Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Recently, a major wildfire broke out near the main town of Chios Island in the eastern Aegean Sea, with over 100 firefighters and water-dropping aircraft working to control the flames. Chios is a Greek island located in the Aegean Sea, just 8 kilometres off the western coast of Turkey. It is the fifth-largest island in Greece. Chios is known for producing mastic gum and is often called “the Mastic Island.”

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Recently, researchers discovered a buried ancient forest under the Falkland Islands, which grew before humans or sheep ever arrived. The Falkland Islands, also called the Malvinas Islands, is an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic Ocean. It lies about 480 kilometers northeast of South America’s southern tip and east of the Strait of Magellan. The islands include East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands, separated by the Falkland Strait.

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Recently, the Wandan mud volcano in Taiwan erupted, sending bubbling mud into the air while locals set the escaping gases on fire with burning rags. A mud volcano is a small cone of mud and clay, usually less than a few meters high. It forms from hot water mixed with fine sediment, which either flows gently like lava or bursts out like a fountain due to volcanic gas and boiling water. The craters are shallow and erupt mud on and off, rebuilding cones that erode easily. Mud volcanoes, also called mud domes or sedimentary volcanoes, release gases like methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen along with often salty or acidic water.

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Over 1,000 earthquakes have shaken the Tokara Islands in southern Japan in the past two weeks, creating an unprecedented seismic situation. The Tokara Islands are a small archipelago located south of Kyushu and north of the Amami Islands in Japan. They are also called the Toshima Islands, covered administratively by Toshima-mura (Toshima Village). The archipelago includes 7 inhabited islands (e.g., Kuchinoshima, Nakanoshima, Suwanosejima) and 5 uninhabited islands (e.g., Gajajima, Kogajajima).

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Archaeologists have recently discovered a 3,500-year-old ancient city named Penico in Peru. Penico is located about 200 km north of Lima, in Barranca province, at 600 metres above sea level. It was likely founded between 1,800 and 1,500 BC, during the same period as early Middle Eastern and Asian civilizations. Penico lies near Caral, the oldest known civilization in the Americas, established around 3,000 BC in the Supe Valley.

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In July 2025, scientists extracted 18–20 million-year-old proteins from the tooth enamel of extinct mammals found near Lake Turkana. Lake Turkana is located in northern Kenya and partly extends into Ethiopia. It lies in the Eastern Rift Valley and is mainly fed by the Omo River, which supplies 90% of its water. It is the fourth-largest lake in Africa and the world’s largest permanent desert lake. Lake Turkana is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

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Recently, Mount Rainier in Washington, United States, experienced over 300 small earthquakes, marking the most significant seismic activity since 2009, as reported by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Mount Rainier is the highest mountain in Washington state, standing at 4,392 metres. It covers 260 square kilometers and has the largest single-mountain glacier system in the U.S. outside Alaska. It is an active stratovolcano formed by lava flows that began about one million years ago. Its last eruption occurred around 150 years ago.

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A recent study found that four proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects in Cabo Delgado could consume at least 17% of the world’s remaining carbon budget. Cabo Delgado has faced an ongoing insurgency since 2017, adding to regional instability. Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique, located in East Africa. It borders Tanzania via the Rovuma River in the north and the Indian Ocean in the east.

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A 2023 false-color satellite image showed twin lava flows and a massive smoke plume from Klyuchevskoy Volcano, highlighting its active state. Klyuchevskoy is a stratovolcano located on the Kamchatka Peninsula in far eastern Russia. It is the tallest active volcano in Eurasia, with a height of 15,584 feet (4,750 meters). It features a truncated cone with a central crater and about 70 lateral craters and cones on its slopes. It has erupted over 50 times since 1700, often emitting continuous smoke.

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Recently, the Lakshadweep administration is considering acquiring Bitra Island for defence purposes. Bitra is the smallest inhabited island in the Lakshadweep archipelago. It lies in the northern part of Lakshadweep. The island houses a shrine of Malik Mulla, an old Arab saint, and is a pilgrimage site. Its climate is similar to Kerala, with temperatures between 25°C to 35°C and humidity ranging from 70% to 76%.