News In Short 16-05-2026

Kimberley Process

Syllabus: GS2/ International Institutions

Context

• The Kimberley Process Intersessional Meeting 2026 concluded in Mumbai.

About   

• The Kimberley Process is a tripartite initiative involving governments, the international diamond industry and civil society to prevent the trade in conflict diamonds.
  • It operates through the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).
• History: KPCS established pursuant to a UN resolution, came into effect on 1 January 2003.
• Members: The Kimberley Process (KP) is open to any country that can meet its standards. 
  • Currently, it comprises 60 participants representing 86 countries, with the EU and its 27 Member States counted as one participant under the European Commission.
  • India is a founding member of the KP.
  • The members account for over 99 percent of the global rough diamond trade.
• The chair oversees the implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and operations of the working groups, committees and administration that activate the KP.
• Secretariat: The Kimberley Process Secretariat is headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

Source: PIB

Thucydides Trap

Syllabus: GS2/IR

Context

• Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his meeting with US President Donald Trump, raised an important question: “Can China and the United States transcend the so-called ‘Thucydides Trap’ and forge a new paradigm for major-power relations?”

What is the ‘Thucydides Trap’?

• The term “Thucydides Trap” was popularised by Harvard scholar Graham Allison after studying patterns in world history.
• He took inspiration from ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who wrote about the war between Athens and Sparta.
• Athens was rising fast in wealth, trade, and influence. Sparta was already the dominant military power. As Athens expanded, Sparta started seeing it not as progress, but as a threat. That fear created pressure, suspicion, and eventually war.
• Allison’s argument is simple: when a rising power challenges an established one, fear can grow faster than diplomacy. And fear is dangerous in international politics.

Relevance in the Present Global Order

• Many experts believe a similar dynamic is emerging between the United States and China today.
• For decades, the United States dominated the global order. But China’s rise in trade, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and military expansion is rapidly changing that balance.
• What began as economic competition is now turning into strategic rivalry. And that is why world leaders keep talking about avoiding the “Thucydides Trap.”

Source: TOI

Miyawaki Forest Plantation

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

Context

• The Delhi government’s Forest Department has planned a Miyawaki plantation drive at the Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

Miyawaki Technique

• Origin: The Miyawaki technique, Often referred to as the ‘pot plantation method’, was developed by renowned Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki in the 1970s.
  • It is a revolutionary method for creating dense forests in small urban spaces.
• Principle: It involves planting trees and shrubs close to one another to accelerate their growth. Plants grow 10 times faster with this technique, making it a practical solution for urban areas.
• Significance: In urban areas, the method is known to have successfully converted barren, polluted lands into thriving green ecosystems, simultaneously managing industrial waste and curbing pollution.

Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

• The Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary is located in southern Delhi and extends into parts of Faridabad in Haryana. The sanctuary covers an area of nearly 32 square kilometres.
• The sanctuary lies along the Southern Ridge of the Aravalli Range, which is one of the oldest mountain systems in the world.
• The sanctuary was declared a protected area in 1991 under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The sanctuary is also known as the “green lungs” of Delhi and acts as a natural ecological barrier against the eastward expansion of the Thar Desert.

Source: IE

Defence Minister to Lay Foundation for AAMCA programme facility in Andhra Pradesh 

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• The Union Minister for Defence laid the foundation stone for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project at Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh.

About

• The AMCA programme facility is being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  • It will serve as the integration, development and flight testing hub for India’s indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft programme.
  • The AMCA fighter aircraft will feature stealth technology, twin-engine super cruise capability and advanced avionics.
• The project is expected to generate around 7,500 direct jobs, while ancillary industries linked to the project are likely to attract investments worth nearly one lakh crore rupees.

Source: AIR

Neanderthals

Syllabus: GS3/Science 

Context

• A new study suggests that Neanderthals carried out a sophisticated dental procedure around 59,000 years ago based on an ancient molar found in Chagyrskaya Cave in Siberia, Russia. 

About Neanderthals

• Neanderthals are an extinct group of ancient humans who lived mainly in Europe and parts of western Asia. 
• They are the closest known relatives of modern humans (Homo sapiens).
• Scientific name: Homo neanderthalensis.
• Time period: About 400,000 years ago to 40,000 years ago.
• Discovery: First fossils found in the Neander Valley in Germany in 1856.
• Physical Features: 
  • Short and strongly built bodies adapted to cold climates.
  • Large brains, sometimes larger than modern humans.
  • Broad noses and prominent brow ridges.
  • Muscular limbs and strong bones.
• Skills: 
  • Used sophisticated stone tools (Mousterian tools).
  • Controlled fire for warmth and cooking.
  • Wore animal skins for protection.
• Neanderthals coexisted with early modern humans for thousands of years.
  • Genetic studies show that many present-day humans outside Africa carry about 1–2% Neanderthal DNA.

Source: IE

‘Abhay’: AI-powered verification system 

Syllabus: GS3/Cyber Security 

In News

• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched an AI-based helpbot called “Abhay” for authentication of CBI notices.

Background and Need

• Cyber-enabled fraud is becoming a major threat to India’s criminal justice system.
• Advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence and deepfakes are making it harder for people to tell real information from fake content.
• To help citizens stay aware and protected, the CBI launched “Abhay,” which can be accessed through the official CBI website.

‘Abhay’

• It is the AI-powered chatbot-style verification mechanism for the public to verify notices issued by CBI. 
• It is  designed to protect the citizens from the growing menace of cyber fraud and digital arrest scams.
• It has been designed keeping in mind data confidentiality and the requirement for a public-facing authentication mechanism.

Source: TH

India’s First Satellite-tagged Ganges Soft-shell Turtle

Syllabus: GS3/Environment 

In News

• India’s first satellite-tagged Ganges soft-shell turtle was released in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam.
  • Assam is one of the world’s top priority areas in freshwater turtle conservation. Of the eight soft-shell turtles reported from India, five are known from the Kaziranga landscape.

Ganges soft-shell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica),

• Characteristics: It can be differentiated from other riverine turtles by its distinct arrowhead-shaped markings on the top of the head.
  •  It feeds on fish, birds, reptiles, invertebrates, carrion, and aquatic plants.
• Habitat and Distribution:  It mainly lives in rivers and large canals with muddy bottoms and flowing, turbid water, though it may also use ponds and lakes.
  • It is found across the northern plains of the Indian subcontinent, including the Indus, Ganga, Narmada, Mahanadi, and Brahmaputra river basins in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
    •  In India, the species inhabits large rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.
• Ecological Role :  It is a major river predator and helps clean up the system by feeding on dead and decaying animal matter.
• Threats :  It faces severe threats from illegal hunting, international trade, and habitat destruction.
• Protection status : It is  a Schedule I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
  • It is recorded as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
  • It is included in CITES Appendix I, prohibiting all forms of international commercial trade.

Source: TH