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May 07, 2021: National / International Current Affairs
1. Nine-month fiscal deficit widens to 3.6pc
• The country`s fiscal deficit has increased to 3.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) or Rs1.652 trillion during the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year despite a drastic cut in development, almost static defence expenditure, healthy provincial cash surpluses and record petroleum levy collections.
• The consolidated data on fiscal operations for the first three quarters of the year released by the finance ministry on Thursday showed that the total revenue increased by 6.45pc to Rs4.99tr in nine months against a rise of about 4.2pc to Rs6.644tr in total expenditure
2. Cabinet okays bills about journalists` protection, forced disappearances
• The federal cabinet has approved two crucial bills for the protection of journalists and media workers and making the forced disappearances in the country a criminal offence.
• `Today, the (federal) cabinet approved the Protection of Journalists and Media Professionals Bill and the Forced or Involuntary Disappearance (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill,` said federal Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari through her official account on social media web-site Twitter late on Thursday.
• No details of the bills were provided by the minister
3. Chinese firm awarded $355m Tarbela project
• The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) on May 6, 2021 awarded a $354.6 million worth of contract to Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd (PCCCL) for civil works of the 1,530MW Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project after completion of an international competitive bidding process.
• The contract was signed by Project Director Tarbela 5th Extension Project Muhammad Azam Joya and PCCCL Executive Representative in Pakistan Ling Jianke. The signing ceremony was also attended by Wapda Chairman Muzammil Hussain, World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine, World Bank Task Team Leader Dr Rickard Liden, Wapda Member Finance Naveed Asghar, Member Water Abdul Zahir Khan Durrani, Member Power Jamil Akhtar, General Managers concerned and representatives of the project consultants
4. PM leaves for S. Arabia today on three-day visit
• Prime Minister Imran Khan is leaving for Saudi Arabia on Friday (May 7, 2021) on a three-day visit (May 7-9) and a number of bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be inked between the two countries during his visit.
• It is expected that the visit will serve to improve `strained` relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia that were shaken in the recent past due to several reasons.
5. Amazon will soon add Pakistan to its sellers
• The new era of e-commerce boom is set to start for Pakistan as e-commerce giant Amazon has decided in principle to add the country to its sellers` list within next few days, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood announced on May 6, 2021.
• Pakistan`s addition to Amazon`s sellers` list will create opportunities for the exporters to sell their products through the platform.
• The platform offers Amazon`s 3 P model which serves brand owners (third party relationship retailers sell directly to buyers through the marketplace) while 1 P model is for mass producers (marketplace acts as retailers while brand is wholesale supplier), who want to produce for Amazon brand items
6. Afghan journalist shot dead day after Taliban warning
• A high-profile Afghan television journalist was shot dead in Kandahar city on May 6, 2021, officials said, a day after the Taliban warned the media against `biased reporting`.
• Newat Rawan was `assassinated by unknown gunmen`, Kandahar city police spokesman Jamal Nasir Barekzai said.
• He was a popular talk show host with the country`s leading broadcaster, Tolo News, before joining the ministry of finance last month as a communications specialist
7. Britain, France send ships to Jersey as fishing spat deepens
• Britain and France sent navy and coastal patrol ships to waters near the Channel island of Jersey on May 6, 2021 as tensions spiralled between the two neighbours over post Brexit fishing rights.
• The posturing by the historic rivals was sparked by a protest by 50-70 French fishing boats, which gathered outside Jersey`s main port on Thursday morning, raising fears of a blockade.
• That prompted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to send two royal navy gunboats to the area, with France following suit with two of its own coast patrol vessels.
8. Qatar`s finance minister arrested over embezzlement allegations
• Qatar`s Finance Minister Ali Sherif al Emadi was arrested over embezzlement allegations and stripped of his duties on May 6, 2021.
• In a statement carried by state news agency QNA, the public prosecutor said Emadi was being questioned over allegations of embezzlement, abuse of power and crimes related to the public sector. An investigation was under way
9. Urdu scholar Shamim Hanafi dies at 81
• India`s leading Urdu scholar and literary critic Shamim Hanafi died on May 6, 2021, his friends and followers said. He was 81 and the cause of his death was not immediately known.
• Mr Hanafi was one of the most respected literary critics, playwrights and poets of the subcontinent. A former academic at the Urdu department of Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, he authored a number of respectable books in literary criticism.
10. TV actor Sumbal Shahid succumbs to Covid
• Known TV actor Sumbal Shahid passed away on May 6, 2021 at a local hospital where she was admitted a fortnight ago with Covid-related complications.
• According to her sister Bushra Ansari, also a known actor, Sumbal was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) on April 22 after developing complications caused by Covid-19 and was later put on ventilator when her condition deteriorated. Her funeral prayers were offered at Cavalry Ground and she was buried in the adjacent graveyard under Covid SOPs
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