Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

Notes:
Taal Volcano in the Philippines recently experienced a brief phreatomagmatic eruption, caused by interaction between magma and water. It is a stratovolcano located in Batangas Province, about 70 km south of Manila, Philippines. It is classified as a complex volcano by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). The volcano consists of multiple stratovolcanoes, craters, and volcanic cones, rather than a single cone. It is one of the active volcanoes in the Philippines and lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has a large caldera containing Taal Lake, within which lies Vulcan Point.

Notes:
Qeshm Island was recently in the news after projectiles struck the island amid renewed hostilities in the region. It is the largest island in the Persian Gulf and belongs to Iran. The island is located near the Strait of Hormuz, opposite the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. It has a hot and arid climate with rocky terrain, sandy bays, and mud flats. Qeshm is home to the Hara Mangrove Forest, an important habitat for migratory birds. It also hosts the Qeshm Geopark, the first UNESCO-recognised geopark in the Middle East (2006).

Notes:
Recently, a Chinese Navy destroyer, along with Russian naval vessels, conducted live-fire drills near Japan’s Okinotori Island, marking the first such disclosure by Japan. Okinotori (also called Parece Vela) is a tiny, uninhabited atoll in the Philippine Sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is Japan’s southernmost island and part of the Ogasawara Islands. At high tide, only two rocky outcrops remain above sea level. Japan claims an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Okinotori, a claim disputed by China. Its location between Taiwan and Guam makes it strategically important for military and shipping routes.

Notes:
Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened heavy strikes on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, citing concerns over its nuclear programme. Pickaxe Mountain (also called Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La) is located in Isfahan Province, Iran, in the Zagros Mountain Range. It houses a fortified underground nuclear facility believed to be over 100 metres beneath hard granite. The facility is intended for the production and assembly of advanced centrifuges.

Notes:
The two-day Telugu Mahotsavam was inaugurated at the Undavalli Caves in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. The Undavalli Caves are one of India’s finest examples of rock-cut architecture. They are located at Undavalli village in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, overlooking the Krishna River. The caves were built between the 4th and 5th centuries CE and are associated with the Gupta period. They were carved out of solid sandstone on a hillside. The largest cave has four storeys and houses a monolithic reclining idol of Lord Vishnu on the second floor.

Notes:
Recently, the Indian Army’s Red Shield Division conducted a 14-day joint security and counter-drone training programme for CISF personnel at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport is located in Agartala, Tripura. It is named after Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya, the former ruler of Tripura. The airport is an important centre for regional connectivity and logistics in Northeast India. Its location near the India-Bangladesh international border gives it strategic importance.

Notes:
Recently, a sudden surge of water and debris entered the under-construction Tail Race Tunnel of the 444 MW Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project (VPHEP) in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. The incident, suspected to be caused by a rain-saturated aquifer burst, left 7 workers dead and 3 missing.It is located is on the Alaknanda River, a major tributary of the Ganga River, in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. It is a 444-megawatt run-of-river scheme expected to generate 1,665 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually.

Notes:
US President Donald Trump has ordered US authorities to refer to Lake Ontario as “Lake America” in official US geographic naming. The change applies to US government usage only; the US cannot compel Canada to adopt the new name. Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes and is shared by the United States and Canada. The international border runs through Lake Ontario, with New York to the south and Ontario, Canada to the north. The name Ontario has Indigenous origins and is associated with the Huron word oniatarí, referring to a “lake of shining waters.”

Notes:
On 30 August 2026, US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, located in the Strait of Hormuz. Larak Island is a small Iranian island located in the Strait of Hormuz. It lies south of Hormuz Island, southeast of Bandar Abbas, and southeast of the eastern end of Qeshm Island. The island is strategically important because it is situated close to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s major maritime chokepoints. The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, providing a crucial maritime route for global energy transportation.

Notes:
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.