DAILY GK 5-6 OCT 26
1.
COFO 28 -ROME, ITALY· India highlighted that it has made significant progress in forest cover, restoration and climate action, expanding its forest and tree cover, which now stands at 82.74 million hectares (mn ha), accounting for 25.17% of the country’s geographical area, at the 28th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO Committee) on Forestry (COFO 28) held in Rome, Italy.
· The session is organized every two years (biennial), bringing together 128 member countries.
· Theme “Forests for food, resilience and prosperity”.
· COFO 28 was chaired by Pierre Taty of the Republic of the Congo.
· During the session, the FAO released its latest flagship report titled “The State of the World’s Forests 2026: Restoring Forests and Landscapes – The Way Forward for a Sustainable Future”, providing a comprehensive global assessment of land degradation and outlines practical strategies for scaling up high-quality Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR).
· Land Degradation: The report revealed that nearly 1.56 billion ha of land, representing 10% of the world’s total land area and is approximately 5.2 times the size of India, has been degraded globally.
2. 81ST SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
· The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) convened at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York, USA.
· This year’s UNGA session was presided over by Khalilur Rahman, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.
· Theme: “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All”.
· Union Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of the Government of India (GoI), who led the Indian delegation at UNGA 81 session, addressed the high-level session on September 26, 2026.
· The UNGA has unanimously adopted its first declaration on rising sea-levels, assuring the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and low-lying coastal countries (such as: Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands) threatened by rising seas do not automatically lose their statehood even if their territory becomes submerged.
· UN Women launched a new digital, innovation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub focused on gender equality, forms part of the UN agency’s wider work that aims to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment amid the rapidly evolving technologies.
· India has been officially placed on the “Strategic Partner Stream” in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
· EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar signed the UN Convention against Cybercrime, aimed to strengthen global cooperation for a safer digital future.
· This marks the 1st comprehensive international treaty focused on cybercrime.
· India and Liberia jointly launched “The Group of Friends on Safety & Security of Shipping & Seafarers (GoFonS4)”, a new international group focused on the safety and security of commercial shipping and seafarers.
3. G20 TRADE MINISTERS’ MEETING
· Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), attended the Group (G20) Trade Ministers’ Meeting held in Milwaukee, USA, under the USA G20 Presidency.
· The meeting focused on global trade challenges, food security, structural excess production capacity, forced labour in supply chains and reforms to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
· G20 Consensus: The G20 Trade Ministers reached a consensus on the G20 Statement on the Weaponization of Food through Coercive Trade Actions, reaffirming their commitment to cooperation.
· The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released the Joint Ministerial Statement, signed by the 15 participating countries, including India and the USA.
· Apart from India and the USA, other signatories include: Argentina, Australia, Canada, the European Union (EU), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea (or, South Korea); Mexico, Poland; Türkiye; the UK.
4. THE 2027 WORLD RANKINGS
· Times Higher Education (THE) released its latest THE World University Rankings 2027 at World Academic Summit hosted by University of Cape Town (Cape Town, South Africa).
· Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru ranked highest ranked Indian institution, securing the 254th spot globally with an overall score of 57.
· Globally, the University of Oxford, the United Kingdom (UK), retained the top spot for the 11th consecutive year; followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the United States of America (USA), ranked at 2nd spot.
· The universities/institutions are ranked based on their performance across indicators such as: teaching (29.5%), research environment (29%), research quality (30%), international outlook (7.5%), and industry (4%).
· Both Princeton University (the USA) and Stanford University (the USA) shared the 3rd spot with an overall score of 97.
· With a total 168 universities, the USA emerged as the most represented country on this year’s rankings; followed by India (143) and Türkiye (124).
5. NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSIOLOGY OR MEDICINE
· The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, announced Karl Deisseroth, an American neuroscientist and psychiatrist, Peter Hegemann, a German biophysicist, and Georg Nagel, a German molecular plant physiologist, as the winners of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics in neuroscience.
· The three laureates will equally share the 12 million Swedish kronor (SEK) prize.
6. NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
· The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics to 82-year-old Belgian-American particle physicist Francis Louis Halzen for decisive contributions to IceCube and discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.
· He will receive a total prize amount of 12 million Swedish kronor (SEK) for winning the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics.
· The prize is presented annually on December 10, the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel, in Stockholm, Sweden.
7. NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
· The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to French chemist Henri Boris Kagan and Japanese chemist Kenso Soai for discovering nonlinear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis, advancing selective production of molecular mirror images.
· The two laureates will equally share the 12 million Swedish kronor (SEK) prize.
8. RAMANUJAN PRIZE FOR MATHEMATICS
· Mahesh Kakde, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru(Karnataka), was named winner of 2026 Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians from Developing Countries for his outstanding work in algebraic number theory.
· With this, Mahesh Kakde became the 5th Indian to receive this honour, after Sujatha Ramdorai (2006); Amalendu Krishna (2015); Ritabrata Munshi (2018); and Neena Gupta (2021).
· The prize, named after renowned Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, has been awarded annually since 2005.
· The prize is presented jointly by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the International Mathematical Union (IMU) in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) of the Government of India (GoI).
· The recipient of the award receives a cash prize of USD 10,000.
9. ASIAN GAMES 2026
· The 20th Asian Games (XX Asian Games), officially known as Aichi–Nagoya 2026, were held across Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, and concluded at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium, Japan.
· India finished fourth in the medal standings with a total of 85 medals, including 21 gold, 27 silver, and 37 bronze.
· India retained the fourth position it had secured at the Hangzhou Asian Games.
· However, the overall tally was lower than India's record 106 medals at Hangzhou 2022, held in 2023.
· China topped the medal standings with 341 medals (169 gold, 89 silver, 83 bronze), followed by Japan with 269 medals (83 gold, 95 silver, 91 bronze), while South Korea secured third place with 150 medals (39 gold, 43 silver, 68 bronze).
· The 2026 Asian Games featured 469 medal events across 43 sports and 71 disciplines, 12 fewer than Hangzhou 2022 (China) with Freestyle BMX, mixed martial arts, padel, surfing, teqball, and virtual taekwondo making their debut.
· The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) concluded the 20th Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026, a multi-sport event.
· OCA president Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad.
· Yu Zidi, a 13-year-old Chinese swimmer, was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Female after winning three gold medals in the 200 meter (m) butterfly, 200m individual medley, and 400m individual medley on her debut.
· Puripol Boonson, a Thai sprinter, was named MVP – Male after winning the 100m in a Games record of 9.90 seconds and equalling the 200m Asian record of 19.88 seconds, also contributing to a silver in the 4x100m mixed relay.
· Shooter Neeru Dhanda, who won two golds and a silver medal was India's Flag bearer at the ceremony which had 'ONE ASIA' THEME.
· Next Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in 2023.
· 2034 asian games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
· 13 of India’s 21 gold medals were won in team events (including cricket, field hockey, kabaddi, archery, and shooting).
· The first Asian Games were held in New Delhi, India, in 1951.
· 1982 asian games in New Delhi.
· The men's hockey team defeated Malaysia 5–1 to retain its Asian Games title.
· The women's hockey team defeated China 1–0 to win its first Asian Games gold since 1982.
· For the first time, India's men's and women's hockey teams won gold medals at the same Asian Games.
· Both teams also secured qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
· The women's Cricket team defeated Sri Lanka by 147 runs in the final.
· The men's Cricket team defeated Pakistan by 19 runs to retain the men's Asian Games cricket title.
· The women's Kabaddi team defeated Iran 37–34.
· The men's Kabaddi team defeated Iran 40–34.
· Archery was India's most successful individual sport at the Games, producing nine medals—five gold, two silver and two bronze.
· Shooting: Indian shooters won 15 medals, including three gold, eight silver and four bronze.
· Athletics remained India's biggest medal contributor by volume, winning 24 medals—one gold, nine silver and 14 bronze.
· Wrestling: Indian wrestlers won six medals—two gold, two silver and two bronze.
· Boxing: Indian boxers secured six medals, including three gold and three bronze medals.
· Golf: Pranavi Urs created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold medal in golf.
· The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is the governing body responsible for the Asian Games and other major continental sporting events in Asia.
· Headquarters: Kuwait City, Kuwait.
· Established: 1982.
10. BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
· Max Verstappen, a Dutch-Belgian racing driver, won the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix (GP), officially the Formula One (F1) Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia 2026.
· Kimi Antonelli finished second for Mercedes, while Lewis Hamilton secured third.