14 October 2026
The European Space Agency said its astronaut Sophie Adenot has returned from her first mission to the International Space Station.
Her mission was named epsilon and she flew as part of NASA's Crew-12 rotation, launching on a SpaceX Dragon from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on 13 February 2026.
The capsule splashed down on 8 October 2026 and she reached Cologne, Germany, on 10 October 2026.
She spent 237 days, 5 hours and 18 minutes in space, a new European record for the longest single spaceflight, beating Luca Parmitano's Beyond mission by more than 35 days.
She carried out three spacewalks within 14 days, totalling 19 hours and 42 minutes outside the station.
She is the second European woman after Samantha Cristoforetti, and the first French woman, to perform a spacewalk.
Adenot worked through Expeditions 74 and 75 and spent about 218 hours on 35 European payloads.
Mission:
epsilon (NASA Crew-12)
Time in space:
237 days, 5 hours, 18 minutes
Spacewalks:
3, totalling 19 hours 42 minutes
Launch:
13 February 2026
Splashdown:
8 October 2026
Why it matters for exams: Record-setting space missions and the agencies behind them are standard material in science and technology questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ESA European Space Agency — An intergovernmental space agency of European states, with its astronaut centre at Cologne in Germany.
ISS International Space Station — A crewed laboratory in low Earth orbit run jointly by several space agencies.
14 October 2026
The World Meteorological Organization said sea-surface temperatures show that El Nino is strengthening and is forecast to peak around December 2026.
Its Global Seasonal Climate Update for October to December 2026 draws on a consensus of 13 national and international centres.
Forecasts give a near-100 per cent likelihood that El Nino will persist through February 2027, and it could be one of the strongest events since at least 1950.
The Nino 3.4 sea-surface temperature anomaly was about +1.6 degrees Celsius in June 2026 and +2.5 degrees Celsius in August 2026.
For October to December 2026 the seasonal average is forecast at about +3.7 degrees Celsius, the highest since observations began. The previous record was +2.6 degrees Celsius from November 2015 to January 2016.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said El Nino is firmly established and strengthening rapidly.
The Indian Ocean Dipole is positive and is expected to peak in October, with an October to December anomaly of about +0.5 degrees Celsius.
Forecast Nino 3.4 anomaly (Oct-Dec 2026):
about +3.7 degrees Celsius
Previous record:
+2.6 degrees Celsius (November 2015 to January 2016)
Forecasting centres:
13
Expected peak:
around December 2026
Why it matters for exams: El Nino drives monsoon, drought and flood risk worldwide and is a recurring question in geography and environment papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WMO World Meteorological Organization — The UN specialised agency for weather, climate and water, based in Geneva.
Nino 3.4 Nino 3.4 region — A box in the central equatorial Pacific whose sea-surface temperature anomaly is the standard measure of El Nino strength.
IOD Indian Ocean Dipole — The difference in sea-surface temperature between the western and eastern tropical Indian Ocean.
14 October 2026
The World Health Organization issued a Disease Outbreak News note on 8 October 2026 on Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
As of 6 October 2026 there were 8,728 cumulative confirmed cases and 4,205 confirmed deaths, with 2,269 recoveries.
The crude case fatality ratio stands at 48.2 per cent.
The outbreak has spread to seven of the country's 26 provinces and 64 health zones: Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Sud-Ubangi and Tshopo. Ituri is the worst affected.
There are no approved vaccines or specific treatments for disease caused by Bundibugyo virus.
WHO assessed the risk as very high in the DRC, high in countries sharing a land border with it, and low at the regional and global level.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control put the DRC total at 8,978 confirmed cases and 4,336 deaths as of 11 October 2026.
Confirmed cases (6 October 2026):
8,728
Confirmed deaths:
4,205
Case fatality ratio:
48.2 per cent
Provinces affected:
7 of 26, across 64 health zones
Why it matters for exams: Ebola species, case fatality ratios and WHO risk assessments appear regularly in health and biology questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bundibugyo virus Bundibugyo ebolavirus — One of the ebolavirus species that cause Ebola disease in people; it is named after a district in Uganda.
DON Disease Outbreak News — WHO's published notices on outbreaks of international public health concern.
CFR Case fatality ratio — The share of confirmed cases of a disease that end in death.
14 October 2026
The European Data Protection Board published a statement on the data protection challenges of smart glasses on 13 October 2026, after its latest plenary.
The statement is an initial, preliminary guidance for users, manufacturers and service providers.
It says recording should be made obvious, for example through bright LED lights, audio signals, voice activation cues, privacy-friendly smartphone notifications or distinctive designs, and that warnings must be reliable, hard to ignore and always up to date.
