'Good' and 'Bad' Neighbours
After his recent visit to Bangladesh, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar attended an event in IIT Madras where he was asked a question about India's neighbourhood policy. He replied that India chooses to invest, help and share with neighbours who are good to it, and has the right to protect itself from 'bad neighbours.'

Protests in Iran
Iran experiences its biggest protest in 3 years against the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As the Iranians and security forces clashed in many of the cities, 7 people were reportedly killed. Shopkeepers, traders, women's rights activists and students have taken to the streets, damaging administrative buildings, town halls, mosques and banks.

UP Schools Remain Closed
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the closure of all the schools until January 5 ahead of cold waves. This applies to all the students from primary to grade 12 under CBSE, ICSE, UP and others. He has also instructed officials to inspect fields, distribute blankets, prevent people from sleeping outside and stay alert.

Green PUCC Stickers
The Odisha Transport Department has announced that green PUC stickers will be available for vehicles holding the Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) from January 10. Even though the sticker is not mandatory, the issuance of fake or unauthorised PUCC stickers will attract strict action, including the cancellation of the authorisation.

White-Collar Terrorism
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh warns citizens of white-collar terrorism, where highly-educated individuals are highly involved in anti-social and anti-national activities, referring to the Delhi blast conducted by doctors. He also highlights that the purpose of education also includes ethics, morality and human character and not only professional success.

Dhadi Darshan on Hold
Due to a technical issue, the Dhadi Darshan at Puri's Jagannath temple has been haulted. Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan informed that the system will launch only after it is completely fixed, keeping in mind the smooth entry and exit of devotees.

Workers' Social Security Benefits
After gig and platform workers held a strike demanding better working conditions and financial pay on New Year's Eve on December 30, the Union Labour Ministry released draft rules under which gig and platform workers must be engaged with an aggregator for 90 days in a year for the centre to grant you social security benefits. In the case of engaging with two or more aggregators, the minimum period is 120 days.

Fog Continues to Prevail
The Indian Meteorological Department has issued an orange warning for Jagatsinghpur as very dense fog is likely to prevail, and a yellow warning to districts of Puri, Kendrapara,
Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Cuttack, Nayagarh, Khurda, Gajapati, Ganjam, Sundargarh & Kandhamal.

Enumeration Form Collection
According to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters' list, the collection of enumeration forms in urban areas was much lesser than in rural areas. The most likely reason is said to be electors not being available at home and constant migration.

Marijne as Team Coach
Sjoerd Marijne has been appointed the women's hockey team chief coach. He guided the Indian women's hockey team to fourth place at the Tokyo Olympics. He takes over Harendra Singh, who had resigned in December due to personal reasons. His first task will be leading the team to World Cup qualifying tournament in Hyderabad from March 8 to 14.