by over 15 points, according to preliminary data from the Central Election Commission, CEC, that said nearly 100pc of the vote has been counted.
8. Armenian FM resigns over `unpopular` Karabakh ceasefire
• Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan resigned from his post on November 16, 2020 in a sign of political fallout in the ex-Soviet republic after a ceasefire in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict that locked in territorial gains for Azerbaijan. Mnatsakanyan, whose departure was announced by the ministry`s spokeswoman on its Facebook page, had held the position since May 2018.
• Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan`s government has faced a popular backlash over the ceasebre accord that ended six weeks of fighting, with thousands of protesters last week demanding he resign
9. SpaceX launches four astronauts to ISS
• Four astronauts were successfully launched on the SpaceX Crew Dragon `Resilience` to the International Space Station on November 16, 2020, the first of what the US hopes will be many routine missions following a successful test flight in late spring.
• Three Americans Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japan`s Soichi Noguchi blasted off at 7:27 pm (0027 GMT Monday) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, thus ending almost a decade of international reliance on Russia for rides on its Soyuz rockets.
• `This is a great day for the United States of America, and a great day for Japan,` said Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine during a post-launch press conference
10. Second vaccine lifts global hopes of overcoming deadly pandemic
• Global hopes of overcoming the coronavirus pandemic were boosted on November 16, 2020 after a second vaccine was found to be nearly 95 per cent effective, bringing much needed optimism to a world facing surging infections and a raft of new restrictions.
• The news from the US biotech firm Moderna comes after similar results were announced last week for a vaccine candidate developed by pharma giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
• European stock markets surged on Monday on the hopeful news, building on a boom sparked by the Pfizer news one week ago.
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November 2020:
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October 2020:
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September 2020:
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