The board says a wearer becomes a data controller when they share photos or videos on a public social media account, or use the glasses in official, professional or political activity. Purely personal use, such as filming family or friends, falls under the household exemption in the GDPR.
Producers and providers of linked apps and services cannot transfer their own obligations to users.
EDPB Chair Anu Talus said individuals deserve clear warnings, not hidden surprises.
An accompanying report titled The connected gaze was commissioned through the board's Support Pool of Experts after a proposal by the French data protection authority.
Issuing body:
European Data Protection Board
Date:
13 October 2026
Chair:
Anu Talus
Accompanying report:
The connected gaze
Why it matters for exams: The GDPR, the EDPB and the idea of a data controller are standard polity and technology topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
EDPB European Data Protection Board — An independent EU body that brings together national data protection authorities and ensures the GDPR is applied consistently.
GDPR General Data Protection Regulation — The European Union's data protection law, in force since 2018.
Data controller Data controller — The person or body that decides why and how personal data is processed, and therefore carries the legal duties.
14 October 2026
The Swiss air quality monitor IQAir ranked Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as the world's two most polluted cities on Tuesday, with air quality index readings of 199 and 183.
The haze comes from fires on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, the most intense in 11 years, which have been spurred by a strengthening El Nino.
Indonesia has deployed about 60,000 personnel, but thick smoke has grounded 34 aircraft, including planes and helicopters, and cloud seeding is not possible without suitable rain clouds.
Firefly, a low-cost subsidiary of Malaysia Aviation Group, first cancelled flights between Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport near Kuala Lumpur and Seletar Airport in Singapore on 10 October and has extended the suspension.
Singapore has activated subsidised treatment for haze-related illnesses, something last done in 2015.
Schools reopened in most Malaysian states on Tuesday but remain closed in three states, one federal territory and several districts.
Malaysia's Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said he would press for stronger regional mechanisms at the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting next month, noting that haze is not classified as a natural disaster under the existing ASEAN disaster mechanism.
Singapore air quality index:
199
Kuala Lumpur air quality index:
183
Indonesian personnel deployed:
about 60,000
Aircraft grounded:
34
Why it matters for exams: Transboundary haze links El Nino, forest fires, air quality indices and ASEAN cooperation in one question.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AQI Air Quality Index — A single number summarising air pollution; readings above 150 are generally treated as unhealthy and above 300 as hazardous.
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations — A regional grouping of ten Southeast Asian states; the Philippines chairs it in 2026 and the 49th summit is due in Manila.
14 October 2026
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam announced a curfew in an address to the nation on Tuesday, 13 October 2026.
It took effect at 8:30 pm local time and ran until 6 am, and covered the capital Port Louis and other major population centres.
The unrest followed the shooting of Elodie Thomas, aged 27, by police in the south of the capital while she was travelling home from work in a van.
The Health Ministry said she had successful surgery to remove a bullet. Police said an investigation is under way.
Protesters burned tyres and blocked roads on Monday and the unrest continued overnight.
The Education Ministry said some schools closed on Tuesday because of the turmoil, and the prime minister's office said the situation had returned to normal with the public sector operating as usual.
The cabinet was due to meet on Wednesday to assess the situation.
Curfew hours:
8:30 pm to 6 am
Announced by:
Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam
Date:
13 October 2026
Area covered:
Port Louis and other major population centres
Why it matters for exams: Mauritius is a small Indian Ocean island state whose capital, leadership and location are standard map and polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Port Louis Port Louis — The capital and largest city of Mauritius, on the island's north-west coast.
Curfew Curfew — An order barring people from public places during stated hours.
Background
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was signed on 30 October 1947 and had 23 founding members.
Its tariff concessions came into effect by 30 June 1948 through a Protocol of Provisional Application.
It was meant to sit beside an International Trade Organization (ITO), planned as a specialized agency of the United Nations, whose Havana Charter was agreed in March 1948.
In 1950 the United States government announced that it would not seek Congressional ratification of the Havana Charter, and the ITO was effectively dead.
So the GATT became the only multilateral instrument governing international trade from 1948 until the WTO was established in 1995.
The Uruguay Round of 1986-94, the eighth and last GATT round, led to the WTO, whose creation on 1 January 1995 marked the biggest reform of international trade since after the Second World War.
GATT signed:
30 October 1947
GATT founding members:
23
Last GATT round:
Uruguay Round, 1986-94
WTO created:
1 January 1995
Why it matters for exams: Exams ask what the GATT was, why the ITO never came into being, and which round of talks led to the WTO.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — The provisional agreement that provided the rules for much of world trade from 1948 to 1994.
ITO International Trade Organization — A planned UN specialized agency for trade whose Havana Charter was never ratified.
Background
The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent.
