2025: A Year in Review Trivia Quiz

Answer: Thailand

Thailand is regarded as one of the few Asian countries to recognize LGBTQ rights. This reputation was cemented when the country became the first in southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriage, only the 38th country globally to do so. The law grants same-sex couples, of either gender, the same rights as heterosexual marriages.

The other options are all Islamic countries where same-sex unions are expressly forbidden.

Answer: Liberation Day

Trump claimed that decades of the US' open market policy had led to the country being unfairly subjected to cheap goods from other countries at the cost of the domestic manufacturing industry. He announced sweeping tariffs across countries and goods on the 2nd of April, 2025, in a bid to correct the US' trade deficit. Of course, global economics is not as simple as this. Global stock markets crashed following this news and the widespread panic caused the administration to delay the imposition of the tariffs.

The US and China were locked in a game of 'who blinks first' for a while and the deadline kept being postponed. Ultimately, China's control of ~90% of the supply chain of rare earth minerals, a critical component in many modern inventions, led the US administration to roll back the severe measures announced including a high of 120% tariffs on certain imports from China.

Answer: Pakistan

On 22 April, 2025, 26 Indians were shot and killed by terrorists in the popular tourist locale of Pahalgam in Kashmir. The attack took place in the Baisaran Valley. Three armed gunmen entered the area from the surrounding forests. They asked each male to state their religion and then shot dead the non-Muslims (Hindus and one Christian) in front of their families. Known as the Pahalgam massacre, this was considered the deadliest terrorist attack since the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008.

The Indian government held Pakistan responsible for training and arming the militants and retaliated by attacking sites within the country in May. Concerns were raised globally due to both countries owning nuclear weapons. Ultimately, US President Trump claimed that his involvement caused both countries to back down from a full-fledged conflict.

Answer: Taylor Swift

Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is considered by many to be one of the most influential pop culture icons of her generation. Her loyal fans call themselves "Swifties". Swift has achieved stellar success across her music career with multiple Grammy awards. Her "Eras Tour" that was held over 2023-24 was claimed to have provided a boost to local economies after the pandemic induced recession. The phenomenon was termed as "Swiftnomics" and the "TSwift Lift" by various financial and business analysts.

Swift is famous for writing songs about her many ex-partners. She started dating Kelce in 2023 and in August 2025, they became engaged. "Love Story" is one of Swift's popular hits based on Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet.

Answer: Discord

Like many other Asian countries in the preceding years, in September 2025 Nepal witnessed widespread protests against the incumbent government for charges of corruption while the ordinary citizens suffered from the impact of inflation and a cost of living crisis.

The protests were dubbed the 'Gen-Z' protests as they were led by young students and mobilised through social media platforms. While initially peaceful, they soon turned violent after the police fired and killed many of the protesting students. Ultimately, Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned on the 9th of September, 2025. An online vote conducted on social media platform Discord resulted in the country's former chief justice of the Supreme Court, Sushila Karki, being appointed as an interim prime minister.

Answer: Archbishop of Canterbury

Born in Woking, Surrey, England, Sarah Mullaly studied and worked as a nurse before taking up a religious role full time. In 2018, she was appointed as the Bishop of London, becoming the first woman to hold this position. As Archbishop of Canterbury, she will be the head of the Church of England, again the first woman to do so.

Answer: Jamaica

On 28 October, 2025, Hurricane Melissa made landfall on the island of Jamaica. It had already been declared a Category 5 hurricane. Despite being part of the Caribbean islands, Jamaica has been relatively insulated from tropical storms. The last major storm to hit the island was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. Hurricane Melissa surpassed Hurricane Gilbert in both intensity and destruction. Countries and large corporations pledged support to help the country rebuild in the aftermath of the storm.

The total damage was estimated at USD 8.8 bln and on 1st December, the IMF, World Bank and other international aid agencies pledged USD 6.7bln over a three year period to support the economy.

Answer: India

This was the fourth time that India had hosted the tournament but the first time they won it. India won their first two league matches but things took a poor turn when they then lost three consecutive matches against South Africa, Australia, and England. Making it to the knockout stage, they then faced Australia again, seven time World Cup winners and the current reigning champions. Australia got off to a flying start, winning the toss and electing to bat, closing the innings with a score of 338. This set India up for the highest ever successful run chase in women's cricket. Two quick wickets and India looked to be on a shaky wicket. Young player, Jemimah Rodrigues, played an unbeaten 127 to take the team to victory. So focused was she on India's win, that she didn't even celebrate or acknowledge her personal milestones of 50 or 100 runs, as is common practice.

India then faced South Africa in the finals and despite an exemplary knock by the SA captain,
Laura Wolvaardt, India won the match with Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur catching the last wicket almost exactly at midnight. This victory is expected to be a turning point for women's cricket in India.

Answer: New York City

Zohran Mamdani announced his intention to run for the position of New York City mayor in October 2024. At the time, he was an unknown name and barely registered with any voters. Through an entirely grassroots campaign, with no support from large corporate donors or the mainstream Democratic Party, Mamdani ended up winning the Democratic primary in July 2025.

By the time the general election rolled around, Mamdani, through his social media campaign, had become an international name. He defeated both the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, and former Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, who contested as an Independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani. Zohran Mamdani become the first candidate to receive over a million votes since 1969. His win also made him the first Muslim mayor of New York City.

Answer: Bondi

While terrorist attacks have unfortunately become increasingly commonplace in many parts of the world, Australians have been lucky to have been insulated from this violence. The evening of 14 December 2025 changed this. A father-son duo opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi beach specifically targeting Jewish people. 15 people were killed including a ten year old child and many others were critically injured. Images of beachgoers running as bullets rained in the midst of an idyllic Sunday evening haunted the news channels. Crude homemade explosive devices were found in the terrorists' car along with ISIS flags. The father died in the shoot-out with the police while the son was injured and hospitalized. Stories of ordinary citizens showing extra-ordinary courage emerged in subsequent news reports.

The last deadly shooting in Australia was in 1996 when 35 people were killed during the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania. This event had led Australia to enact some of the strictest gun control laws globally ensuring there wasn't a repeat of this disaster for almost thirty years, until that Sunday evening.