1. Japan gifts Manipur a Peace Museum built on World War-II memories

• Japan gifted Manipur, one of India’s north eastern state a Museum of Peace built on the memories of Battle of Imphal, one of the fiercest battles of 2nd World War (WWII). The inauguration of Imphal Peace Museum marked 75th anniversary of Battle of Imphal
• The Imphal Peace Museum was inaugurated at Red Hill which lies about 20 km southwest of Imphal (Manipur capital).
• The museum is funded by Nippon Foundation, a private, non-profit grant-making organization based in Japan.

Foot Notes:

About Battle of Imphal 1944
Battle of Imphal took place in region around city of Imphal (Manipur’s capital) from March to July 1944.Japanese armies with an attempt to destroy Allied forces at Imphal invaded India, but were driven back into Burma (todays’ Myanmar) with heavy losses.

About Manipur

• Capital: Imphal
• Chief minister: N. Biren Singh
• Governor: Najma Heptulla

About Japan

• Currency: Japanese Yen
• Capital: Tokyo

2. Dr Gaurav Nigam conferred with the 'Innovative Research Excellence Award 2019' 

• A well-known educationist, pediatrician and author, Dr Gaurav Nigam was conferred with the 'Innovative Research Excellence Award 2019' by Lyonpo Ugyen Dorji, Minister for Labour and Human Resources of Bhutan at the Asian Leadership Summit held at Thimphu, Bhutan.
• He was conferred this award for his excellence in school education on the basis of his excellent performance, splendid achievement and outstanding contribution towards the innovative development and research activities in the field of school education in South Asian Region. He is the author of the book titled 'Devil Inside My Mind'.
• The event was organized by Global Leaders Foundation. 

Foot Notes:

About Bhutan

• Capital: Thimphu
• PM:Lotay Tshering

3. Bihar Government bans Tree-Felling.

• Under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, The State Government of Bihar recently issued an order banning felling of trees, citing increasing pollution and heatwave. 
• The order came after the increasing pollution in the cities of Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, and others in the state. 
• The heatwave claimed 90 people in Gaya, Aurangabad and Nawada districts. Now the permissions granted to cut trees for development works, have become null and void.

Foot Notes:

• The current order against banning tree felling was passed under Forest Conservation Act (FCA),1980. This new scheme is valid only for State Goverment.

About Bihar

• Governor: Lalji Tandon
• Chief minister: Nitish Kumar
• Capital: Patna

4. Man on a mission to turn Udhana railway station into India's first Green Railway Station

• Viral Sudhirbhai Desai, a young entrepreneur from surat launched an initiative to change Udhana railway station in Gujarat into India's first green and clean railway station like Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
• In order to achieve the mission of 'Clean India-Green India', Desai installed oxygen bomber and over 1700 air purifying plants at the station and also painting has been made by him for environmental protection on the wall of the station. 
• About 23,000 trees and 38 tree guards distributed to the people for tree plantation and environment protection by Desai and his organization, 'Hearts at Work Foundation".

Foot Notes:
About Gujarat

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Chief minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

5. RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya quits 6 months before his term ends

• RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, who was in-charge of the monetary policy department, has resigned six months before the scheduled end of his term.
• This is the second high profile resignation in the past six month at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• In December, governor Urjit Patel resigned nearly nine months before the end of his schedule term over differences with the government.

Foot Notes:
About RBI

• Governor: Shaktikanta 
• Bank rate: 5.75%
• Interest on reserves: 4.00% (market determined)
• Headquarters: Mumbai

6. Virat Kohli fined 25% of match fee for excessive appealing during India vs Afghanistan match

• Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for excessive appealing during India's fifth ICC World Cup 2019 tie, against Afghanistan  in Southampton. 
• Kohli has been found guilty of breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct and has received one demerit point to his disciplinary record, for whom it was his second offence since the introduction of the revised Code in September 2016.
• "Kohli was found to have breached Article 2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to excessive appealing during an International Match", an ICC release said. 

Foot Notes:
About ICC

• Designated CEO: Manu Sawhney 
• CEO: Dave Richardson 
• Chairperson: Shashank Manohar
• Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Founded: 15 June 1909

7. Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan appointed as the second Chief Justice of Telangana High Court

• Raghvendra Singh Chauhan appointed as the second Chief Justice of Telangana High Court in Hyderabad. He succeeded Chief Justice T.B. Radhakrishnan in April, 2019
• He belongs to Rajasthan and took oath before Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan. 
• Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi initiated swearing-in ceremony.The Registrar General of Telangana High Court A. Venkateswar Reddy read out the warrant.

Foot Notes:

• About Telangana
• Capital - Hyderabad 
• Chief Minister - K. Chandrashekar Rao

8. Saudi Arabia became the first Arab country to get FATF membership

• Saudi Arabia became the first Arab country to get membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).The number of permanent members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is 39.
• The membership admitted into the global money laundering after the Annual General Meeting in Orlando, Florida.FATF celebrated their 30th anniversary of its first meeting.
• Saudi Arabia received an invitation from FATF in 2015 and they joined as an "observer member'. 

Foot Notes:
About FATF

• Headquarters: Paris, France 
• Founded: 1989 
• President: Marshall Billingslea

9. Indias first iron ore mine discovered in Bangladesh

• Iron ore mine discovered at Isabpur village in Dinajpur.
• This announcement was made by the Geological Survey of Bangladesh.After the effect of extensive drilling over two months in the area. A 400-foot thick iron layer was found in Bangladesh after the result of the Geological Survey.
• Around 1,750 feet beneath the surface stretched over an area of 6-10 square kilometer.The percentage of iron in the mine around 65.
• It indicates the high quality of the ore. The other countries like Canada, China, Brazil, Sweden, and Australia have the percentage of iron ore is below the level of 50. 
• Other minerals such as gold, copper, nickel, and chromium also found at various levels of the mining.The discovery of the iron mine opened up economic prospects for the country.The iron concentration in the magnetite ore is 65 percent.

Foot Notes:
About Bangladesh 

• Capital: Dhaka
• Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina
• Currency: Bangladeshi Taka 

10. UAE launches UN-developed anti money laundering platform 'goAML'

• The UAE has become the first country in the Gulf to launch 'goAML', a new anti money laundering reporting platform developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to curb organised crimes.
• All financial entities and Designated Non Financial Businesses or Professions have to register on 'goAML'. 
• The platform will help the Financial Intelligence Unit of UAE to prevent money laundering, financing of terrorism and other illicit financial activities.

Foot Notes:
About UAE

• President of UAE: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Capital: Abu Dhabi. 
• Currency of UAE: United Arab Emirates Dirham.