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Listen to this articleWorld in Focus (JUN-JUL 2021)
National & International With MCQs
June 16: The government promoted five officers of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to the rank of Air Vice Marshal.
June 16: Prime Minister Imran Khan (PMIK) inaugurated the newly established “Eagle Squad” of Islamabad Police comprising 100 motorcycle-bound officers.
June 16: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) allowed banks to charge a minimal fee on high-value transactions of Interbank Fund Transfer (IBFT).
June 16: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) launched e-courses on ‘Protection against Sexual Harassment in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs)’ and ‘Policy for Students with Disabilities in HEIs’.
June 16: Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Ltd announced to invest $50 million in its greenfield project in Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
June 17: The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) approved the merger of two power sector agencies Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) and Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB).
June 17: Renowned writer and journalist Sheen Farrukh passed away at 83. June 18: The KP government unveiled a tax-free budget for the next fiscal year 2021-22 with a total outlay of Rs1.118 trillion.
June 18: The Balochistan budget for the next fiscal year with a total outlay of Rs584.083 billion was presented in the provincial assembly.
June 18: Punjab became the first province to pass the ‘Apprenticeship Act 2021’ to provide skilled youth with better economic opportunities to the industry according to its specifications.
June 19: Atif Bokhari resigned from the chairmanship of the Board of Investment (BOI).
June 19: World Bank (WB) approved loan amounting to 442 million dollars for improvement in water supply and sewerage system in Punjab.
June 19: FM Qureshi called on the President of the Republic of Kosovo Dr. Vjosa Osmani and exchanged views on issues of regional and international importance.
June 20: The levy of super tax was permanently imposed on banking companies as it was expiring in the tax year 2021.
June 21: The federal government notified Tariq Malik as Chairman National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for three years.
June 21: Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) leader and former senator Usman Khan Kakar passed away.
June 21: The Council of Common Interest (CCI) unanimously approved the National Electricity Policy 2021.
June 21: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa held talks with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Col Gen Hasanov Zakir Oglu, Minister for Defence.
June 21: The government announced the availability of $1.5 billion Saudi oil facility per annum.
June 22: The government appointed Noor Ahmed the executive director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a term of four years starting from July 1, 2021.
June 23: COAS Gen Bajwa acknowledged the Turkish engagements with Pakistan especially the ongoing efforts for continuing the positivity for peace in the region.
June 23: PMIK presided over a special meeting of recently established National Intelligence Coordination Committee (NICC) at Inter-Services Intelligence headquarters.
June 24: PTI’s Balochistan chief and provincial Education Minister Yar Mohammad Rind resigned.
June 24: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) dismissed pleas filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif against the imprisonment sentences announced in the Al Azizia Steel Mills and Avenfield apartments references.
June 24: COAS Gen Bajwa addressed students and faculty members of the Command and Staff College of Germany. He said that the future of enduring peace and stability in the world hinges on the resolving long-pending issues within the region.
June 24: Multan Sultans defeated Peshawar Zalmi to win their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title.
June 24: The Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination, Ministry of Communication and Pakistan Post, released a stamp that marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin.
June 24: The HEC and the United States Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support 125 Pakistanis to pursue PhD studies in the United States, 25 per year for five years.
June 25: Despite implementing 26 out of 27 action plans, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed six new points actions plan for finding out deficiencies in Mutual Evaluation Report (MER), binding Islamabad to comply with these two plans simultaneously in order to come out from the grey list.
June 26: Former caretaker prime minister Justice (R) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso passed away.
June 27: Legendary television and stage actor Begum Khursheed Shahid died. She was over 95.
June 28: The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered to ban the video-sharing app TikTok across Pakistan.
June 28: The Benazir Income Support Programme Board in its 50th meeting held here under the Ehsaas framework approved inclusion of all transgenders in Ehsaas Kafalat programme.
June 28: Famous Pakistani folk singer Allah Ditta Loonay Wala passed away.
June 28: Pakistan and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a subsidiary of the Islamic Development Bank, signed a $4.5 billion new framework agreement to finance oil, LNG and fertiliser imports over the next 3 years.
June 29: In a historic first, Ogilvy Pakistan won two Grand Prixes for Telenor Pakistan at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
June 29: The National Assembly passed the Federal Budget with a majority vote.
The Federal Budget, having a total outlay of Rs8.487 trillion, will envisage 10 percent increase in salaries of government employees and pensioners while the minimum wage has been fixed at Rs20,000 per month. The annual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP has been increased by 40 percent from Rs630 billion to Rs900 billion while Rs100 billion have been earmarked for construction of hydro power projects. The growth rate of 4.6 percent has been projected for the next fiscal year with tax collection target of Rs5,829 billion. The budget provides zero rating to export of IT services while tax relief has been given for locally manufactured cars upto 1000 CC with tax exemptions and concessions given to encouraging manufacturing of electric vehicles in the country. Allocations for Ehsaas Programme have been enhanced from Rs210 billion to Rs260 billion while Rs10 billion for Kamyab Jawan Programme for the financial year 2021-22. The government has also allocated 1.1 billion dollars for procurement of anti-Covid-19 vaccine.
