Notes:
On 2nd February, the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF-2019) has started in Mumbai to commemorate 20 years of its inception. The fest is the India’s largest multi-cultural street festival, which will celebrate two glorious decades of art and culture through cinema, theatre, dance, literature and sculpture through various spots on Mumbai’s map. The festival will also host exhibition at the historic Jehangir Art Gallery to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and some rich history of Mumbai. Some of the festival highlights include screening of Khalil Mohammad’s documentary on Iranian cafes, performances by Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shaan, Prakriti and Sukriti Kakar, panel discussion on 26/11 attacks and its survivors, a session on working of drones, heritage walks, dances and shopping at Rampart Row. The festival will end on 10th February.

Notes:
Vani Kapoor has become the first Indian golfer to earn a card for the Australian Ladies PGA Tour (LPGA) after coming through its first-ever Qualifying Tournament at the Ballarat Golf Club. Vani shot rounds of 71, 78 and 69 to finish at two-over 218 and was tied-12th with three others. Vani has also qualified for Vic Open, co-sanctioned by the Australian LPGA and the US LPGA.

Notes:
The Qatar national football team has won their first major football title after defeating four-time champion Japan 3-1 in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup final on 1st of February in United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was an improbable run to glory for the Gulf nation as it prepares to host the 2022 World Cup. In it, Almoez Ali has broken the record for the most goals ever scored by a single player at an Asian Cup tournament (9) and won most valuable player award of 2019 tournament. Earlier, the record was held by Ali Daei who scored eight for Iran in the 1996 edition. Almoez Ali is a Qatari professional footballer of Sudanese descent who plays for Qatar and Al-Duhail in the Qatar Stars League as a forward.

Notes:
A team from INS Dronacharya has won the Regetta trophy (also called The Cock) in the Kochi Area Pulling Regatta 2019 of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) in the Ernakulam Channel on January 31. The Boat Pulling regatta is one of the most prestigious and traditional naval sporting activities conducted in the Navy. The boats used in the regatta are 27-feet-long ‘whalers’ — a type of seaboat — each having a crew of five ‘pullers’ (rowers) and one coxswain (helm). The boats are named as ‘whalers’ as they were used in ancient times for hunting whales at sea. Races during the regatta were held in four different categories – – junior sailors, senior sailors, officers and best whaler. The boats had to cover a distance of 1.6 km in the Ernakulam Channel, starting from the Venduruthy-Vikrant Bridge and finishing at the North Jetty of the navy. The regatta is considered a signature event of the Command, which requires the highest standards of physical and mental fitness and sustained hard work.

Notes:
The Mizoram government has banned import of pigs and piglets from other countries in view of possible outbreak of the Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) that has cost the lives of thousands of swines in the state. The orders were issued as the dreaded PRRS outbreak always occurred from March to July, during a dry spell after pre-monsoon downpours. According to the records of the Veterinary department, the PRRS has cost the lives of over 10,000 swines in Mizoram since 2013 and it is believed that it happened due to import of pigs and piglets from Myanmar where the disease was known to be prevalent. The PRRS is also known as blue-ear pig disease, which affectes domestic pigs. The symptoms include reproductive failure, pneumonia and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection.