Daily Current Affairs Quiz December 13 2025

1. Washington state floods: Days of torrential rain caused record flooding in northwest Washington. The Skagit River reached record levels, forcing the evacuation of the entire city of Burlington (population ~10,000) on Dec 12–13. No casualties were reported as National Guard and Coast Guard assisted with door-to-door evacuations.

2. São Paulo cyclone: An extratropical cyclone hit Brazil’s São Paulo metro on Dec 10. About 1.5 million homes and businesses lost power after winds (up to 98 km/h) toppled trees and lines, disrupting flights and water supply. Restoration efforts were ongoing on Dec 13.

3. Bangladesh – Khaleda Zia’s health: Former PM Khaleda Zia (age 80) experienced a sharp health decline and was placed on ventilator support on Dec 12. She suffers from multiple ailments following long cancer and frailty battles. Authorities are arranging continued treatment and monitoring.

4. Pakistan – Imran Khan confinement: UN human rights experts in Geneva urged Pakistan to end the solitary confinement of jailed ex-PM Imran Khan. They warned that Khan’s prolonged isolation (23 hours/day since Sept 2023) and lack of access to medical care amount to psychological torture.

5. India-China relations: Indian Joint Secretary (East Asia) Sujit Ghosh met Chinese counterparts in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry called the discussions “timely and productive,” reaffirming both sides’ commitment to the consensus reached at the Modi-Xi summit.

1. Tech investments: U.S. tech giants pledged major investments in India’s AI and cloud sectors. Amazon announced a $35 billion investment by 2030 to expand AWS and AI exports, while Microsoft committed $17.5 billion over the same period for AI and data center projects. These moves support India’s goal to become an AI powerhouse.

2. Inflation and rates: India’s November inflation rose to just 0.71% year-on-year (from Oct’s 0.25%), remaining far below the RBI’s 2% target range. Economists say this slow price rise gives the RBI scope to cut interest rates again. (The RBI had cut rates by 25bps in Dec 2025, totaling 125bps of cuts in 2025.)

3. Visa policy: The Indian government announced it will fast-track business visas for Chinese executives. Applications will now be processed within 30 days (down from ~2 months) by removing extra approvals, aiming to boost trade and resolve a $15 billion output loss in electronics caused by prior delays.

4. Bank holiday: All banks in India were closed on Dec 13, 2025, for the regular second-Saturday holiday. This, combined with Sunday, created an extended holiday period for banking services.

Space – ISRO commercial launch: India’s space agency (ISRO) will launch a U.S. communications satellite on its LVM3 (GSLV MkIII) rocket in December on a commercial basis. This mission (date TBA) underscores India’s growing role in global satellite launches; ISRO says it aims to triple the number of satellites in orbit within 3 years for domestic needs.

1. Clean Air project: The Haryana government launched the “Haryana Clean Air Project” with a ₹3,600 crore World Bank loan. The program funds measures like e-buses, CNG boilers, and pollution monitoring to improve air quality in major cities and reduce emissions (targeting the severe smog problem).

2. International award: Indian bureaucrat Supriya Sahu (Tamil Nadu’s Environment Secretary) won the United Nations’ “Champions of the Earth” award for 2025. She was honored for her work on ecosystem restoration and climate resilience. Her initiatives (e.g. large-scale tree-planting) have expanded forest cover and created green jobs, earning her global recognition.

1. Indian Air Force – Woman pilot: Wing Commander Shivangi Singh (IAF’s first female Rafale pilot) has transitioned to the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer unit, where she will train new fighter pilots. The move uses her combat experience to mentor the next generation of IAF aviators.

2. Joint exercise (India–Malaysia): The 5th edition of Exercise Harimau Shakti (India–Malaysia bilateral army drills) commenced in Rajasthan on Dec 5, running through Dec 18. The exercise focuses on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in jungle terrain, enhancing interoperability between the two armies.

Do Kwon: Terraform Labs co-founder Do Hyeong Kwon (aka Do Kwon) was sentenced to 15 years in a U.S. federal prison for orchestrating a $40 billion cryptocurrency fraud. Kwon’s stablecoin collapse in 2022 led to massive investor losses; the DOJ charged him with securities fraud, and the court’s verdict on Dec 12, 2025 imposes the longest sentence for a crypto fraud case to date.

