News in Short

• Islamic countries scrambled to find ways to help Afghanistan avert an imminent economic collapse they say would have a “horrendous” global impact.
• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad ended with a promise to set up a fund to provide humanitarian aid through the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
• There has been a growing call for the U.S. and other countries to release upward of $10 billion in frozen Afghan assets.

• After successfully reintroducing the critically endangered Gharial (GavialisGangeticus) in the rivers of Punjab, thegharials are healthy and have adapted to the Beas Conservation Reserve as their home.
• The gharial reintroduction in the Beas Conservation Reserve is an ambitious programme of the Punjab government. The reptiles were commonly sighted in the Beas River till the 1960s but later became extinct.
• The gharial can be found in north Indian rivers like the Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal and their tributaries.

• The mighty Thar desert in western Rajasthan is expanding fast because of migration of people, changes in the rainfall pattern, spread of sand dunes and unscientific plantation drives.
• The degradation of land is posing a threat to the desert ecology, while the climate change has contributed to the spread of arid region.
• The study conducted by the Central University of Rajasthan has predicted that the sandstorms from the desert will travel as far as the National Capital Region (NCR) in the years to come.
• The sandstorms will become intense with the erosion of Aravali hills, which act as a ‘natural green wall’ between the desert and the plains.

• An Indian desert cat has been spotted for the first time in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR).
• This cat is found in deserts and can survive without water. The toes of the species have cushion like hair which help it balance the fluctuating desert temperatures.
• The presence of the desert cat in the PTR indicates that the number of species of various wild animals is increasing in the reserve due to security being heightened in its forest areas.

• The Sri Lankan Navy on December 19 seized eight Indian fishing vessels and arrested 55 fishermen on the charge of poaching.
• A fast attack craft of the 4th Fast Attack Craft Flotilla took hold of six trawlers, hailing from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu, southeast of the Delft Island (Neduntheevu), Jaffna.
• The Navy conducts regular patrols to curb illegal fishing in Sri Lankan waters. It was not clear whether they would be arrested or released with a warning.