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By admin: Dec. 13, 2021

PM Inaugurates Kashi Vishwanath Corridor

Prime Minister inaugurated the 400 metre long Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi connecting the ancient temple to the western banks of the Ganges, facilitating the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, to practice the age old custom of taking a dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal, and offering it at the temple on 13 December.
The ₹800-crore project started with Mr. Modi laying the foundation stone on March 8, 2019
While the first phase, the gateway to the Ganges, would be opened on 13 December by the Prime Minister, and in the second phase the steps going down and the ghat would take another two months to complete.
The project cost is Rs 339 Crores and is spread over a massive area of about 5 lakh square feet.
More than 40 ancient temples have been rediscovered, restored, and beautified.
The architect of the project is Mr. Bimal Patel.

The Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most famous Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva often referred to as Shri Vishwanath and Vishweshwara, literally meaning Lord of the Universe. It is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh in India.

The temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas, the holiest of Shiva Temples. The 12 Jyotirlingas are -

Somnath in Gir, Gujarat
Mallikarjuna in Srisailam, Andhra Pradesh
Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
Omkareshwar in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh
Baidyanath in Deoghar, Jharkhand
Bhimashankar in Maharashtra
Ramanathaswamy in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu
Nageshwar in Dwarka, Gujarat
Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Trimbakeshwar in Nasik, Maharashtra
Kedarnath in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand
Ghrishneshwar in Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Varanasi city was called Kashi in ancient times, and hence the temple is popularly called Kashi Vishwanath Temple.

Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world.

Since 1983, the temple has been managed by the government of Uttar Pradesh.

During the religious occasion of Shivratri, Kashi Naresh (King of Kashi) is the chief officiating priest.

Architect - Bimal Patel

He received the Padma Shri Award for his contributions in the fields of Architecture and Planning in 2019.

Significant projects-

Central Vista Project
Kashi Vishwanath Corridor
Sabarmati Riverfront
Gujarat High Court
Bhuj Development

Swarnim Vijay Parv

Tags: National News

It is a 2-day event commemorating the valor & professionalism of the Armed Forces and their contribution to the liberation of Bangladesh in the Indo-Pak 1971 war, at India Gate Lawns in New Delhi. It marks 50 years of India's victory in the war.

It was inaugurated by the Defence Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh.

It will also mark the culmination of the year-long journey of the Victory Flame, the Swarnim Vijay Mashal which, having traversed the length and breadth of the country and collected soil samples from the villages of the gallant soldiers of the war.

Saudi Arabia bans Tablighi Jamaat

Tags: International News

Saudi Arabia has stunned the Islamic World by banning the Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamist proselytizing(conversion) movement.

The Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs announced the measure on its social media platform terming the Sunni Islamic organisation as "one of the gates of terrorism" and that Tablighi Jamaat poses "a danger to society".

Tablighi Jamaat

Tablighi Jamaat , which literally means a society for spreading the faith, is a Sunni Islamic missionary movement. The proselytising movement aims to reach out to ordinary Muslims and revive their faith, particularly in matters of ritual, dress, and personal behaviour.
It was launched by Deoband cleric and prominet Islamic scholar Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Khandhalaw in 1927 in Mewat,Haryana.
After Partition in 1947, a Pakistan chapter was started in the town of Raiwind, Lahore. Currently, Bangladesh has one of the largest chapters. The Tablighi Jamaat also has a significant base in the United States and Britain, which has a large Indian subcontinent diaspora. It also has a presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Its roots lie in the Deobandi version of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence.
Salafism, which is sometimes also referred to as Wahhabism which is practised in Saudi Arabia is a rival of the Deobandi school and this move of the Saudi is seen as a rivalry within the Sunni Islam.

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest state in West Asia and a major oil exporting country in the world.

Saudi Arabia claims to be the leader of the islamic world as it is home to the two most holy mosques of Islam.

Al-Masjid al-Haram mosque is in Mecca, which is also the world's largest mosques and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina.

The Organisation of Islamic Countries(OIC) headquarters is at Jeddah ,Saudi Arabia.

Capital of Saudi Arabia : RIyadh

Currency :Saudi Riyal

Tigray rebels retake Ethiopian world heritage Lalibela

Tags: International News

Tigray rebels on 12th December recaptured the north Ethiopian town of Lalibela, home to a UNESCO world heritage site from the Ethiopian government forces..

Ethiopian Civil War

The conflict started on 4 November, when the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive against the northern regional forces in Tigray.

The escalation came after months of feuding between Mr Abiy's government and leaders of Tigray's dominant political party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) .

For almost three decades, the party was at the centre of power, before it was sidelined by Mr Abiy, who took office in 2018 after anti-government protests.