June 29: COAS Gen Bajwa had a video call with Chairman European Union Military Committee (EUMC) General Claudio Graziano.
June 29: The IHC declared the appointment notifications of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Chairman Board of Directors (BoD) Muhammad Zubyr Soomro and President Arif Usmani illegal.
June 29: The PML-N–led AJK government presented a tax-free budget for fiscal year 2021-22.
June 29: The World Bank’s board of executive directors approved $800 million in financing to Pakistan for reform policy programmes in energy and social sectors.
June 30: Maulana Abdur Razzaq Iskandar, eminent religious scholar and head of the Wifaqul Madaris Al-Arabia Pakistan, passed away. He was 86.
June 30: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) surpassed its revised annual collection target of Rs4,691 billion and fetched net provisional collection of Rs4,725 billion during the outgoing financial year 2020-21 ending on June 30, 2021.
June 30: In his address to the parliament, PMIK maintained that there would be no compromise on the country’s sovereignty giving a categorical message that Pakistan could be a partner with the United States in peace and but could never be a partner in conflicts.
June 30: President Dr Arif Alvi inaugurated the one megawatt Solar PV (photovoltaic) at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, making it among one of the few presidencies in the world fully powered by green energy.
July 01: The FBR changed the definition of a resident of Pakistan and declared that any individual shall be required to be in Pakistan for a period in aggregate to 183 days or more, in a tax year to become a resident.
July 01: Renowned TV actor Anwar Iqbal passed away.
July 01: The closed-door meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security was held at the National Assembly that lasted for over eight hours. Director General ISI Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, briefed the parliamentarians for over two hours with focus on Afghanistan and regional security scenario. COAS Gen Bajwa, National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yousuf and the four chief ministers also attended the meeting.
July 01: President Dr Arif Alvi appointed new Managing Body of Pakistan Red Crescent Society.
July 01: Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu, visited the 3rd Main Jet Base in Konya, Turkey, to review the multi-national air exercise “Anatolian Eagle-2021”.
July 01: The Balochistan government set up a two-member judicial commission to investigate the death of former senator Usman Khan Kakar.
July 01: The United States added Pakistan and Turkey to its Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) list, a designation that could lead to strict sanctions on military assistance and listed countries’ participation in peacekeeping programmes.
July 02: Deputy Governor of the SBP Sima Kamil unveiled a commemorative stamp to mark the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the bank’s museum.
July 02: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced central contracts for elite 20 players.
July 03: Karachi police chief Imran Yaqoob Minhas inaugurated an Urban Flooding Rescue Unit that has been established by the Security Division of the Sindh Police.
July 03: The inaugural round of Pakistan-Uzbekistan Bilateral Political Consultations was held.
July 03: US Embassy launched the first-ever Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) program in Pakistan.
July 04: PMIK called up Iranian President-elect Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi and congratulated him on his victory in the presidential elections, and emphasized the need for continuing to facilitate an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned inclusive political settlement.
July 05: Pakistan was ranked third in The Economist’s Global Normalcy Index, out of 50 countries.
July 05: COAS Gen Bajwa and Commander Turkish Land Forces General Umit Dundar, during a meeting at GHQ, agreed to further optimise military-to-military ties particularly in training and counter-terrorism domain.
July 05: President Dr Arif Alvi conferred the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) award on Commander of Turkish Land Forces General Umit Dundar.
July 05: Veteran journalist, short story writer and progressive intellectual Masood Ashar passed away. He was 90.
July 06: PMIK urged his government ministers, governors, chief ministers and other high-ups to avoid protocol and unnecessary security to “minimise expenditure and end the public inconvenience”.
July 06: The 7th National Workshop on Balochistan was held at GHQ.
July 06: PMIK addressed the CPC and World Political Parties Summit: for the People’s Well-being; the responsibility of Political Parties.
July 06: Pakistan launched $1 billion international bond.
July 06: Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti took oath as the 51st chief justice of Lahore High Court (LHC).
July 06: Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood launched e-portal and smartphone application of the Inter- Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) for equivalence certificates.
July 07: President Arif Alvi appointed Zahoor Ahmed Agha the new governor of Balochistan after the former governor Amanullah Khan Yasinzai tendered his resignation.
July 07: PMIK appointed Shahzain Bugti his special assistant on reconciliation and harmony in Balochistan.
July 08: The Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) was extended for six months.
July 08: The Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations, in collaboration with the Governments of Finland and Costa Rica, World Bank, UNDESA and Ehsaas, hosted a high-level side event titled “An Inflection Point on Social Protection,” in New York.
July 08: PMIK launched production of electric motorcycles in the country.
July 08: The IHC restored the president and the chairman of NBP to their posts.
July 08: A huge statue of world’s renowned social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi, who spent his entire life serving the humanity, was installed at the famous Hockey Chowk in Quetta.
July 09: The first Punjabi translation of holy Quran was launched to facilitate millions of the Punjabi-speaking Muslims across the world.
