Day-2

Topic- IR : MCQ Based on May 2020 Current Affairs  

Part-2

Answer 

11. Consider the following statements about Travel Bubble:

1. The bubble would allow the members of the group to restart trade ties with each other and open travel and tourism.
2. Criteria for entering is one should not have travelled outside the member countries of the travel bubble, in the past 14 days
3. Travel bubbles are favoured by developed and huge countries.

Which of the given statements are correct?

      (a) 1, 2 and 3

      (b) 1 and 2

      (c) 2 and 3

      (d) 3 only

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is correct: bubble would allow the members of the group to restart trade ties with each other and open travel and tourism
2. Statement 2 is correct: One should not have travelled outside the member countries of the travel bubble, in the past 14 days as per criteria.
3. Statement 3 is incorrect: Travel bubbles are favored by smaller countries

 

For More Information Read the following:

Travel Bubble

• Creating a travel bubble involves reconnecting countries or states which have shown a good level of success in containing the Covid-19 pandemic domestically.
• Such a bubble would allow the members of the group to restart trade ties with each other and open travel and tourism.
• According to a report, potential travel bubbles among better-performing countries around the world would account for around 35% of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• Travel bubbles are favored by smaller countries because they are likely to benefit after being able to trade again with larger partners.

Criteria for Entering the Travel Bubble includes the following

1. People from the outside countries, willing to join the bubble corridor, will have to go into isolation for 14 days.
2. One should not have travelled outside the member countries of the travel bubble, in the past 14 days.
3. One should not be infected with coronavirus and should not have come in contact with anyone who has been coronavirus infected.

• Australia and New Zealand reached an agreement to form a travel bubble, once it becomes safe to operate flights between them.
• Once it opens, the trans-Tasman zone (around Tasman Sea) will allow travel without a quarantine period.
• Recently, the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania started a travel bubble to help put their economies back on track after Covid-19 lockdowns.
• In the Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania travel bubble, residents would be able to travel freely by rail, air and sea without quarantine measures.

 

12. Consider the following statements about Oslo Accords:

1. It is a set of agreements between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
2. The Oslo Accords created a Palestinian Authority tasked with limited self-governance of parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip
3. The Oslo Accords marked the start of the Oslo process, a peace process aimed at achieving a peace treaty between Israel and Palestine

Which of the given statements are correct?

      (a) 1 and 2

      (b) 2 only

      (c) 3 only

      (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is correct: The Oslo Accords are a set of agreements between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
2. Statement 2 is correct: The Oslo Accords created a Palestinian Authority tasked with limited self-governance of parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
3. Statement 3 is correct: The Oslo Accords marked the start of the Oslo process, a peace process aimed at achieving a peace treaty between Israel and Palestine

 

For More Information Read the following:

Abbas says Israel’s annexation plan has derailed Oslo accord

Why in News ?

• Raising the stakes over Israel’s drive to annex land the Palestinians have long claimed, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority declared it free of its commitments under the Oslo peace process, including security understandings that have protected Israelis and preserved the Authority’s political hold over the occupied West Bank.

Details:

• The Oslo accords and other agreements in the 1990s created the Palestinian Authority and govern its political, economic and security relations with Israel.
• “The Palestinian Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are no longer committed to all signed agreements and understandings with the Israeli government and the American government, including the security commitments,” Abbas said.

• • He said Israel would now have to “uphold responsibilities before the international community as the occupying power.”
  • Abbas said his move was a response to the new Israeli government’s push to annex large portions of the West Bank.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to annex the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements in the West Bank in line with President Donald Trump’s Middle East plan, which overwhelmingly favours Israel and was rejected by the Palestinians.
• Netanyahu formed a new Israeli government in May 2020 with his chief rival, Benny Gantz, following three elections and more than a year of gridlock.
• The coalition agreement allows Netanyahu to present an annexation proposal to the government as soon as July 1, 2020.
• Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 war.
• The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state, but the Trump plan would leave them with scattered clusters of enclaves surrounded by Israel.
• Most of the international community is opposed to annexation, which many fear would make it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state.
• The two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the decades-long conflict.
• The Palestinian Authority governs and provides basic services to populated areas of the occupied West Bank. Dismantling it would risk chaos and leave tens of thousands of civil servants unemployed.
• But by referring to the “state of Palestine,” Abbas appeared to leave room for it to continue in its present form under a different, and contested, name.
• Abbas has always been opposed to violence, meaning Palestinian security forces would likely continue to act against any armed groups, even without formal coordination with Israel.

