6 October 2026
The separatist Parti Québécois won the most seats in Quebec's provincial election held on Monday.
Its leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is set to become premier.
It was on track for nearly 60 seats, short of the 64 needed for a majority in the 127-seat National Assembly.
It will need opposition support to pass major laws and survive confidence votes.
The result ends eight years in office for the centre-right Coalition Avenir Québec.
The party has promised another referendum on leaving Canada, but only after Donald Trump leaves office in January 2029.
Support for independence is about 30 per cent, which is low by historical standards.
Seats for majority:
64 of 127
Outgoing government in office:
8 years
Support for independence:
about 30 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Shows how a multiparty provincial system can return a separatist party to power without a majority.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Minority government A government whose party holds fewer than half the seats — It must rely on other parties to pass laws and win confidence votes.
6 October 2026
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency over measles on Monday.
The state has recorded 108 cases this year as of 3 October, 92 of them since 15 July in rural, under-immunised communities.
The order is in effect until 4 November and lets paramedics and midwives give MMR vaccines.
Pennsylvania reported more than 1,000 cases this year, the biggest outbreak in a US state since the early 1990s.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention puts the national count at 3,869, which is seen as the worst year since 1991.
Experts say vaccination must stay at 95 per cent or above to prevent outbreaks.
The Pan American Health Organization meets in November to decide whether the US and Mexico keep measles-free status.
New York cases this year (to 3 October):
108
Pennsylvania cases:
more than 1,000
US national cases:
3,869
Why it matters for exams: Measles elimination status depends on keeping vaccine coverage above the herd-immunity threshold.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MMR vaccine Measles, mumps and rubella vaccine — One combined vaccine protects against three diseases.
PAHO Pan American Health Organization — The WHO's regional office for the Americas.
6 October 2026
A Nigerian military aircraft crashed in Ondo State on Monday morning, killing 32 people.
The plane, an ATR-42, was flying from Benin City to Lagos with 25 passengers and seven crew.
Air traffic controllers lost contact at 09:13 local time; wreckage was found near the naval base at Igbokoda.
President Bola Tinubu declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags at half-mast.
He also ordered a full investigation into the crash.
Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo said the aircraft's tail number was NGR 931.
People killed:
32
Passengers and crew:
25 passengers, 7 crew
National mourning:
3 days
Why it matters for exams: Names the officeholders and shows how a national mourning declaration works.
UPSC
In plain words
ATR-42 A twin-turboprop regional aircraft — The type of plane involved in the crash.
6 October 2026
A ship carrying corn caught fire and sank in Romania's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea on Monday.
Romania said two crew members died and 11 were rescued; it did not name a cause.
Azerbaijani and Indian nationals were reported to be among those on board.
Romania, a NATO member, has reported several drone incursions this year as Russia and Ukraine launch hundreds of drones and missiles.
The sinking has fuelled concern that the war in Ukraine could spill over onto NATO's eastern flank.
Crew killed:
2
Crew rescued:
11
Cargo:
corn
Why it matters for exams: Shows why Black Sea incidents near NATO members are watched for spillover from the Ukraine war.
UPSC
In plain words
Exclusive economic zone EEZ — A coastal state's sea zone of up to 200 nautical miles where it has rights over resources.
6 October 2026
Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan agreed on Monday to activate collective deterrence measures under the Mecca Alliance for Defence.
Their defence and foreign ministers met in Riyadh in an emergency meeting.
It is the first time the alliance has been invoked since it was signed on 7 August.
The pact treats an attack on any one of the three as an attack on all, as in NATO's founding treaty.
A joint statement said the countries would provide agreed forces and ensure their rapid deployment to Saudi Arabia.
The move came as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces began a counteroffensive against the Houthis.
Pact signed:
7 August
Members:
Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Pakistan
Meeting venue:
Riyadh
Why it matters for exams: A collective-defence pact like NATO's is a standard topic in international security.
UPSC
In plain words
Collective defence Attack on one is treated as attack on all — The core promise of NATO's founding treaty, mirrored by this pact.
6 October 2026
A key Ebola transit centre burned down in the Kigonze camp in Ituri province, DR Congo.
The camp had sheltered some 19,000 people and now lies abandoned, said UN Ebola response chief Julien Harneis.
Ebola has spread across seven provinces since a public health emergency was declared in mid-May.
More than 8,000 cases have been confirmed, including 4,000 deaths; Ituri remains the epicentre.
It is the country's 17th Ebola outbreak.
Fighting has delayed lab-sample transport and the transfer of confirmed patients.
WHO says safe burial teams in Ituri have risen from 53 to 114.
Confirmed cases:
more than 8,000
Deaths:
4,000
Provinces affected:
7
Why it matters for exams: Links armed conflict to the course of a public health emergency.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Transit centre Facility where suspected patients wait before treatment — Losing one means lost capacity and investment.
6 October 2026
WHO's latest Global Health Estimates put global life expectancy at 73.3 years in 2023, against 73.4 years in 2019.
Healthy life expectancy reached 62.8 years in 2023, still 0.4 years below its 2019 level.
Noncommunicable diseases caused 74 per cent of deaths in 2023, up from 58 per cent in 2000.
Communicable diseases caused under half of all deaths in low-income countries for the first time.
Ischaemic heart disease alone caused about 9.5 million deaths.
Dementia rose from the 19th leading cause of death in 2000 to the fifth in 2023.