July 09: US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and FM Qureshi spoke to underscore their desire for a stable and sustainable relationship between the two countries.
July 09: Syed Zahoor Ahmed Agha took oath as the 22nd governor of Balochistan.
July 10: Shahida Khanum and Abida Tanveer were elected as president and secretary, respectively, of the Pakistan Women Athletics Association for a term of four years.
July 10: England beat Pakistan in the second one-day international to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in a three-match series.
July 10: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Major General Babar Iftikhar, said Pakistan was only a facilitator and not a guarantor in the Afghan peace process.
July 10: The European Union and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) signed an agreement to launch the ‘Balochistan Education Support’ (BES), a five-year education development programme for which the EU will provide 17.4 million euros.
July 11: The Cabinet Division and Islamabad police pulled additional security provided to federal ministers, leaders of different political parties and officials.
July 11: The federal cabinet approved a special allowance of 15 percent of the running basic pay for armed forces personnel of all ranks.
July 11: Shabbir Iqbal won the Engro 25th Chief of Naval Staff Open Golf Championship.
July 12: The federal government announced celebrations in the year 2021-22, starting from August 14 as ‘The Year of Sports’ on two counts — to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the country’s independence and to mark the completion of 70th year of Pak-China Friendship.
July 12: Saudi Arabia allowed Pakistanis inoculated with Chinese vaccine against the Covid-19 to enter the Kingdom.
July 12: Punjab Minister for Industries & Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal and Ambassador of Indonesia Adam M Tugio inaugurated Indonesia-Pakistan business-to-business (B2B) online portal.
July 12: The Senate passed “The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill, 2021” to define ‘torture, custody and custodial deaths’ inflicted by any person, police or law enforcement agency, under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
July 13: Delivering his key note address virtually at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, PMIK proposed actions to effectively respond to the triple crisis unleashed by Covid-19 having accentuated the endemic inequalities existing within and amongst the nations.
July 13: The federal cabinet decided that after detailed review, security of former rulers and retired judges and bureaucrats would also be reduced gradually.
July 13: Naveed Alam, former hockey Olympian and a member of Pakistan’s winning team in the 1994 World Cup, passed away.
July 13: The 14th edition of the South Asian Games (SAG) will be held in Pakistan’s cities of Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Islamabad in 2023.
July 13: PMIK named Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader and Member National Assembly Moonis Elahi as federal minister for water resources.
July 13: Umer Hameed, a retired grade 22 officer of Secretariat Group, assumed responsibilities as the ECP secretary on contractual basis.
July 14: The University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Lahore, appointed Dr Saima Yasin its first female engineering professor in 100 years.
July 14: Former president and PML-N central leader Mamnoon Hussain passed away. He was 80.
July 15: Qatar announced a new immigration policy and allowed Pakistanis visa-on-arrival facility.
July 15: Provincial minister Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed was given the portfolio of Local Government.
July 15: Pakistan and Russia successfully concluded the talks and signed the Heads of Terms (HoT) and Shareholders Agreement (SHA) on the country’s most strategic project of 1,100-kilometer Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) from Karachi to Kasur.
July 15: Addressing a joint press conference with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Tashkent, PMIK said with Pakistan and Uzbekistan sharing the same objective of lifting their people out of poverty, increased and strong trade and economic relations would be mutually beneficial and a win-win for the two sides.
June 16: Lina Khan, a Pakistani-American, was sworn in as the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), becoming the youngest chairperson in the FTC’s history.
June 16: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Joe Biden held a summit meeting in Geneva during which both leaders agreed for their ambassadors to resume their posts in a gesture of diplomatic healing.
June 16: Britain’s Karim Khan was sworn in as the new prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.
June 17: Former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda, a hero of the struggle against white rule in southern Africa, died aged 97.
June 17: The first astronauts arrived at China’s new space station, in the country’s longest crewed mission to date.
June 17: The Democratic-led House, with the backing of President Joe Biden, passed legislation to repeal the 2002 authorisation for use of military force in Iraq.
June 18: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Justice Mahmud Jamal as the next member of the Supreme Court of Canada – the first non-white judge to take the seat.
June 18: A fresh report from the UN refugee agency was released according to which despite the coronavirus pandemic, the number of people fleeing war and persecution continued rising last year, with global displacement climbing to over 82 million — double the figure a decade ago.
June 18: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was sworn in for a second term as head of the world body.
June 18: India’s track legend Milkha Singh, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist who was dubbed the ‘Flying Sikh’, died aged 91.
June 19: Ebrahim Raisi was elected president of Iran with about 62 percent of the vote.
June 20: The six-time world champion, Marc Marquez won the German MotoGP.
June 20: A French and an American astronaut completed the installation of new solar panels to boost power supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
June 21: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan scored a decisive victory in snap parliamentary elections.
June 21: Sweden’s government was toppled after Stefan Lofven became the country’s first prime minister to lose a no-confidence vote.
June 21: New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was selected as the first transgender Olympic athlete.
June 22: Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat was declared the world’s most expensive city for foreign workers in the 2021 Mercer survey.
