Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Mount Kanlaon, a stratovolcano in north-central Negros Island, Philippines, recently erupted, sending a 4,000-metre ash plume into the sky. It is the highest mountain on Negros and the 42nd tallest island peak in the world. It is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines. The volcano has multiple pyroclastic cones and craters, including a northern caldera with a crater lake and a smaller, active southern crater. Its base covers 30 km by 14 km, made of lava flows, lahar, airfall tephra, and pyroclastic deposits. It supports rich biodiversity and serves as a water source for major rivers on Negros Island. Since 1866, eruptions have mostly been small phreatic explosions with light ashfall nearby.

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The Cradle of Humankind in South Africa has reopened to the public after being closed for three years due to flooding. It is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site known for its underground limestone caves. It is located near Johannesburg, South Africa. It includes several significant sites such as Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and Taung Skull Fossil Site. The site provides critical scientific insight into human evolution, dating back over 3.5 million years.

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A hidden landmass named the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent has been discovered under the icy waters of the Davis Strait. The Davis Strait is a bay in the northern Atlantic Ocean located between southeastern Baffin Island in Canada and southwestern Greenland. It separates Baffin Bay in the north from the Labrador Sea in the south. The Davis Strait forms a part of the Northwest Passage, which is a sea route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago connecting the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The strait stretches about 650 kilometers from north to south and is 320 to 640 kilometers wide. It is one of the widest straits in the world.

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The Syrian civil war that began in 2011 turned Palmyra’s strategic location into a war zone, leading to large-scale damage to its ancient monuments. Palmyra is an ancient city in central Syria, located in an oasis surrounded by palm trees and the Palmyrene mountain ranges. It has been inhabited since the Neolithic period and was first mentioned in historical records in the early second millennium Before Common Era (BCE). In the 1st century After Death (AD), it became part of the Roman Empire. Palmyra grew as a key trade and cultural center on the Silk Road, connecting Rome with Persia, India, and China.

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Recently, former United States President Donald Trump proposed formal recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, challenging America’s long-standing opposition to the annexation. Crimea is an autonomous republic in southern Ukraine, located between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Crimean Peninsula connects to Ukraine through the 8-kilometre-wide Perekop Isthmus and to Russia via the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait. Historically known as the Tauric Peninsula, Crimea has seen control shift between empires like the Ottomans and Russians. The region has the Crimean Mountains, rivers like Salhir and Alma, and important resources on the Kerch Peninsula.

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Scientists from China, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) recently studied the inner workings of Uturuncu, a “zombie” volcano in Bolivia, and found that there is no immediate risk of eruption. Uturuncu is a stratovolcano located in the Andes Mountains of southwestern Bolivia and is made up mainly of dacitic lava domes and flows. It sits on top of a massive underground magma reservoir called the Altiplano-Puna Magma Body (APMB), which extends under southern Bolivia, northern Chile, and northern Argentina. Uturuncu is called a “zombie” volcano because it shows signs of activity without actual eruptions.

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Following protests in Sindh, Pakistan has suspended its canals project, including the Cholistan Canal intended to irrigate the Cholistan Desert. The Cholistan Desert (Rohi) is located in the western part of the Thar Desert in Pakistan. Historically, it was once irrigated by the Hakra River, which changed its course around 600 B.C., making the area inhospitable. The desert holds historical significance as it was home to an Indus Valley culture focused on agriculture. The region also housed several medieval forts that protected and facilitated desert caravan routes.

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A massive explosion recently hit Iran’s Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, causing a huge fire and leading to many deaths and injuries. The blast is suspected to have been caused by sodium perchlorate, a chemical used in ballistic missile propulsion. Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s largest and most advanced commercial port. It is located near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route through which about 26% of the world’s oil is transported. The port manages 85% of Iran’s container cargo, 52% of its oil trade, and over half of its total maritime cargo. It lies along the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), linking the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, Russia, and Northern Europe.

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Recently, scientists observed repeated unrest at Campi Flegrei between 1982–1984 and 2011–2024, involving land uplift, earthquakes, and underground rumbling due to rising fluid pressure. Campi Flegrei, also called the Phlegraean Fields, is an active volcanic system located near Naples, Italy. Unlike single-cone volcanoes like Mount Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei is a large caldera, which is a sunken volcanic area formed after a huge eruption. The caldera spans about 12 to 15 kilometers and was formed by a massive eruption nearly 39,000 years ago. That eruption may have triggered climate changes that contributed to the decline of Neanderthals.

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The Shakargarh Bulge is a strategic area in Pakistani territory that sticks into India, located between the Ravi and Chenab rivers. It has flat terrain and lies close to key Indian cities like Amritsar, Pathankot, Batala, and Gurdaspur, with important road links to Jammu. This makes it a critical military corridor for both India and Pakistan. Recently, a major build-up of tanks and armoured vehicles by the Pakistan Army was spotted here. The area is historically significant as the site of the 12-day Battle of Basantar during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, which influenced the western front’s outcome.