18 October 2026
Demonstrations spread across France on Saturday in support of school students and against high prices and the weakening of the social welfare system. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said 1,200 people were arrested and 150 police officers were injured. The interior ministry put the turnout at about 550,000. In Limoges the town hall was largely lost to a fire set by masked protesters; the local prefect Maurice Barate said the roof had collapsed on to lower floors of the 143-year-old building. Protesters stormed the town hall in Marseille, and in Lyon the city tourist office was burned. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the state was not planning to declare a state of emergency. The marches followed weeks of protests by lycee students over staff shortages and dilapidated facilities, joined by trade unions and the gilets jaunes movement that first emerged in 2018.
People arrested:
1,200
Police injured:
150
Estimated turnout:
About 550,000
Why it matters for exams: A major European protest wave that links cost-of-living pressure, student unrest and the gilets jaunes tradition.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
Police in the Albanian capital Tirana fired rubber bullets at anti-government protesters on Saturday, the first use of rubber bullets since the demonstrations began. National police chief Skender Hita confirmed they had been deployed in a limited manner. Hita said 167 people had been arrested over five days of unrest and 132 officers had been injured, while seven police officers were suspended pending investigations into whether they exceeded their authority. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said nine protesters and four police officers received medical treatment on Saturday. Protesters are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is serving his fourth term and whose Socialist Party has held power since 2013. Students have raised university fees, poor facilities and limited employment, and the unrest has spread to the coastal city of Durres.
Arrested in five days:
167
Police injured:
132
Officers suspended:
7
Why it matters for exams: A Balkan political crisis with clear figures on arrests, injuries and the use of force.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
Canada's Minister of National Defence David McGuinty said on Saturday that there had been both fatalities and injuries after an incident caused a large fire at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta. He described the situation as active and delicate and said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were involved in the investigation, but gave no casualty figures or cause. Prime Minister Mark Carney said a serious incident had created a major fire at the base. The Municipal District of Wainwright said the fire had crossed the base fence and was spreading rapidly in high winds, with gusts of up to 100 kilometres an hour recorded across the province. A doctor at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Edmonton, about 180 km from Wainwright, told CBC that patients were being moved to the city because local facilities were overwhelmed. CFB Wainwright is one of Canada's busiest training bases and is home to the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre and the 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre.
Base:
CFB Wainwright, Alberta
Distance from Edmonton:
About 180 km
Wind gusts:
Up to 100 kilometres an hour
Why it matters for exams: A defence-sector disaster in a G7 country, useful for place-and-institution questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 41.8 per cent over the past year to 3,335 square kilometres, the lowest value since measurements began in 1988. The figures come from the Prodes satellite data series collated by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. The new figure beats the previous record low by 1,236 square kilometres. Since 2022 the deforestation rate has slowed by 71.2 per cent. The states with the largest shares in 2026 were Para with 33.9 per cent of all Amazon deforestation, Mato Grosso with 25.5 per cent and Amazonas with 15.7 per cent, though each was down by more than 45 per cent on the previous year. Roraima was the only state where the figure rose, by 0.4 per cent. In the neighbouring Cerrado savannah biome, clearance fell to 5,516 square kilometres, the lowest since 2001. Environment Minister Joao Paulo Capobianco called the decline absolutely stratospheric. The data was released before a presidential run-off on 25 October.
Amazon clearance:
3,335 square kilometres
Fall over the year:
41.8 per cent
Cerrado clearance:
5,516 square kilometres
Why it matters for exams: A headline environment statistic with named biomes, states and a satellite monitoring programme.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Prodes Programa de Monitoramento do Desmatamento na Amazonia Legal — Brazil's satellite programme that measures annual clearance in the Amazon.
18 October 2026
A judge in Mexico has sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the murders of the Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad. The three were shot dead on 27 April 2024 while camping in a remote beachside area near the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California during a surfing trip, and their bodies were found days later in a clifftop well with gunshot wounds to the heads. The men were convicted of homicide, aggravated robbery, robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence. They were identified only as Jesus Gerardo, Irineo Francisco and Angel Jesus because their surnames were not disclosed for legal reasons. The trial began on 7 September. Prosecutors had sought damages of more than 100,000 dollars, but the judge ruled that compensation would have to be pursued through civil proceedings.
Sentence:
158 years and nine months each
Date of the killings:
27 April 2024
State:
Baja California
Why it matters for exams: A long criminal sentence in Latin America, with place names and dates that recur in question papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday night suspending a sweeping sanctions package on Russia, two days before the measures were due to take effect. The legislation had been passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law in September. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver would be a 60-day pause so the administration could analyse the effect of the sanctions and tariffs on the United States and the global economy. The law gave the president powers to levy tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imports from the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas, and imposed sanctions on senior Russian figures, financial institutions and the shadow fleet of tankers. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the pause a reward for Vladimir Putin and said it came as Russia struck 15 Ukrainian energy facilities overnight. Senators Ted Cruz, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis also criticised the decision, while Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called it a historic moment.
Length of the pause:
60 days
Maximum tariff under the law:
100 per cent
Ukrainian energy sites struck:
15
Why it matters for exams: Shows how executive waivers can suspend sanctions legislation, a standing theme in international relations papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
A delegation of European diplomats was attacked by masked Israeli settlers in the largely Christian village of Taybeh near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. The delegation included envoys from Belgium, France and Poland and a representative of the Catholic Church, and had come to assess conditions after repeated attacks on Palestinians bringing in the olive harvest. Belgian authorities said a window of a consulate car was smashed and a French mayor was assaulted; the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu named the injured French official as Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries. Belgium's foreign minister Maxime Prevot said Israel must bring those responsible to justice and that Belgium would press for European Union sanctions. Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar condemned the violence by what he called Israeli rioters. The Israel Defense Forces condemned the attack and said no soldiers were present at the scene, and Israeli police opened an investigation.