Oslo Accords:

• The Oslo Accords are a set of agreements between the Government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
• The first Oslo Accord was signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993 and the second Oslo Accord was signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995.
• The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement was signed in Washington in 1995, subsequent to the Oslo Accords. The Oslo Accords marked the start of the Oslo process, a peace process aimed at achieving a peace treaty between Israel and Palestine.
• The Oslo Accords created a Palestinian Authority tasked with limited self-governance of parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The agreement set out the scope of Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza. It even acknowledged the PLO as Israel’s partner in permanent-status negotiations and other questions.
• The most important questions are related to the borders of Israel and Palestine, Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, Israel’s military presence in and control over remaining territories after Israel’s recognition of Palestinian autonomy, and the Palestinian right of return. The Oslo Accords, however, did not create a Palestinian state.
• The Oslo Accords are based on the 1978 Camp David Accords.

 

Q.13. Which of the following countries are called Baltic countries:

1. Estonia
2. France
3. Lithuania
4. Latvia

Which of the given statements are correct?

       (a)1, 3 and 4

      (b) 2, 3 and 4

      (c) 2 and 4

      (d) All of the bove

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

The statement (1), (3) and 4 are correct

For More Information Read the following:

Baltic countries

• Baltic countries, include the countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.

• The Baltic States are bounded on the west and north by the Baltic Sea, which gives the region its name, on the east by Russia, on the southeast by Belarus and on the southwest by Poland and an exclave of Russia.
• In 1991, their then popularly elected governments declared independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) with overwhelming support.
• All three of them are members of the European Union (EU) and are sparsely populated.
• India and Baltic countries have historical connect and common linguistic roots.
• The cutting edge technology and innovation ecosystems of the Baltic countries complement India’s huge market and appetite for these technologies.

 

 

14. Consider the following statements about Kalapani Dispute

1. The source of river Mahakali is at the heart of the dispute between India and Bhutan.
2. The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.
3. The 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, signed between British India and Nepal, defined river Mahakali as the western border of Nepal.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

      (a) 1 and 2

      (b) 2 and 3

      (c) 1 and 3

      (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is incorrect: The source of river Mahakali is at the heart of the dispute between the countries.(India and Nepal)
2. Statement 2 is correct: The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India
3. Statement 3 is correct: The 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, signed between British India and Nepal, defined river Mahakali as the western border of Nepal

 

For More Information Read the following:

 

Nepal’s new map claims territories of India

• Kathmandu has unveiled a new political map that claims Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh of Uttarakhand as part of its sovereign territory.

 Information:

• Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory – India as part of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district and Nepal as part of Dharchula district.
• India recently inaugurated a road section in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand.
• Nepal expressed regret after the Defence Minister inaugurated the link road and objected to the road as Lipulekh, through which the link passes, is considered by Nepal as part of its own territory.

• The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India.
• Nepali diplomatic sources maintain that the region of Kalapani and the contiguous areas to the east of the river Kali and Susta on the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border are the only parts of the nearly 1,800-km boundary that remain unresolved. The area of Susta near Gorakhpur can also be noted in the new map.
• Kathmandu says India has encroached upon this area and wants New Delhi to evacuate its population from the location.

Kalapani Dispute:

• Kalapani is a 372 sq km area at the China-Nepal-India tri-junction.

