#global26 The tiny islets, known as Takeshima in ‌Japan ⁠and Dokdo in South Korea, which are controlled by ⁠them, have long been a source of tension between the two neighbours, whose relations remain strained by disputes rooted ​in Japan’s colonial rule ‌of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

Source: The Hindu

#environment26 The Smew (Mergellus albellus) breeds in northern Europe and Siberia. It usually winters in Europe, Central Asia, and parts of North India.
It is a diving duck, meaning it feeds underwater on fish and aquatic insects. The sighting of a rare Eurasian diving duck (Smew) in Kaziranga suggests climate change may be altering migratory patterns, reinforcing the need to protect wetlands as critical biodiversity buffers.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Israel’s agency for international development cooperation, MASHAV, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up the India–Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture (IINCA) at ICAR.

Source: The Indian Express

#science26 Police in India are using gait analysis to identify suspects, especially when CCTV footage does not reveal facial features. Though a relatively new field of forensic science, gait analysis is generally considered corroborative rather than conclusive evidence. Courts have raised concerns over its reliability and scientific validity, with notable cases overturning convictions based largely on gait evidence. Despite this, the method is gaining acceptance in some legal contexts, such as bail decisions.

Source: The Indian Express

#science26 On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lenacapavir, the world’s first capsid-based HIV inhibitor. Its poor solubility, once a liability, became its greatest strength. Instead of being taken daily, lenacapavir is injected under the skin of the abdomen just once every six months, forming a slow-release reservoir that steadily delivers the drug into the bloodstream.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 Salar de Pajonales is a high-altitude salt flat in Chile’s Atacama Desert, an extreme hyper-arid region and Mars analogue site. It contains abundant gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O). Studies show endolithic microorganisms survive within gypsum crystals. Gypsum protects life by attenuating ultraviolet radiation and retaining crystallisation water, creating microhabitats in hostile conditions. The mineral can trap and preserve biosignatures. Since sulfates, including gypsum, have been detected on Mars, findings strengthen astrobiological prospects and guide life-detection missions.

Source: The Hindu

#environment26 The Nilgiri Wood Pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) is a large, endemic forest pigeon of the Western Ghats in India. It inhabits shola forests and evergreen montane forests, usually above 1,000 m elevation (Nilgiris, Anaimalai, Palani, Agasthyamalai hills). It is listed as Vulnerable (IUCN Red List) due to habitat loss, fragmentation and now climate change. The species is largely arboreal and frugivorous, playing a key role in seed dispersal.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 Russia has been using the Shahed 131s and Shahed 136s versions of the Iranian drones to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences. Since early this year, Moscow has been reported to have begun using a modified version of these drones – the new Shahed 101 suicide drone – in frontline areas with Ukraine, one that is a more compact and technologically advanced version of the more widely-used Shahed UAVs. The UAV was reportedly equipped with a four-element antenna – the CRPA or controlled reception pattern antenna, which are active antenna designed to resist radio jamming.

Source: The Indian Express

#global26 With reports of strikes in Tehran, Iran is also using the Russia-made Tor-M1 short-range missiles to intercept precision-guided bombs and the Majid and Azarakhsh systems to counter low-flying drones and cruise missiles

Source: The Hindu

#global26 Cheongung II

Source: The Hindu

#global26 AIM-9X and PAC-3

Source: The Hindu

#culture26 The Kaniyan Koothu is an ancient folk performance tradition practised by members of the Kaniyan, a Scheduled Tribe community, in Tirunelveli district. Combining music, dance, singing, and narration, it is typically staged at temple festivals, particularly in rituals dedicated to the folk deity, Sudalai, where performers invoke the deity’s spirit through the recital.

Source: The Hindu

#science26 QT45 RNA: Its copying accuracy was only about 92-94%. This means it makes mistakes when replicating the genetic information, a property at the core of a true copying system. Every mistake creates variation, and variations are the raw material upon which natural selection can act. While the development of the QT45 RNA is indeed a breakthrough, it is important to remember that while it strengthens RNA’s case as the first genetic material, it doesn’t prove it. QT45 merely shows that self-replicating RNA can exist and that that could be the way in which life on the earth first began.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 With this latest agreement with Cameco, India is now sourcing uranium from at least four countries Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Canada, and Russia, which has a lifetime supply commitment for the reactors being set up at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu. More supply agreements, potentially in countries such as Australia or the United States, could also come through in the coming years.

Source: The Indian Express