International Current Affairs MCQs

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India announced 1,000 e-scholarships for Afghan nationals for the academic year 2025-26. The initiative is part of the Special Scholarship Scheme for Afghan Nationals (SSSAN) through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). Students can pursue online undergraduate and postgraduate courses through the e-VidyaBharati (e-VB) i-learn portal. The scheme continues India’s commitment to Afghan students after similar grants in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Afghan nationals aged 18 to 35 years are eligible to apply.

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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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Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on his re-election and expressed confidence in strengthening India–Norway partnership. Store, leader of the Labour Party, secured about 28 per cent votes in Norway’s legislative elections, ensuring majority with support from four left-wing parties. The Progress Party achieved its best-ever result, finishing second, while the Conservative Party fell to third place. Around 4.3 million voters elected members for 169-seat Storting, with centre-left securing 85+ seats for majority. Store’s second term comes after challenges like inflation, scandals, and internal strife.

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Albania has become the first country to induct an AI minister, a virtual government official named Diella. Diella is powered entirely by artificial intelligence (AI), made of code and pixels, and is not a human minister. The AI minister was introduced on 11 September 2025 by Prime Minister Edi Rama at the Socialist Party assembly in Tirana. Diella is tasked with overseeing public procurement and reducing corruption in government spending. The AI evaluates and awards public tenders, processes citizen requests via the digital services portal, and can hire talent globally. The move aims to curb bribes, bureaucratic rigidity, and administrative prejudice.

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The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies has recently come into force. It is the first WTO multilateral agreement focused on environmental sustainability. It was adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in 2022 at Geneva. The agreement prohibits subsidies for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It also bans subsidies for fishing targeting overfished stocks and for fishing in unmanaged high seas. The WTO Fish Fund was created to help developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with technical support.

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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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An Indian migrant became the first person deported from the UK under the new One-In, One-Out migration deal with France. The One-In, One-Out Scheme is a migration agreement between the United Kingdom (UK) and France. The deal aims to deter dangerous crossings of the English Channel in small boats by migrants without visas or permits. Many migrants pay gangs in northern France to make these risky journeys, which have led to deaths. Under the agreement, France takes back asylum seekers who crossed illegally without family connections in the UK. For each migrant returned to France, the UK grants asylum to one eligible migrant from France with proven family ties. The scheme targets safe and legal migration while discouraging illegal attempts.

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India was elected as a member of the Interpol Asian Committee during the 25th Asian Regional Conference in Singapore. The election followed a multi-stage voting process and aims to strengthen regional cooperation on organised crime, cybercrime, human trafficking, terrorism, and drug trafficking. The committee meets annually to discuss regional security issues and guide coordinated actions among member countries. India was represented by a delegation from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the national central bureau for Interpol matters. The committee advises the Asian Regional Conference, identifies regional strategic priorities, and facilitates police cooperation.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev at World Food India 2025. They discussed creating a BRICS Grain Exchange to boost agricultural trade among BRICS member countries. The exchange aims to strengthen trade ties among BRICS member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It will facilitate smoother agricultural trade flows, enable price discovery, and reduce dependence on Western-dominated commodity markets. The platform will enhance food security by ensuring stable supplies of wheat, rice, and other staples. It will promote trade diversification and reduce reliance on Chicago and London commodity benchmarks.

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India deepened engagement with Central American Integration System (SICA) countries at the India-SICA Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York. Key collaboration areas include trade, digital payments, agriculture, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and information technology (IT). Central American Integration System (SICA) is the institutional framework for regional integration in Central America. It was established in 1991 through the Tegucigalpa Protocol by amending the Charter of the Organization of Central American States (ODECA) of 1962.