June 22: Keshav Maharaj completed just the second hat-trick by a South African in Test history.
June 22: Financial assistance to the world’s 83 weakest economies fell by 15 percent in 2020, to $35 billion as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2021.
June 22: A report by the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the threat of famine had increased dramatically over the past two years from 27 million in 2019 to 41 million this year.
June 22: Spain pardoned nine jailed Catalan separatists behind a failed 2017 independence bid.
June 22: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CJP) announced to honour Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned founder of Hong Kong’s Next Digital media company and Apple Daily newspaper, with the 2021 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award.
June 23: In a written address to the Asia and Pacific High-level Conference on Belt and Road Cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said China is willing to work with all parties to build a closer “Belt and Road” partnership.
June 23: Indian officials met and held discussions with the Taliban representatives in Doha ahead of complete withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
June 23: New Zealand beat India in the inaugural World Test Championship final.
June 23: Technology entrepreneur John McAfee apparently hanged himself in his Spanish prison cell after a high court authorised his extradition to the United States.
June 23: Hong Kong’s pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily announced to print its final edition after authorities arrested staff and froze its assets using a sweeping new national security law.
June 24: The world’s highest luxury hotel, Shanghai Tower – the second-tallest building in the world after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa – boasting a restaurant on the 120th floor and 24-hour personal butler service, opened in Shanghai.
June 24: Former Philippine president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, the scion of one of Asia’s most famous political families, died. He was 61.
June 24: India’s prime minister Narendra Modi held a crucial meeting with pro-India politicians from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K). No major decision was announced after the meeting and many Kashmiri leaders said they reiterated their demand that New Delhi should reverse its 2019 changes.
June 24: US President Joe Biden embraced a $1.2 trillion bipartisan Senate deal to renew the nation’s roads, bridges and highways and help stimulate the economy.
June 25: Former policeman Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years in jail for murdering African American George Floyd.
June 25: Bundestag, lower house of the German parliament, passed a law outlawing symbols of groups designated as terrorist organisations by the EU, including the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
June 25: US President Joe Biden met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his former political foe, Abdullah Abdullah, to discuss Washington’s support for Afghanistan.
June 26: UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock resigned, after revelations that he broke the government’s own coronavirus restrictions during an affair with a close aide.
June 26: England cricket team clean-swept the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka.
June 26: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched the start of construction on Istanbul Canal.
June 27: Max Verstappen cruised to victory in the Styrian Grand Prix.
June 27: Bangladesh scrapped at least 10 major coal-fired power plants as it seeks to scale up its power generation from renewable energy sources.
June 27: The World Bank Group announced its new Climate Change Action Plan that aims to deliver record levels of climate finance to developing countries, reduce emissions, strengthen adaptation, and align financial flows with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
June 27: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Jordan’s King Abdullah met in Baghdad during the first visit by an Egyptian head of state to Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.
June 28: Nepal launched a digital visa system to replace its 45-year-old hand-written visa regime.
June 28: Ukraine and the United States launched joint naval exercises in the Black Sea.
June 28: Viktor Hovland became the first Norwegian to win a European Tour title.
June 28: Nelly Korda won the Women’s PGA Championship to capture her first major title and become the first American since 2014 to seize the world number one ranking.
June 28: Ethiopia’s federal government declared a ‘unilateral ceasefire’ in its war-torn Tigray region.
June 28: Canada, the second coldest country in the world, braced highest-ever temperature in its history with mercury touching 46.6 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit).
June 28: UN Secretary General António Guterres urged India to end the use of pellets against children in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and stop associating children with the security forces in any way.
June 29: Israel’s top diplomat Yair Lapid opened the Jewish state’s first embassy in the Gulf during a trip to UAE.
June 30: Donald H. Rumsfeld, the secretary of defense for Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George W. Bush, who presided over America’s Cold War strategies in the 1970s and, in the new world of terrorism decades later, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died. He was 88.
June 30: China was certified as malaria-free by the WHO, following a 70-year effort to eradicate the disease.
July 01: Iran’s supreme leader named former intelligence and security minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei as head of the country’s judiciary, replacing President-elect Ebrahim Raisi.
July 01: Addressing the centenary celebrations for the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed China’s “irreversible” course from humiliated colony to a great power and said the “era of China being bullied is gone forever,” praising the party for uplifting incomes and restoring national pride.
July 01: The Second High-level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism was held at the UN headquarters in New York.
July 01: Turkey formally exited the Istanbul Convention, a treaty combatting femicide and domestic abuse.
July 02: Protesters toppled statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II in the Canadian city of Winnipeg.
July 02: New Zealand topped the Henley Passport Index ranking, along with Germany. Both NZ and Germany have visa-free access or visa on arrival to 136 countries. Following them are five countries with the same score of 135 – Finland, Australia, Spain, Switzerland and Japan.
July 02: American forces vacated the Bagram Airbase — their main military base in Afghanistan.
July 02: England cruised to a series-clinching win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international at the Oval.
July 03: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi opened a strategic naval base on the Mediterranean Sea.
