Current Affairs Quiz – June 2025

Notes:
A new species of parasitic wasp named Losgna occidentalis was discovered in Chandigarh, highlighting India’s rich but unexplored biodiversity. It was found during winter 2023–24 in an urban dry scrub forest and marks the first insect species formally described from Chandigarh. The wasp belongs to the Ichneumonidae family, known for laying eggs inside or on other arthropods. This discovery revives the Losgna genus in India after nearly 60 years since its last record in 1965.

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The Supreme Court recently ordered the Rajasthan government to immediately ban all mining activities in the core area of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve is located in Sawai Madhopur district, southeastern Rajasthan. It is named after the Ranthambore Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site within the reserve. The reserve lies between the Vindhya and Aravalli hill ranges and was once a royal hunting ground of Jaipur’s Maharajas.

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Recently, scientists discovered a new bat species called Himalayan long-tailed Myotis, or Myotis himalaicus, in the Western Himalayan region. It belongs to the Myotis frater complex, a group of similar bat species found across eastern China, Taiwan, Siberia, Korea, Japan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. This new species is found mainly in Deodar, Pine, and Cedar forests along the southern slopes of the Himalayas. It is considered a rare and native species of the region.

Notes:
Prominent writer Sarah Joseph has received the 2024 Mathrubhumi Literary Award. The award was presented by Jnanpith awardee Pratibha Ray in Kozhikode. It includes ₹3 lakh cash, a citation, and a sculpture by M. V. Devan. Sarah Joseph was appreciated for her fearless voice in Malayalam literature and social issues. She earlier won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi and Sahitya Akademi Awards.

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Sri Lanka is currently celebrating the sacred Poson Poya festival, which marks the historic arrival of Buddhism to the island over 2,000 years ago. The festival is observed on the full moon day of June and commemorates the first sermon preached by Arahat Mahinda, son of Emperor Ashoka, to King Devanampiyatissa at Mihintale. A central message of the Poson Poya festival is ‘Ahimsa’ or non-violence, reminding people of the timeless value of peace, life, and mutual respect in today’s conflict-ridden world.

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The United Nations (UN) is observing the first-ever “International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations” to promote global cooperation and peace. This special day is celebrated on June 10 every year following a resolution sponsored by China and adopted by the UN last year. The day aims to encourage civil dialogue, mutual understanding, and peaceful relations between nations.

Notes:
Dr. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology at the India Meteorological Department (IMD), has received the United Nations Sasakawa Award 2025 for Disaster Risk Reduction. The award, started in 1986 with support from The Nippon Foundation, is the highest international honor in the disaster risk field. The 2025 theme, “Connecting science to people,” highlights his efforts in making cyclone forecasts accessible to vulnerable communities. Known as the “Cyclone Man of India,” Dr. Mohapatra helped reduce cyclone-related deaths across the north Indian Ocean region.

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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal, found that a protein called BBX32 helps plants grow properly from darkness into light. BBX32 is a B-box (BBX) protein that plays a key role in plant growth and development. It helps control when a seedling starts growing above soil, improving chances of healthy growth. This discovery helps understand how seedlings grow and could help improve crop establishment in agriculture.

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The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released the 2025 Review of the State of World Marine Fishery Resources. The report highlights that deep-sea species are hard to manage due to their slow growth, late maturity, long lifespans, low natural death rates, and rare spawning. Only 29% of deep-sea fish stocks are being fished sustainably, making them highly vulnerable. It raises concern over overfishing and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. Globally, 64.5% of all fishery stocks are within sustainable levels, but 35.5% are overfished.

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Scientists using the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) telescope have detected a faint 13-billion-year-old microwave signal. The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) telescope is located in Chile’s Atacama Desert. The signal comes from the Cosmic Dawn, the era when the first stars, black holes, and galaxies formed. Cosmic Dawn occurred between 50 million and one billion years after the Big Bang. This discovery helps scientists understand how early stars affected the universe’s structure and temperature. The recent detection gives valuable clues about the universe’s formation and the role of early cosmic objects.