It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).
In May 1963, 32 Heads of independent African States met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to sign the Charter creating the OAU, Africa's first post-independence continental institution.
On 9.9.1999, the OAU Heads of State and Government issued the Sirte Declaration calling for the establishment of an African Union.
The AU was officially launched in July 2002 in Durban, South Africa.
The OAU had focused on decolonisation and ridding the continent of apartheid; the AU turned attention towards increased cooperation and integration of African states to drive Africa's growth and economic development.
OAU Charter signed:
May 1963, Addis Ababa
Heads of State at the OAU founding:
32
Sirte Declaration:
9.9.1999
AU launched:
July 2002, Durban
Why it matters for exams: Exams ask which body the AU succeeded, where the OAU was founded and where the AU was launched.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OAU Organisation of African Unity — Africa's first post-independence continental institution, created by a Charter signed in Addis Ababa.
Sirte Declaration Declaration of 9.9.1999 calling for an African Union — Issued by the OAU Heads of State and Government.
Background
The General Assembly was established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations and is its chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ.
It is comprised of all 193 Members of the United Nations, and each Member State has one vote.
Votes on designated important issues, such as recommendations on peace and security, the election of Security Council and Economic and Social Council members, and budgetary questions, require a two-thirds majority of Member States; other questions are decided by a simple majority.
The Assembly elects the non-permanent members of the Security Council and, on the recommendation of the Security Council, appoints the Secretary-General.
Under its Uniting for Peace resolution of 3 November 1950, the Assembly may consider a threat to the peace immediately and recommend collective measures to its Members when the Security Council has failed to act owing to the negative vote of a permanent member.
There are five regional groups: the African States, the Asia-Pacific States, the Eastern European States, the Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Western European and other States. The post of President of the General Assembly rotates among these regional groups.
Established:
1945
Votes per Member State:
One
Majority for important questions:
Two-thirds of Member States
Regional groups:
Five
Why it matters for exams: Exams ask how the Assembly votes, which decisions need a two-thirds majority, and what the Uniting for Peace resolution allows.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Uniting for Peace General Assembly resolution of 3 November 1950 — Lets the Assembly recommend collective measures when the Security Council fails to act owing to a permanent member's negative vote.
Regional groups Groupings of Member States for electoral and procedural purposes — The Assembly presidency rotates among the five groups.
Background
The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).
It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States.
It focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
Its main functions are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.
Attended by:
Delegations from all WHO Member States
Agenda prepared by:
Executive Board
Meets:
Annually, in Geneva, Switzerland
Why it matters for exams: Exams ask which WHO body decides policy and appoints the Director-General, and where it meets.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Executive Board WHO Executive Board — Prepares the specific health agenda on which the World Health Assembly focuses.
Programme budget WHO proposed programme budget — Reviewed and approved by the World Health Assembly.
Background
Chapter VII of the UN Charter is titled Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression (Articles 39-51).
Under Article 39 the Security Council determines the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression, and decides what measures shall be taken.
Article 41 covers measures not involving the use of armed force, which may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and the severance of diplomatic relations.
Article 42 allows action by air, sea, or land forces if the measures in Article 41 would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate.
Article 47 establishes a Military Staff Committee to advise and assist the Security Council on its military requirements.
Article 51 preserves the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security; measures taken in self-defence must be immediately reported to the Security Council.
Chapter VII articles:
Articles 39-51
Measures not involving armed force:
Article 41
Action by air, sea or land forces:
Article 42
Self-defence:
Article 51
Why it matters for exams: Exams ask which Charter articles cover sanctions, force and self-defence, and the difference between recommending and deciding measures.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Article 41 Measures not involving the use of armed force — May include interruption of economic relations and severance of diplomatic relations.
Military Staff Committee Committee under Article 47 — Advises and assists the Security Council on its military requirements.
Background
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office.
The UN General Assembly and the Security Council vote simultaneously but separately, and a candidate must receive an absolute majority in both bodies.
One third of the Court is elected every three years, and judges are eligible for re-election.
The Court may not include more than one national of the same State.
The judges elect a President and a Vice-President to hold office for three years.
The Court has its seat in The Hague and is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
Judges:
15
Term of office:
Nine years
Renewal:
One third of the Court every three years
Seat:
The Hague
Why it matters for exams: The composition, seat and election of the ICJ judges are standard questions in UPSC and Kerala PSC papers on international institutions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Absolute majority More than half — A candidate needs more than half of the votes in both the General Assembly and the Security Council.
Principal judicial organ Main court of the UN — The ICJ is the main judicial body of the United Nations.
Permanent Court of Arbitration Hague-based arbitration body — Groups of its members nominate candidates for the Court's elections.