• The source of river Mahakali is at the heart of the dispute between the countries.
• The 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, signed between British India and Nepal, defined river Mahakali as the western border of Nepal. River Mahakali has several tributaries, all of which merge at Kalapani.
• India claims that the river begins in Kalapani as this is where all its tributaries merge. But Nepal claims that it begins from Lipu Lekh Pass, the origin of most of its tributaries.
• Nepal has laid claim to all areas east of the Lipu Gad — the rivulet that joins the river Kali on its border, a tri-junction with India and China.

Politics of Kalapani:

• The origin of the dispute goes back to the early 19th century; politically it emerged as a contentious issue between India and Nepal after the two countries signed the Treaty of Mahakali in 1996.
• The two countries had formed the Joint Technical Boundary Committee in 1981 to resolve the dispute. Though the committee managed to resolve a large part of the dispute, they failed to reach a final settlement.
• Eventually, the issue was referred to the foreign secretaries of the two countries and they have been trying to find a resolution to the dispute.
• Strategically, Lipulekh pass in Kalapani serves as an important vantage point for India to keep an eye on Chinese movements.
• Since 1962, Kalapani has been manned by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

India’s Reaction:

India has reacted to the latest development saying that this unilateral act is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue and such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India.

 

15. Consider the following statements about Treaty of Sugauli:

1. After the treaty the Nepalese kingdom stretched from the Sutlej river in the west to the Teesta river in the East.
2. The Survey of India maps since the 1870s showed the area of Lipu Lekh down to Kalapani as part of British India.
3. India was the part of the 1816 when the Treaty of Sugauli was concluded.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

      (a) 1 and 2

      (b) 2 only

      (c) 3 only

      (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is incorrect: Before the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, the Nepalese kingdom stretched from the Sutlej river in the west to the Teesta river in the East.
2. Statement 2 is correct: The Survey of India maps since the 1870s showed the area of Lipu Lekh down to Kalapani as part of British India.
3. Statement 3 is incorrect: India did not exist in 1816 when the Treaty of Sugauli was concluded

 

For More Information Read the following:

Treaty of Sugauli

• Nepal has said that its new official map is based on historic documents dating back to the early 19th century and cannot be termed artificial. Nepal has said that its position is based on the historical documents dating back to the Treaty of Sugauli of 1816, which demarcated the shape of present-day Nepal.

Background –

• The British used the Lipu Lekh pass for trade with Tibet and China. The Survey of India maps since the 1870s showed the area of Lipu Lekh down to Kalapani as part of British India. Both the Rana rulers of Nepal and the Nepalese Kings accepted the boundary and did not raise any objection with the government of India after India’s Independence.
• As a reward for the military help rendered by Jung Bahadur Rana in quelling the 1857 uprising, the areas of Nepalgunj and Kapilvastu were restituted to Nepal soon thereafter. The British did not return any part of Garhwal or Kumaon, including the Kalapani area, to Nepal.
• India did not exist in 1816 when the Treaty of Sugauli was concluded. And India’s present borders, not just with Nepal, but with many of its other neighbours, were drawn by the erstwhile British regime. India inherited the boundaries of British India. It cannot now unravel the historic past.

About ‘Treaty of Sugauli’ –

• Before the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, the Nepalese kingdom stretched from the Sutlej river in the west to the Teesta river in the East. Nepal lost the Anglo-Nepalese War and the resulting Treaty limited Nepal to its present territories.
• The Sugauli Treaty stated that “[t]he Rajah of Nipal [Nepal] hereby cedes to the Honourable [the] East India Company in perpetuity all the under-mentioned territories”, including “the whole of the lowlands between the Rivers Kali and Rapti.”
• It elaborated further that “[t]he Rajah of Nipal [Nepal] renounces for himself, his heirs, and successors, all claim to or connection with the countries lying to the west of the River Kali and engages never to have any concern with those countries or the inhabitants there of.”
• The present controversy has arisen since the Nepalese contest that the tributary that joins the Mahakali river at Kalapani is not the Kali river. Nepal now contends that the Kali river lies further west to the Lipu Lekh pass.

