4 October 2026
Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, announced on 4 October 2026 the launch of military operations to retake territory held by the Houthi group.
He said the country was "embarking on a decisive phase in the history of our nation".
He also said the operations were "not a war against our people in Sanaa, Hodeidah, and Sa'ada".
Armed forces spokesman Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili offered an amnesty to Houthi fighters who break away.
Al-Alimi praised Saudi Arabia's backing and appealed for wider international support.
The Houthi group calls itself Ansar Allah and holds the capital Sanaa and the Red Sea port of Hodeidah.
Announced by:
Rashad al-Alimi
Body:
Presidential Leadership Council
Date:
4 October 2026
Why it matters for exams: West Asian conflicts and the bodies that govern divided states are a standing part of the international relations syllabus.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PLC Presidential Leadership Council — The eight-member body that has headed Yemen's internationally recognised government since 2022.
4 October 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 4 October 2026 that the United States is proposing a meeting at the technical level in a trilateral format with Ukraine and Russia before the end of October.
He spoke at a news conference in Kyiv alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine was open to holding the meeting in the United Arab Emirates or any other country proposed by the American side.
He said he had spoken to the United States negotiating team on 3 October 2026.
Possible agenda items include a ceasefire covering energy facilities and the reopening of Black Sea grain corridors.
The war has continued for more than four and a half years.
Proposed format:
Trilateral, technical level
Proposed venue:
United Arab Emirates
Timeline:
By the end of October 2026
Why it matters for exams: The diplomacy of the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Black Sea grain corridor in particular, recur in international relations and economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
4 October 2026
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said in an interview published on 3 October 2026 that Somalia will not accept an Israeli military presence on its territory under any circumstances.
He said Israel intends to set up a naval base at Berbera and to use the city's airport.
Berbera is a port on the Gulf of Aden in the self-declared territory of Somaliland.
Israel recognised Somaliland in late December 2025.
Somaliland declared independence in 1991; the United Nations treats the territory as part of Somalia.
Mohamud said Somalia has never established diplomatic relations with Israel.
Port named:
Berbera
Somaliland independence declared:
1991
Israel's recognition of Somaliland:
December 2025
Why it matters for exams: Unrecognised states and the strategic ports of the Horn of Africa are standard material for questions on sovereignty and maritime geography.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Somaliland Self-declared republic in north-western Somalia — It declared independence in 1991 and runs its own administration, but the United Nations continues to treat it as part of Somalia.
1 October 2026
NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission lifted off on 1 October 2026 at 11:10 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
A Falcon 9 rocket carried the Dragon spacecraft, which NASA said would dock autonomously to the forward port of the Harmony module at about 7 p.m. EDT the same day.
That would make the flight about 7 hours and 50 minutes, which NASA said would be the fastest launch-to-docking by a United States spacecraft in the history of the International Space Station.
The crew are NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
They join the Expedition 75 crew aboard the station.
Launch date:
1 October 2026, 11:10 a.m. EDT
Launch-to-docking:
About 7 hours, 50 minutes
Docking port:
Forward port of the Harmony module
Expedition:
75
Why it matters for exams: Space station missions, their launch sites and the agencies that take part are frequent science and technology questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ISS International Space Station — A crewed laboratory in low Earth orbit run jointly by the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada.
4 October 2026
The 20th Asian Games closed on 4 October 2026 at the Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan.
Athletes competed in 469 gold-medal events at the Games.
China topped the table with 341 medals, including 169 gold.
Host Japan took 83 gold medals, smashing its previous record set at Hiroshima in 1994.
South Korea finished third with 39 gold medals, short of its target of 40 to 45 and its fewest since 1982.
Olympic Council of Asia president Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani declared the Games closed, with the torch handed to the organisers of the next edition at Doha, Qatar, in 2030.
Edition:
20th Asian Games
Host:
Aichi-Nagoya, Japan
Gold medal events:
469
Top of the table:
China, 169 gold, 341 total
Next host:
Doha, Qatar, 2030
Why it matters for exams: Host cities, medal tallies and the next venue of the Asian Games are asked almost every year.
Kerala PSCUPSC
Background
Bab el-Mandeb is the strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen lies on its Asian side, while Djibouti and Eritrea lie on the African side.
The islands in and around the strait include Perim, also called Mayun, as well as Greater Hanish, Lesser Hanish and Jabal Zuqar.
