20th East Asia Summit adopts Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Peace and Stability

• The declaration aims to implement joint projects and activities under the EAS Plan of Action (2024–2028) aligned with ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future vision.

About East Asia Summit 

• Overview: A leaders-led forum for dialogue and cooperation on strategic, political, and economic issues to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in East Asia.
• Genesis: Established in 2005, with the first Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Nature: An annual meeting of Heads of State or Government of participating countries.
• Members: ASEAN Member States, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, The Republic of Korea, United States and Russia.

Cabinet has approved Terms of Reference for 8th Central Pay Commission.

• Central Pay Commissions reviews and recommend changes in pay, pensions, and service conditions of Central Government employees.

About 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC)

• The Commission is a temporary body with a Chairperson, one Part-Time Member, and one Member-Secretary.
• It will submit recommendations within 18 months of its constitution.
• It will consider economic conditions, fiscal prudence, cost of non-contributory pension schemes, state finances, and public (CPSUs)-private pay structures.
• The 8th CPC’s recommendations are expected to take effect from 1 January 2026.

Scientists in Brazil have launched the AmazonFACE (Free-Air CO₂ Enrichment) project near Manaus, to study how the Amazon rainforest will respond to future atmospheric CO₂ levels.

About AmazonFACE

• Seeks to simulate the atmosphere of the future and assess how tropical forests adapt to rising CO₂, temperature, and humidity. 
  • Understand carbon uptake capacity, photosynthesis, and forest resilience with Continuous monitoring (every 10 minutes) of CO₂ absorption.

National Biodiversity Authority released money for Red Sanders cultivators, promoting the sustainable use of India’s biological resources under ABS framework.

About Access and Benefit Sharing

• It is about how genetic resources are accessed and how the benefits from their use are fairly shared between users and providers.
• Framework:  Covered under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
  • Bonn Guidelines and Nagoya Protocol (2010) deal with the ABS.
• In India,it is governed by the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

To modernize and democratize rehabilitation education, the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) has introduced reforms.

About Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI)

• Establishment: As registered society in 1986, became a Statutory Body in 1993 under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Objectives
  • To regulate the training policies and programmes in the field of rehabilitation of persons with disabilities
  • To bring about standardization of training courses for professionals dealing with persons with disabilities.

Cyclone Montha makes landfall on Bay of Bengal’s coast.

About Cyclone Montha

• Meaning: “Montha” means a fragrant flower in Thai.
• Tropical cyclone:  
  • These are rapidly rotating storms that are non-frontal low-pressure systems originating over tropical oceans.
  • Also known as Hurricanes (Atlantic), Typhoons (Western Pacific and South China Sea) and Willy-willies (Western Australia).
• Conditions required for tropical cyclone
  • Sea surface temperature higher than 27° C.
  • Presence of Coriolis force.
  • A pre-existing weak low-pressure area.