Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Recent tensions between Japan and China have increased due to a Chinese military aircraft violating Japanese airspace. A Chinese Y-9 surveillance plane breached Japanese airspace near the Danjo Islands for about two minutes. This is the first confirmed airspace incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into Japanese airspace. The Danjo Islands, situated in the East China Sea off Japan’s southern Nagasaki prefecture, are strategically important with potential resources. The incident adds to ongoing maritime provocations by Chinese vessels near these disputed islands.

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The Arbaat Dam in eastern Sudan collapsed after heavy rainfall, leading to severe flooding. Sudan, located in northeastern Africa, was Africa’s largest country before South Sudan’s secession in 2011. It is now the third largest. The country is bordered by Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan, and the Red Sea.
Sudan is home to the River Nile, the longest river in the world, with the White and Blue Niles meeting in Khartoum, the capital, and flowing to the Mediterranean Sea via Egypt.

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China’s natural resource ministry released its first survey report on the disputed Sabina Shoal in the South China Sea.
Sabina Shoal, also known as Xianbin Reef, is an oceanic coral atoll located in the eastern part of the Spratlys Islands in the South China Sea. It is situated 75 nautical miles from the Philippine province of Palawan and lies within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under UNCLOS. China claims the shoal and much of the South China Sea as its territory and maintains a presence there, though it is 630 nautical miles from China. Sabina Shoal is 23 km long, composed of two main parts connected by a narrow section, with central lagoons surrounded by a coral ring.

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The Prime Minister of India expressed a desire for stronger ties with Brunei, focusing on enhancing commercial and cultural connections during his visit to Bandar Seri Begawan. Brunei is located on the northern coast of Borneo Island in Southeast Asia and sits in both the Northern and Eastern hemispheres. It is bordered by the South China Sea to the north and surrounded by Malaysia, with two non-contiguous parts divided by Sarawak. The capital and largest city is Bandar Seri Begawan, and the highest point is Bukit Pagon, reaching 6,069 feet along the border with Malaysia. Brunei has several rivers, including Belait, Pandaruan, and Tutong, and is a significant oil producer in Southeast Asia.

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The central government has designated the international trans-shipment hub at Galathea Bay in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands as a ‘Major Port.’ It is located on Great Nicobar Island and is being developed as an International Container Transshipment Port (ICTP). The project will receive central funding and be developed under a public-private partnership model. Phase 1 is set to begin in 2028 with a handling capacity of 4 million TEUs, growing to 16 million TEUs by 2058. The port’s strategic location near international trade routes and its deep water depth make it significant for capturing transshipment cargo from other ports.

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Hurricane Francine recently led to a shutdown of 42% of crude oil and 53% of natural gas production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked sea on the southeastern edge of North America. It is the world’s largest gulf and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by the Yucatán and Veracruz regions of Mexico to the west, the United States to the north, the Caribbean and Cuba to the east, and the Mexican mainland to the south. The Gulf connects to the Caribbean Sea through the Yucatán Channel and to the Atlantic Ocean via the Straits of Florida.

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Rapa Nui, also called Easter Island, did not experience a population collapse, based on ancient DNA analysis of 15 former inhabitants. Rapa Nui is a Chilean territory in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and is the easternmost Polynesian island.
It is located 3,540 km west of Chile and 1,900 km east of Pitcairn Island. The island covers 163.6 sq. km and is one of the most remote inhabited places. It is a small volcanic island with a tropical rainforest climate. Easter Island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, with much of it protected under Rapa Nui National Park.

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The Giant Crystal Cave, discovered in 2000, in the Naica Mines. It contains some of the largest crystals on Earth, reaching lengths of up to 39 feet and weighing up to 55 tons. It is located in Mexico. This cave is off-limits to tourists due to extreme temperatures that can reach 59 degrees Celsius and high humidity. Only scientists with special permits can study this remarkable natural phenomenon, ensuring its preservation for future generations.

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Rescue teams are searching for 48 missing migrants after their boat overturned near Spain’s Canary Islands. The Canary Islands are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1300 km south of mainland Spain and 115 km west of Morocco. They consist of two Spanish provinces: Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Formed by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago, the islands have rich volcanic soil. The climate is subtropical with warm temperatures and little seasonal variation. An archipelago refers to a group of islands formed by volcanic activity, tectonic movements, or sediment accumulation.

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A boat capsized in Lake Kivu, eastern Congo, killing at least 78 people out of 278 passengers. Lake Kivu is one of East Africa’s Great Lakes, between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. It is Rwanda’s largest lake and the sixth largest in Africa, situated in the Albertine Rift. The lake covers 1,040 square miles and lies 1,460 meters above sea level. 58% of the lake’s waters are in DRC, with the rest in Rwanda. It has a maximum depth of 475 meters and empties into the Rusizi River flowing into Lake Tanganyika.