11 October 2026
At least 139 migrants died after their boat capsized off Djibouti, with 84 people still missing, the UN migration agency IOM said on 11 October 2026. The toll rose from 109 after 30 more bodies were recovered. The boat was carrying 305 people from Djibouti towards Yemen when it went down near Guehere, north of Obock; about 82 people survived. IOM described it as one of the deadliest shipwrecks recorded on the Eastern Route from the Horn of Africa to the Arabian Peninsula. IOM Director General Amy Pope said safe and legal pathways save lives. Survivors are being helped at IOM's Migrant Response Centre in Obock.
Confirmed dead:
139
Missing:
84
People on board:
305
Survivors:
About 82
Why it matters for exams: Migration routes, the Horn of Africa and the role of IOM are recurring world affairs and geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IOM International Organization for Migration — The UN migration agency, headquartered in Geneva.
Eastern Route Eastern Route — The migration route from the Horn of Africa across the sea to Yemen and the Gulf.
12 October 2026
North Korea fired several ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area towards the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Monday, 12 October 2026, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The JCS said one missile flew more than 900 km. Japan's Deputy Defence Minister Takashi Koyari said at least two were launched 17 minutes apart and both landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. He said the second followed an irregular flight path and may have been a hypersonic weapon. South Korea's presidential office said the launches violate UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea had test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile on 3 October.
Launch area:
Pyongyang area
Longest flight:
More than 900 km
Interval between launches:
17 minutes
Why it matters for exams: Korean peninsula security, the East Sea and UN sanctions on North Korea are recurring world affairs topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
JCS Joint Chiefs of Staff — South Korea's top military command body.
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone — Sea area up to 200 nautical miles from a coast where a state has rights over resources.
12 October 2026
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada on 12 October 2026 passed a law strengthening the educational rights of national minorities, with 266 lawmakers in favour. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed it the same day. Schools where more than 50% of pupils study in a minority language may get special status, and the law covers official EU languages but not Russian. Hungary had demanded the step, mainly for Hungarians in Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia). Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said it would make it easier for Hungarian children there to use their mother tongue. The vote clears the way for the EU to open two more clusters, on internal market and competitiveness, for Ukraine and Moldova.
Votes in favour:
266
Threshold for special school status:
More than 50% of pupils
New clusters to open:
Internal market; competitiveness
Why it matters for exams: EU enlargement, the negotiating cluster method and the Verkhovna Rada are standard world affairs facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Verkhovna Rada Verkhovna Rada — Ukraine's single-chamber national parliament.
Negotiating cluster Negotiating cluster — A group of policy chapters that the EU opens together in accession talks.
11 October 2026
Kenya's Amos Kipruto won the men's race at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on 11 October 2026 in 2:01:09, a 30-second personal best. The time ties him with Eliud Kipchoge for fifth on the world all-time list. Tadese Bikila was second in 2:02:56. Ethiopia's Hawi Feysa retained her women's title in 2:13:33, ahead of Sharon Lokedi (2:14:07) and Brigid Kosgei (2:14:55). It was the first marathon with three women finishing under 2:15. Australia's Isobel Batt-Doyle set an Oceanian record of 2:20:38.
Men's winner:
Amos Kipruto (Kenya), 2:01:09
Women's winner:
Hawi Feysa (Ethiopia), 2:13:33
Oceanian record:
Isobel Batt-Doyle, 2:20:38
Why it matters for exams: Winners of World Marathon Majors and all-time records are frequent sports questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
11 October 2026
The Lancet Commission on 21st-century global threats to health presented its findings at the World Health Summit in Berlin. The Commission, of 37 experts, compared 17 threats from 2025 to 2100 across 204 countries and territories using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The threats range from 1.02 billion to 23.1 billion DALYs; COVID-19 caused about 500 million. Malicious use of AI, including for bioweapons, and nuclear conflict with nuclear famine were judged to carry risks of extinction in the next 75 years. Obesity has the largest cumulative expected amenable burden. Other threats listed include climate change, antimicrobial resistance and air pollution.
Threats assessed:
17
Period:
2025 to 2100
Countries and territories:
204
Commission members:
37 experts
Why it matters for exams: Global health reports and the DALY measure are commonly asked in health and science papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
DALY Disability-adjusted life year — One year of healthy life lost to illness, disability or early death.
