An eight-year-old girl from Kottakkal in Malappuram district of Kerala died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, recently after undergoing around two months of treatment for brucellosis.

• Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria belonging to Brucella species, which mainly infect cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs.
• It is also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever.
• Symptoms include fever, sweats, anorexia(psychological disorder in which one eats less due to fear of weight gain), headache and muscle pain.
• It is usually treated with antibiotics, including rifampin and doxycycline.
• Precaution includes avoiding unpasteurised dairy products and taking safety precautions such as wearing rubber gloves, gowns or aprons, when handling animals or working in a laboratory.

Other preventive measures include cooking meat properly, vaccinating domestic animals.

The Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill, 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Cooperation, Krishan Pal Gurjar.

• The university will be established on the campus of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)in Anand, Gujarat.
• IRMA will be incorporated as a Centre of Excellence for rural management while maintaining its autonomy.
• It will offer technical and management education focused on the cooperative sector, including training, research, and development.
• The university aims to meet global standards of excellence and strengthen India’s cooperative movement.
• It will establish sector-specific schools dedicated to areas like dairy, fishery, banking, sugar, and rural credit.

NASA’s SPHEREx telescope, set to launch on February 27, 2025 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

• The mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
• SPHEREx stands for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx).
• SPHEREx’s main goal is to search for the fundamentals of life — water and organic matter within the Milky Way.
• The telescope will take 600 images daily, completing four full sky scans in 27 months.
• SPHEREx will map 450 million galaxies, revealing how the universe evolved after the Big Bang.
• It will also study 100 million Milky Way stars, tracing life’s building blocks in space.
• This new mission will complement the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)by offering a comprehensive all-sky survey in infrared light. SPHEREx will collect data across 102 different infrared colours.
• SPHEREx is designed to survey the entire sky, Unlike JWST, which focuses on specific targets.

The first U.S. military flight deporting migrants to Guantanamo Bay landed in Cuba on February 6, 2025.

• The C-17 military plane took off from El Paso, Texas, carrying migrants to the high-security facility.
• Guantanamo Bayis located in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Havana, Cuba.
• The Platt Amendment (1903)granted the U.S. a perpetual lease to the bay for use as a naval base.
• The Guantanamo Bay Naval Base remains operational under U.S. control.
• The Guantanamo Bay detention camp was established in January 2002 by President George W. Bush.
• It was created to hold terrorism suspects and “illegal enemy combatants” during the Global War on Terrorism after 9/11 attacks.

The Surajkund Mela is an international craft fair, which will be celebrated at Surajkund, District Faridabad, Haryana from 7th February to  23rd February 2025.

• Theme will feature unique crafts, textiles, and cuisines from regions like Thailand, Egypt, Nepal, Belarus, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, etc.
• The folklore group ‘Zhyvitsa’ (Grodno region) and four folk craftsmen of Belarus will perform from the Belarusian side to participate in the crafts festival and represent the culture of the Republic of Belarus.
• The Mela is jointly hosted by Union Ministries of Tourism & Culture, External Affairs; Textiles, Indian Council for Culture Relations (ICCR ) and the Govt. of Haryana. State: Odisha and Madhya Pradesh as the theme states.
• The fair

The Ministry of Culture in India has launched the “Financial Assistance for Promotion of Guru-Shishya Parampara (Repertory Grant)” scheme to support cultural organizations involved in performing arts such as music, dance, theatre, and folk art.

• The scheme provides financial assistance for training artists (shishyas)by their respective gurus following the traditional Guru–Shishya Parampara.
• Eligibility: Cultural organizations in performing arts (theatre groups, music ensembles, etc.) are eligible to apply.
• The scheme is a sub-scheme of Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY), encouraging traditional arts and nurturing emerging talent.

Tribal families of Neelabanda in Rolugunta mandal, Anakapalli district, celebrated electrification by performing Dhimsa dance for the first time after 77 years of Independence.

• First-time electricity in their hamlet, marking a historic milestone for the tribal community.
• Dhimsa danceis a traditional tribal dance performed mainly by the Porja caste women in Andhra Pradesh.
• The name “Dhimsa” means “sound of footsteps,”highlighting rhythmic tapping and stomping.
• Originates from the Koraput district of Odishaand is popular in Araku Valley, Visakhapatnam, and surrounding tribal regions.
• Performed by 15-20 womenin a chain or circle, with synchronized steps and formations.
• Instruments used:Mori, Thudumu, and Dappu provide rhythmic beats.
• Dancers wear colorful sarees(green, red, yellow) and tribal ornaments.
• Themes reflect mythology, folklore, and daily life, performed at festivals, marriages, and religious events.

The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) has officially become a treaty-based intergovernmental organization as of January 23, 2025.

• The International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) is a multi-country, multi-agency coalition of96 big cat range countries, and non-range countries.
• IBCA focuses on conserving seven big cat species: tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, cheetah, jaguar, and puma.
• The idea was first proposed by India’s Prime Minister in 2019 and officially launched in April 2023 to mark the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger.
• Headquarters: India, under the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change.
• Five countries ratified the IBCA Framework Agreement: India, Nicaragua, Eswatini, Somalia, and Liberia.
• 27 countries have expressed intent to join IBCA for global big cat conservation efforts.

• The Central Zoo Authority (CZA)has approved India’s first white tiger breeding centre in Madhya Pradesh.
• It will be set up in Govindgarh, Rewa district, Madhya Pradesh
• Rewa is known as the home of Mohan, the last wild white tiger, discovered in Govindgarh jungle in 1951 by Maharaja Martand Singh Judeo.
• The breeding centre is expected to enhance biodiversity conservation, promote wildlife tourism, and create job opportunities for the local population.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the Michibiki No. 6 satellite using the fifth H3 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.

• The launch took place from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.
• The H-3 rocket is developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
• This satellite will contribute to Japan’s positioning system, a vital part of its version of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS).
• It provides high-precision location data with centimeter-level accuracy and is integral to the country’s future self-sufficiency in navigation systems.