Current Affairs in Short: 24 December 2020

Delhi government ready for vaccination: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

•The Delhi government has completed all preparations and is ready for vaccination, said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

•The Chief Minister informed that around 51 lakh people including healthcare and frontline workers would get vaccinated in the first phase. The process of identification of all such people is almost complete.

•The Chief Minister further said that the government will require 1.02 crore doses of vaccine for the first phase of vaccination since each person will get two doses.

•Currently, the national capital has the capacity to store 74 lakh doses, which will be increased to 1.15 crore within one week.

Japan temporarily bans arrival of foreign nationals due to new COVID-19 strain

•Japan on December 23, 2020 imposed a temporary ban on travelers from the United Kingdom in view of the threat posed by the spread of the new COVID-19 strain.

•Japan has decided to temporarily ban new arrivals of foreign nationals from the UK for the purpose of business or study. The existing foreign residents, however, will be allowed to enter.

•The government will also suspend an exemption from 14-day quarantine for Japanese nationals and foreign residents returning from short-term business trips for no longer than 7 days to the United Kingdom.

•Further, the Japanese nationals arriving from the UK will have to take the COVID test within 72 hours before departure and submit their results upon arrival.

•Many countries have imposed restrictions on travel from the UK following the detection of the new mutated strain of COVID-19, which has reportedly caused a spike in infections in London and other parts of England.

US President vetoes massive US defence policy bill

•US President Donald Trump on December 24, 2020 vetoed a massive annual defense policy bill, saying it failed to include critical national security measures. He called it a gift to Russia and China. This is the first and only veto of his presidency.

•The US Congress had passed the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) earlier this month. Trump had threatened to veto the Act saying it failed to repeal the 1996 law that gives social media platforms liability protection for third-party posts and freedom to police the content.

•He vetoed the bill saying that his administration recognizes the importance of the Act to our national security but unfortunately, the Act fails to include critical national security measures.

•He stated that it includes provisions that fail to respect the US’s military history and its veterans and contradicts efforts by his Administration to put America first in their national security and foreign policy actions. He called the bill a gift to Russia and China.

•To override Trump's veto, both the Senate and House would need two-thirds of their members to vote in favour of overriding it. The bill has already been passed by the Senate in an 84-13 vote and the House in a 355-78 vote. The Congress must override the veto before noon on January 3, 2020, before the new Congress is sworn in, as otherwise, the lawmakers will need to start from scratch on the bill when the 117th Congress is sworn in.

One million people vaccinated against COVID-19 in US

•More than one million people have received the first of the two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

•The US officials expect to distribute almost 10 million doses of the two approved vaccines- Pfizer and Moderna- by the end of this week. Each of the two vaccines requires an initial shot followed by a booster shot a few weeks later.

•Despite the vaccination, Americans have been urged to embrace proven health strategies such as wearing of face masks till the vaccine becomes available for all.

Army chief awards commendation cards to troops deployed at sector

•Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane gave 12 Chief’s commendation cards to the troops deployed in the icy heights on the Line of Actual Control. Naravane is the first Indian Army Chief to have visited the strategic areas of Rezang La and Rechen La in Ladakh.

•The two heights close to the LAC were occupied by the Indian Army troops in special operation around August 29-30, 2020.

•The Indian Army Chief gave his commendation cards to 12 troops including officers and jawans for their operational role and devotion to duty during deployment in the area since May 2020.

•The IAF Chief had visited the heights on December 23, 2020 amid harsh winter when the temperature was close to -25 degree Celsius.