Geography 

Mount Dhaulagiri - Indian Express

Five Russian mountaineers lost their lives during an expedition on Mount Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh highest peak, according to reports from a Kathmandu-based expedition organizer. 

Mount Dhaulagiri

World Affairs

Modi to hold bilateral talks with leaders at ASEAN-India summit - The Hindu

Indian Prime Minister Narendra is visiting Vientiane, Laos to attend the 21st ASEAN-India and the 19th East Asia Summits.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Economy 

Rice with added nutrients, Centre to continue supply until 2028 - Indian Express

The Union Cabinet recently extended the universal supply of fortified rice in all central government schemes providing free food grain under the National Food Security Act, 2021, in its present form, until December 2028. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), in April 2022, had decided to implement the rice fortification initiative throughout the country in a phased manner by March 2024. 

Environment 

Wildlife numbers declined 73% since 1970, says WWF - The Hindu

There has been a 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations from 1970-2020, according to the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature’s Living Planet Report 2024, a biennial compilation of the threats faced to wildlife. In the 2022 edition of the report, the measured decline was 69%.

World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)

• Leading Conservation Organization: Operates in over 100 countries globally.
• Establishment: Founded in 1961, headquartered in Gland, Switzerland.
• Mission: To conserve nature and address the most critical threats to Earth's biodiversity.
• Collaboration: Works with global communities to create and implement innovative solutions for protecting wildlife, habitats, and human communities.

Sci and Tech 

Baker, Jumper, Hassabis share Nobel in Chemistry for tools to design proteins and predict structures - The Hindu/ Deciphering proteins using AI - Indian Express

The 2024 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was shared by David Baker “for computational protein design” along with Demis Hassabis and John Jumper “for protein structure prediction”.

Research Focus

• David Baker: Led a team in 2003 that designed new proteins using custom software. These methods enable the creation of designer proteins for specific applications.
• Demis Hassabis and John Jumper: Developed AlphaFold 2, an AI model that predicts the structure of millions of proteins, a significant breakthrough in protein structure research.
• Significance:
  • Previously, human scientists had predicted only around 1.7 lakh protein structures.
  • AlphaFold cracked the code in 2020, enabling predictions for nearly all known proteins using AI.

Australia, New Zealand brace for looming bird flu threat - The Hindu

Australia and New Zealand are bracing for the arrival of a destructive bird flu strain by tightening biosecurity at farms, testing shore birds for disease, vaccinating vulnerable species, and war-gaming response plans. Oceania is the last region of the world free of the H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b avian influenza.

H5N1 Bird Flu

HOW EVM BATTERIES WORK, HOW THEY ARE CHANGED - Indian Express

The Congress has rejected the outcome of the Haryana Assembly election, raising “serious questions” about the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

EVM Battery Functioning

Defence 

Malabar has evolved into key multilateral event, says ENC chief - The Hindu

Exercise Malabar 2024 was officially launched today in Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC).

CCS clears deals for 31 MQ-9B drones and submarines - The Hindu

The Cabinet Committee on Security recently approved two high-profile deals for the purchase of 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics of the U.S. and indigenous construction of two nuclear attack submarines (SSNs).

MQ-9B Predator