International Current Affairs MCQs

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Ghana’s Electoral Commission declared ex-president John Dramani Mahama the winner of the presidential election with 56.55% votes. Mahama, 66, served as Ghana’s president from 2012 to 2016 and aims to address Ghana’s economic crisis. He plans to renegotiate the $3-billion IMF bailout, ease business regulations, introduce a triple-shift work system, enact tax reforms, and invest $10 billion in infrastructure modernization.

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François Bayrou, a 73-year-old centrist leader, was named French Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron, succeeding Michel Barnier after a confidence vote ousted him. Bayrou leads the MoDem party, part of Macron’s centrist alliance, and is known as the “third man” in French politics for his centrist approach during the 2007 presidential election. He is the high commissioner of planning, mayor of Pau, and president of the European Democratic Party. Born into a wealthy farming family near the Pyrenees, he taught Latin and Greek before entering politics in the 1980s. He served as education minister and was a member of both the National Assembly and European Parliament.

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Moldova recently signed the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Agreement to advance renewable energy efforts. The ISA, founded in 2015 during COP21 by India and France, is headquartered in Gurugram, India. Its mission, guided by the ‘Towards 1000’ strategy, includes mobilizing $1,000 billion in solar investments, providing energy access to 1,000 million people, and installing 1,000 GW of solar capacity by 2030. The ISA Assembly, its apex decision-making body, oversees policy and framework implementation.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres paid tribute to Brigadier General Amitabh Jha of India, serving with the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in Golan Heights. UNDOF was established in 1974 to maintain the ceasefire and supervise the demilitarized buffer zone between Israel and Syria. The mission’s mandate is renewed every six months and extended until June 2025. UNDOF is funded annually by the UN General Assembly. India is the third-largest troop and police contributor to UNDOF. Golan Heights is a hilly region, part of Syria, occupied by Israel since 1967. UNDOF headquarters is at Camp Faouar.

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Australia’s House of Representatives passed the “Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill, 2024,” requiring social media platforms to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts. Excessive social media use can lead to loneliness, depression, anxiety, reduced attention spans, and cyberbullying. Globally, China proposed minors’ modes for mobile internet in 2023. The US enforces COPPA (1998), requiring parental consent for children under 13. France mandates parental authorization for children under 15 on social networks.

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Russia declared a federal-level emergency due to a massive oil spill along the Black Sea coast, caused by storm-damaged tankers near the Kerch Strait. The spill released thousands of tons of mazut (heavy fuel oil), polluting about 55 kilometers (34 miles) of coastline. The spill has raised serious concerns about cleanup efforts and potential long-term environmental damage. The Black Sea, a large inland sea in southeastern Europe, is one of the marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean, spanning 436,000 square kilometers. It is bordered by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Romania.

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Russia has introduced a new tourist tax, replacing the previous resort fee, effective today. Travelers will pay an additional 1% of their lodging costs to support regional tourism infrastructure. The tax was added to the Russian Tax Code in July 2024 under a new chapter, “Tourist Tax.” Regional authorities can implement the tax as a local levy, with many regions already adopting it. The tax starts at 1% in 2025 and will increase to 3% by 2027.

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China launched its first domestically developed deep-sea exploration ship, Tansuo-3 (Exploration-3). The ship officially entered service in Sanya City, Hainan province. Tansuo-3 has a range of 17,261 miles and includes icebreaking capabilities. It will strengthen China’s deep-sea exploration, alongside other icebreakers like Xuelong, Xuelong 2, and Jidi.

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More than 100 people, including child rights activists from Nepal and India, launched the ‘Child Marriage Free Nepal’ campaign in Kathmandu. The campaign, supported by Indian organization Just Right for Children and Nepal’s Backward Society Education, aims to end child marriage by 2030. Nepal has the second-highest prevalence of child marriage in South Asia, with the legal marriage age set at 20. Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli pledged support for the campaign.

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Bangladesh is reportedly considering purchasing Abdali Short Range Ballistic Missiles (Hatf 2) from Pakistan amid rising India-Bangladesh tensions. Abdali (Hatf 2) is a short-range, road-mobile ballistic missile developed by Pakistan’s Space Research Commission (SUPARCO). The missile is 6.5 m long, 0.56 m in diameter, weighs 1,750 kg, and has a range of 180-200 km. It carries a 250-450 kg high explosive or submunition warhead with a CEP of 150 m. It targets military bases, airfields, and critical infrastructure.