Current Affairs in Short: 15 December 2020

Winter session of Parliament likely to be cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

•The winter session of the Parliament is likely to be cancelled due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. This was informed by the Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi.
•Joshi stated that floor leaders of various political parties had expressed concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and suggested doing away with the Winter Session of the Parliament.
•The Minister informed this in a letter addressed to Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on December 3, 2020 requesting to convene a short winter session of the Parliament
•Joshi stated in the letter dated December 14, 2020 that the winter months are very crucial for managing the pandemic because of recent spurt in cases during this period, particularly in Delhi. He further added that the government is willing to have the next session of Parliament at the earliest.

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine confirmed to be 91.4 percent effective

•The efficacy of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine has been confirmed to be 91.4 percent, as per data analysis of the Phase 3 trials. This was announced by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology on December 14, 2020.
•In a joint statement, the RDIF and the Gamaleya Center said that the Sputnik vaccine is over 90 percent effective, as per the final control point data analysis of the largest double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials of the vaccine.
•The joint statement read that the analysis of the vaccine's efficacy at the final control point was carried out on the basis of 78 confirmed cases identified in the placebo group (62 cases) and in the vaccine group (16 cases). The ratio of the placebo group to the vaccinated group was 1 to 3.
•The phase 3 trials of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is currently going on in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Belarus. In Russia also, over 26,000 volunteers were vaccinated at 29 medical centres across Russia.

Reliance Jio accuses Airtel, Vodafone Idea of 'unethical' practices in complaint to TRAI

•Reliance Jio has written a complaint to the Telecom Regulator Authority of India (TRAI) seeking strict action against Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for "unethical practices".
•Reliance Jio wrote to TRAI accusing the two telecom companies of "unscrupulous violations", seeking to stop campaigns under which false propaganda is being spread across the country to get additional MNP port-ins by capitalising on the ongoing farmer protests in the country.
•Jio's statement accused the companies of continuing to remain directly or indirectly involved in supporting and furthering insinuations and false rumours that Reliance will be an undue beneficiary of the farm laws.

US imposes sanctions on Turkey over purchase of S-400 missile system from Russia

•The United States on December 14, 2020 imposed sanctions on Turkey for the purchase of the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia.
•The US further urged Turkey to resolve the problem "immediately in coordination with the United States".
•The US has imposed full sanctions on Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) for knowingly engaging in a significant transaction with Russia's main arms export entity.
•The sanctions include an asset freeze and visa restrictions on SSB's president Dr Ismail Demir and other SSB officials.

Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat gets commissioned

•Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat got commissioned at Hazira on December 15, 2020. The Interceptor boat has been built indigenously by M/s L&T Jetty, Hazira.
•The interceptor boat is capable of a high speed of 45 knots and can operate in shallow waters. The vessel has been fitted with the latest state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment.
•It has been designed for high-speed interception, search and rescue, close coast patrol, low-intensity maritime operations and maritime surveillance.
•It will operate under the administrative and operational control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (NW) and has been commissioned as a part of the Indian Coast Guard's ongoing effort to strengthen the coastal security of the Gujarat maritime border.