July 03: France’s national financial prosecutors’ office appointed a French judge to investigate a controversial 2016 multi-billion-dollar sale of Rafale fighter jets to India on “corruption” suspicions.
July 03: Lithuania declared a state of emergency due to an influx of migrants from neighbouring Belarus.
July 04: Chinese astronauts successfully performed the country’s first tandem spacewalk, working for seven hours on the outside of the new Tiangong station in orbit around Earth.
July 04: At least 45 people were killed and dozens others were injured when a Philippine military aircraft carrying troops crashed and burst into flames.
July 04: South Africa beat West Indies to claim a series-clinching victory in the final T20 International of their five-match contest.
July 05: Jeff Bezos handed over the job of Amazon chief executive to Andy Jassy.
July 05: In a video talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed issues ranging from climate change and trade to human rights.
July 05: Russia’s Oscar-winning film director Vladimir Menshov died aged 81.
July 06: Canada named Mary Simon as its first indigenous governor general – Queen Elizabeth II’s official representative in the Commonwealth country.
July 06: Richard Donner, a prolific filmmaker who directed the first “Superman” movie, “The Goonies,” and other blockbuster hits, died at age 91.
July 07: Warning of a “deepening divergence” between rich and poor, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called on the G20 to take urgent steps to keep developing nations from falling further behind in vaccine access and funding to repair their fortunes.
July 07: Ahmad Jibril, a leading Palestinian commander for decades, died aged 83.
July 07: Sweden’s parliament voted to reinstate Social Democrat party leader Stefan Lofven as prime minister.
July 07: The huge container ship MV Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March, finally steamed out of the waterway after Egypt and the vessel’s Japanese owners signed a compensation deal.
July 07: Labour MP Naz Shah made a blistering speech in the British Parliament, asking the British House of Commons to consider the unbearable emotional harm to the feelings of billions of Muslims when bigots and racists defame, slander or abuse Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
July 07: Haiti President Jovenel Moise was assassinated and his wife wounded in an attack at their home.
July 07: Twelve Indian ministers resigned as part of a major reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi following a catastrophic spike in Covid-19 cases and ahead of important state elections.
July 07: Dilip Kumar, one of Bollywood’s most accomplished and respected film stars, died aged 98.
July 08: Norwegian telecoms group Telenor announced to sell its subsidiary in Myanmar, where it is one of the major operators, as a result of the military coup there.
July 08: Veteran diplomat Hardeep Singh Puri became India’s new oil minister.
July 08: A Paris court accepted Cairn Energy’s petition that Indian state-owned assets in the city worth over 20 million euros ($24 million) be frozen.
July 09: Zaila Avant-garde, a teenager from Louisiana, became the first African-American winner of the national spelling contest, 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee.
July 09: Matteo Berrettini became the first Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final.
July 09: US President Joe Biden nominated Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti to be the US ambassador to India.
July 09: In a report titled The Hunger Virus Multiplies,’ the anti-poverty organisation Oxfam said 11 people die of hunger each minute and that the number facing faminelike conditions around the globe has increased six times over the last year.
July 10: Ashleigh Barty won her first Wimbledon title.
July 10: Former Ipswich and England striker Paul Mariner died aged 68.
July 10: Vowing to reset the economy for the benefit of everyday workers and consumers, President Joe Biden unveiled a wide-ranging plan to tilt the balance of power away from corporations and towards “the little guy.”
July 10: G20 finance ministers gave their backing to a “historic” global deal to tax multinational companies more fairly and urged hold-out countries to sign up.
July 10: Haiti asked Washington and the UN for troops to secure its ports, airport and other strategic sites after the assassination of president Jovenel Moise.
July 11: Argentina defeated Brazil to win the Copa America 2021 final. The victory ended Argentina’s 28-year wait for a major trophy, and also ended Brazil’s unbeaten home record that stretched back more than 2,500 days.
July 11: Novak Djokovic won a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title and sixth Wimbledon.
July 11: One of France’s most famous medics Jean-Michel Dubernard, who undertook the world’s first successful hand and face transplants, died at the age of 80.
July 11: Italy beat England 3-2 on penalties to win the Euro 2020 final.
July 12: The UN unveiled the first draft text that will form the heart of forthcoming summit negotiations aimed at preserving at least 30 percent of land and oceans and a host of other biodiversity targets.
July 12: During a visit to Moscow by US climate envoy John Kerry, US and Russia said they would cooperate on climate change despite strained relations.
July 12: The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning human rights violations by Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya and other minorities, and called for a process of reconciliation.
July 12: General Austin Scott Miller — the top US general in Afghanistan — relinquished command and handed it over to the Afghan government.
July 12: Nepal’s top court ousted the sitting prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli and reinstated the dissolved parliament. The court said in its judgement that the main opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba should replace Oli.
July 12: The world’s deepest swimming pool for underwater diving opened in Dubai where people can descend 60 metres.
July 13: West Indian batsman Chris Gayle became the first player to score 14,000 runs in all T20 matches.