It is the third busiest oil chokepoint in the world, after the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Hormuz.
About one-tenth of the world's seaborne oil trade passes through it.
Houthi forces have enforced blockades on Israel-linked shipping passing through the strait.
Connects:
Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
Countries on the shores:
Yemen; Djibouti and Eritrea
Share of seaborne oil trade:
About one-tenth
Why it matters for exams: Maritime chokepoints are asked in both geography and economy papers, and Bab el-Mandeb is the gateway to the Suez route.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Chokepoint Narrow shipping passage — A narrow sea passage through which a large share of world trade must pass, and which can be closed or disrupted easily.
Background
The Economic and Social Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, all of them established under the UN Charter when the Organization was founded in 1945. It is described by the United Nations as the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for the implementation of internationally agreed development goals. It serves as the central mechanism for activities of the UN system and its specialized agencies in the economic, social and environmental fields, and it supervises subsidiary and expert bodies. It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms, so that only part of the membership changes in any one year. The United Nations calls it the Organization's central platform for reflection, debate and innovative thinking on sustainable development.
Members:
54
Elected by:
UN General Assembly
Term:
Overlapping three-year terms
UN principal organs:
6
Why it matters for exams: The composition and term of each UN principal organ is a standing objective question, and ECOSOC's 54 members are confused with the Security Council's 15 almost every year.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council — The UN organ that coordinates the economic, social and environmental work of the UN system.
Principal organ Principal organ of the United Nations — One of the six bodies set up by the UN Charter itself, as distinct from programmes and agencies created later.
Specialized agency UN specialized agency — An autonomous international organisation linked to the UN by agreement, such as the ILO or the FAO.
Background
Under General Assembly resolution 377A(V), known as "Uniting for peace", an emergency special session can be convened within 24 hours. The resolution was adopted by the General Assembly on 3 November 1950. It resolves that if the Security Council, because of lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security where there appears to be a threat to the peace, a breach of the peace or an act of aggression, the General Assembly shall consider the matter immediately with a view to making appropriate recommendations to Members for collective measures — including, in the case of a breach of the peace or an act of aggression, the use of armed force when necessary. If the Assembly is not in session at the time, it may meet in emergency special session within twenty-four hours of the request. Such a session shall be called if requested by the Security Council on the vote of any seven members, or by a majority of the Members of the United Nations. Eleven emergency special sessions have been convened, on subjects including the Middle East, the Question of Congo, the Question of Palestine, the situation in Afghanistan, the Question of Namibia and Ukraine. The figure of seven is the resolution's own wording: 377A(V) was adopted when the Security Council had eleven members. The Charter amendment that came into force on 31 August 1965 enlarged the Council from eleven to fifteen members and raised the vote for a decision on a procedural matter from seven members to nine. Rule 8(b) of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly accordingly provides that an emergency special session shall be convened within twenty-four hours of a request from the Security Council on the vote of any nine members.
Resolution:
377A(V)
Adopted:
3 November 1950
Session can be convened within:
24 hours
Security Council votes to request, as 377A(V) is worded:
Any seven members
Security Council votes to request, under rule 8(b) of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure:
Any nine members
Other route:
A majority of the Members of the United Nations
Why it matters for exams: This is the single most-asked piece of UN procedure after the veto, because it is the route by which the General Assembly acts when the Security Council is deadlocked.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Emergency special session Emergency special session of the UN General Assembly — A session the Assembly may hold within 24 hours of a request when the Security Council cannot act.
Lack of unanimity Lack of unanimity of the permanent members — The situation in which one or more permanent members vote against a draft Security Council resolution, blocking it.
Collective measures Collective measures — Steps Members take together against a threat to peace, which may include the use of armed force.
Background
The Peace and Security Council (PSC) is the standing decision-making organ of the African Union for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts. It is a collective security and early warning arrangement meant to allow timely responses to conflict and crisis situations in Africa, and it is the key pillar of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). The Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council was adopted on 9 July 2002 in Durban, South Africa, entered into force in December 2003, and the PSC became fully operational in early 2004. The PSC has 15 members with equal voting powers. All members are elected by the AU Executive Council and endorsed by the AU Assembly during its ordinary sessions. For continuity, five members are elected for three-year terms and 10 for two-year terms. There are no permanent members, and the PSC Protocol does not prevent any Member State from seeking immediate re-election.
