1 October 2026
The UN General Assembly met on Thursday to examine a Security Council veto cast by China and Russia.
The vetoed draft was backed by the United States and concerned a sanctions panel of experts on Iran's nuclear facilities.
The Assembly's veto initiative, established in 2022, requires it to meet within 10 working days of any veto in the Council.
The permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States; a vote against by any one of them makes a resolution fail.
Assembly President Khalilur Rahman will send a summary of the debate back to the Security Council.
Veto cast by:
China and Russia
Assembly must meet within:
10 working days
Veto initiative established:
2022
Assembly President:
Khalilur Rahman
Why it matters for exams: UN Security Council veto powers and the General Assembly's 2022 veto initiative are staple UN-structure questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Veto Latin: 'I forbid' — The power of a permanent Security Council member to block a resolution by voting against it.
Panel of experts — A small group of independent experts that monitors how UN sanctions are applied.
1 October 2026
The International Labour Organization released a preliminary assessment of the late-August flash floods in northern Nepal on Thursday.
The flooding was triggered by a glacier collapse on the border with China; authorities say more than 1,450 people were killed and 5,786 are still missing.
Some 21,400 employed people live within four kilometres of the flood footprint.
The Rasuwa and Tatopani routes accounted for some 22 per cent of Nepal's imports from China over the past year, and Rasuwa handled nearly half of exports to China.
The ILO warns that informal, daily-wage and self-employed workers are at heightened risk.
Killed (authorities):
more than 1,450
Still missing:
5,786
Workers near flood footprint:
some 21,400
Imports from China via Rasuwa and Tatopani:
some 22 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Himalayan glacier hazards, UN agency reports and Nepal-China trade routes are recurring themes in geography and current-affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ILO International Labour Organization — A UN agency that sets labour standards and studies employment.
Informal employment — Work without a formal contract, steady wages or social protection.
29 September 2026
A key transit centre for Ebola patients burned down in Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday evening, the UN reports.
It stood in the Kigonze camp, which had sheltered some 19,000 people fleeing violence and now lies abandoned.
Thousands fled Kigonze after reports that soldiers entered the site searching for weapons.
More than 3,000 people also fled the Rhoe displacement camp in Djugu territory after clashes intensified on 27 September.
Fighting in Masisi in North Kivu has displaced more than 24,000 people since mid-September.
A UN response official said losing a centre means losing capacity and investment, and that patients do not get the care they need.
Province:
Ituri
People sheltered at Kigonze:
some 19,000
Fled Rhoe camp:
more than 3,000
Displaced in Masisi since mid-September:
more than 24,000
Why it matters for exams: Disease outbreaks in conflict zones and humanitarian access are common themes in international and health current affairs.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Ebola Ebola virus disease — A severe, often fatal viral disease spread by contact with body fluids.
OCHA UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — The UN body that coordinates emergency humanitarian response.
4 October 2026
Latvia voted on Saturday in elections to the 15th Saeima, its 100-seat single-chamber parliament.
Provisional counts with nearly all stations reporting give Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs's United List 42 seats.
The other lists are Latvia First 17, Sovereign Power/New Latvians 14, National Alliance 11, Progressives 9 and New Unity 7.
The Greens and Farmers Union, a coalition partner, fell short of the 5 per cent threshold at 4.5 per cent.
An LSM exit poll had put the United List at 35.6 per cent; Kulbergs ruled out a coalition with Latvia First.
Saeima seats:
100
United List (provisional):
42 seats
Latvia First (provisional):
17 seats
Entry threshold:
5 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Baltic election results and proportional representation with an entry threshold are useful for comparative-politics and world-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Saeima — The unicameral parliament of Latvia.
Electoral threshold — The minimum vote share a party needs to win seats.
4 October 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in Kyiv by train on Sunday morning, 4 October, with Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and a delegation of leading German economic figures.
He said 'Ukraine will need all our support in the coming weeks' as winter approaches and Russian attacks intensify.
'A fifth winter of war is about to begin,' he said, and added that he would tell President Zelenskyy: 'You can count on our help.'
He also said: 'If Russia is not stopped, it will turn its war machine against us sooner or later.'
In recent days Russia has attacked several bridges across the Dnipro river in Kyiv, as well as energy infrastructure.
It is the fourth visit to Ukraine by a German chancellor since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.
Arrived:
Sunday 4 October, by train
Accompanied by:
Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and German business leaders
German chancellor visits to Ukraine since February 2022:
fourth
Russian strikes in recent days:
several Dnipro bridges and energy infrastructure in Kyiv
Why it matters for exams: The Russia-Ukraine war and European defence support are among the most frequently asked world-affairs topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Dnipro River — The river that divides Kyiv into western and eastern banks.
4 October 2026
Bosnia and Herzegovina holds general elections on Sunday, 4 October.
More than 3.4 million people are eligible to vote, and the Central Election Commission registered 75 political parties and four independent candidates.
Voters choose 14 governments and three presidency members, one each for Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
The Bosniak and Croat members are elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Serb member from Republika Srpska.
The state parliament has a 42-member House of Representatives and a House of Peoples of 15 delegates, five from each group.
The system dates to the Dayton agreement of November 1995; official results will be known no later than 20 November.
Polling day:
4 October
Eligible voters:
more than 3.4 million
Parties and independents:
75 parties, four independents
House of Peoples:
15 delegates, five per group
Why it matters for exams: Power-sharing after the Dayton agreement is a favourite topic for questions on constitutions and ethnic conflict.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Dayton agreement — The 1995 peace deal that ended the Bosnian war and set up its power-sharing system.
