Current Affairs including General Knowledge MCQs for CLAT UG, Page 5

The fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands took place from 23 to 31 July 2025 at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Its theme was "Protecting wetlands for our common future." The Convention provides an international framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. Contracting Parties may designate suitable wetlands for the List of Wetlands of International Importance, commonly called Ramsar Sites. Listing does not transfer sovereignty over a site to an international organisation. COP15 considered the Convention's Strategic Plan for 2025 to 2034 and adopted the Victoria Falls Declaration. The Declaration was intended to raise the visibility of wetlands and strengthen high-level commitment to their conservation and wise use. Wetlands support biodiversity, water regulation, flood protection, food systems, and carbon storage. Their protection therefore concerns ecological and human welfare together.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025 was awarded jointly to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi for the development of metal-organic frameworks, commonly called MOFs. MOFs are ordered molecular structures built from metal-based nodes connected by organic molecules. Their architecture can create large internal cavities through which gases and other chemicals move. Researchers can vary the building blocks to produce materials with different properties. Applications include harvesting water from desert air, capturing carbon dioxide, storing hydrogen or toxic gases, separating pollutants, and catalysing chemical reactions. The usefulness of a MOF depends on how its structure and internal spaces interact with particular molecules. The prize recognised both the creation of this form of molecular architecture and the demonstration of its potential. It did not suggest that one single framework performs every listed task.

Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, won the International Booker Prize 2025. The twelve stories in the collection were written across more than three decades and focus on the lives of women and girls in communities in southern India. Heart Lamp became the first short-story collection to win the prize and the first winning work translated from Kannada. Banu Mushtaq became the second Indian author to win, while Deepa Bhasthi became the first Indian translator to do so. The International Booker Prize honours fiction translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Its prize money is divided equally between the author and translator, reflecting translation as a creative contribution rather than a merely mechanical transfer of words. The International Booker Prize is distinct from the Booker Prize for fiction originally written in English.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2025 to Maria Corina Machado. The announcement was made on 10 October 2025. The Committee recognised her work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and her struggle for a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. It described her as a unifying figure within a previously divided political opposition and emphasised demands for free elections and representative government. The Nobel Peace Prize differs institutionally from the Nobel Prizes awarded in Sweden. It is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose members are appointed by Norway's Parliament, the Storting. The award connected democratic participation with peace, presenting ballots, civic courage, and non-violent political action as alternatives to militarisation and violent conflict.

India won the ICC Men's Champions Trophy 2025 by defeating New Zealand by four wickets in the final in Dubai on 9 March 2025. New Zealand scored 251 for seven, and India reached 254 for six with one over remaining. India was captained by Rohit Sharma. The victory made India the first team to win the Champions Trophy three times. The 2025 competition was the ninth edition of the tournament. Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand was named Player of the Tournament. He scored two centuries and led the tournament's run-scoring chart. Matt Henry of New Zealand finished as the leading wicket-taker, although injury kept him out of the final. The tournament was hosted principally by Pakistan, while India's matches were played in Dubai under a hybrid arrangement.