Lionel Messi in India: World football star Lionel Messi arrived in Kolkata late on Dec 12 for his three-city “G.O.A.T. India Tour 2025”. In Kolkata, he virtually unveiled a 70-foot statue of himself (with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and player Luis Suárez attending) at Sree Bhumi Sporting Club. (Later the same day, an overwhelmed crowd at the stadium forced Messi to cut short a lap of honor amid fan unrest.)

Miracle on Ice team honored: U.S. President Donald Trump awarded Congressional Gold Medals to the surviving members of the 1980 Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey team on Dec 13 at the White House. The team, which beat the USSR en route to the gold medal, was honored as part of the NFL tribute week.

1. Dec 13 – Saint Lucy’s Day: A Christian feast day (also called Santa Lucia Day) celebrated in Scandinavia and parts of Europe as a “Festival of Light”.

2. Dec 13 – National Guard Birthday (USA): The U.S. National Guard observes its founding anniversary on Dec 13 (dating back to 1636).

3. Dec 13 – National Horse Day (USA): A U.S. observance celebrating horses (not an official holiday)

1. RBI – New Executive Director: The Reserve Bank of India appointed CA Usha Janakiraman as an Executive Director, effective Dec 1, 2025. Janakiraman (35 years at RBI) will oversee the Supervision Department in her new role.

2. Temasek – India Chairman: Singapore’s Temasek Holdings named former DBS Bank CEO Piyush Gupta as its Chairman for India (non-executive advisory role), effective Dec 1, 2025. Gupta will advise Temasek’s India strategy and engage with the government and investors.

1. UEF Trade Summit (Chennai): The 3-day United E-Commerce Forum (UEF) Trade Summit 2025 opened in Chennai on Dec 12. Inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Industry Minister TRB Rajaa, the summit features panels on digital trade and sustainability and includes MoUs on SDG projects.

2. International OCD Summit: The U.S.-based International OCD Foundation held its winter summit (virtual) on Dec 13, focused on ethical issues, AI in healthcare, and care strategies for obsessive-compulsive disorder.

1. Uttarakhand: The Adarsh Janata Montessori School in Dehradun faced uproar after a video emerged of its students reciting the Islamic kalma. Officials say even Hindu students were involved; the state education department has issued a notice and is investigating the violation of guidelines.

2. Punjab: In Amritsar, repeated bomb threat emails forced several schools to shut on Dec 13. Authorities evacuated students and deployed bomb squads to search the premises. The messages, traced to a Khalistani group, are under investigation.

3. Tamil Nadu: Chennai is hosting the UEF Trade Summit (Dec 12–14). The global commerce conference was inaugurated by local officials and is drawing business leaders to discuss trade and technology partnerships.

1. Shivraj Patil (90): Veteran Congress leader Shivraj Patil – former Lok Sabha Speaker (1991–96) and Union Home Minister (2004–08) – passed away on Dec 12, 2025. Patil also served as Mumbai Police Commissioner earlier and was elected to Parliament multiple times.

2. Piyush Pandey (70): Advertising legend Piyush Pandey (Padma Shri awardee, former Ogilvy India Executive Creative Director) died on Dec 12, 2025. Pandey was famous for campaigns like “Lifebuoy Sings for Safety” and winning awards at Cannes.

SDG Index 2025: The UN’s 2025 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index placed Finland first globally (followed by Sweden, Denmark, etc.). China ranked 49th and India 99th out of 193 countries, reflecting mixed progress on SDG targets.

International Booker Prize: Indian writer Banu Mushtaq won the 2025 International Booker Prize for her short-story collection Heart Lamp. She is the first author writing in Kannada to receive this award, recognized for its portrayal of women’s experiences in India.

Space – Comet 3I/ATLAS: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS on July 21, 2025. The comet’s coma and tail are visible here. NASA reports that 3I/ATLAS (discovered July 2025) will reach perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on Oct 30, 2025 and then re-emerge from behind the Sun by early December 2025. 3I/ATLAS is only the third known object from outside our solar system, and multiple NASA spacecraft have been tasked with observing its unusual path.