The UAE is marking the International Day for Biological Diversity today – observed every year on May 22 to commemorate the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 – under the theme “Acting Locally for Global Impact”, reaffirming its commitment to protecting natural ecosystems through coordinated national and community action.

The United Nations used the occasion to call for progress on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which sets 23 targets for 2030 and five global goals for 2050 aimed at halting and reversing environmental degradation. The UAE’s Seventh National Report on Biodiversity, approved by the Cabinet in March, highlights significant gains on that front.

The country has expanded its network of protected areas to 55 terrestrial and marine reserves, now covering just over 19 per cent of the nation’s total land and sea area. Progress has also been recorded in protecting endangered species through breeding programmes, habitat management and international cooperation. On the marine front, the National Carbon Sequestration Project has surpassed the halfway mark toward its goal of planting 100 million mangrove trees by 2030.

Pakistan has announced the issuance of a special PKR 75 commemorative coin to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China, as the two countries continue celebrations of their longstanding strategic partnership.

Pakistan and China established formal diplomatic relations in 1951, less than two years after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Pakistan was the first Muslim nation to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in which India is the second-largest shareholder after China, has launched a USD 10-billion fund facility to provide support to member countries affected by the conflict in West Asia.

The Beijing-headquartered bank announced on Thursday that the Energy, Food Security and Economic Resilience Facility is open to its member countries whose development may have been affected by the conflict that has triggered energy shortages in large parts of the world.

To effectively utilise the libraries in schools and improve the reading habit and creative writing among students, Samagra Shikshana Karnataka (SSK) has decided to conduct story, poetry, essay writing competitions from the academic year 2026-27.

These competitions will be held at the school and cluster levels. In addition, a plan has been chalked out to extend skill education to 1,000 schools across the State.

A staggering climatic anomaly has placed India at the absolute epicentre of a global thermal crisis. On Friday afternoon, real-time global weather tracking metrics revealed that an unprecedented 97 of the world’s 100 hottest cities were located within India. In a bizarre inversion of global weather patterns, regional hubs across the Indo-Gangetic plains and central India are recording significantly higher temperatures than traditional desert hotspots. While iconic furnaces like Riyadh, Timbuktu, and Death Valley remain comparatively cooler, towns like Balangir in Odisha and Banda in Uttar Pradesh have repeatedly breached a terrifying 48°C, highlighting a systemic shift in the region’s climate vulnerability.

RRP Defense Ltd on Friday said it has received a purchase order worth ₹29.83 crore from state-run Bharat Electronics Limited for the supply of optical lens components.

As per the delivery schedule specified in the purchase order, the company will initially supply sample quantities prior to commencement of bulk deliveries, RRP Defense said in a statement.

The first lot of supplies is scheduled within 8-10 weeks from the date of receipt of the order, followed by phased monthly deliveries extending up to December 2026, it added.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda said that India has undertaken one of the world’s largest screening and early detection efforts to eliminate tuberculosis under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme.

Mr. Nadda said this while addressing an event on Ministerial Perspectives on Lung Health Screening during the 79th Session of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

He underlined that the country has expanded active case finding among vulnerable populations through house-to-house outreach, mobile screening teams, community campaigns and focused drives in high-risk areas.

The Minister further informed that India has significantly scaled up modern diagnostics to detect TB and other lung diseases.

Anti-Terrorism Day is being observed today across the nation. The objective behind the observance of this day is to wean away the youth from terrorism and the cult of violence by highlighting the sufferings of common people and showing how it is prejudicial to the national interest.

The day is marked by a pledge-taking ceremony among other activities. It was on this day in 1991 that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi fell to the designs of terrorists.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sharing a social media post, has paid tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on being conferred with the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Agricola Medal.

In a social media post, Mr Singh said that the honour recognises Mr Modi’s remarkable leadership in strengthening food security, advancing sustainable agriculture, and driving rural development.

He added that from empowering farmers and modernising agricultural infrastructure to ensuring welfare reaches the poorest, India’s agricultural transformation under PM Modi has earned worldwide recognition.

The Defence Minister also congratulated the Prime Minister for being conferred with the Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit and Sweden’s Royal Order of the Polar Star.

Bees rarely get attention until something goes wrong—when crop yields fall, flowers bloom without fruit, or honey becomes harder to find. Yet these tiny pollinators quietly hold together some of the most important systems that sustain human life.

From the food on our plates to the balance of natural ecosystems, bees play a far larger role than most people realize.