Village:
Taybeh, near Ramallah
Countries represented:
Belgium, France and Poland
Injured French official:
Bernard Baudoux
Why it matters for exams: Touches diplomatic immunity, settler violence and European Union sanctions policy in one event.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
The World Health Organization is strengthening Ebola preparedness across its eastern Mediterranean region, which comprises 22 countries and territories spanning parts of Africa, Asia and Europe. Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan have been identified as priority countries for intensified support. The step follows outbreaks of disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda and the confirmation of a case in Kenya linked to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. No Ebola cases have been recorded in the region so far, but conflict, displacement and overstretched health systems make preparation difficult. Between July and September the agency deployed missions to Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan to assess readiness in surveillance, laboratory capacity, infection prevention and control, case management and emergency coordination. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the region as the epicentre of global humanitarian need, with more than 117 million people requiring humanitarian assistance.
Countries and territories:
22
Priority countries:
Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan
People needing humanitarian aid:
More than 117 million
Why it matters for exams: Links WHO regional structure, the Bundibugyo virus and humanitarian need in one item.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WHO World Health Organization — The United Nations health agency, which works through six regional offices.
18 October 2026
The United Nations Security Council met on Sudan as drone strikes killed civilians from El Obeid to Blue Nile and famine risk spread across Darfur and Kordofan. The United Nations describes Sudan as the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis. Twenty million people face acute hunger and 200,000 are at catastrophe levels. More than 700,000 displaced people in Tawila are short of food, water and healthcare. A drone strike near the Ethiopian border killed 41 displaced people on 10 October. The arms embargo on Sudan remains confined to Darfur, while sanctions have been extended to 11 December. Ambassadors were expected to press again for a ceasefire, safe aid access and an end to the weapons flows feeding the conflict.
Facing acute hunger:
20 million people
At catastrophe levels:
200,000
Sanctions extended to:
11 December
Why it matters for exams: Gives the current Sudan figures and the limits of the Security Council arms embargo.
Kerala PSCUPSC
18 October 2026
A report of the United Nations Secretary-General presented to the General Assembly on Thursday warns that neurotechnology is outpacing the laws meant to protect human rights. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Claudia Fuentes Julio introduced the report to the Third Committee. It examines the growing use of neurotechnology in justice systems and the risks arising from its convergence with artificial intelligence. Neural data is defined as qualitative and quantitative data about the structure, activity and function of the nervous system. The report notes that brain signals recorded by gaming headsets or wellness gadgets could be accessed by governments or introduced as evidence in legal proceedings, threatening privacy, freedom of thought and the right to a fair trial, particularly for marginalised groups. It calls for prohibitions on coercive and abusive applications and for stronger safeguards covering informed consent, scientific validation, oversight, accountability and the protection of neural data.
Body addressed:
United Nations General Assembly, Third Committee
Presented by:
Claudia Fuentes Julio
Core demand:
Prohibit coercive and abusive applications
Why it matters for exams: A new rights frontier combining technology, privacy and criminal procedure.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Neural data Data about the nervous system — Qualitative and quantitative data on the structure, activity and function of the nervous system.
18 October 2026
Around two million people in Gaza still need shelter assistance, according to the International Organization for Migration, as rain has already begun and families prepare for a second winter in tents and damaged buildings. Displaced residents are filling empty World Food Programme flour sacks with sand to build barriers against rainwater. Karl Baker, the organisation's regional crisis coordinator for Gaza, speaking from Amman, said funding had arrived late and was not at the scale needed to support an estimated 1.8 to 1.9 million people requiring shelter assistance. Tents in Gaza typically last only about six months and are often destroyed or abandoned when families are displaced again. More than 4,000 buildings are reported to be at risk of collapse, and only around 30 per cent of Gaza is now accessible to most people. Supplies are routed from countries including China, India and Pakistan through Jordan, Egypt and Israel.
Needing shelter help:
Around two million
Buildings at risk of collapse:
More than 4,000
Area accessible:
Around 30 per cent of Gaza
Why it matters for exams: Humanitarian figures on shelter, access and funding that recur in essay and interview questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IOM International Organization for Migration — The United Nations agency for migration, which leads shelter work in Gaza.
18 October 2026
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that lead exposure is estimated to cause more than 3.5 million deaths globally each year and affects hundreds of millions of children. The call was issued ahead of International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Although exposure is entirely preventable, fewer than half of countries had confirmed legally binding controls on paint containing lead. Contamination can come from paint, cookware, cosmetics, spices, informal recycling and industrial sources, and there is no known safe level of contact. Lead contributes to cardiovascular and kidney disease in adults and causes irreversible damage to the brain and development of children. Member States have mandated the agency to develop a Global Action Plan on Lead Mitigation, which will be presented to the World Health Assembly next year, and the PREVENT Technical Package on Lead Poisoning Prevention will be launched in 2027. Laboratory capacity building is being carried out in Brazil, India, Nepal and six countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Annual deaths:
More than 3.5 million
Technical package launch:
PREVENT, in 2027
Countries with binding paint controls:
Fewer than half
Why it matters for exams: A global health burden statistic with a named action plan and timeline.
Kerala PSCUPSC