International Current Affairs MCQs

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The Lithuanian Parliament approved Social Democrat Inga Ruginiene as Lithuania’s new Prime Minister. Ruginiene is the current Minister of Social Security and Labour. Ruginiene was first elected to Parliament in 2024. Before politics, she served as Chair of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation. This marks a significant political development in Lithuania with a new leadership under a Social Democrat Prime Minister.

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The Government of Nepal has decided to ban all unregistered social media sites in the country. Minister of Communications and Information Technology (MoCIT) Prithvi Subba Gurung announced the decision. Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is instructed to disable unregistered social media platforms. On August 28, 2025, MoCIT issued a 7-day ultimatum for domestic and international platforms to register, requiring a local office and contact person under the Directive for Regulation of Social Media Use, 2080. 26 sites, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, X, YouTube, Viber, Botim, will be banned.

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Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, has won a third term in office. His Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) secured 34 seats in the 63-seat House of Representatives. The opposition, People’s National Party (PNP) led by Mark Golding, won 29 seats. The election was held amid concerns over corruption, economic challenges, and social inequity. Under Holness, Jamaica has recorded a 43% drop in killings in 2025, the largest decline in decades. The improvement is credited to increased firearm seizures and a stronger, coordinated security force across the island. The victory underscores public trust in Holness’ governance and law-and-order measures.

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Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali has been re-elected for a second five-year term with 55 percent of the 65-seat parliament, as announced by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM). Ali’s government, in power since 2020, used 7.5 billion oil revenue to build roads, schools, hospitals, and made state university education free. Guyana, with the largest oil reserves per capita, currently produces 650,000 barrels daily, expected to reach 1 million by 2030. The nation recorded 43.6 percent GDP growth in 2024, with a state budget expected at 6.7 billion in 2025.

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Bangladesh recently announced export of hilsa fish to India ahead of Durga Puja as a mark of “enduring Bangladesh-India friendship.” Earlier in September 2024, Bangladesh had banned hilsa export to India but relaxed it after appeals from traders. Hilsa, also called Ilish fish, is culturally significant in Bengali traditions, offered during pujas, weddings, and to Goddess Lakshmi. It lives in both saltwater and freshwater, spending most life in the ocean but migrating to rivers like Padma, Meghna, Ganges, and Godavari for breeding. Bangladesh produces about 70% of the world’s hilsa and it is the national fish of Bangladesh. Hilsa contributes 12% of Bangladesh’s total fish catch and nearly 1% of GDP.

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The Union Minister of Labour and Employment signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Government of India and International Labour Organisation (ILO). The MoU is for collaboration to develop the International Reference Classification of Occupations. This classification will improve comparability of data and promote mutual recognition of skills. It aims to address significant skill shortages faced by many countries due to demographic deficits and digitalisation. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN). The headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. ILO received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969 for its contribution.

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Recently, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying signed a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to strengthen Blue Port infrastructure in India. The Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) was created to make FAO’s technical expertise available to member countries on request. Its purpose is to improve food security and reduce poverty with lasting impact. Its goal is to solve technical problems in crop production, livestock, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, nutrition, food safety, and rural development under the Country Programming Framework (CPF). Two pilot fishing ports, Vanakbara (Diu) and Jakhau (Gujarat), will receive strategic and operational tools to design and implement investment projects.

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Brazil has become the first country to invest in the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a multilateral fund for global tropical forest conservation. The fund aims to attract contributions from both wealthy and developing countries to support climate policy. TFFF is envisioned as a $125 billion fund combining sovereign and private-sector contributions, paying countries based on preserved tropical forests.

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched its first Sovereign Mobility Cloud at the Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport in 2025. It is enabled by Core42’s Sovereign Public Cloud and powered by Microsoft Azure. The platform ensures all transport data is hosted within the UAE and governed under national regulations. It supports high-definition mapping, telematics, fleet operations, traffic management, and digital twins. The initiative provides regulatory sandboxes and test hubs for innovation in autonomous mobility.

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India has been re-elected to Part II of the Council of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Part II includes States contributing most to international civil air navigation facilities. ICAO is a United Nations (UN) specialized agency established in 1944 under the Chicago Convention. Its purpose is to develop safe, secure, and efficient international air transport for peaceful purposes. India has been a founding member of ICAO since 1944, maintaining 81 years of uninterrupted Council presence. India focuses on aviation safety, security, sustainability, equitable connectivity, technology, innovation, and No Country Left Behind initiative.