1. WHO Goodwill ambassador Yohei Sasakawa to get Gandhi Peace Prize for 2018

• Gandhi Peace Prize for 2018 will be conferred on Yohei Sasakawa who is Goodwill Ambassador of the World Health Organization for Leprosy Elimination.
• The award will be given to Mr Sasakawa in recognition of his work towards the eradication of the disease in India and across the world.
• Ekal Abhiyan Trust has been chosen for the award for the year 2017 while Akshaya Patra Foundation and Sulabh International will share the award for 2016. Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari bagged the award for 2015.
• As chairman of The Nippon Foundation, Japan's largest charitable foundation, he is seen as a pioneer in guiding public-interest activities by the private sector in modern Japan.

2. National Religious Freedom day Observed on 16 January

• National Religious Freedom Day commemorates the Virginia General Assembly's adoption of Thomas Jefferson's landmark Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom on January 16, 1786.
• In an age of hyper-partisanship, Religious Freedom Day offers all Americans — religious and nonreligious — an opportunity to celebrate and renew our commitment to safeguarding principles we have historically agreed on: religious liberty and conscience protection.
• The day marks the anniversary of the passage of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which cut formal ties between the Church of England and the state of Virginia.

3. India to buy $5 billion oil, gas from US & spend $18 billion in defence

• India has committed to purchase USD 5 billion worth of oil and gas from the US per annum and USD 18 billion worth of defence equipment that are under implementation.
• At a reception hosted in his honour by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), Shringla said India has been sourcing and buying much more from the US than ever in the past.
• In the defense sector, India is looking at USD 18 billion worth of orders that are under implementation.

4. SC dismisses pleas of 5 states seeking modification of its order on DGPs

• The Supreme Court dismissed the pleas of five states seeking modification of its order issued last year on the selection and appointment of director generals of police (DGPs).
• The apex court was hearing applications of various state governments, including Punjab, Kerala, West Bengal, Haryana and Bihar, seeking implementation of their local laws regarding the selection and appointment of DGPs.
• The states and Union Territories are required to send names of senior police officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for being considered as probable candidates for the post of DGPs or police commissioners (as per applicability).

5. Mukesh Ambani, Jack Ma, Jeff Bezos in top '100 Global Thinkers' list of 2019

• Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has made it to the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine's 2019 list of '100 Global Thinkers'.
• The other names on the list, which will be fully released next week, include Alibaba's Jack Ma, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Amazon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and Bill and Melinda Gates.
• The other Indian-origin names on the latest list of thinkers include Fareed Zakaria, one of the most influential foreign-policy analysts and TV hosts for almost two decades, and author Amitav Ghosh.

6. Chennai’s Gukesh crowned world’s second youngest grand master

• Tamil Nadu lad D Gukesh became the second youngest Grand Master in the world and the youngest Indian to achieve the feat at 12 years, seven months and 17 days, erasing the mark set by his state-mate R Praggnanandhaa in June last year.
• He achieved his third and final GM norm at the ongoing 17th Delhi International Open Chess tournament in Delhi after beating compatriot D K Sharma in the ninth round. Gukesh becomes India’s 59th Grand Master.
• Ukraine’s Sergey Karjakin remains the youngest-ever GM, having achieved the feat at the age of 12 years and seven months in 2002.

7. Indian boxing's first CWG gold-medallist Mohammed Ali Qamar named women's chief coach

• Mohammed Ali Qamar, the man who won India's first Commonwealth Games gold medal in boxing, has taken over as chief coach for the country's women pugilists, becoming the youngest ever to get the top job.
• Ali Qamar, who turns 38 in a couple of months' time, was appointed to the position, replacing veteran Shiv Singh. Ali Qamar has been an assistant coach in the national camp for more than a year.
• Arjuna Awardee has helmed the Railways Sports Promotion Board's women's team for more than three years.