Members:
15
Terms:
5 members for three years, 10 members for two years
Permanent members:
None
Protocol adopted:
9 July 2002, Durban, South Africa
Fully operational:
Early 2004
Why it matters for exams: Comparing the African Union's Peace and Security Council with the UN Security Council is a standard answer-writing question, and the absence of permanent members is the sharpest contrast.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PSC Peace and Security Council of the African Union — The AU's standing organ for preventing, managing and resolving conflicts in Africa.
APSA African Peace and Security Architecture — The African Union's overall framework of bodies and instruments for peace, security and stability.
AU Executive Council African Union Executive Council — The AU organ of foreign ministers that elects the PSC's members.
Collective security Collective security — An arrangement in which members treat a threat to one as a concern of all and respond together.
Background
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations was concluded at Vienna on 18 April 1961, after preparatory work by the International Law Commission. The introductory note in the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law says that, in terms of near-universal participation by sovereign States, it may claim to be the most successful of the instruments drawn up under the United Nations framework for codification and progressive development of international law. The Convention provides a framework for the establishment, maintenance and termination of diplomatic relations on a basis of consent between independent sovereign States. It specifies the functions of diplomatic missions, the formal rules regulating appointments, declarations of persona non grata of a diplomat who has in some way given offence, and precedence among heads of mission. Article 22 confirms the inviolability of mission premises, barring any right of entry by law enforcement officers of the receiving State and imposing on the receiving State a special duty to protect the premises. On the diplomatic bag, the rule ultimately adopted in article 27 is that while the sending State has a duty to use the bag only for diplomatic documents or articles for official use, the bag could not be opened or detained under any circumstances. The Convention and its two Optional Protocols entered into force on 24 April 1964.
Concluded at:
Vienna, 18 April 1961
Entry into force:
24 April 1964
Inviolability of mission premises:
Article 22
Preparatory body:
International Law Commission
Why it matters for exams: Every embassy dispute in the news turns on this Convention, and the article number for the inviolability of premises is a favourite one-mark question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Persona non grata Persona non grata — A declaration by the receiving State that a named diplomat is no longer acceptable to it.
Inviolability Inviolability of mission premises — The rule that the receiving State's officers have no right to enter a mission's premises and must protect them.
Receiving State Receiving State — The country in which a foreign diplomatic mission is located.
ILC International Law Commission — The UN body of legal experts that drafts conventions codifying international law.
Diplomatic bag Diplomatic bag — A sealed container of official correspondence of a mission, which may not be opened or detained.
Background
The United Nations General Assembly, by resolution A/RES/50/245, adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and requested the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as Depositary of the Treaty, to open it for signature at the earliest possible date. The Treaty was opened for signature in September 1996. In accordance with Article XIV of the Treaty, it will enter into force only after all 44 States listed in Annex 2 to the Treaty have ratified it. The United Nations lists the Annex-2 States that have ratified the Treaty, and records that the Secretary-General has appealed to all remaining States whose ratifications are required for the Treaty to enter into force to accelerate the completion of their ratification processes. Article XIV also states that if the Treaty has not entered into force three years after the date of the anniversary of its opening for signature, a conference may be held upon the request of a majority of ratifying States, to examine to what extent the requirements for entry into force have been met and to decide on measures to accelerate the ratification process. The Treaty was negotiated in the Conference on Disarmament, which had established a subsidiary body on a test ban in 1982, and a final draft was presented to that Conference in June 1996.
Annex 2 States whose ratification is required:
44
Entry-into-force article:
Article XIV
Adopting resolution:
A/RES/50/245
Opened for signature:
September 1996
Why it matters for exams: The 44-State Annex 2 condition is the reason a treaty signed three decades ago is still not in force, and that mechanism is asked in both prelims and disarmament answers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CTBT Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty — A treaty banning all nuclear explosions, which has been signed but has not yet entered into force.
Annex 2 Annex 2 to the CTBT — The list of 44 States whose ratification the Treaty requires before it can take effect.
Depositary Depositary of a treaty — The authority that holds the original treaty text and records signatures and ratifications.
Ratification Ratification — A State's formal act of binding itself to a treaty after signing it.
Conference on Disarmament Conference on Disarmament — The multilateral forum in Geneva where disarmament treaties are negotiated.