Mr Abiy pursued reforms, but when Tigray resisted, the political crisis erupted into war.

Lalibela

Lalibela is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. It is famous for its rock-cut monolithic churches. It is a holy pilgrimage site for Christians. The Rock-Hewn Churches were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978

Ethiopia (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) -

A landlocked country in the horn of Africa.
Capital - Addis Ababa
Currency - Birr
Lake Tana in the North is the source of Blue Nile

Abiy Ahmed - He is the present prime minister of Ethiopia. As the first Ethiopian and the first African head of state, he won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in ending the 20-year post-war territorial stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa takes its name from the horn-shaped land formation that forms the easternmost point of the African continent, projecting into the Indian Ocean south of the Arabian Peninsula.
The term is also used to refer to the greater region of adjacent countries located at the southern end of the Red Sea and on the Gulf of Aden: the Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and the landlocked Ethiopia.
Located on the main shipping route for the transport of oil from the Persian Gulf to Europe and the United States, the Horn of Africa is considered one of the most strategically important regions in the world.

New Caledonia votes to remain part of France

Tags: International News

Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose overwhelmingly to stay part of France, in a referendum held on 12 December which was boycotted by pro-independence forces.
Official results showed 96% of those who took part chose to stay in France. However the overall turnout was less than 44%.
The referendum held on 12 December was the third and last in a decades-long process aimed at settling tensions between native Kanaks seeking independence and those who want the territory to remain part of France.
New Caledonia, colonized by Napoleon’s nephew in the 19th century, is a vast archipelago of about 270,000 people east of Australia and hosts a French military base.

Capital of New Caledonia : Noumea.

Currency: CFP Franc

Israeli PM’s historic visit to UAE

Tags: International News

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in the United Arab Emirates for the first ever official visit by a Prime Minister of Israel to the UAE..
The UAE last year became the third Arab nation to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel after Egypt and Jordan.
Bahrain and Morocco then followed as part of a series of deals referred to as Abraham Accords brokered by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sudan also agreed to normalise ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, but full relations have not yet materialised.
For details of the Abraham accord refer to the 25 November post.

Israel

It was created in 1948 as a homeland of the Jews after partitioning the Arab dominated Palestine in West Asia..
Capital : Israel claims Jerusalem as its capital but many countries including the United Nations do not accept it as its capital. Tel Aviv is accepted as the capital of Israel by many countries of the world.
Currency : Shekel
Parliament : Knesset

UAE(United Arab Emirates)

It gained its independence from Britain in 1971 .
It is a federation of seven Emirates ,Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.
Capital of UAE: Abu Dhabi
Currency : UAE Dirham

Max Verstappen is the Formula One World Champion

Tags: Sports News

Max Verstappen of Red Bull team was crowned the Formula one champion after winning the year end Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to beat the race leader Lewis Hamilton .
He became the first Dutch(Netherland) driver to win the Formula one or F1 motor car racing championship .

The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of motor car races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.

The World Drivers' Championship is presented by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile(FIA) to the most successful F1 driver over the course of the season through a points system based on individual Grand Prix results.

Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most World Drivers' Championships, both having won the title on seven occasions.

Juan Manuel Fangio is third with five titles.

Sebastian Vettel was the youngest to win the title.

Present FIA Formula 1 Race Director - Michael Masi

FIA Headquarters - Paris

2022 Formula 1 World Championship starts with Bahrain GP at Sakhir Circuit

20th Asian Rowing Championship

Tags: Sports News

It was organised at the Royal Thai Navy Rowing Center in Rayong,Thailand from 8-12 December 2021.

India won six medals in all - two gold and four silver.

Gold Medal winners of India

● Arvind Singh won the gold medal in the men’s lightweight single sculls

● Arjun Lal Jat, and Ravi, won the gold medal in the men ‘s double sculls event .

Silver medal winners

● Parminder Singh, won the silver in the men’s single sculls.

● Jasveer Singh, Punit Kumar, Gurmeet Singh and Charanjeet Singh won the silver in the men’s coxless fours.

● Bittu Singh, Jakar Khan, Manjeet Kumar and Sukhmeet Singh won the silver in the in the quadruple sculls,

● Ashish Phugat and Sukhjinder Singh won silver in the men’s lightweight double sculls

Gothic novelist Anne Rice passes away

Tags: Person in news

Anne Rice, the Gothic Novelist who is best known for her best-selling book “Interview with the vampire” passed away.
She was an American author of gothic fiction, and Christian literature.
She was best known for her series of novels The Vampire Chronicles. Books from The Vampire Chronicles were the subject of two film adaptations—Interview with the Vampire (1994 starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt) and Queen of the Damned (2002).
Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a genre of literature and film that covers horror, death, and at times, romance.