1. Diplomat T S Tirumurti appointed economic relations Secretary

India’s High Commissioner to Kuala Lumpur T S Tirumurti was appointed the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post, in place of Vijay Keshav Gokhale, who was recently named as the Foreign Secretary.

2. Maharashtra to form its own international school board

After deciding to set up 100 international schools across Maharashtra, the state has planned to form the Maharashtra International Education Board (MIEB).

It will be an autonomous body, which will decide curriculum for the schools and conduct examinations.

The MIEB will be second board of the state after Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE).

Maharashtra has international boards such as International Baccalaureate (IB), headquartered at Geneva, and the Indian General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), run from Cambridge, UK. It is for the first time that the state will have its own international board.

3. Nitish launches projects worth Rs 304 cr in north Bihar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has inaugurated and laid foundation stones for nearly 200 projects worth more than Rs 300 crore in this district as part of his state-wide “Vikas Samiksha Yatra”.

Among the projects inaugurated by Kumar was a solar-powered mini water supply system involving a modest cost of Rs 36.91 lakh.

4. Government launches online cancer detection course

Union health ministry launched a seven-month online course designed by Tata Memorial to help non-cancer specialists detect early signs of the disease, especially in villages and smaller cities.

The course is intended for physicians, gynaecologists, dentists and other health care professionals who are not oncologists. It can play a crucial role in early detection and diagnosis of cancers.

5. Govt launches Swachh Survekshan 2018

The government has announced the launch of cleanliness survey for this year as part of Swachh Bharat Mission.

The Swachh Survekshan 2018 will rank 500 cities on national level which have more than 1 lakh population, while 3,541 cities with less than 1 lakh population will have State and Regional ranking.

The Swachh Survekshan-2016 was conducted in January, 2016 assessing 73 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Mysuru got the tag of the cleanest city of India that year.

The 2017 edition was conducted in January-February 2017 covering 434 ULBs emerged as the cleanest city in the country in Indore that survey. This year the survey would be conducted from January to March.

6. UP education board to help Nepal conduct school exams

The UP education board has been approached by the government of Nepal for “support and guidance” to its newly established National Examination Board of Nepal after it was impressed with its expertise in accommodating lakhs of students.

The Nepal board, formed last year through an amendment to country’s Education Act, 1971, will now be conducting the high school and Intermediate examinations in the country instead of Nepal’s Higher Education Examination Board.

7. Saudi Arabia intercepts ballistic missile near Yemen border

Saudi Arabia was intercepted a ballistic missile over the kingdom’s southern province of Najran, bordering Yemen.

This hostile act by Iran-backed Houthis proves the Iranian regime remains implicated in supporting the armed Houthis.

The Saudi air defence intercepted the missile and shot it down without causing any damage.

8. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah named African Footballer of 2017

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah was named African Footballer of the Year for 2017, finishing ahead of his Liverpool team mate Sadio Mane of Senegal and Gabon striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Salah, 25, polled 625 points from a voting panel made up of national team coaches and captains, plus a selection of officials and journalists, to win the award.

9. Former big game hunter, motor racer Tootoo Imam dies at 97

Former big game hunter, motor racer, and horse lover Tootoo Imam, whose flamboyant lifestyle was the stuff of urban legend, has died. He was 97.

Son of legendary barrister from Bihar Syed Hasan Imam, Syed Askari Hadi Ali Augastien Imam or Tootoo Imam, as he was famously known in India and abroad, died.

10. First PAF chief Air Marshal Asghar Khan dies at 96

Air Marshal Asghar Khan, the first native commander-in-chief of Pakistan Air Force and a veteran politician, died of a cardiac arrest in Rawalpindi, Islamabad.

Khan, 96, was born in Jammu and Kashmir in 1921. Khan became the youngest head of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) at the age of 35.