Today’s top Pakistan current affairs 03 May, 2021 with download link available in pdf. These are the latest breaking news about Pakistan which will be helpful for aspirants in test preparation of current affairs, Pakistan affairs, General knowledge for NTS, PPSC, CSS, FPSC, KPPSC, SPSC, BPSC, AJKPSC, OTS, PTS, and other Govt Jobs, exams & MDCAT, ECAT Entry test preparation.
One Liner
- 20 Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan Attack. In Afghanistan, twenty soldiers were killed in the Taliban’s attack on the Afghan Army in western Farah province on Monday.
- Interior Ministry Notifies 5-Day Eid Holidays. The federal interior ministry has released Eid holiday notification announcing 10- to 15 May as off days across Pakistan on account of Eid.
- Pakistan aims to vaccinate 70m people this year. Pakistan has signed deals for the procurement of 30 million coronavirus vaccines in the first half of 2021, Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said.
- Vaccination for Pakistanis above 18 may start after Eid. The coronavirus vaccination drive for Pakistanis above 18 years will start after Eid if there are no problems with vaccine availability, Federal Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar said.
- Pakistan to receive 1.2mn Covid-19 jabs under Covax this week. Pakistan will start getting the batches of coronavirus vaccines from COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) from this week
- Bill, Melinda Gates end marriage after 27 years. Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife and fellow philanthropist Melinda announced on Monday they are divorcing after a 27-year marriage.
- Rupee strengthens against US dollar. The Pakistani rupee appreciated 9 paisas against the United States (US) dollar on the first day of week’s trading in the interbank currency market on Monday.
- Gold Prices Witness Increase. The price of 24 karat per tola gold witnessed increase of Rs100 on Monday and was traded at Rs104,100 as compared to Rs104,000 the previous day, Karachi Sarafa and Jewellers Group reported.
- Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera announces retirement from international cricket. Sri Lanka’s veteran all-rounder Thisara Perera has announced retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 4,414 new cases and 113 deaths in 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 45,275 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on May 2 at 8:28 am).
- Restricting in-bound international flights: Pakistan is reducing the number of international flights in and out of its airports by 80%. The point is to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in a country where the healthcare system is already under stress. The restrictions will start on May 5, and continue until May 20. Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority didn’t specify which flights or destinations will be impacted by this measure. As for the international passengers who will be flying in, they have to do a rapid antigen test (RAT) and also show an RT-PCR test conducted within 72 hours before boarding a Pakistan-bound flight. Passengers who test negative still have to self-quarantine at home for 10 days. Those who test positive will be moved to a self-paid facility for the same amount of time.
- Reported COVID-19 variants in Sindh: Health officials in Sindh claimed they have detected the Brazil and South Africa COVID-19 variants. It’s the first time these variants have been reported in Pakistan. The Brazil and South Africa variants are known to be highly contagious. This is a red flag for Pakistan since hospitals are already overwhelmed. Also, all ventilators in Gujranwala are being used. The occupancy rate for ventilators is 88% in Multan and 81.5% in Lahore.
2. The Prime Minister’s day out
What’s going on? On Sunday, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan swung by different public places in Islamabad. This is being reported as a “surprise visit.” He apparently dropped by these locations without any security or protocol.
The details: The PM’s office shared a video of him driving himself around Islamabad. He visited the G-11 Markaz neighborhood, talked to vendors, and reminded them to follow COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs). Most of the people we can see in the video were wearing face masks. He also visited a sewage plant in Sector I-9, and the Korang Cricket Ground that is under construction. He even inspected the stone lining of stormwater drains.
Tell me more: PM Khan wasn’t flying completely solo. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator, Faisal Javed Khan, and Capital Development Authority Chairman, Amer Ahmed Ali, tagged along. Senator Khan was proud of PM Khan for following basic road rules, like waiting for traffic lights to turn green instead of expecting traffic to stop for him so he could zoom through.
The bottom line: In addition to checking out business activities and reminding business vendors to follow COVID-19 SOPs, PM Khan tried making a statement against VIP culture.
3. Inflation hike in April
Inflation in Pakistan rose to 11.10% in April, the highest inflation rate in the past 13 months. The inflation rate was more than what the Ministry of Finance projected a few days ago. Consumer prices are going up for things like chicken, vegetables, fruit, eggs, wheat, sugar, cooking oil, clothing and footwear. Electricity rates are also 29% higher than a year ago. The poor in Pakistan are dealing with the biggest brunt of these price hikes. PM Khan is looking to introduce policies that will control rising inflation.
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