Current Affairs - International

Switzerland and Ireland have been selected as the country partners for the Hornbill Festival 2025, marking an important step in expanding the festival’s global reach. Their participation follows meetings between Nagaland’s Chief Minister and the ambassadors of both nations, during which cultural collaboration and deeper bilateral engagement were discussed. These partnerships will enrich the festival with diverse artistic expressions, including folk music, public art, and cultural exchanges. By welcoming global partners, the Hornbill Festival enhances its position as an international cultural convergence, strengthens cultural diplomacy, boosts tourism, and supports Nagaland’s economic and creative ecosystems.

Seychelles became the newest member of the Colombo Security Conclave during the 7th NSA-level meeting held in New Delhi on 20 November 2025. Its entry significantly strengthens regional cooperation across the Indian Ocean, especially in areas such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, cyber security, and disaster relief. As a strategically located island nation, Seychelles adds depth to collective efforts in monitoring sea lanes, preventing trafficking, and boosting maritime domain awareness. Its participation also reinforces diplomatic relations with India and other member nations, while reflecting the Conclave’s growing relevance and expansion as a multilateral security framework in the Indo-Pacific region.

Parasocial was chosen as the Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year for 2025 due to its growing relevance in modern culture. The term, first introduced in 1956 by sociologists Donald Horton and Richard Wohl, originally described the emotional connections viewers developed with television personalities. Over time, the concept has expanded to include one-sided emotional relationships people form with celebrities, online creators, fictional characters, and even AI systems. Its selection highlights the increasing impact of digital environments on human interaction, as more individuals form meaningful yet unreciprocated bonds with media figures and virtual entities.

Taiwan is the location of Google’s largest AI hardware engineering centre outside the United States, marking a major expansion of the company’s global technological footprint. Situated in Taipei, the centre plays a crucial role in advancing AI-focused hardware development, especially through the integration of Google’s TPU processors into high-performance server systems. The initiative also reflects the deepening strategic technology partnership between the US and Taiwan. Since 2020, the engineering team in Taiwan has tripled, demonstrating Google’s long-term commitment to strengthening cloud computing, AI workloads, and data-driven infrastructure capabilities in the region.

Johannesburg is the host city for the 20th G20 Leaders’ Summit, which PM Narendra Modi will attend from 21–23 November. The summit marks the fourth consecutive G20 meeting held in the Global South, highlighting the increasing significance of developing regions in shaping global economic and political discussions. India will use this platform to share its priorities and perspectives on key global challenges. During the visit, PM Modi will also take part in the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Leaders’ Meeting, strengthening trilateral cooperation. The choice of Johannesburg underscores South Africa’s role as a central voice in international diplomacy.