 

16. Consider the following statements about G7:

1. The G7 or the Group of 7 is a group of the seven most advanced economies as per the United Nations.
2. The countries including Canada, USA, UK, France, Russian, Germany, and Japan are the part of this summit.
3. The G7 summit is world’s largest summit on the basic of economy, population and most forwarded countries.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

      (a) 1, 2 and 3

      (b) 2 and 3

      (c) 1 and 3

      (d) None of the above

Answer: (d)

Explanation:

1.Statement 1 is incorrect: The G7 or the Group of 7 is a group of the seven most advanced economies as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

2. Statement 2 is incorrect: The seven countries are Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Italy.
3. Statement 3 is incorrect: read the following.

 

For More Information Read the following:

Trump suggests holding in-person G7 summit

• S. President Donald Trump said that he is considering hosting world leaders for the annual G7 summit at his Camp David retreat despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

G7:

• The G7 or the Group of 7 is a group of the seven most advanced economies as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• The seven countries are Canada, USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Italy.
• G7 countries take turns organizing the annual gathering.

 

17. Open Skies Treaty (OST) sometimes seen in news it is related to which of the following?

      (a) To conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over the territory of treaty countries.

      (b) To oppose armed forces that holding the wrong motives 

      (c) To stop the forefronts which are emerging as a national threat

      (d) To measures the all agenda of the signatory nations.

Answer: (a)

Explanation:

All the options are incorrect except (a)

For More Information Read the following:

Will exit Open Skies Treaty, announces U.S.

• The U.S. has stated that it will exit the Open Skies Treaty (OST).

• The Open Skies Treaty was signed in 1992 and came into effect in 2002.
• The agreement allows its 34 signatories to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over the territory of treaty countries to monitor signatories’ arms development activities.

• The U.S.’s exit from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty and its imminent departure from the OST have raised the strong possibility that the U.S. administration may not renew the New Start Treaty, an agreement that caps Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenal. The New Start Treaty is due to expire in February 2021.
• The U.S. administration has been worried that extending New Start without including China would help China increase its nuclear arsenal.
• The U.S. intends to establish a new arms control regime which would include China.

 

18. Consider the following statements:

1. China has introduced a proposal to impose a security law in Hong Kong to suppress the semi-autonomous city’s pro-democracy movement.
2. Hong Kong enjoys liberties unseen on the mainland, as well as its own legal system and trade status.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

      (a) 1 only

      (b) 2 only

      (c) 1 and 2

      (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is correct: China has introduced a proposal to impose a security law in Hong Kong to suppress the semi-autonomous city’s pro-democracy movement.
2. Statement 2 is correct: Hong Kong enjoys liberties unseen on the mainland, as well as its own legal system and trade status

 

For More Information Read the following:

 

China warns U.S. of retaliation if punished for Hong Kong law

• China has threatened counter-measures against the U.S. if it was punished for plans to impose a sedition law on Hong Kong. Hong Kong has become the latest flashpoint in soaring tensions between the world’s two super powers which China has likened to “the brink of a new Cold War”.

Background:

• China has introduced a proposal to impose a security law in Hong Kong to suppress the semi-autonomous city’s pro-democracy movement.
• Beijing plans to pass a new security law for Hong Kong that bans treason, subversion and sedition after months of massive, often-violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.
• The business hub’s security chief hailed it as a new tool that would defeat “terrorism”.

Details:

• Beijing portrays the city’s protests as a foreign-backed plot to destabilise the motherland and says other nations have no right to interfere in how the international business hub is run.
• Protesters say they are motivated by years of Beijing chipping away at the city’s freedoms since it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.
• Hong Kong enjoys liberties unseen on the mainland, as well as its own legal system and trade status.

Hong Kong’s Concerns:

• Of particular concern is a provision allowing Chinese security agents to operate in Hong Kong, with fears it could spark a crackdown on those voicing dissent against China’s communist rulers.
• The proposed law would also bypass Hong Kong’s own legislature.

