5 February 2026 Current Affairs

Highlights geopolitics of critical minerals (lithium, REEs).

Guatemala’s Volcán de Fuego Eruption

• One of Central America’s most active volcanoes.

• Useful for prelims:

  • Volcano types

  • Pacific Ring of Fire

  • Disaster geography

🔶 Digital Society, AI & Ethics

Spain Bans Social Media for Children under 16

• First in Europe, second globally after Australia.

• Raises questions on:

  • Digital rights

  • Child protection

  • Platform regulation

• Ethics & governance relevance.

Moltbook – AI Agents Social Platform

• AI-only social network experiment.

• Opens debates on:

  • AI autonomy

  • Human–AI interaction

  • Future of digital societies

• Essay-worthy topic (Ethics + Technology).

🔶 Personalities & Awards

Crafoord Prize 2026 – Veerabhadran Ramanathan

• Awarded for climate science contributions.

• Known as the “Nobel of Geosciences” .

• GS-III relevance: Climate science, global warming research.

Responsible Nations Index 2026

• Released by World Intellectual Foundation.

• Measures responsibility-based global leadership (not power or wealth).

• Likely future exam relevance in IR & ethics.