Constituent peoples — The three groups the constitution names as equal: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
Republika Srpska — The Serb-run entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina.
4 October 2026
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree setting legislative elections for 28 November 2026.
The last legislative elections in the West Bank and Gaza were held in 2006, so this will be the first such vote in two decades.
Al Jazeera reports that about 1.24 million Palestinians in Gaza will be eligible to vote.
Polling day:
28 November 2026
Last legislative election:
2006
Eligible voters in Gaza:
about 1.24 million
Why it matters for exams: Election timetables and the Palestinian electoral process are useful for West Asia and comparative-politics questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Legislative elections — Elections to choose a country's lawmaking body.
Presidential decree — An order issued by a president that has legal force.
4 October 2026
An in-depth historical study commissioned by King Willem-Alexander was presented on Friday, 2 October, and looks at the House of Orange-Nassau's colonial role.
The project was led by historian Gert Oostindie, and it was a three-year study covering the period from 1600 to the present.
The study concluded that the House of Orange 'shares responsibility for the survival over the centuries of the Dutch slave trade and slavery'.
Al Jazeera reports the king called it 'a painful and confronting conclusion'.
Presented to the king:
2 October
Lead researcher:
Gert Oostindie
Study length:
three years
Period covered:
1600 to the present
Why it matters for exams: Colonial history, slavery and reparations debates are recurring themes in world-history and current-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
House of Orange-Nassau — The Dutch royal family.
Reparations — Payments or other measures meant to make amends for historic harm.
4 October 2026
DW reports that the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan reignited in mid-September after months of comparative calm.
On 18 September an attack on a police compound in Kohat, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, took place; a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) took responsibility for it.
Pakistan says Afghanistan's Taliban government gives the TTP a safe haven; Afghanistan denies this.
Clashes at the border and Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan followed, including in Paktika and Kunar provinces.
On Thursday night, 1 October, Pakistan struck targets in Afghanistan. The Taliban say between nine and 10 civilians were killed; Pakistan says the strike killed 22 militants. DW says the results of the attack are disputed.
The border follows the Durand Line, drawn in 1893 by a British diplomat and an Afghan emir.
Kohat attack:
18 September
Pakistan's figure for the early-October strike:
22 militants killed
Taliban's figure for the early-October strike:
nine to 10 civilians killed
Durand Line drawn:
1893
Why it matters for exams: South Asian security, the TTP and the Durand Line are staple international-relations topics for UPSC and PSC papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
TTP Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — A Pakistani militant group, separate from but linked to the Afghan Taliban.
Durand Line — The 1893 line that now forms the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Background
The World Bank Group has five organizations: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
IBRD, created in 1944 to help Europe rebuild after World War II, provides loans, guarantees and advisory services to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries.
IDA offers grants and low-interest loans to low-income countries; IBRD and IDA together form the World Bank.
IFC encourages the growth of the private sector in developing countries.
MIGA provides political risk insurance (guarantees) for projects in developing member countries, while ICSID is, in the World Bank's own description, the world's leading institution devoted to international investment dispute settlement.
Institutions in the Group:
5
Institutions that form the World Bank:
IBRD and IDA
Political risk insurance:
MIGA
Investment dispute settlement:
ICSID
Why it matters for exams: The five World Bank Group institutions and what each does are standard questions in economy and international-organisation papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — The World Bank Group's lender to middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries.
IDA International Development Association — Gives grants and low-interest loans to low-income countries.
IFC International Finance Corporation — Promotes private-sector growth in developing countries.
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency — Insures projects in developing member countries against political risk.
ICSID International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes — The World Bank Group institution devoted to international investment dispute settlement.
Background
The European Commission is the EU's politically independent executive arm and is alone responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation.
It is the sole EU institution tabling laws for adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
The Parliament, directly elected by EU voters every 5 years, passes EU laws together with the Council, based on Commission proposals.
The Parliament elects the Commission President and approves the Commission as a body; it can also vote a motion of censure, obliging the Commission to resign.
The Commission draws up annual budgets for approval by the Parliament and Council, and enforces EU law together with the Court of Justice.
Right to propose EU laws:
European Commission alone
Adopts EU laws:
Parliament and Council
Parliament elected:
Directly, every 5 years
Why it matters for exams: Which EU body proposes, which adopts and which can dismiss the Commission is a frequent regional-organisation question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Council of the EU Council of the European Union — The body of national ministers that adopts EU laws together with the Parliament.
Motion of censure Parliament's vote of no confidence in the Commission — If passed, it obliges the Commission to resign.
Background
Alfred Nobel's will turned his remaining assets into a fund whose interest was to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, 'have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind'.
The interest was to be divided into five equal parts: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.
In the will's wording, the physics and chemistry prizes are awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences, physiological or medical achievements by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and literature by the Academy in Stockholm.
The peace prize goes to the champions of peace chosen by a committee of five persons selected by the Norwegian Storting.
The will asks that no consideration be given to nationality, so that the worthiest person gets the prize whether or not they are Scandinavian.
Equal parts of the interest:
5
Physiology or medicine:
Karolinska Institute
Peace:
Committee of five chosen by the Norwegian Storting
Why it matters for exams: The five original Nobel fields and who awards each are classic awards-and-persons questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Storting The Norwegian parliament — It selects the five-person committee that awards the Peace Prize.
Karolinska Institute A medical university in Stockholm — The will names it to award the physiology or medicine prize.