3 October 2026
A Russian air attack on Saturday 3 October hit the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro River in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The strike damaged the road surface and the trolleybus overhead cables, and traffic from the east to the west bank was blocked.
No casualties were reported.
The strike came a day after a different bridge was hit for the second successive day, forcing full or partial suspension of traffic across it and two other Dnipro bridges.
Klitschko held a city security council meeting on Friday and called the situation 'very dramatic'.
Bridge hit on 3 October:
Northern Bridge
Bridge hit the day before:
Southern Bridge
River crossed:
Dnipro
People commuting between the banks daily (analyst estimate):
about 500,000
Why it matters for exams: Attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Russia-Ukraine war are a regular theme in international-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Dnipro Dnipro River — The major river that runs through Kyiv and separates its eastern and western parts.
3 October 2026
G7 leaders announced on Friday 2 October that up to 100 million barrels of oil and diesel will be released from reserves to ease supply concerns.
The release begins immediately and lasts four months, coordinated by the International Energy Agency.
It includes a 'substantial release' of diesel within 20 days, with further diesel releases to be discussed as necessary.
Members agreed there will be no export restrictions on energy and energy products between G7 members.
The deal followed President Trump's threat to ban US diesel exports unless Europe released more of its own stocks; President Macron chaired the leaders' meeting.
Size of release:
up to 100 million barrels
Duration:
four months
Substantial diesel release:
within 20 days
Coordinating agency:
International Energy Agency
Why it matters for exams: Emergency stock releases, the IEA and the G7 are staple topics when oil prices and energy security are in the news.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
G7 Group of Seven — Advanced economies comprising the US, UK, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy and France, with the EU also represented at meetings.
IEA International Energy Agency — The body that coordinates the collective release of its members' emergency oil stocks.
3 October 2026
Spain's Congress on Friday 2 October rejected two decree-laws that the government had presented to tackle the housing crisis.
The first decree was defeated by 178 votes to 172 and the second by 184 to 166.
The decrees introduced initiatives to protect tenants in the rental market and needed parliamentary approval to remain in place.
They were a response to nationwide protests after 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was evicted from her flat when she could not pay a sharp rent increase.
The defeat raises pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has no congressional majority, to call a snap election not due until next summer.
First decree:
rejected 178 to 172
Second decree:
rejected 184 to 166
Eviction that sparked protests:
Maricarmen Abascal, 87
Election due:
next summer
Why it matters for exams: Decree-laws, parliamentary majorities and snap elections are core polity concepts, and housing is a live issue across Europe.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Decree-law Royal decree-law — An emergency government measure that needs parliamentary approval to remain in place.
Snap election Early general election — An election called before the scheduled date.
3 October 2026
Thousands of students protesting over education standards have disrupted more than 700 schools across France.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 735 of France's 3,700 schools were affected, and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 1,747 people were arrested on Friday 2 October.
The protests began the previous week in Paris and spread to cities including Montpellier, Nantes and Marseille.
Pupils object to a lack of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and run-down buildings.
The education ministry said at least 65 staff members were injured; Education Minister Édouard Geffray said the movement had been hijacked by non-students.
Schools affected:
735 of 3,700
Arrests on Friday:
1,747
Staff injured:
at least 65
Why it matters for exams: Youth protests and public-order responses in France are a standard current-affairs topic on European politics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
3 October 2026
Brazilians vote in the presidential election on Sunday 4 October.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, seeking re-election, faces Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup.
If neither candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, a runoff will be held on 25 October.
The US suspended consular services in Brazil from Friday 2 October citing security concerns, and Australia closed its embassy in Brasilia.
Brazil's federal police carried out search warrants in Sao Paulo and the Federal District but found no evidence corroborating the initially reported threat.
First-round vote:
4 October
Runoff, if no one passes 50 percent:
25 October
Candidates:
Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro
Jair Bolsonaro's sentence:
27 years
Why it matters for exams: Brazil is Latin America's largest country; runoff rules and election-day developments there are likely exam material.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Runoff Second-round election — A second vote held when no candidate passes the required share, here more than 50 percent.
3 October 2026
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea on Saturday 3 October.
The launch took place around 6:30 a.m. and the missile flew more than 700 kilometres.
Seoul's presidential national security office called the launches a violation of UN Security Council sanctions and asked Pyongyang to stop them.
Japan issued an emergency alert, and US Pacific Command said the launch posed no immediate threat to US personnel, territory or allies.
The launch came a day after Kim Yo Jong dismissed Seoul's demand for an apology over landmine blasts in the Demilitarised Zone that injured three South Korean soldiers.
Launch site:
Wonsan area
Distance flown:
more than 700 kilometres
Launch time:
about 6:30 a.m. on 3 October
Soldiers injured in DMZ blasts:
three
Why it matters for exams: North Korean launches and the UN sanctions regime on it are regular security-section topics.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
DMZ Demilitarised Zone — The heavily fortified 4-kilometre-wide border area between the two Koreas.
East Sea Sea of Japan — The name South Korea uses for the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.
3 October 2026
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung threatened unspecified 'further action' if Ukraine does not publicly apologise for revealing that two North Korean prisoners of war had been sent to the South.
Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed the transfer at the UN General Assembly last week.
Seoul says Ukraine had asked for the move to be kept secret; Zelensky's office says the two countries had no such agreement.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the row a 'diplomatic misunderstanding', which Lee rejected on X.
The two soldiers were among thousands of North Koreans supporting Russia in the war, and South Korea does not provide lethal weapons to countries in active war.
Prisoners of war sent to South Korea:
two North Korean soldiers
Where Zelensky disclosed it:
UN General Assembly
South Korea's demand:
a public apology from Ukraine
Why it matters for exams: Diplomatic rows linked to the Russia-Ukraine war and the Korean peninsula are recurring international-affairs topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
POW Prisoner of war — A combatant captured by the enemy during an armed conflict.
3 October 2026
The United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday 3 October that the co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 used a crash axe to attempt a 'terrorist attack' during the flight.
The Israel-bound flight from Dubai had 182 people on board when the attack happened on Wednesday.
The prosecutor general said the co-pilot also tried to take control of the plane.
Passengers and crew intervened to subdue the co-pilot and stabilise the plane, which plunged sharply.
UAE investigators are working to establish the full circumstances of the incident.
Flight:
flydubai FZ1073, Israel-bound from Dubai
People on board:
182
Weapon used:
crash axe
Statement by:
UAE prosecutor general
Why it matters for exams: Aviation security and cross-border investigations are recurring topics, and the flight links two states that normalised ties in 2020.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Crash axe Cockpit crash axe — A tool typically kept in the cockpit for use in emergencies.
Background
The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is comprised of a Preamble, 24 Articles and 3 Annexes — the Annex on Chemicals, the Verification Annex and the Confidentiality Annex. It prohibits the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer and use of chemical weapons by States Parties, which must also enforce that prohibition against persons within their jurisdiction. States Parties have agreed to destroy any stockpiles of chemical weapons they hold and the facilities that produced them, as well as chemical weapons they abandoned on the territory of other States Parties. The Convention creates a verification regime for certain toxic chemicals and their precursors, listed in Schedules 1, 2 and 3 in the Annex on Chemicals. A unique feature is the challenge inspection: any State Party in doubt about another State Party's compliance can request a surprise inspection, on the principle of 'any time, anywhere' inspections with no right of refusal. The OPCW records 193 States committed to the Convention and 100% of the chemical weapons stockpiles declared by possessor States verifiably destroyed.
Articles:
24
Annexes:
3
Schedules of chemicals:
Schedules 1, 2 and 3
States committed:
193
Declared stockpiles destroyed:
100%
Why it matters for exams: The challenge inspection rule and the Convention's structure of 24 Articles and 3 Annexes are the usual objective points.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CWC Chemical Weapons Convention — The treaty that bans an entire category of weapons of mass destruction.
OPCW Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — The body that implements the Convention and carries out its inspections.
Background
The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols are international treaties containing the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. There are four Geneva Conventions of 1949. They are supplemented by Protocol I and Protocol II, both of 1977, and Protocol III of 2005. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting — civilians, medics and aid workers — and those who can no longer fight, including the wounded, the sick, the shipwrecked and prisoners of war. The Conventions and their Protocols are at the core of international humanitarian law, the body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects. They contain stringent rules on what are known as grave breaches: those who commit grave breaches must be pursued and tried or extradited, whatever their nationality. The United Nations records that the Additional Protocols were concluded under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Geneva Conventions of 1949:
4
Additional Protocols:
3 (1977, 1977, 2005)
Body of law:
International humanitarian law
Why it matters for exams: How many Geneva Conventions there are, and when each Additional Protocol was concluded, are frequently asked in general studies papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IHL International humanitarian law — The law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects.
Background
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) entered into force on 29 December 1993. It has three main objectives. The first is the conservation of biological diversity. The second is the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity. The third is the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Convention's supreme governing body is the Conference of the Parties, supported by a Subsidiary Body on Implementation and a Subsidiary Body on Article 8(j). Its periodic flagship assessment is the Global Biodiversity Outlook, and the International Day for Biological Diversity is observed under it.
Entered into force:
29 December 1993
Main objectives:
3
Supreme governing body:
Conference of the Parties
Why it matters for exams: The three objectives of the CBD, and the year it came into force, are repeatedly asked in environment sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity — The global treaty on conserving biodiversity, using it sustainably and sharing its benefits.
Background
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003. Its information system is the Biosafety Clearing-House, through which Parties exchange information on living modified organisms. The Protocol covers handling, transport, packaging and identification, unintentional transboundary movements, socio-economic considerations, and public awareness and participation. The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress supplements the Cartagena Protocol, and the Protocol's governing body is the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol.
Adopted:
29 January 2000
Entered into force:
11 September 2003
Parent convention:
Convention on Biological Diversity
Information system:
Biosafety Clearing-House
Why it matters for exams: Which protocol covers biosafety and which covers benefit-sharing is a classic point of confusion in environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
LMO Living Modified Organism — An organism altered by modern biotechnology that the Protocol regulates in trade and transport.