July 14: The Amazon founder Jeff Bezos went into space, potentially opening a door to space tourism.
July 14: The UAE opened its embassy in Israel.
July 14: The United States allowed Iran to use frozen funds to settle debts in South Korea and Japan.
July 14: Australia, the United States and allies opened large-scale war games Talisman Sabre, which is held every two years in Australia.
July 14: Poland’s Constitutional Court ruled that any interim measures issued by the EU Court of Justice against Poland’s controversial judicial reforms were “not in line” with the Polish constitution, a ruling that government critics said puts a question mark over the country’s future membership of the bloc.
July 15: The European Court of Justice ruled that employers can in principle ban staff from wearing headscarves in the workplace.
MCQs National
1. On June 16, Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the newly established “Eagle Squad” of ______ Police.
(a) Islamabad (b) Quetta
(c) Peshawar (d) Lahore
- On June 16, Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Ltd announced to invest $50 million in its greenfield project in ______ district of KP.
(a) Charsadda (b) Nowshera
(C) Haripur (d) Peshawar -
Total outlay of the KP budget 2021-22 is ______.
(a) Rs1.098 tr (b) Rs1.118 tri
(c) Rs1.228 tr (d) Rs1.334 tr -
On June 18, ______ became the first province to pass the ‘Apprenticeship Act 2021’ to provide skilled youth with better economic opportunities to the industry according to its specifications.
(a) Punjab (b) Sindh
(c) Balochistan (d) KP -
On June 21, the federal government notified ______ as Chairman National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for three years.
(a) Tariq Malik (b) Usman Mubeen
(c) Tahir Hussain (d) Hasan Saleem -
On ______, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party leader and former senator Usman Khan Kakar passed away.
(a) June 20 (b) June 21
(c) June 22 (d) June 23 -
On ______, the Council of Common Interest unanimously approved the National Electricity Policy 2021.
(a) June 19 (b) June 20
(c) June 21 (d) June 22 -
On June 22, the government appointed ______ the executive director of the Asian Development Bank for a term of four years.
(a) Noor Ahmed (b) Kamran Afzal
© Nosheen Gul (d) Abdul Basit -
On June 24, PTI’s ______ chief and provincial Education Minister Yar Mohammad Rind resigned.
(a) KP (b) Sindh
(c) Gilgit-Baltistan (d) Balochistan -
On June 24, ______ won their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title.
(a) Karachi Kings (b) Peshawar Zalmi
(c) Multan Sultans (d) Quetta Gladiators -
Multan Sultans defeated ______ in the final of the PSL 6.
(a) Karachi Kings (b) Lahore Qalandars
(c) Peshawar Zalmi(d) Quetta Gladiators -
On June 25, despite implementing ______ out of 27 action plans, the Financial Action Task Force decided to keep Pakistan on its grey list.
(a) 22 (b) 23
(c) 24 (d) 26 -
Former caretaker prime minister Justice (R) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso passed away on ______.
(a) June 26 (b) June 27
(c) June 28 (d) June 29 -
On June 27, a legendary television and stage actor Begum Khursheed Shahid, the mother of famous actor ______, died.
(a) Shahid (b) Salman Shahid
(c) Shaan Shahid (d) Sajid Hassan -
On June 28, Pakistan and the ______, signed a $4.5 billion new framework agreement to finance oil, LNG and fertiliser imports in the next 3 years.
(a) World Bank (b) IsDB
(c) ITFC (d) ADB -
The National Assembly passed the Federal Budget with a majority vote on ______.
(a) June 26 (b) June 27
(c) June 28 (d) June 29 -
The Federal Budget 2021-11 has a total outlay of ______.
(a) Rs7.487 tr (b) Rs7.978 tr
(c) Rs8.180 tr (d) Rs8.487 tr -
The current minimum wage in Pakistan is ______ per month.
(a) Rs17,000 (b) Rs18,000
(c) Rs20,000 (d) Rs25,000 -
The annual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for teh FY2021-122 is ______.
(a) Rs800 billion (b) Rs900 billion
(c) Rs1000 billion (d) Rs1100 billion -
For FY2021-22, the tax collection target has been set at ______.
(a) Rs5,829 billion (b) Rs6,313 billion
(c) Rs6,829 billion (d) Rs7,431 billion -
On ______, Maulana Abdur Razzaq Iskandar, eminent religious scholar and head of the Wifaqul Madaris Al-Arabia Pakistan, passed away
(a) June 26 (b) June 28
(c) June 29 (d) June 30 -
According to FBR, an individual shall be required to be in Pakistan for a period in aggregate to ______ days or more in a tax year to become a resident.
(a) 120 (b) 150
(c) 180 (d) 183 -
The in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security was held at the National Assembly on ______.
(a) June 29 (b) June 30
(c) July 01 (d) July 02 -
On July 01, the United States added Pakistan and ______ to its Child Soldiers Prevention Act (CSPA) list.
(a) Iran (b) China
(c) Afghanistan (d) Turkey -
State Bank of Pakistan Museum & Art Gallery was established in ______.
