International Events (Part-I)

Total Questions: 50

1. Consider the following statements: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2023]

Statement-I : According to the United Nations' World Water Development Report, 2022', India extracts more than a quarter of the world's groundwater withdrawal each year.

Statement-II: India needs to extract more than a quarter of the world's groundwater each year to satisfy the drinking water and sanitation needs of almost 18% of world's population living in its territory.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I
(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I
(c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
(d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

Correct Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

Solution:According to United Nation's 'World Water Development Report 2022' India accounts nearly 26% of groundwater abstracted globally. The Asia Pacific region is the largest groundwater abstractor in the world, containing seven out of ten countries that extract most groundwater (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey).

These countries alone account for roughly 60% of the world's total groundwater withdrawal. Hence statement I is correct. On March, 2024 UN released 'World Water Development Report 2024' according to new report, today 2.2 billion people still live without access to safety managed drinking water and 3.5 billion lack access to safety managed sanitation.

2. Which one of the following organisation declared Varanasi its first Tourism and Cultural Capital in 2023? [U.P.R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2023]

(a) ASEAN
(b) Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO)
(c) UNESCO
(d) G-20

Correct Answer: (b) Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO)

Solution:Varanasi has been nominated as the first ever SCO Tourism and cultural capital during the period 2022-23 at the 22nd Meeting of Shanghai Cooperation organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of state in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had participated in the Summit. The nomination of Varanasi as the first ever SCO Tourism and cultural capital will promote tourism, cultural and humanitarian exchanges between India and the SCO member countries.

3. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below -

List-I	List-II
A. Jaya Varma Sinha	1. Author of "Tales from Banana Republic"
B. Manoje Nath	2. P.M. of Thailand
C. Srettha Thavisin	3. The first woman Chairperson of the Railway Board
D. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu	4. President of Maldives

Codes :

	A	B	C	D
(a)	3	2	1	4
(b)	4	1	2	3
(c)	2	1	3	4
(d)	3	1	2	4

Correct Answer: (d)

Solution:The correct match is follows as -

List-I	List-II
A. Jaya Varma Sinha	1. The first woman Chairperson of the Railway Board
B. Manoje Nath	2. Author of "Tales from Banana Republic"
C. Srettha Thavisin	3. P.M. of Thailand
D. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu	4. President of Maldives

Thus option (d) will be correct answer.

4. With reference to 'NET ZERO' goal for 2050, -which of the following statements is/are correct? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2021]

1. It means that a country will bring down its emissions to zero by 2050.

2. It means that a country's emissions will be compensated by the absorption and removal of green house gases from the atmosphere.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

Codes:

(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Correct Answer: (b) Only 2

Solution:In May 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) геleased its Net Zero Emission (NZE) Roadmap - named 'Net-Zero by 2050'.

What is Net Zero

• Net-Zero refers to a state in which greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

• The Paris Agreement underlines the need for net-zero, requiring states to 'achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century.

• To 'go net zero' is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or to ensure that any ongoing emissions are balanced by removals.

5. Given below are two statements, in which one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R) [U.P.R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2023]

Assertion (A): "Five Eyes" is an Intelligence Alliance of 5 countries including U.S.A., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Reason (R): They share intelligence inputs regarding threats to their countries' interests through a collective secret database called "Stone Ghost".

Select the correct answer using the code given below -

Code-

(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is correct explanation of (A).
(b) (A) is false but (R) is true.
(c) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not correct explanation of (A).
(d) (A) is true but (R) is false.

Correct Answer: (c) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not correct explanation of (A).

Solution:The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising nations including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U.S. These countries are parties to the multilateral UK-USA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperation in signal intelligence. The Five Eyes have became involved in ocean and maritime surveillance, scientific and defence intelligence analysis medical intelligence, geospatial intelligence, counter terrorism and the continuous sharing of intelligence products via a secret collective database known as 'Stone Ghost'. Thus, Assertion and Reason both are correct.

