Current Affairs including General Knowledge MCQs for CLAT UG, Page 3

South Africa held the rotating G20 Presidency during 2025 and hosted the Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg on 22 and 23 November. It was the first African country to preside over the G20 and the first G20 Leaders' Summit held on African soil. The Presidency used the theme "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability" and sought to place African development and the concerns of the Global South more firmly on the international agenda. Its priorities included inclusive growth, development finance, debt vulnerability, disaster resilience, and a just energy transition. The G20 is a forum for international economic cooperation. It consists of nineteen countries and two regional bodies, the European Union and the African Union. The African Union became a permanent G20 member in 2023 during India's Presidency. Unlike a treaty-based organisation with a standing bureaucracy, the G20 has no permanent secretariat. Its Presidency rotates annually, and the presiding member coordinates the agenda in consultation with other members. This structure gives each Presidency influence over emphasis, but decisions still depend on cooperation among members.

Brazil held the BRICS Presidency in 2025 and hosted the seventeenth BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 6 and 7 July. The summit adopted the Rio de Janeiro Declaration under the theme "Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance." Brazil organised its Presidency around cooperation among countries of the Global South and partnerships for social, economic, and environmental development. Its agenda included global health, trade and finance, climate change, artificial intelligence governance, peace and security, and institutional development. In January 2025, Indonesia entered BRICS as a full member. Its admission had been approved at the Johannesburg Summit in 2023 and was formalised after Indonesia confirmed its interest following its presidential election. Indonesia was described in the official announcement as Southeast Asia's largest economy. BRICS is a forum for political, economic, and people-to-people cooperation. Its declarations are negotiated collectively, so an expanded membership increases representation but also requires agreement across a wider range of national interests.

The thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as COP30, was held in Belem, Brazil, in November 2025. Its location near the Amazon gave the conference particular symbolic importance for debates on forests, development, and climate action. Parties adopted 56 decisions by consensus. A set of outcomes was presented as the Belem Political Package. It included decisions on climate finance, adaptation, just transition, technology, reporting, and the global stocktake. The Global Mutirao decision emphasised collective mobilisation against climate change. Under the Paris Agreement, countries communicate nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, describing the climate action they intend to take. International conferences assess progress and negotiate common rules, but implementation still depends substantially on domestic policy, finance, and institutional capacity. COP decisions therefore matter without operating like instructions executed automatically. Their effect depends on whether negotiated commitments are translated into laws, investment, technology, and measurable action after delegates return home.

The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association entered into force on 1 October 2025. It had been signed in New Delhi on 10 March 2024 after twenty-one rounds of negotiations. EFTA consists of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. It is distinct from the European Union. The agreement covers trade in goods and services, investment promotion, intellectual property, government procurement, competition, sustainable development, and dispute settlement. The parties stated shared objectives of mobilising USD 100 billion of investment in India over fifteen years and supporting one million direct jobs. An investment facilitation mechanism is intended to monitor delivery. The agreement also seeks simpler customs procedures, improved market access, and stronger value chains. Entry into force does not itself guarantee every projected investment or job. Those outcomes depend on business decisions, implementation, regulatory cooperation, and economic conditions.

On 23 July 2025, the International Court of Justice delivered an advisory opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change. The United Nations General Assembly had requested it through Resolution 77/276, adopted in March 2023 following an initiative led by Vanuatu and supported by other States. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and sits in The Hague. It settles legal disputes submitted by States and gives advisory opinions when authorised United Nations organs or agencies refer legal questions to it. The Court stated that States have obligations under international law to protect the climate system from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. It considered climate treaties, customary international law, human rights, and the duty to prevent significant environmental harm. An advisory opinion is not the same as a judgment binding two litigating States. Nevertheless, it is an authoritative statement of law that may influence negotiations, domestic courts, legislation, and future disputes.

On 20 May 2025, the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement by consensus. Negotiations had begun after gaps and inequities in the global response to COVID-19 became evident. The Agreement seeks stronger cooperation in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, with more equitable access to health products. It is the second international legal agreement negotiated under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution. The first was the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Member States also began work on an annex concerning a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system. The Agreement will open for signature after the World Health Assembly adopts that annex. It will enter into force after sixty ratifications. Adoption therefore completed an important negotiating stage, but did not by itself bring the Agreement into force. Signature, domestic approval where required, and ratification remain distinct steps.