(a) 2007 (b) 2009
(c) 2011 (d) 2012 -
On July 03, ______ Embassy launched the first-ever Academy of Women Entrepreneurs program in Pakistan.
(a) Japanese (b) Chinese
(d) Italian (d) US -
On July 05, Pakistan was ranked ______ in The Economist’s Global Normalcy Index, out of 50 countries.
(a) Second (b) Third
(c) Fourth (d) Ninth -
On July 05, President Dr Arif Alvi conferred Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military) award on Commander of ______ Land Forces, General Umit Dundar.
(a) Turkish (b) Malaysian
(C) Uzbek (d) Indonesian -
On July 06, Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti took oath as the ______ chief justice of Lahore High Court.
(a) 51st (b) 52nd
(c) 53rd (d) 54th -
On July 07, President Alvi appointed ______ the new governor of Balochistan
(a) Yar Muhammad Rind
(b) Zahoor Ahmed Agha
(c) Abdul Quddus Bezinjo
(d) Jam Yousaf Ali -
On July 07, the Prime Minister appointed ______ his special assistant on reconciliation and harmony in Balochistan.
(a) Naimatullah Khan Zehri
(b) Shahzain Bugti
(c) Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali
(d) Sanaullah Zehri -
On July 08, a huge statue of renowned social worker Abdul Sattar Edhi was installed at the famous Hockey Chowk in ______.
(a) Karachi (b) Bahawalpur
(c) Lahore (d) Quetta -
On July 10, ______ and the Unicef signed an agreement to launch the ‘Balochistan Education Support’ (BES), a five-year education development programme for which it will provide 17.4 million euros.
(a) Japan (b) China
(c) AIIB (d) EU -
Naveed Alam, former hockey Olympian and a member of Pakistan’s winning team in the 1994 World Cup, passed away on ______.
(a) July 11 (b) July 12
(c) July 13 (d) July 14 -
The 14th edition of the South Asian Games will be held in Pakistan’s cities of Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, ______ and Islamabad.
(a) Gujrat (b) Gujranwala
(c) Rawalpindi (d) Multan -
On July 13, PML-Q’s Moonis Elahi was appointed the federal minister for______.
(a) Water Resources
(b) Economic Affairs
(c) Defence Production
(d) Housing and Works -
On July 13, ______, a retired grade 22 officer of Secretariat Group, assumed responsibilities as the ECP secretary, on contractual basis.
(a) Mohsin Butt (b) Aqeel Turabi
(c) Salman Khilji (d) Umer Hameed -
Former president and PML-N central leader Mamnoon Hussain passed away on ______.
(a) July 11 (b) July 12
(c) July 13 (d) July 14 -
On July 15, ______ announced a new immigration policy and allowed Pakistanis visa-on-arrival facility.
(a) Qatar (b) Iran
(c) Saudi Arabia (d) Kazakhstan -
On July 15, Pakistan and ______ signed the Heads of Terms (HoT) and Shareholders Agreement (SHA) on the project of 1,100-kilometer Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline from Karachi to Kasur.
(a) Uzbekistan (b) Russia
(c) Tajikistan (d) China
International
1. On June 16, Lina Khan, a Pakistani-origin woman, was sworn in as the head of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of the ______.
(a) United States (b) Canada
(c) Switzerland (d) UK
- On June 16, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Joe Biden, held a summit meeting in ______.
(a) Athens (b) Geneva
(c) Bonn (d) Helsinki -
On June 17, former ______ president Kenneth Kaunda, a hero of the struggle against white rule in southern Africa, died aged 97.
(a) South African (b) Kenyan
(c) Zambian (d) Zimbabwean -
On June 18, ______ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nominated Justice Mahmud Jamal as the next member of his country Supreme Court – the first non-white judge to take the seat.
(a) Swiss (b) Belgian
(c) Swedish (d) Canadian -
On June 18, Antonio Guterres was sworn in as UN Secretary-General for a second term that will start from ______.
(a) Aug. 28, 2021 (b) Sep. 11, 2021
(c) Dec. 01, 2021 (d) Jan. 01, 2022 -
On ______, India’s track legend Milkha Singh, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist who was dubbed the ‘Flying Sikh’, died.
(a) June 16 (b) June 17
(c) June 18 (d) June 19 -
On June 21, ______ Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan scored a decisive victory in snap parliamentary elections.
(a) Armenian (b) Belarusian
(c) Belgian (d) Polish -
On June 21, Stefan Lofven became ______ first prime minister to lose a no-confidence vote.
(a) Belgium’s (b) Sweden’s
(c) Latvia’s (d) Italy’s -
On June 21, ______ weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was selected as the first transgender Olympic athlete.
(a) New Zealand (b) Australian
(c) Canadian (d) Ethiopian -
On June 22, ______ capital Ashgabat was declared the world’s most expensive city for foreign workers in the 2021 Mercer survey.
(a) Iraq’s (b) Turkmenistan’s
(c) Somalia’s (d) Tajikistan’s -
On June 22, Keshav Maharaj completed just the second hat-trick by a ______ in Test history.
