International Affairs Questions and Answers

Answer: D

In February 2021 a coup took place in Myanmar.

On 1 February 2021 the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw), led by Min Aung Hlaing, seized power, detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, and declared a state of emergency, overturning the result of the November 2020 election.

Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka had no coup at that time; Nepal faced a political crisis over the dissolution of its parliament, but that was not a military takeover.

Answer: B

The task force on blue economy is a collaboration between India and Norway.

The India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development was set up in 2020, following a 2019 agreement between the two prime ministers, to develop joint initiatives on the sustainable use of ocean resources, including marine pollution, ocean energy and fisheries.

Switzerland, Sweden and France are not India's partners in this task force.

Answer: B

The first G20 Summit was held in Washington D.C. (USA), 2008.

The G20 began in 1999 as a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors. During the global financial crisis it was raised to leaders' level, and the first summit, on financial markets and the world economy, was held in Washington D.C. in November 2008.

London hosted the second summit in April 2009, and Seoul hosted one in November 2010. Paris hosted no summit in 2010.

Answer: C

The World Health Organization was established on 07 April (1948).

The WHO's constitution, adopted in 1946, came into force on 7 April 1948, the date the organisation was formally established. That anniversary is observed every year as World Health Day. Its headquarters is in Geneva.

The other dates have no such connection: the WHO already existed by 1949, 1950 and 1951, so none of those can be its founding date.

Answer: B

Katalin Novak became the first female President of Hungary.

Katalin Novak (printed 'Catalin Novak'), a former minister for families, was elected President of Hungary by its National Assembly in March 2022, the first woman to hold the office.

Austria, Spain and Norway are not where she served: Spain and Norway are monarchies with no elected president, and Austria's presidents up to then had been men.

Answer: B

UNICEF's headquarters is in New York.

The United Nations Children's Fund, set up in 1946, has its headquarters in New York, close to the UN headquarters. It works for children's health, nutrition, education and protection in developing countries.

Geneva hosts the WHO and other UN bodies, Paris hosts UNESCO, and Rome hosts the FAO, but none of them is UNICEF's headquarters.

Answer: B

The movement was originally started by Tarana Burke.

Burke, an American activist working with young women of colour, began using the phrase 'Me Too' in 2006 on the social network Myspace, to build solidarity among survivors of sexual abuse. In October 2017, after the allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, actress Alyssa Milano urged women to reply 'me too' on Twitter, and the hashtag spread worldwide. Milano later credited Burke as the originator.

Uma Thurman, Ashley Judd and Angelina Jolie are actresses who spoke about harassment during the 2017 wave; Judd was among the first to accuse Weinstein on record. None of them started the movement in 2006.

Answer: D

Neither statement is correct, so the answer is Neither 1 nor 2.

ECOSOC has 54 members elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms, with about a third of the seats renewed each year. India, re-elected in June 2017, began a three-year term on 1 January 2018, not a five-year one, so statement 1 is wrong.

Statement 2 is wrong as well. Election to ECOSOC requires a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting in the General Assembly, not one-third of the total votes. India won with a large majority, well above that threshold.

Answer: A

The leader belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is Imran Khan.

The former Pakistan cricket captain founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) in 1996 and led it to victory in the general election of July 2018, after which he became Prime Minister.

The others belong to rival parties. Nawaz Sharif leads the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), while Asif Ali Zardari and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari lead the Pakistan Peoples Party founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Answer: C

Statements 1, 2 and 3 are correct, so the answer is Only 1, 2 and 3.

The 15th India-EU Summit, held virtually on 15 July 2020, adopted the India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025 to guide cooperation over five years (1) and a joint declaration on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy (2). The India-Euratom agreement on research and development cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy was concluded alongside the summit (3).

Statement 4 is not correct: the summit only welcomed the start of negotiations on a working arrangement between Europol and India's CBI. No agreement was signed, so options including 4 are wrong.