Life expectancy 2023:
73.3 years
Healthy life expectancy 2023:
62.8 years
NCD share of deaths 2023:
74 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Headline health indicators from WHO are a staple of reports-and-indices questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Healthy life expectancy Years lived in good health — It has recovered more slowly than total life expectancy.
6 October 2026
A new UNHCR report estimates 13.1 million school-age refugee children worldwide in 2025.
Nearly half, 5.8 million, are out of school as funding cuts threaten years of progress.
Only 32 per cent were enrolled in secondary school in 2025, against 65 per cent at primary level.
Refugee enrolment in higher education hit a record 11 per cent, with over 450,000 students.
UNHCR is on track for the 15x30 pledge: 15 per cent of refugee youth in higher education by 2030.
High Commissioner Barham Salih urged donors to protect education funding.
School-age refugee children (2025):
13.1 million
Out of school:
5.8 million
Secondary enrolment:
32 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Gives refugee-education figures and the 15x30 target of the UN refugee agency.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees — The UN refugee agency, headed by Barham Salih.
6 October 2026
WHO said repeated delays in bringing medicines and prosthetics into Gaza risk devastating consequences.
It is almost 12 months into a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel marked by ongoing Israeli airstrikes.
Approved aid can enter only via Kerem Shalom; Rafah is open only for limited movement of people.
Almost 87 per cent of medicines are approved and just over 1 per cent rejected, but one prosthetics shipment was rejected four times.
Almost two million people need shelter against cold and flooding as winter begins.
WHO's Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt asked for unimpeded entry of supplies through several crossings.
Medicines approved:
almost 87 per cent
People needing shelter:
almost two million
Open aid crossing:
Kerem Shalom
Why it matters for exams: Shows how access rules and crossings shape humanitarian health aid in a ceasefire.
UPSC
In plain words
Dual use Items that could serve civilian and military purposes — Israel bars some items on this ground; WHO says essential medicines should not count.
6 October 2026
The ILO's preliminary assessment says the late-August flash floods in northern Nepal have disrupted jobs far beyond the flooded area.
The floods were triggered by a glacier collapse on the border with China.
More than 1,450 people were killed and 5,786 are still missing, according to the authorities.
About 21,400 employed people live within four kilometres of the flood footprint.
Informal, daily-wage and self-employed workers are at heightened risk; women may face lost pay and more unpaid care.
The ILO recommends immediate income support, employment-intensive reconstruction and skills development.
People killed:
more than 1,450
People still missing:
5,786
Workers within 4 km of flood footprint:
about 21,400
Why it matters for exams: Links a climate-driven disaster to labour markets and informal employment.
UPSC
In plain words
ILO International Labour Organization — The UN agency for labour standards and decent work.
Background
The International Health Regulations (2005), or IHR (2005), are a binding international legal agreement involving 196 countries, including all the Member States of WHO.
Their purpose is to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease, in ways that avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.
The IHR (2005) define a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) as an extraordinary event determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.
An Emergency Committee of international experts gives the WHO Director-General its views on whether an event is a PHEIC, on the Temporary Recommendations to be taken, and on the termination of a PHEIC.
The final determination of a PHEIC and of the Temporary Recommendations is made by the Director-General, not by the Committee.
Temporary Recommendations automatically expire three months after their issuance, so Emergency Committees are reconvened at least every three months.
Members of an Emergency Committee are drawn from the IHR Experts Roster established by the Director-General, and at least one member should be an expert nominated by the State Party in whose territory the event arises.
Instrument:
International Health Regulations (2005)
Countries bound:
196 countries, including all WHO Member States
Declares a PHEIC:
WHO Director-General
Life of Temporary Recommendations:
Three months from issuance
Why it matters for exams: Examiners regularly ask who declares a public health emergency of international concern and under which legal instrument, and the three-month life of Temporary Recommendations is a favourite detail.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IHR (2005) International Health Regulations (2005) — The binding agreement under which 196 countries report and respond to public health risks that can cross borders.
PHEIC Public health emergency of international concern — An extraordinary event posing a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease, declared by the WHO Director-General.
Background
Essential medicines are those that effectively and safely treat the priority health-care needs of populations, and should be available, affordable and of assured quality at all times.
WHO selects them on the basis of public health relevance, evidence of benefits and harms, and with consideration of costs, affordability and other relevant factors.
Every 2 years since 1977, WHO has published the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, also known as the Essential Medicines List or EML; the first list included about 200 medicines.
A separate Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc) was first published in 2007, in recognition of the unique needs of children.
Over 150 countries have national essential medicines lists based on the WHO Model List, and those lists are used for procurement, reimbursement, insurance schemes, medicine donations and local production.
Requests to add, remove or extend the listing of a medicine come through an open application process and are reviewed by the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines, whose members are appointed by the WHO Director-General.
The Model List carries the AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) classification of antibiotics, which guides the empiric use of essential antibiotics for more than 30 clinical infections in community and hospital settings.
First published:
1977, with about 200 medicines
Revision cycle:
Every 2 years
Children's list (EMLc):
First published 2007
Countries with lists based on it:
Over 150
Size of the 2025 edition:
Over 520 medicines, including 374 for children
Antibiotic classification:
AWaRe: Access, Watch, Reserve
Why it matters for exams: The revision cycle, the 1977 origin, the separate children's list and the AWaRe grouping of antibiotics are all standard one-mark facts about the Essential Medicines List.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
EML Essential Medicines List — WHO's Model List of medicines that meet the priority health-care needs of a population, published every 2 years.
AWaRe Access, Watch, Reserve — The Model List's grouping of antibiotics that guides which antibiotic to use first and which to hold back.