Current Affairs 8 March 2026
Karnataka plans to ban social media for children under 16, and Andhra Pradesh for those under 13.
- Economic Survey 2025-26 had already flagged digital addiction as a key threat to youth and recommended age-based access limits and platform-level age verification.
- Significance of Age-based Bans
- Protecting child mental health: Rising concerns about digital addiction, cyberbullying, and exposure to harmful online content.
- Excessive screen time: Uncontrolled smartphone and social media use affects children’s cognitive and social development.
- Promoting healthier lifestyles: Complementary initiatives encourage reading and offline activities among school children.
Solomon Islands (Capital: Honiara)
- Political Features
- Location: Southwestern Pacific Ocean
- It shares maritime borders with Papua New Guinea (west) and Vanuatu (southeast)
- Water Boundaries: Solomon and Coral Seas (south), Pacific Ocean (north and east).
- Geographical Features
- Consists of nearly 1,000 islands (6 large main islands and over 900 smaller islands).
- Consists of a double chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in Melanesia.
Three Seas Initiative (3SI)
- It is a regional effort in Europe to expand cross-border energy, transportation, digital infrastructure and boost economic development in the area between the Adriatic Sea, Baltic Sea, and Black Sea.
- Participating Countries: 13 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia).
- All 3SI countries are European Union (EU) members, and all except for Austria are NATO allies.
CMS Report
- State of the World’s Migratory Species: Interim Report (2026), was published by Secretariat of Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
- CMS is an Intergovernmental treaty under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- India is a member (hosted COP-13 of CMS in 2020 at Gandhinagar, Gujrat).
- Key Findings
- Nearly 49% of CMS-listed migratory species show declining populations.
- About 24% of migratory species protected under CMS are globally threatened with extinction.
- Migratory freshwater fish populations declined by about 81% (1970-2020).
Marsupials
- These are mammals that give birth to underdeveloped young, which continue development in a pouch (marsupium).
- Classification: Over 250 species belong to the infraclass Metatheria (Marsupialia).
- Distribution: Predominantly found in Australia and New Guinea; E.g., kangaroo, koala.
- Reproduction: Short gestation period followed by pouch-based nurturing.
- Evolutionary significance: Represent an ancient lineage of mammals distinct from placental mammals.