CURRENT AFFAIRS AUGUST 19

1. World Humanitarian Day: 19 August

World Humanitarian Day is an international day observed every year on 19 August.

• The day aims to recognize humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes.
• This year’s focus salutes the efforts of women humanitarian workers across the world who rally to people in need and are often the first to respond and the last to leave.
• The world humanitarian day 2019 theme is ‘Women Humanitarians’.

2. World Photography Day: 19 August

August 19 is observed as World Photography Day.

• The day is observed so that people around the world can communicate their feelings and express themselves through the art of photography.
• The prelude to this announcement was that on January 9, 1839, where the French Academy of Sciences proclaimed the Daguerreotype process.
• The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process (1839-1860) in the history of photography.

3. Iceland's Okjokull glacier commemorated with a plaque

In Iceland, people gathered to commemorate the loss of the glacier Okjokull, which was officially declared dead in 2014 at the age of 700.

• The glacier was officially declared dead by the Icelandic Meteorological Office when it was no longer thick enough to move.
• What once was glacier has been reduced to a small patch of ice atop a volcano.
• The plaque reads "Okjokull is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier”.
• Iceland loses about 11 billion tonnes of ice per year, and scientists fear that all of the island country's 400-plus glaciers will be gone by 2200.

4. 5th Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission to be held in Kathmandu

The 5th Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission will be held in Kathmandu on 21- 22 August.

• Minister for External Affairs of Dr S. Jaishankar and Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali will co-chair the meeting and lead their respective delegations.
• The Joint Commission Meeting will review the overall state of bilateral relations and various areas of cooperation.
• India-Nepal Joint Commission was established in June 1987.
• Its meetings are held alternately in Nepal and India. The last meeting of the Commission was held in New Delhi on October 2016.

5. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurates Bunker museum

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the underground 'Bunker Museum' at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.

• The 15,000 square feet underground bunker museum has virtual reality booths in which visitors can "time travel" to the 19th century.
• The bunker was created in the 19th century to fire cannons at approaching enemy ships.
• Also, President unveiled the foundation stone for the proposed reconstruction of Jal Bhushan, the Governor's office-cum-residential building.

6. HRD Minister inaugurates two-day international conference on teacher education

Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated an international conference on teacher education in New Delhi.

• Speaking on the occasion, he said that India has traditionally been known for leadership in education and teacher preparation.
• He said for thousands of years, Indian teacher was considered as Vishwa Guru or world’s teacher.
• The two-day event is being organized by the National Council of Teacher Education as part of silver jubilee celebration of its establishment in 1995.

7. Gujarat to get the country's first chemical engineering & technology institute

The country's first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology (CICET) will be set up in Gujarat to give a boost to the chemical industry.

• The CICET will come up either at Ahmedabad or Surat.
• The proposed CICET will help the chemical industry with research and innovations.

8. Five new fish species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

Researchers of the Rajiv Gandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh have discovered five new fish species in various districts of the state.

• The scientific names of the newly-discovered fish species are Mystus prabini, found in Sinkin and Dibang rivers in Lower Dibang Valley district and Exostoma kottelati, found in Ranga river in Lower Subansiri district.
• Other discovered species are Creteuchiloglanis tawangensis, found in the Tawangchu river in Tawang district, Garra ranganensis, found in Ranga river and Physoschistura harkishorei, found in Dibang and Lohit rivers.
• Majority of the water bodies in remote areas of Arunachal Pradesh are still not easily accessible to the researchers due to a difficult terrain that includes rain forests, steep hills besides communication problems.

9. Hima Das, Mohammad Anas win gold at Athleticky Mitink Reiter event

Top Indian sprinters Hima Das and Mohammad Anas have won a gold each in 300m races at the Athleticky Mitink Reiter event in the Czech Republic.

• While Hima won the gold in women's event, Mohammad Anas claimed the gold medal in the men's category.
• This was Hima's sixth gold in 2019 in European races since last month.

• India’s Nirmal Tom clinched a bronze medal in the same event by clocking a timing of 33.03 seconds.

10. India win gold at Under- 12 Asian Tennis Team championship in Kazakhstan

India has won gold at the Under 12 Asian Tennis Team championship held in Kazakhstan.

• India defeated Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the summit clash to win the title.
• The final was a tie of three matches - 2 singles and one double and India won both the singles matches while lost the doubles encounter.
• The team comprised Manas Dhamme, Arnav Paprakar and Tamil Nadu's Pranav Rethin.
• Manas and Rethin won their singles matches.