Daily Prelims MCQs — International Relations — 30th May 2025

Welcome to today’s handpicked set of Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) from the International Relations section — crafted specially for the UPSC Prelims!These questions aren’t just a quiz — they’re a smart way to see how current affairs connect with core concepts, just like UPSC asks in the exam.

Each question is based on recent news and backed by clear explanations to help you build strong links between dynamic events and static knowledge.

Today’s topics include: Financial Action Task Force (FATF), World Health Organization (WHO), ASEAN, Jabaliya, “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner swap, and more…

Use this as your daily revision boost to sharpen your understanding, stay exam-ready, and master how UPSC turns news into questions.

Click Here to read the Current Affairs Pointers (CAP) for January 2025- April 2025.

QUESTION 1

With reference to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), consider the following statements:

1. It is the global money-laundering and terror financing watchdog.

2. Currently, there is no country on the black list of FATF.

3. It recommends ensuring a global response to prevent organised crime, corruption and terrorism.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Answer (b)

Explanation:

• The FATF is the global money-laundering and terror financing watchdog. It is an inter-governmental organisation with 40 members (including Russia whose membership was suspended in 2023). Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• The agency “researches how money is laundered and terrorism is funded, promotes global standards to mitigate risks, and assesses whether countries are taking effective action,” according to its website.

• The FATF’s major role as a watchdog is to monitor how criminals and terrorists “raise, use, and move funds” as well as to “raise awareness about the latest money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing techniques”.

• Based on its findings, the FATF has issued a set of recommendations to “ensure a coordinated global response to prevent organised crime, corruption, and terrorism”. These assist countries in adhering to best practices for combating money laundering and terror funding, as well as prosecuting people who engage in these illicit activities. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

• The grey list, officially titled “Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring,” includes countries with severe flaws in their AML/CFT regimes but are actively working with the FATF to rectify them “within agreed-upon timeframes.” As the name implies, countries on the grey list are subject to additional scrutiny by the FATF. Currently, this list includes 24 countries.

• The black list, officially titled “High-Risk Jurisdictions Subject to a Call for Action,” includes countries with “serious strategic deficiencies” in their AML/CFT regimes. Currently, three countries are on the black list: North Korea, Myanmar, and Iran. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

QUESTION 2

With reference to the World Health Organisation, consider the following statements:

1. It is a UN agency.

2. It connects nations, partners and people to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health.

3. It was founded in 1958.

4. Recently, the member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO), including the United States, have adopted the pandemic treaty.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

Answer (b)

Explanation:

ü  Following more than three years of arduous negotiations, member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a legally binding treaty designed to tackle future pandemics better.

ü  The pandemic treaty, which was adopted without the United States, is only the second legally binding agreement in the WHO’s 75-year existence, following the 2003 tobacco control treaty. Hence, statement 4 is not correct.

ü  WHO, founded in 1948, is the United Nations agency that unites governments, partners, and people to promote health, keep the world safe, and protect the vulnerable, ensuring that everyone, everywhere, has access to the best possible health. Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct and statement 3 is not correct.

ü  All countries that are members of the United Nations may join WHO by approving its constitution. Other countries may be admitted as members once their applications are approved by a simple majority vote of the World Health Assembly.

QUESTION 3

The place ‘Jabaliya’ was in the news. It is situated in:

(a) Northern Gaza

(b) Jordan

(c) Syria

(d) Iraq

Answer (a)

Explanation:

• At least 14 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, according to local health officials.

• A strike in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, killed five more people, including two women and a child, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Local hospitals said five additional people died in other strikes across the territory.

QUESTION 4

With reference to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, consider the following statements:

1. It was established in 1967 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.

2. Brunei Darussalam was the founding member of ASEAN.

3. The ASEAN Secretariat is situated in Dhaka.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 only

(c) 2 and 3 only

(d) 3 only

Answer (b)

Explanation:

• ASEAN nations are among those most heavily affected by the U.S.-imposed tariffs. The U.S.–China trade war is dramatically disrupting production and trade patterns worldwide.

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed on August 8, 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by ASEAN’s Founding Fathers: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN on January 7, 1984, followed by Vietnam on July 28, 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on July 23, 1997, and Cambodia on April 30, 1999, to form what is now ASEAN’s ten member states. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

• The ASEAN Charter provides ASEAN with legal standing and an institutional structure, laying the groundwork for the establishment of the ASEAN Community. The ASEAN Charter came into effect on December 15, 2008, in the presence of ASEAN Foreign Ministers at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

QUESTION 5

Recently, which of the following groups of countries has completed a “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner swap?

(a) India and China

(b) Ukraine and Russia

(c) Sudan and Egypt

(d) Niger and Burkina Faso

Answer (b)

Explanation:

• Ukraine and Russia have concluded the largest “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner transfer since the war began more than three years ago. The three-day exchange took place in the midst of intense Russian bombings on Ukrainian cities.

• The prisoner swap was the only tangible conclusion of the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in almost three years, which took place on May 16 and yielded no cease-fire agreement. Ukraine, the United States, and other Western governments have asked for a 30-day cease-fire with no preconditions to enable for peace talks.

Previous Daily UPSC Prelims MCQs Set

29th May 2025 - History and Culture MCQs

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