UPSC Essentials | Daily subject-wise quiz : International Relations MCQs on Resolve Tibet Act, Gulf Cooperation Council and more (Week 63)

1. Qatar

2. Saudi Arabia

3. Yemen

4. Kuwait

5. Iraq

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1, 2 and 5 only

(b) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only

(c) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

(d) 1, 2 and 4 only

QUESTION 2

Consider the following pairs:

Country
Reason for being in the news

1
Argentina
Worst economic crises

2
Sudan
War between the country’s regular army and paramilitary forces

3
Turkey
Rescinded its membership of NATO

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched? (UPSC 2024)

(a) Only one pair

(b) Only two pairs

(c) All three pairs

(d) None of the pairs

QUESTION 3

The Resolve Tibet Act was recently in news. The act is passed by:

(a) China

(b) Nepal

(c) India

(d) United States

QUESTION 4

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I: Sumed pipeline is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments to Europe.

Statement-II: Sumed pipeline connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? (UPSC 2024)

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I

(b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I

(c) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect

(d) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

QUESTION 5

The city of Ruidoso was in the news due to deadly wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to flee. The place Ruidoso is located in:

(a) Argentina

(b) Mexico

(c) Cuba

(d) Guatemala

ANSWERS TO THE MCQs

1. (d)

FYI:

— The Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) 2023 study was revealed at the Lok Kerala Sabha, a state government-established venue for Keralites living abroad and in other states.

— The KMS 2023 anticipated that the number of emigrants from Kerala will be 2.2 million, slightly more than the 2.1 million registered in 2018. But the number of emigrants returning home has also increased, from 1.2 million in 2018 to 1.8 million in 2023.

— The preference for destinations beyond the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) has increased from 10.8% in 2018 to 19.5% in 2023.

— The aforementioned shift could be driven by an increase in student emigrants who do not select GCC nations for higher education. They account for 11.3% of all emigration from Kerala, with overall numbers nearly doubling since 2018 — from 129,763 to 250,000.

— Women are another group of emigrants who have witnessed an increase in their number and proportion, from 15.8% in 2018 to 19.1% by 2023.

— Around 41.8% of immigrants come from North Kerala, which is home to a huge number of migrants in GCC nations.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

2. (b)

FYI:

— NATO is a Western security alliance founded on April 4, 1949, with 12 founding members – Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

— Apart from the original 12, members include Greece and Turkey (1952); West Germany (1955; later as Germany); Spain (1982); the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999); Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004); Albania and Croatia (2009); Montenegro (2017); North Macedonia (2020); Finland (2023); and Sweden (2024).

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

3. (d)

FYI:

— The United States Congress passed the Promoting a Resolution to Tibet-China Dispute Act, better known as the Resolve Tibet Act.

— This act is the third notable piece of legislation that the US has taken regarding Tibet, following the Tibetan Policy Act or TPA (2002), and the Tibetan Policy & Support Act or the TPSA (2020).

— The Resolve Tibet Act authorises the use of funds to counter Chinese disinformation about Tibet “including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai Lama.”

— The act also challenges the Chinese contention that Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times. It urges China to engage in meaningful and direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives, as well as democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan community “without preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves differences.”

— The Resolve Tibet Act seeks to recognise and address the multi-faceted socio-cultural identity of the Tibetan people, in particular their “distinct historical, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity.”

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

4. (a)

FYI:

— According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait accounted for around 12% of world oil seaborne commerce in the first half of 2023 via the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline.

— The Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline are important routes for Persian Gulf crude oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to Europe and North America.

— The Suez Canal connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and is a significant chokepoint due to the high volume of energy commodities that pass through it.

— In 2017, total oil flows through the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline accounted for around 9% of total seaborne traded petroleum (crude oil and refined petroleum products), while LNG flows through the Suez Canal and the SUMED pipeline accounted for roughly 8% of global LNG trade.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: http://www.eia.gov)

5. (b)

FYI:

— President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for parts of southern New Mexico, freeing up funding and more resources as crews worked, under the threat of flooding and lightning, to battle a pair of deadly wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and forced thousands of people to flee.

— The declaration will help with recovery efforts including temporary housing, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property and other emergency work in Lincoln County and on lands belonging to the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

— Residents of the mountain community of Ruidoso quickly left their homes as the larger fire spread into nearby neighbourhoods.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 63)

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 63)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 63)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 63)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 62)