The 17th session of BIMSTEC senior officials’ meeting was started today at Kathmandu.
The session is being chaired by Shanker Das Bairagi, the Foreign Secretary and Head of Nepal Delegation.
The Indian delegation at the session is being led by Secretary Preeti Saran.
Note : It has been announced that the 4th edition of BIMSTEC Summit-2017 will be held in Nepal.
February 6 is observed as 'International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation' each year to educate and spread awareness about its dangers.
Note : Nearly 30 lakh girls are at risk of undergoing female genital mutilation every year while 20 crore females have already undergone genital mutilation in 30 countries where the practice is concentrated, according to World Health Organisation.
The month of February has been celebrated as 'Black History Month' in the US since 1976 to acknowledge contributions of African-Americans.
The event grew out of 'Negro History Week' started by historian Carter G Woodson.
He chose February to coincide the week with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, who fought for the rights of African-Americans.
India
Residents in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district have put their daughters' names on the nameplates of their houses in a bid to empower girls psychologically and give them an identity of their own.
It is an initiative launched by the women and child development department.
New Appointments
Rajiv Singh today took over as the acting CEO of Prasar Bharati, country's public service broadcaster.
He has replaced Suresh Panda, Member (Personnel), who retired as the acting CEO on Sunday.
Sheikha Mozah Al Maktoum has become the 1st woman commercial pilot from the Dubai royal family.
Achamkulangare Gopinathan, a top Indian diplomat, has been re-appointed by the UN General Assembly to the Joint Inspection Unit, the only independent external oversight body of the UN system.
Gopinathan, along with Sukai Prom-Jackson of Gambia, Jean Wesley Cazeau of Haiti and Nikolay Lozinskiy of Russia were appointed members of the Joint Inspection Unit for a five-year term beginning January 1, 2018.
Awards & Honors
'Sexy Durga' by Malayalam filmmaker Sanal Sasidharan became the 1st Indian film to win the Hivor Tiger Award at International Film Festival of Rotterdam.
Shot without a script in 20 days, the film is about a couple who elopes at night and hitches a ride with four men.
Indian-origin British sculptor Anish Kapoor was today awarded with Israel's $1 million Genesis Prize for his commitment to Jewish values.
Dubbed as the Jewish Nobel, the prize was awarded to Kapoor for speaking against "abhorrent government policies" towards refugees.
Science & Technology
China has surpassed Germany to become the world's largest producer of solar energy after nearly doubling its installed photovoltaic capacity in 2016.
With the increased capacity, China generated 66.2 billion kilowatt-hours of energy last year, which however accounted for only 1% of its electrical output.
The country further plans to double its current solar energy capacity by 2020.
A video released by China's armed force shows a training exercise employing the advanced DF-16 medium-range ballistic missile that could reach India, Japan and the US.
The missile has a range of over 1,000 km. Launch vehicles carrying ballistic missiles were also seen in the footage.
The missile made its debut at a Chinese military parade in September 2015.
Deaths
Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s driver and Indian National Army veteran Colonel Nizamuddin (116) passed away.
He had proclaimed himself as one of the most trusted lieutenants of Netaji.
Sports
81st Senior National Badminton Championships
Mens Singles : Sorabh Verma (by defeating Lakshya Sen)
Womens Singles : Rituparna Das (by defeating Reshma Karthik)
The International Association of Athletics Federations has extended its ban on Russia, ruling them out from the World Athletics Championships in London in August.
However, Russians may be allowed to compete under a neutral banner, if they satisfy testing criteria.
Note : Russia was banned by the IAAF in November 2015 after a World Anti-Doping Agency report revealed mass doping.
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