(a) Sri Lankan (b) Indian
(c) South African (d) West Indian -
On June 22, the Committee to Protect Journalists announced to honour Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned founder of Apple Daily newspaper of ______, with the 2021 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award.
(a) Singapore (b) Taiwan
(c) Macau (d) Hong Kong -
On June 23, ______ beat India in the inaugural World Test Championship final.
(a) England (b) Australia
(c) South Africa (d) New Zealand -
On June 24, the world’s highest luxury hotel and the ______ tallest building in the world, Shanghai Tower, opened in Shanghai, China.
(a) Second (b) Third
(c) Fifth (d) Ninth -
On ______, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi held a crucial meeting with pro-India politicians from Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K).
(a) June 22 (b) June 24
(c) June 26 (d) June 28 -
On June 25, former Minneapolis Police officer ______ was sentenced to 22 and a half years in jail for murdering African American George Floyd.
(a) Derek Chauvin (b) Journee Howard
(c) Keith Ellison (d) Peter Cahill -
Bundestag is the lower house of ______ parliament.
(a) Russian (b) French
(d) German (d) Spanish -
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who resigned on June 26, was replaced by ______.
(a) Ben Wallace (b) Sajid Javid
(c) Priti Patel (d) Dominic Raab -
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched the start of construction on Istanbul Canal on ______.
(a) June 24 (b) June 25
(c) June 26 (d) June 28 -
On June 27, the ______ announced its new Climate Change Action Plan that aims to deliver record levels of climate finance to developing countries
(a) EU (b) UNEP
(c) AIIB (d) World Bank -
On June 28, ______ and the United States launched joint naval exercises in the Black Sea.
(a) Philippines (b) South Korea
(c) Japan (d) Ukraine -
On June 28, ______ federal government declared a ‘unilateral ceasefire’ in its war-torn Tigray region.
(a) Somalia’s (b) Kenya’s
(c) Ethiopia’s (d) South Sudan’s -
On June 29, Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid opened the Jewish state’s first embassy in Gulf in ______.
(a) Dubai (b) Abu Dhabi
(c) Muscat (d) Manama -
On ______, Donald H. Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense for Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George W. Bush, who presided over America’s Cold War strategies in the 1970s and, in the new world of terrorism decades later, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, died.
(a) June 30 (b) July 01
(c) July 02 (d) July 03 -
On June 30, ______was certified as malaria-free by the WHO, following a 70-year effort to eradicate the disease.
(a) China (b) India
(c) Vietnam (d) Mexico -
On July 01, Iran’s supreme leader named former intelligence and security minister Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei as head of the country’s judiciary, replacing ______.
(a) Mohammad Yazdi (b) Ebrahim Raisi
(c) Alireza Jamshidi (d) Sadeq Larijani -
American forces vacated the Bagram Airbase — their main military base in Afghanistan on ______.
(a) July 01 (b) July 02
(c) July 03 (d) July 04 -
On July 04, ______ astronauts successfully performed the country’s first tandem spacewalk.
(a) Indian (b) Japanese
(c) French (d) Chinese -
On July 06, Canada named ______ as its first indigenous governor general – Queen Elizabeth II’s official representative in the Commonwealth country.
(a) Julie Payette (b) David Johnston
(c) Michaëlle Jean (d) Mary Simon -
On July 07, the huge container ship MV Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for six days in ______ this year, finally steamed out of the waterway.
(a) January (b) February
(c) March (d) April -
On July 07, ______ President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in an attack at his home.
(a) Sweden’s (b) Haiti’s
(c) Mexico’s (d) Vietnam’s -
On ______, Dilip Kumar, one of Bollywood’s most accomplished and respected film stars, died aged 98.
(a) July 07 (b) July 08
(c) July 09 (d) July 10 -
On July 08, ______ telecom group Telenor announced to sell its subsidiary in Myanmar.
(a) Norwegian (b) Italian
(c) Swedish (d) Danish -
On July 09, US President Joe Biden nominated ______ to be the US ambassador to India.
(a) Richard Verma (b) Eric Garcetti
(c) Donald Heflin (d) Kenneth Juster -
On July 09, a report titled as “The Hunger Virus Multiplies,” was released by ______-based anti-poverty organisation Oxfam.
(a) London (b) Oxford
(c) Nairobi (d) New York -
On July 11, Argentina defeated ______ to win the Copa América 2021 final.
(a) Peru (b) Uruguay
(c) Colombia (d) Brazil -
On July 11, ______ beat England on penalties to win the Euro 2020 final.
(a) Germany (b) France
(c) Sweden (d) Italy -
On ______, General Austin Scott Miller — the top US general in Afghanistan — relinquished command and handed it over to the Afghan government.
(a) July 10 (b) July 11
(c) July 12 (d) July 14 -
On July 14, Australia, the United States and allies opened large-scale war games Talisman Sabre, which is held every two years in ______.
(a) Venezuela (b) Australia
(c) South Korea (d) Japan -
The UAE opened its embassy in Israel on ______.
(a) July 12 (b) July 13
(d) July 14 (d) July 15
