Recent 6 months news in International

Hakainde Hichilema, the leader of the United Party for National Development (UPND), has been re-elected as the President of Zambia for a second consecutive five-year term (2026–2031).

India has hosted the 10th BRICS Industry Ministers Meeting in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The meeting focused on the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR) initiatives and concluded with the adoption of a Joint Declaration.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), hosted the 'BRICS WAVES Bazaar 2026' in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The event featured the India-Russia co-production 'KOROVA', the launch of the BRICS Independent Producers Alliance (BIPA), and the signing of several agreements.

The Hungarian Parliament has elected Andras Baka, former head of the Supreme Court of Hungary, as the new President of the country.

Saudi Arabia, along with 13 other founding nations, has established the charter for the Multinational Maritime Defence Coalition (MMDC), a regionally anchored military alliance consisting of 14 member countries.

Led and hosted by Saudi Arabia, the coalition is designed to safeguard critical trade and energy corridors in the Middle East. It is to be noted that among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, the UAE and Oman are currently not part of the alliance.

Gautam Rangarajan, an Indian-origin strategist and media executive, has been appointed to the newly created role of ‘Expert Adviser on Structure and Process’ by UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The Government of India (GoI), through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), has donated 5 peacocks to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The peacocks were officially handed over to Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of UNOG. This initiative revives a historic tradition associated with Ariana Park and UN heritage.

Russia has appointed DY Chandrachud, a former Chief Justice of India (CJI), as its designated arbitrator in an investment treaty dispute initiated by Oschadbank, a state-owned bank of Ukraine.

Lebanon becomes the first nation in the Arab world to completely abolish the death penalty, replacing it with life imprisonment.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye have signed a mutual defence pact named the ‘Mecca Joint Defence Agreement’.

Under the foundational principle of the agreement, an armed attack against any one of the 3 signatory states will be treated as an attack against all three.

Typhoon Dolphin has been identified as the strongest tropical cyclone to strike China in the current year, causing widespread devastation and historic rainfall across multiple provinces.

Abelardo de la Espriella has been appointed as the President of Colombia, succeeding Gustavo Petro.

India hosted the Meeting of Heads of National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of BRICS countries in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, under the theme “Quality Statistics as a Driver of Change”.

India also hosted the 2nd BRICS Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) Meeting and the 2nd Meeting of the BRICS Expert Network on Asset Recovery in Hyderabad. Under India’s BRICS Presidency 2026, the 3rd BRICS Culture Working Group (CWG) meetings were conducted in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, the BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BRICS CCI) celebrated its 14th foundation day in New Delhi.

The 16th BRICS Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan, under India’s BRICS Chairship for 2026. Chaired by Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the meeting was held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.

Additionally, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) hosted the BRICS Heads of Competition Authorities meeting in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The event featured a collaborative study on the renewable energy sector, presentations on recent enforcement initiatives, and strategic planning for the 2027 conference in Brazil.

The 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) was held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) in Busan, South Korea, under the chairmanship of Lee Byong Hyun. During the session, 25 new sites were inscribed, bringing the total number of UNESCO World Heritage (WH) sites to 1,273 across 173 countries.

This session marked the first-ever WH inscriptions for three African nations: Comoros, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Sudan. The Centre of Vienna (Austria) was removed from the list of World Heritage in Danger, while Mount Amel Castles (Lebanon) and Sebastia (State of Palestine) were included on an emergency basis.

The “Busan Declaration on World Heritage” was adopted to protect vulnerable assets. It introduced “collaboration” as the 6th “C” of the strategic objectives, joining the existing five: conservation, credibility, capacity-building, communication, and communities.

The committee adopted the “World Heritage Strategy for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 2026-2034,” a roadmap supported by a $13 million budget. It is to be noted that the 49th session of the UNESCO WHC will be held in Istanbul, Turkiye, under the presidency of Mustafa Yurdakul.

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, participated in the 10th Anniversary Meeting of the South-East Asia Regulatory Network (SEARN) held in Kathmandu, Nepal.

During the meeting, the IPC is designated as the Regional Centre of Excellence in Pharmacovigilance and the Technical Centre in Quality. It is to be noted that the SEARN was established in 2016 by the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) as a platform to strengthen regulatory systems across its member states.

The Pacific island nation of Nauru, the third-smallest nation in the world, has officially changed its name to the 'Republic of Naoero'.

This name change is intended to preserve its indigenous language, 'dorerin Naoero', which the UNESCO classifies as severely endangered.

Venezuela, under Interim President Delcy Eloina Gomez, has formally notified the United Nations (UN) of its withdrawal from the Rome Statute, initiating the process to terminate its membership in the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The withdrawal will take effect one year after the notification. It is to be noted that the country originally become a State Party to the Rome Statute in 2002.

Spain is currently facing a migration crisis in its North African enclave of Ceuta, following an unprecedented surge of 60,000 migrants crossing from Morocco.

It is to be noted that the influx was primarily driven by false social media campaigns which propagated the claim that "Spain is Open".

The 2nd meeting of the BRICS Science Academies Forum 2026 was held at the IIT Hyderabad under the theme "Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development and Strengthening Global South Cooperation".

Additionally, India hosted the BRICS Ministers of Interior Meeting in New Delhi.

France has become the first nation within the European Union (EU) to officially prohibit the use of social media platforms for children under 15 years of age.