11 October 2026
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol wrote to Member governments on 11 October 2026 about tightening global diesel markets. He asked Members that have not fully delivered their pledged releases under the March 2026 Collective Action to consider whether they can accelerate the remaining releases, prioritising diesel. All Members were asked to assess whether additional diesel releases are needed, and their scale and timing. The IEA Governing Board will review these efforts at its meeting on 15 October. The IEA had agreed in March to release 400 million barrels, Euronews reported. Birol said the IEA could once again demonstrate its capacity to act together.
Governing Board meeting:
15 October 2026
March 2026 release agreed:
400 million barrels
Executive Director:
Fatih Birol
Why it matters for exams: The IEA, its emergency stock system and its leadership are frequent economy and energy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IEA International Energy Agency — A Paris-based intergovernmental energy body that coordinates emergency oil stock releases.
Collective Action IEA Collective Action — A coordinated release of emergency oil stocks by IEA members during a supply disruption.
12 October 2026
A fire overnight from Sunday to Monday, 12 October 2026, destroyed the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered food market in Paris. The market, in the Marais district of central Paris, has existed since 1615, during the reign of Louis XIII. Lieutenant Colonel Pierre de Bouvier described it as completely destroyed. Ariel Weil, mayor of central Paris, said no neighbouring buildings were affected. The market was named after a nearby orphanage whose children wore red clothing. The cause was not yet known.
Market:
Marché des Enfants Rouges
In existence since:
1615
District:
Le Marais, central Paris
Why it matters for exams: Loss of historic heritage sites in world capitals is asked in culture and current affairs sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Le Marais Le Marais — A historic district of central Paris known for its old buildings.
12 October 2026
Hurricane Simon was drifting westward as a Category 2 hurricane off west-central Mexico on 12 October 2026, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. At 1100 AM MST its centre was about 95 km west-southwest of Cabo Corrientes with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 km/h). A Hurricane Warning was in effect for Las Islas Marias. Simon had weakened from Category 4. In Guerrero, a 71-year-old man died when a retaining wall collapsed on the outskirts of Chilpancingo, Governor Evelyn Salgado confirmed. The northeastern and central Pacific has had a record season with 21 named storms so far, partly because of El Niño.
Category:
Category 2
Maximum sustained winds:
105 mph (165 km/h)
Named storms this Pacific season:
21
Why it matters for exams: Tropical cyclone categories, warning agencies and the El Niño link are core physical geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NHC National Hurricane Center — The US agency in Miami that issues forecasts for Atlantic and eastern Pacific hurricanes.
Saffir-Simpson scale Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale — A 1-to-5 rating of hurricanes by sustained wind speed.
11 October 2026
Raphaël Glucksmann, a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the Place Publique movement, won France's centre-left presidential primary in the first round on Sunday, 11 October 2026, with 66.17% of the vote. Organisers said 120,787 people took part. Socialist Party head Olivier Faure came second with about 14%, and former 2007 presidential candidate Ségolène Royal was third with under 8%. Glucksmann becomes the social-democratic candidate for the 2027 presidential election. Voting was extended to 6 p.m. on Sunday after a cyberattack slowed it.
Winner's share:
66.17%
Participants:
120,787
Runner-up:
Olivier Faure, about 14%
Why it matters for exams: Elections in major democracies and their candidates are standard world affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Primary Primary election — A vote held to choose a party's or camp's candidate for a later election.
12 October 2026
Construction of Portugal's Lisbon–Porto high-speed line began on Monday, 12 October 2026, with the first section from Porto-Campanhã to Oiã in the Aveiro district. The section has 71 kilometres of high-speed track and includes a new road-rail bridge over the Douro River and a new Vila Nova de Gaia-Santo Ovídio station. Once the line is complete, the trip between the two cities will take 1 hour and 15 minutes. The section costs around €2 billion and is a public-private partnership whose concession contract was signed on 29 July 2025. It is backed by €875 million from the European Investment Bank and €480 million from the Connecting Europe Facility. The government projects a Lisbon–Madrid journey of about three hours by 2034.
First section length:
71 km
Lisbon–Porto travel time:
1 hour 15 minutes
EIB financing:
€875 million
CEF funding:
€480 million
Why it matters for exams: Major cross-border infrastructure in Europe and EU funding instruments such as the EIB and CEF appear in economy and geography questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
EIB European Investment Bank — The lending institution of the European Union, based in Luxembourg.
CEF Connecting Europe Facility — An EU fund for transport, energy and digital links across member states.