Current Affairs MCQs – Page 6 (Q51-60)

OPEC was founded in September 1960 at a conference in Baghdad, Iraq, bringing together oil-producing nations to counter falling prices set unilaterally by major Western oil companies. Its formation marked a turning point in producer countries gaining greater control over their own petroleum resources and pricing. 1970 is a tempting distractor since that decade, especially the 1973 oil embargo, is when OPEC's global influence became most dramatically visible. OPEC's headquarters moved from Baghdad to Vienna in 1965, and the organization now includes members across the Middle East, Africa and South America.

OPEC was founded by five countries in 1960: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, representing major oil-producing nations from both the Middle East and Latin America. The organization later expanded significantly, at various points including Qatar, Indonesia, Libya, the UAE, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo. Nine is a tempting distractor because OPEC's membership did grow to around that size within its first decade, but the founding group was smaller. Today OPEC coordinates production quotas among its members, often in coalition with non-OPEC producers as the wider group OPEC+.

The Group of Seven, or G7, consists of seven of the world's most advanced economies: the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. It emerged from informal finance ministers' meetings in the 1970s amid the global oil crisis and the collapse of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange-rate system. Russia was added in 1998, forming the G8, but was expelled in 2014 following its annexation of Crimea, returning the group to seven members. The European Union also participates in G7 summits as a non-enumerated member, and the group meets annually to coordinate economic and security policy.

The Arab League is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt, reflecting Egypt's historical role as a leading power in the Arab world and host of the League's founding conference. It was established to strengthen ties among its member states and coordinate their political, economic and cultural affairs across the Arab world. Riyadh, Amman and Baghdad are tempting distractors as other major Arab capitals, though the League's headquarters briefly moved to Tunis between 1979 and 1990 after Egypt's peace treaty with Israel. The Arab League now has 22 member states, including Palestine, and works closely with the African Union and OIC on regional issues.

The Arab League was founded in March 1945 in Cairo, just months before the United Nations itself was established, with an initial membership of six states: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Its founding charter aimed to strengthen political, economic and cultural cooperation among Arab nations while safeguarding their independence and sovereignty. 1948 is a tempting distractor since that year marked the first Arab-Israeli war, a major early crisis the League confronted shortly after its founding. The Arab League has since grown to 22 members, though Syria's membership was suspended for over a decade following its civil war.

The African Union is headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a city that has long served as a hub of pan-African diplomacy and hosts numerous continental institutions. It succeeded the Organisation of African Unity, adopting a stronger mandate focused on economic integration, peace and security and human rights across the continent. Cairo, Johannesburg and Nairobi are tempting distractors as other major African capitals or economic centers, but the AU's headquarters has remained in Addis Ababa since its founding. The AU's striking headquarters building, completed in 2012, was funded and constructed as a gift from China.

The African Union was established in 2002, formally succeeding the Organisation of African Unity, which had been founded in 1963 but was seen as increasingly ineffective at promoting economic integration. The transition was formalized through the Constitutive Act of the African Union, adopted in 2000 in Lome, Togo, and coming into force in 2001. 2000 is a tempting distractor because that is when the founding act was adopted, two years before the AU was actually launched at a summit in Durban, South Africa. The AU now has 55 member states, covering every recognized country on the African continent.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, was established in December 1950 by the UN General Assembly to help millions of Europeans displaced by World War II. Its original mandate was intended to last just three years, but the agency's work expanded as new refugee crises emerged across the globe. 1948 is a tempting distractor since that year saw the first Arab-Israeli war create a major early refugee crisis, though UNHCR was not formally created until two years later. UNHCR has since won the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and 1981, for its humanitarian work.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, joining the dense cluster of UN humanitarian and human-rights bodies based in that city. It was created in 1950 to protect and assist refugees, initially focused on those displaced by World War II in Europe, before its mandate expanded worldwide. Vienna, Rome and New York are tempting distractors as other major hubs for international agencies, but UNHCR's headquarters has always been in Geneva. UNHCR has won the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and 1981, recognizing its continued work assisting refugees globally.

The United Nations Development Programme is headquartered in New York City, alongside the main UN headquarters, reflecting its role as the UN's global development network coordinating anti-poverty and sustainable development work. UNDP operates in about 170 countries and territories, helping nations achieve the eradication of poverty and the reduction of inequalities as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Vienna, Geneva and Paris are tempting distractors as other major hubs for UN-linked agencies, but UNDP's headquarters has always been in New York. UNDP publishes the influential Human Development Index, ranking countries by life expectancy, education and income.