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December 21, 2018: National Current Affairs
1. Punjab to ban domestic workers under 15
• The provincial government informed the Lahore High Court on December 20, 2018 the draft of `Punjab Domestic Workers Bill of 2018` had been finalised that carried a ban on children below age of 15 years to work as domestic worker.
• Assistant Advocate General Rai Shahid Saleem also presented a copy of the bill draft before the court during hearing of a public interest petition moved by advocate Sheraz Zaka.
• Under the new legislation no child under the age of 15 years shall be allowed to work in household in any capacity and domestic workers shall not be employed under bonded labour system. The legislation was first of its kind by a province in the country.
• An employer, if failed to comply with provisions of the law or abuse a worker, shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine or imprisonment for a term, which may extend to one month if he engaged a child below the age of 12 years and in case of a child under 15 years by fine which may extend to Rs50,000 but shall not be less than Rs10,000.
• Every employment or appointment of a domestic worker shall be subject to issuance of letter of employment in a prescribed `Form` showing terms and conditions of employment, including the nature of work and amount of wages etc.
2. Alvi unveils Pakistan`s first maritime doctrine
• President Arif Alvi on December 20, 2018 launched the first maritime doctrine of Pakistan at the Naval War College, and commended the Pakistan Navy for spearheading various initiatives to tap sea resources for the country`s economic prosperity.
• The doctrine would be a trendsetter and would lay the foundation for the promotion of the maritime sector for present and coming generations.
• MDP will act as a stimulus in sensitising the public at large, shaping opinions and becoming instrumental in providing a sense of direction to the national maritime sector of Pakistan.
• The document is an effort towards a greater understanding and awareness on matters related to the ocean and undertaking of multiple peace and wartime roles by the Pakistan Navy.
3. Framework inked with UN to end poverty, achieve food security
• Pakistan and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations have signed a new five-year Country Programming Framework [CPF] covering the 2018-22 period that will focus on three priority areas of zero-hunger, climate-smart resilient agriculture and inclusive and efficient agriculture and food systems.
• The new framework is aligned with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Pakistan and the government priority areas as defined in the Vision-2025.
• Minister for National Food Security and Research Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan and FAO representative in Pakistan Mina Dowlatchahi signed the framework at a ceremony on December 20, 2018.
• Pakistan FAO collaboration had positive history and the UN agency had been supporting food security and agriculture and `we are moving towards achieving greater goals`.
4. Accord signed with China to widen industrial cooperation
• Pakistan and China on December 20, 2018 signed an agreement to expand industrial cooperation in diverse fields and attract investment in special economic zones.
• The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in Beijing at the eighth meeting of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Joint Coordination Committee (JCC).
• The meeting was co-chaired by federal Minister for Planning Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar with vice chairman of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Ning Jizhe.
• Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Board of Investment chairman Haroon Sharif, and representatives of other provincial governments and officials from both countries attended the meeting.
• The MoU of industrial cooperation, said the statement, would include cooperation in diverse industries such as textiles, petrochemicals, iron and steel, and mines and minerals. The minister for planning said that cooperation in the industrial sector would help attract investment in special economic zones and encourage relocation of Chinese industry, it added.
December 21, 2018: International Current Affairs
5. US to lift sanctions against two Russian firms
• Despite opposition from most lawmakers both Republicans and Democrats -the Trump administration has notified Congress of its plans to lift sanctions against two Russian firms.
• According to the US Treasury Department, Rusal, the world`s second largest aluminum producer, and GAZ Group, an automotive conglomerate, had made `significant restructuring and corporate governance changes` to allow them to meet the criteria to be delisted within 30 days.
• It explicitly said Oleg Deripaska, a Russian tycoon who has a stake in Rusal,would remain on the sanctions list and his property remain blocked as required under law.
• `The (US) Treasury had sanctioned these companies because of their ownership and control by sancdoned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, not for the conduct of the companies themselves,` said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.
6. UK, Poland to cooperate against Russian `disinformation`
• Britain and Poland will set up a new joint unit to tackle Russian `disinformation` and meet once a year to discuss hostile activity from Moscow, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on December 20, 2018.
• She was speaking after talks with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and their respective defence, foreign, business and interior ministers in London.
• Discussions will begin early next year, May told a joint press conference.
7. South, North Korea agree to conduct joint inspection on DPRK’s eastern road
• South Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed December 20, 2018 to conduct a joint inspection on roads along the DPRK’s eastern coast ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony next week to modernize and connect railways and roads across the border.
• The 10-member South Korean working-level delegation will visit the DPRK Friday to inspect the 100-km road along the DPRK’s east coast from Goseong to Wonsan for three days.
• After returning home Sunday, the working-level officials will visit the DPRK again Monday to inspect the 4-km road near the DPRK’s western border town of Kaesong together with DPRK officials.
• The joint survey on the DPRK western road was completed in August, but the two sides agreed to do it again to complete the previous inspection, according to the Seoul ministry.
8. China, Russia to boost military cooperation
• Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe met with Deputy Defense Minister of the Russian Federation and Chief of Main Directorate for Political-Military Affairs of the Russian Armed Forces Andrey Kartapolov in Beijing December 20, 2018.
• Wei spoke highly of recent exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries.
• “China is willing to work jointly with Russia, taking the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries next year to resolutely implement the consensus reached by the two heads of states and promote the two sides’ military cooperation to continuously score new achievements,” Wei said.
• Kartapolov said Russia would strengthen cooperation with China in the military and other fields, and keep pushing the relationship between the two countries and their militaries to a new level.
9. Russian spacecraft brings ISS astronauts safely back
• Russian spacecraft Soyuz MS-09 has successfully landed in Kazakhstan, bringing back the three astronauts who have completed their missions on the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian mission control centre said December 20, 2018.
• “The landing section with Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev, NASA astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor and astronaut of the European Space Agency Alexander Gerst has landed,” it was quoted by local media as saying.
• On June 6, Russia successfully launched its Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft to the ISS. The three-member crew had lived on it for the scheduled 187 days.
• Their successors, Oleg Kononenko of Russia, Anne McClain of the United States and David Saint-Jacques of Canada arrived in early December and are expected to stay on the ISS for six and a half months.
• They were transported by the Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft, which was launched on Dec. 3. The flight was carried out after a spacecraft lift-off failure in October.
• On Oct. 11 the capsule of the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft with Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin and U.S. astronaut Nick Hague on board made an emergency landing in Kazakhstan after the carrier rocket malfunctioned shortly after lift-off.
December 21, 2018: Sports Current Affairs
10. Tareen`s son becomes owner of sixth PSL team
• The suspense around the ownership of the `sixth team` of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) finally ended on December 20, 2018 when the son of ruling party`s politician Jehangir Tareen bought the franchise for an attractive price of $6.35 million per annum for a period of seven years through proper bidding process.
• After the dissolution of the previous franchise Multan Sultans, the sixth team has been temporarily renamed as Multan Consortium. The consortium belongs to Jehangir, a leading businessman in the country who is among the main figures of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf.
• His son Ali Tareen went through the bidding process in which several candidates were competing. However, at the end, only two bidders could qualify for the final process.