1.

Army publishes coffee-table book on shrines of Kashmir As part of its continuing effort to strengthen the bond with people in the Valley, Army has published a coffeetable book on shrines of Kashmir. The book, titled Iconic Shrines of Kashmir', highlights the rich religious diversity and communal harmony in the Valley. 2. Gundia power project will result in bio-diversity loss, says experts panel The Gundia power project in Karnataka should not be permitted as its execution can cause significant environmental impact and biodiversity loss, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) has reported. The Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) proposed to implement in three stages the project in the Gundia river basin in Hassan and Dakshina Kannada districts to generate 200 MW. The panel, in its report submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, said the execution would cause large-scale land cover changes in this basin. The impacts on the habitat and biodiversity would come not only from submergence but also associated activity including construction of buildings as well as roads to access the various project sites. 3. Non-Hindus can enter Jagannath temples, except shrine at Puri Gajapati King Dibya Singha Deb of Puri said that there was no restriction on the entry of non-Hindus into temples of Lord Jagannath across the globe, except the 12th century shrine at Puri. As Puri is the original seat of the Lord, there is restriction on the entry of non-Hindus into the temple. However, they can have darshan of the Lord in other Jagannath temples elsewhere, Mr. Deb said. Stating that non-Hindus can pray from anywhere, he said the restriction on people belonging to other religions have continued at the Puri shrine for a long time. 4. Social activist Rani Jethmalani passes away Rani Jethmalani, social activist and Supreme Court lawyer, passed away due to terminal illness. Ms. Jethmalani, daughter of renowned lawyer Ram Jethmalani, worked relentlessly for women's rights. 5. India-born Nobel laureate Venky gets knighthood Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, India-born US citizen whose pioneering work in molecular biology won him the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry, has been honoured with a knighthood by the royal establishment in a rare recognition of achievements by foreigners based in Britain. 58-year-old Ramakrishnan, known to most as Venky, is based at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. He has been conferred knighthood "for services to molecular biology" in the New Year Honours List 2012. 6. In 2 yrs, Aman Ki Asha has become a peace concept The Times of India and Pakistan's Jang Group launched Aman ki Asha (AKA) to promote peace between the two countries on January 1, 2010. Beena Sarwar evaluates the initiative's two-year achievements. The initiative's achievements lie in many programmes it has organized and inspired many to assume a life of its own, gathering momentum and accelerating the peace process. The campaign created awareness about peace and prosperity being the two sides of the same coin and the need for breaking free from the animosity to herald a new era of friendship and collaboration. AKA has turned out to be the most significant peace movement because two biggest media groups have led it and the civil society has spontaneously adopted it. 7. U.S. bolsters UAE's missile defence The United States has announced a $3.48-billion arms deal with the United Arab Emirates as part of a wider American effort to build up missile defences among Gulf allies to counter Iran. The announcement came amid threats from Iran to close the vital Strait of Hormuz if Western countries press ahead with punitive sanctions and a day after the United States sealed a $30-billion arms deal to provide another Gulf ally Saudi Arabia with 84 new F-15 fighter jets. The agreement with UAE includes two sophisticated missile defence batteries, 96 missiles, two radars, spare parts and training. 8. Iraq Day' to mark U.S. pullout Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared Iraq Day to mark the end of a pact allowing U.S. forces to stay in the country, two weeks after they left and with Iraq mired in a political row. Speaking at a ceremony at the AlShaab stadium complex in central Baghdad, Mr. Maliki said December 31 was a feast for all Iraqis and marked the day Iraq became sovereign.U.S. troops completed their withdrawal Iraq on December 18, nearly nine years after Washington launched a controversial war to oust Saddam Hussein. Page 1 of 2 1st January 2012

9. Sri Lanka scraps visa on arrival After a lot of deliberations, Sri Lanka has decided to go ahead with the proposed electronic travel authorisation scheme, which requires a tourist to register and pay a fee ahead of arriving in the country. Only two countries Singapore and The Maldives are exempted from the rule since they too provide visa-free travel for Sri Lankans. Indians will have to pay about $3 online ahead of travelling to Sri Lanka. 10. IOC plans LPG pipeline grid Seeking to consolidate its core business and make it more efficient, state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has decided to establish a countrywide LPG pipeline grid to reduce the supply chain cost of transporting LPG. The effort is to lay pipelines to various work centres where IOC is transporting LPG. The aim is that wherever IOC has high consumption, plan should be drawn up to lay pipeline to transport LPG. Basically, the emphasis on this is to reduce the supply chain and distribution cost. Similarly, the corporation is planning to transport aviation turbine fuel (ATF). 11. NTPC board clears two mega projects The board of NTPC has approved proposals for setting up two mega power projects in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka at an estimated cost of Rs.18,346.59 crore. The company said it would invest Rs.15,166.19 crore for the upcoming 3x800 MW Kudgi super thermal power project in Karnataka. The project is awaiting clearance of Ministry of Environment and Forests. NTPC would also invest Rs.3,180.40 crore for 500 MW Stage-V of the Vindhyachal super thermal power project in Madhya Pradesh. This unit is also awaiting environmental clearance. 12. Waterman brings local guardians back to protect Sariska tigers The New Year augurs well for the Sariska Tiger Reserve, for the local guardians of the 400 sq km sanctuary nestling in the lap of the Aravallis are back vowing to protect the land, the trees, the fauna and the apex animal, tiger. One could visualise the return of the good days for Sariska as early this past week villagers in the neighbourhood of the park -- which had lost all tigers in the wild some five years back to alleged poaching -- inspired by Waterman Rajendra Singh started a 19-day padyatra committing themselves to protection of this precious island of bio-diversity.

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