Current Affairs : January 1, 2012

Welcome 2012

• New Year 2012 is welcomed by people world over with great fanfare. 2012 is a leap year that starts on Sunday.
• The United Nations General Assembly designated 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, highlighting the contribution of cooperatives to socio-economic development, in particular recognizing their impact on poverty reduction, employment generation and social integration.
• 2012 is also designated as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All.
• 2012 is the Alan Turing Year, commemorating the mathematician, computer pioneer, and code-breaker on the centennial of Turing's birth.

Important scheduled Events of 2012

Some important scheduled events of 2012 are as follows:

• January 13 – January 22 – The first Winter Youth Olympics will be held in Innsbruck, Austria.
• February 6 – Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, marking the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, and the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth.
• July 27 - August 12 – 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in London
  
• August 6 – August 20 – Mars Science Laboratory also known as the Curiosity rover is scheduled to land on Mars.

Samoa and Tokelau are the first to toast in 2012

• Two countries Samoa and Tokelau are the first to toast in 2012 after skipping a day by jumping west across the international dateline.
• As midnight of 29 December ended, the two South Pacific island nations fast-forwarded to 31 December, missing out on 30 December entirely.

PM identifies 5 Key challenges for India in 2012

• Prime Minister identifies 5 key challenges for India as livelihood security, education, food, health and employment, economic security, energy security, ecological security and national security. Greeting people on New Year he urges the people to work together as a nation to address these challenges
• Expressing concern over growing fiscal deficit, PM says that phased rationalising of prices of petroleum products and begin again the process of fiscal consolidation so that growth is not jeopardised.

Rajasthan: Doctors call off strike

• In Rajasthan, medical and health services in government hospitals are now coming back on the rails with the In-service doctors resuming their duties after an 11 day long strike.
• The OPD in hospitals functioning normally and indoor patients also took a sigh of relief. Prior to that the In-service Doctor Association called off their strike after meeting the Power Minister Dr. Jitender Singh.
• Government issued orders of lifting Rajasthan Essential Services Maintenance Act, RESMA, and release of doctors arrested under the Act. The government also agreed to constitute a five member committee to look into the demands of the In-service doctors and suspension and dismissal of doctors during the strike.

Earthquake in Japan:

• A major 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Tokyo and surrounding areas. There were no immediate reports of damage or injury and no tsunami warning was issued.
• Its epicentre was located near Torishima, an island about 560 kilometres south of Tokyo and was about 370 kilometres deep.

Nigeria: 50 people killed in violence

• Approximately 50 people were killed south-eastern Nigeria in clashes between Ezza and Ezilo people of Ishielu district, the two groups that are often in conflict.

Syria: Draft agreement signed

• Syrian opposition groups have signed a draft agreement which charts a democratic transition, should President Bashar al-Assad leave office.
• Representatives from the two main opposition groups, the Syrian National Council and the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria, say their draft agreement has been signed in Cairo.
• The two sides reject any military intervention that harms the sovereignty or stability of the country, though Arab intervention is not considered foreign.

FDI surges by 36% during January-October

• FDI in India has surged by 36 per cent to 23.68 billion US dollars during the January-October period last year. During January-October 2010, the country had attracted FDI worth 17.36 billion US Dollars.
• As per the latest data from Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the sectors that attracted maximum FDI during the nine-month period, include financial and non-financial services, telecom, housing, real estate & construction and power.
• Mauritius, Singapore, US, UK, Netherlands, Japan, Germany and UAE are the major sources of investment in India.

Dalailama performs Kalchakra Puja at Bodhgaya

• Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama performs "Kalchakra puja" for international brotherhood, peace and harmony at Bodhgaya in Bihar. He says that the path of non-violence, truth and harmony as a far more powerful force than the activities of any military power that only believes in lust and annihilation.
• He said, the holy light of Buddhism spread across the world from India which is the abode of spiritualism and true religious harmony.

Novak Djokovic wins ATP World Tennis Championship

• World Number one, Novak Djokovic has won the ATP World Tennis Championship. In the final in Abu Dhabi, Djokovic thrashed Spaniard David Ferrer in straight sets 6-2.6-1. World Number two Rafael Nadal came third as he defeated Roger Federer 6-2,7-5.

Pakistan assumes seat as non-permanent member of UNSC

• Pakistan has assumed its seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council On January 1, 2012 for a two-year term. This will be for the seventh time that Pakistan has assumed this position.