Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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The Tamil Nadu Government has directed the Water Resources Department (WRD) to redesign the proposed project to divert surplus Cauvery water from Mayanur Barrage to Ponnaniyar and Kannuthu dams as a solar-powered water-lifting irrigation project. It is located near Pooncholai village in the Kadavur hill region of Manapparai taluk, Tiruchirappalli district, Tamil Nadu. The dam has very low storage because its source channels receive little inflow.

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Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano erupted on September 6, 2026, sending volcanic ash across parts of western Indonesia. Anak Krakatau, meaning “Child of Krakatoa,” is located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. It is a stratovolcano, formed by alternating layers of solidified lava and ash. The volcano sits at the convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. Anak Krakatau is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone around the Pacific Ocean.

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Maharashtra authorities have been directed to conduct an objective assessment of unauthorised structures around Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Shivneri Fort, located in Pune district, Maharashtra, is historically significant as the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The fort was associated with the Yadavas of Devagiri and later came under several ruling powers. It was an important defensive stronghold overlooking the Junnar region and surrounding trade routes.

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Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, have reportedly seized control of the Yemeni port city of Mocha (Al Mokha).
The development represents a significant strategic gain for the Houthis along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Mocha (Mokha) Port is located in southwestern Yemen on the Red Sea coast. It lies on the Tihāmah coastal plain of Yemen. The port is located approximately 75–100 km west of Taiz. Mocha is situated near the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Mocha has great historical significance because it was once a major coffee-exporting centre of Arabia.

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Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have captured the strategic Mayun Island, also known as Perim Island. The island is located in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, at the entrance to the Red Sea. Mayun lies approximately 3.5 km off Yemen’s western coast. The island is a small, barren volcanic island with major strategic importance because of its location along a key maritime route. The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.

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A UN report has called for further steps by the United States to address the long-term consequences of its nuclear testing legacy in the Marshall Islands. The recommendations include providing better healthcare to affected communities and releasing classified historical records related to the nuclear testing programme. Marshall Islands is located in Central Pacific Ocean, roughly between Hawaii and Australia. It is a Micronesian island country consisting mainly of atolls and small islands. The country has 29 atolls and 5 individual islands, containing more than 1,000 individual islets. The two major population centres are Majuro Atoll and Kwajalein Atoll.

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Aldabra Atoll is located in the western Indian Ocean and forms part of the Outer Islands of Seychelles. A recent survey estimated approximately 180,000 Aldabra giant tortoises, exceeding Seychelles’ human population of around 122,000. Aldabra Atoll and the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador are the two places where giant tortoises still roam freely in the wild. During the 19th century, hunting and exploitation reduced the Aldabra giant tortoise population to fewer than 1,000, bringing the species close to extinction. Strict conservation measures helped the population recover, making it an important wildlife conservation success story. Aldabra became an IUCN Strict Nature Reserve in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

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Researchers from Pennsylvania State University studied Masaya Volcano’s underground magma movements using Sentinel-1 satellite data collected between 2018 and 2024. Masaya Volcano is located in Nicaragua, Central America. It is an active basaltic shield volcano known for its lava lake inside the Santiago crater. Approximately two million people live within 20–21 km of the volcano.

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Bangka Island is an Indonesian island situated off the south-eastern coast of Sumatra in the Malacca Strait region. The island recently gained global attention following the scientific rediscovery of the Bangka slow loris (Nycticebus bancanus), a rare nocturnal primate that had not been documented for nearly a century. Bangka Island is ecologically significant due to its high degree of island endemism, though its natural tropical rainforest habitat faces severe environmental fragmentation from widespread tin mining operations and rapid oil-palm agricultural expansion across the region.

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Kikai Caldera is a massive, predominantly submarine volcanic caldera located in the sea south of Kyushu Island, Japan. It lies within the tectonically active island-arc region of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Recent marine seismic imaging using ocean-bottom seismometers has revealed newly injected magma beneath its subsea lava dome. The discovery indicates ongoing magma recharge and subsurface volcanic activity, but does not necessarily mean an eruption is imminent. A caldera is a large depression formed when a volcano collapses following the emptying of its magma chamber.