U.S. sanctions:

• Meanwhile, in a separate development that signals rising tensions between China and the U.S., Beijing vowed to shield a Chinese government institute and eight companies sanctioned by the U.S. over alleged human rights violations in the restive Xinjiang region, where China is accused of mass repression of mostly Muslim minorities.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the sanctions saying they were triggered by human rights abuses against Uighurs and other minority groups in Xinjiang in China’s far northwest.
• Beijing urged Washington to reverse the decision, saying the Commerce Department had stretched the concept of national security to meddle in China’s affairs and harm China’s interests.

 

19. Consider the following statements about Grand Renaissance Dam:

1. The Grand Rennaissance Dam hydropower projectbeing constructed jointly by Ethiopia and Somalia.
2. Egypt has objected to these plans and has proposed a longer timeline for the project.
3. Sudan is hardly a passive observer caught in the conflict just because of its location.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

      (a) 1 and 2

      (b) 2 and 3

      (c) 3 only

      (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b)

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is incorrect: the Grand Rennaissance Dam hydropower projectbeing constructed by Ethiopia.
2. Statement 2 is correct: Egypt has objected to these plans and has proposed a longer timeline for the project.
3. Statement 3 is correct: Sudan is hardly a passive observer caught in the conflict just because of its location.

 

 

For More Information Read the following:

Grand Renaissance Dam

• Africa’s longest river, Nile has been at the centre of a decade-long complex dispute involving several countries in the continent who are dependent on the river’s waters.

What is the dispute?

• When completed, the Grand Rennaissance Dam hydropower project being constructed by Ethiopia, will be Africa’s largest. While the main waterways of the Nile run through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt, its drainage basin runs through other countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia.
• Ethiopia’s mega project on the Nile may just allow the country to control the river’s waters, and this is essentially what concerns Egypt because it lies downstream.
• Egypt has objected to these plans and has proposed a longer timeline for the project because it does not want the water level of the Nile to dramatically drop as the reservoir fills with water in the initial stages.
• For the past four years, tripartite talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have been unable to reach agreements. Egypt isn’t alone in its concerns. Sudan is hardly a passive observer caught in the conflict just because of its location. It too believes Ethiopia having control over the river through the dam may affect its own water supplies.

Background –

• Ethiopia began construction of the dam in 2011 on the Blue Nile tributary that runs across one part of the country.
• Egypt has objected to the construction of this dam and in Sudan has found itself caught in the midst of this conflict.
• Due to the importance of the Nile as a necessary water source in the region, observers are concerned that this dispute may evolve into a full-fledged conflict between the two nations. The US has stepped in to mediate.

River Nile

• Nile is the longest river in the world and is called the father of African rivers.
• It has a length of about 4,132 miles and drains an area estimated at 1,293,000 square miles.
• It rises south of the Equator and flows northward through northeastern Africa to drain into the Mediterranean Sea.
• The Nile River forms an arcuate delta as it empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
• Deltas with triangular or fan-shape are called arcuate (arc-like) deltas.
• The Nile is formed by three principal streams: the Blue Nile, the Atbara, and the White Nile.
• Drainage countries – Parts of Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and the cultivated part of Egypt.

20. The armistice agreement was recently seen in news it is related to:

      (a) Make the strong invisible boundary lines

      (b) Help the nations to follow peaceful path

      (c) The end the 1950-53 Korean war

      (d) End border terrorism

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

The option (c) is correct

For More Information Read the following:

U.N. says both Koreas violated armistice deal

• The U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) said both North and South Korea violated the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War and governs their shared border, when their troops exchanged gunfire on May 3, 2020.

Details:

• The recent gunfire exchange was the first shooting inside the Korean Demilitarized Zone in about 2½ years.
• The recent incident came amid a deadlock in negotiations between North Korean and US officials on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme.
• About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea.
• Affairs in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is jointly overseen by North Korea and the US-led UN Command.
• The DMZ was established as a buffer at the end of the Korean War.
• Unlike its name, the DMZ is the world’s most heavily fortified border, guarded by mines, barbed-wire fences and combat troops on both sides.
• The two sides remain technically at war, since fighting in the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953 that was never replaced with a peace treaty.