6. With reference to G-20 Summit 2023, which one of the following (Participating Countries - Participated Head) is not correctly matched? [U.P.R.O./A.R.O. (Pre) 2023]

(a) Brazil - Joko Widodo
(b) Australia - Anthony Albanese
(c) Canada - Justin Trudeau
(d) Argentina - Alberto Fernandez

Correct Answer: (a) Brazil - Joko Widodo

Solution:The Correct match is follows as:

Participating Countries	Participated Head
Brazil	Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Australia	Anthony Albanese
Canada	Justin Trudeau
Argentina	Alberto Fernandez

7. The Plain Language Act was passed by which of the following countries recently which requires Government officials to use simple and easily understandable English language in official documents and websites? [69th B.P.S.C. (Pre)2023]

(a) Australia
(b) Ireland
(c) New Zealand
(d) Germany

Correct Answer: (c) New Zealand

Solution:In October 2022, New Zealand has passed the Plain Language Bill, which requires bureaucrat to use simple easily understood language while communicating with the public. The act aims to "improve the effectiveness and accountability of the public service by requiring communication to be clear and accessible to the public."

8. To identify practical applications of artificial intelligence, "AI for Good Global Summit 2023" was recently held in which of the following countries? [Raj.P.C.S. (Pre)2023]

Correct Answer: (a) Switzerland

Solution:The Al for Good Global Summit 2023 took place on July 6-7, 2023 at the International Conference Centre Geneva (CICG) in Geneva, Switzerland. The Summit's focus is on the role of Al in helping the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals get back on track by 2030. The summit promotes Al to advance global development priorities including health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity, sustainable infrastructure and other global development priorities. The summit is organized by ITU in parternship with 40 UN Partner Agencies and co-convened with Switzerland.

9. Who among the following was the winner of Miss World -2021, which was held in March 2022 in Puerto Rico? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2022]

(a) Karolina Bielawska
(b) Toni-Ann Singh
(c) Olivia
(d) Sri Saini

Correct Answer: (a) Karolina Bielawska

Solution:Poland's Karolina Bielawska, on March 17, 2022 was crowned as the Miss World 2021 title at the 70th edition of the pageant at San Juan, Puerto Rico. Toni - Ann Singh of Jamaica who was titled as the Miss World was 2019, crowned her successor at the final. Krystyna Pysz Kova from Czech Republic won the coveted title Miss World 2024. (March 09, 2024).

10. Consider the following statements: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2023]

1. Recently, all the countries of the United Nations have adopted the first-ever compact for international migration, the 'Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM)'.

2. The objectives and commitments stated in the GCM are binding on the UN member countries.

3. The GCM addresses internal migration or internally displaced people also in its objectives and commitments.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None

Correct Answer: (d) None

Solution:The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is the first intergovernmental agreement, adopted under the auspices of the United Nations, to cover all dimensions of international migration in holistically and comprehensive manner. It was adopted at an intergovernmental conference on migration in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 10 December 2018. At the ceremony to adopt the text on 10 December, only 163 countries formally adopted it. Further, countries like Austria were critical of it and refrained from adopting it in 2018. Hence statement 1 is not correct.

The Global Compact for Migration is the first-ever UN global agreement on a common approach to international migration in all its dimensions. The global compact is non-legally binding. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

The Global Compact enumerates 23 objectives for State ac-tion, bolstered by specific commitments, that seek to address challenges related to today's migration. The GCM commitments and actions can be seen as a guide for States to meet their human rights obligations when designing migration governance measures to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities migrants face at different stages of migration and to create conducive conditions that empower all migrants to become active members of society.

Key commitments include: Strengthening evidence-based and human rights-based policy-making and public discourse on migration; Minimizing the adverse drivers of migration, including combatting poverty and discrimination and ad-dressing climate and disaster-related displacement; Ensuring migrants' rights to information and to a legal identity.

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