International Current Affairs MCQs

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Spain has announced a nationwide ban on social media access for children below 16 years of age. It became the first European country and the second globally after Australia to take this step. The ban is expected to come into force within a week. Social media companies must enforce strict age verification and compliance. Australia introduced a similar ban in December 2025, leading to removal of over 5.5 lakh underage accounts. The move may influence other European Union countries to adopt stricter digital child protection laws.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry informed that the New START nuclear arms control treaty between Russia and the United States has expired on February 5. The two countries are no longer bound by its obligations, though Russia remains open to diplomatic efforts to maintain strategic stability and a future agreement. Moscow remains open to political and diplomatic efforts to maintain strategic stability. New START was signed in 2010 and entered into force in 2011. It limited deployed nuclear warheads and delivery systems.

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Sanae Takaichi was reappointed as the Prime Minister of Japan by Parliament on February 18, 2026, following a landslide election victory by her Liberal Democratic Party. She formed her second Cabinet, with plans to increase military spending, strengthen security policies, and address economic issues. She has also expressed support for boosting arms exports and tightening immigration rules. On the economic front, her immediate focus is on tackling rising prices and addressing stagnant wage growth.

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India and the United Kingdom launched the Offshore Wind Taskforce under India-UK Vision 2035 and the Fourth Energy Dialogue. It aims to accelerate India’s offshore wind sector through coordinated policy, infrastructure and financing support. The partnership combines the UK’s mature offshore wind ecosystem with India’s 71 GW offshore wind potential and large domestic market. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal ministry. The National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) will conduct resource assessment

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South Korea protested Japan’s government-backed “Takeshima Day” (February 22), opposing Tokyo’s renewed sovereignty claim over the disputed islets. South Korea rejects calling it a dispute, while Japan continues diplomatic and symbolic assertions. The Takeshima dispute is a long-standing territorial conflict between Japan and South Korea (Republic of Korea). The islets, called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea, are located in the Sea of Japan, with South Korea currently controlling them and Japan claiming sovereignty.

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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed a new geopolitical grouping called the Hexagon Alliance, with India at its centre. The alliance, also called the “Hexagon of Alliances,” would include Israel, India, Mediterranean partners like Greece and Cyprus, and other Arab, African, and Asian states. It is designed to operate across three tracks: economic cooperation, diplomatic alignment, and security collaboration. For India, participation would expand its strategic footprint in the Mediterranean and West Asia, complementing initiatives like the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor.

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A Cessna 172 aircraft crashed into the Hudson River near the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge, bringing focus to the river corridor. Hudson River is a major and historically important river in the United States. It flows mainly within New York State and forms part of the boundary between New York and New Jersey in its final stretch. It connects inland New York to the Atlantic Ocean through Upper New York Bay. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains near Mount Marcy, with Lake Tear of the Clouds as its main headstream source.

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NATO has begun the 2026 edition of the Cold Response military exercise in the Arctic. The exercise has a stronger focus on civilian preparedness and total defence. Cold Response is a large-scale biennial NATO military exercise conducted in the European Arctic, mainly in northern Norway and nearby regions. It tests NATO’s ability to defend its territory under extreme Arctic conditions. The exercise simulates collective defence scenarios under Article 5 of NATO, including amphibious operations, air support, logistics, and coordination between allied forces. The aim is to strengthen NATO’s collective defence capability in the Arctic region.

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The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026). A workforce shift is occurring as rural men move to non-farm jobs, leading women to increasingly take on agricultural roles. Women’s participation in agriculture has surged by 135% in a decade, now constituting 42% of the agricultural workforce. Two in three working women are engaged in agriculture, though this remains lower than global averages of 57%-63%. In 2023-24, there were 117.6 million women in agriculture: 21.7 million hired, 95.1 million self-employed, and 0.8 million regular workers.

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The United Nations adopted a new global framework called Agreed Conclusions to improve access to justice for women and girls worldwide. The framework was adopted by broad consensus during the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held in New York, United States. The Agreed Conclusions framework is not legally binding, serving as a guideline for member states to strengthen justice systems for women and girls. A key recommendation is to repeal discriminatory laws that negatively affect women and girls in any sphere of life. The framework emphasizes the need to strengthen protection against violence, both online and offline, and ensure faster access to justice for survivors.