Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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New Zealand’s High Court overturned the conviction of White Island’s owners after the 2019 volcanic eruption that killed 22 people. White Island (Whakaari) is an active composite stratovolcano in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty, located 48 km off Whakatāne. It is New Zealand’s most active cone volcano, formed over 150,000 years. The 2019 eruption was its last major event, causing fatalities and injuries. The island, privately owned, was declared a private scenic reserve in 1953, attracting tourism and scientific research. It features hot springs, geysers, and fumaroles and was named by Captain James Cook in 1769.

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Beneath Antarctica’s Mount Erebus, volcanic ice caves harbor thriving microbial life, offering insight into potential life on alien worlds. Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano, located on Ross Island in Antarctica. It was discovered in 1841 by Sir James Clark Ross and named after his ship, Erebus. Its summit stands at 12,448 feet (3,794 meters), making it the second tallest volcano in Antarctica. The volcano has an active lava lake, continuously active since 1972, with small Strombolian eruptions.

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Fugitive ex-IPL chief Lalit Modi has applied to surrender his Indian passport and has acquired Vanuatu citizenship. Vanuatu is a small island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 83 islands, with only 65 inhabited, forming an irregular Y shape. It lies east of Australia and north of New Zealand, between Australia and Fiji. The landscape includes mountains, plateaus, hills, terraces, and coral reefs. It has several active volcanoes, including Mount Yasur. The capital and largest city is Port Vila on Efate Island. The country’s currency is the vatu.

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Russian troops launched a large-scale offensive to retake parts of the western Kursk region from Ukrainian forces. Kursk is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, located along Russia’s southwestern border. It lies about 450 km (280 miles) south of Moscow, along the upper Seym River. The region is part of the Black Earth territory, known for its highly fertile soil. Kursk has a moderately continental climate, experiencing distinct seasonal variations.

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Rushikonda Beach in Visakhapatnam regained its Blue Flag certification after a temporary withdrawal due to compliance issues. The Blue Flag certification is administered by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), Denmark. Rushikonda Beach is the only Blue Flag-certified beach in Andhra Pradesh. Known for its golden sands and clear waters, it is a popular destination for relaxation and swimming. The certification ensures high environmental, safety, and cleanliness standards for sustainable beach tourism.

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A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Tonga, triggering a tsunami warning. Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an archipelago of 169 islands, with 36 inhabited. It lies south of Samoa, east of Fiji, and north of the Tropic of Capricorn in the South Pacific Ocean. The western islands are volcanic, with four active volcanoes, while the eastern islands are coral and low-lying. Tongatapu, Ha’apai, and Vava’u are the largest islands, with Nuku‘alofa as the capital. Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, Tonga frequently experiences volcanic activity.

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The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to retrieve Katchatheevu from Sri Lanka. Katchatheevu is a 285-acre uninhabited island located in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka. It is 33 km northeast of Rameswaram (India) and 62 km southwest of Jaffna (Sri Lanka). The island serves as a maritime boundary marker between the two nations and is rich in fisheries, crucial for Tamil Nadu’s fishing economy.

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The United States President imposed a 10% tariff on imports from Heard and McDonald Islands, even though these islands have no known exports to the US. Heard and McDonald Islands are remote volcanic islands in the southern Indian Ocean, about 4,100 km from Perth, Australia, and 1,600 km from Antarctica. They are one of Australia’s seven external territories and are directly governed by the Australian government. Heard Island has Big Ben volcano with Mawson Peak, the highest mountain in Australia outside mainland and Tasmania. McDonald Island is smaller but has doubled in size due to volcanic eruptions in the 1990s and 2000s. These are the only volcanically active sub-Antarctic islands and are used to study earth’s crust, climate change, and glaciers. They are part of a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site since 1997

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Kazakhstan has found a major deposit of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) at the Kuirektykol site in the Karaganda Region, estimated to hold 1 million tons, which can support clean energy technologies globally. The Karaganda Region, in central Kazakhstan, is known for arid plains, hills, and seasonal streams, with major landscapes like Karkaraly National Park, Mount Aksoran, and Lake Balkhash. Important rivers in the region include the Ishim (Esil) and Nura, supported by the Irtysh–Karaganda Canal. Once known for coal mining and Gulag camps during Soviet times, it remains an industrial and mineral-rich hub. Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are 17 similar elements used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, lasers, and defence technologies.

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A major archaeological discovery in Lefkada, Greece, revealed the first ancient Greek theater ever found in the Ionian Islands. The Ionian Islands are located off the western coast of Greece in the eastern Ionian Sea, covering 2,306.94 square kilometers. They are also known as “Heptanese,” meaning “Seven Islands,” which include Corfu (Kerkyra), Paxi, Lefkada, Ithaki, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, and Kythira. Kefalonia is the largest, with Mount Ainos as the highest point at 1,628 meters. Historically, they were ruled by Venice, later by Russian and Turkish forces, and finally ceded to Greece by Britain in 1864.