23 October 2026
An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 struck Tibet on the evening of 22 October 2026.
India's National Centre for Seismology recorded the time as 8:03 PM IST and placed the epicentre in Baqen County, Nagqu City, about 400 km from Lhasa, at a depth of 173 km.
Sixteen people were killed and 54 injured, 11 of them in serious condition.
The Nagqu media office said at least 339 homes and 20 livestock sheds collapsed.
Communication services were disrupted in parts of the region and railway authorities halted train services as a precaution.
More than 1,600 personnel were deployed for rescue work, with intermittent snowfall forecast over the affected area for three days.
Magnitude:
7.0
Epicentre:
Baqen County, Nagqu City, Tibet
Depth:
173 km
Deaths:
16
Homes collapsed:
At least 339
Why it matters for exams: Major earthquakes are asked with magnitude, epicentre and the agency that measured them, and the Tibetan plateau's seismicity links to Himalayan geology.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
NCS National Centre for Seismology — India's nodal agency for monitoring earthquakes.
Epicentre Epicentre — The point on the earth's surface directly above where an earthquake originates.
23 October 2026
Typhoon Champi approached Taiwan on 23 October 2026, with the island's Central Weather Administration reporting gusts of about 191 km/h near the centre of the storm.
The storm's circulation extends about 320 km and it was positioned roughly 330 km east of Taiwan's southern tip, wide enough to affect most of the island.
Financial markets, schools and government offices were closed across much of Taiwan.
The Transport Ministry cancelled all 262 domestic flights scheduled for the day and more than 350 international flights.
The Central Weather Administration forecast that Champi would pass just off northeastern Taiwan without a direct landfall, then turn north towards the Chinese coast and move on towards southern Japan, passing over Yonaguni in Okinawa Prefecture.
Gusts near the centre:
About 191 km/h
Domestic flights cancelled:
262
Circulation:
About 320 km
Why it matters for exams: Named tropical cyclones of the western Pacific, the countries they hit and the agencies that track them are routinely asked.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
Typhoon Typhoon — The name given to a tropical cyclone in the north-western Pacific Ocean.
23 October 2026
The Board of the United Nations Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage approved US$20 million for Nepal at an extraordinary meeting on 22 October 2026, after an urgent request from the country.
The money is to support Nepal's recovery from floods caused by an ice-and-rock avalanche in the Himalayas on 26 August 2026.
The avalanche triggered floods along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, destroying homes, roads, hydropower projects and other critical infrastructure.
A government assessment puts damage and economic losses at US$2.7 billion, and recovery and reconstruction needs at about US$4.7 billion.
The money has not been disbursed; Nepal must first submit a detailed project proposal for the Fund to approve.
Amount approved:
US$20 million
Damage and economic losses:
US$2.7 billion
Recovery and reconstruction needs:
About US$4.7 billion
Rivers affected:
Bhotekoshi and Trishuli
Why it matters for exams: The Loss and Damage Fund is a core climate-negotiation institution and its first country disbursements are examinable facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Loss and Damage Loss and Damage — In climate negotiations, the harm already suffered by countries from climate change.
23 October 2026
The African Union Commission and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention urged greater continental solidarity and coordinated action against the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak.
AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya discussed the continental response on 22 October 2026.
Kaseya stressed transparency, timely decisions and the urgent mobilisation of resources to contain the outbreak and strengthen public health preparedness.
Confirmed cases have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria, and the outbreak has spread across three African regions.
Africa CDC plans an emergency ministerial meeting with health, finance and transport ministers.
Ebola strain:
Bundibugyo
Countries with confirmed cases:
DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria
Africa CDC Director-General:
Jean Kaseya
Why it matters for exams: Ebola strains, the countries in an outbreak and the regional health bodies that respond are directly asked in health current affairs.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Africa CDC Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention — The African Union's continental public health agency.
23 October 2026
The Bangladesh Army and police evacuated more than 2,000 tourists stranded at Sajek Valley in Rangamati district on 22 October 2026.
A road blockade near Ujjobazar, where protesters burned tyres and stopped a security convoy, had cut traffic between Dighinala in Khagrachhari and Sajek.
The Army and police spent several hours negotiating with the protesters before clearing the barricade and escorting the tourists to safety.
The Rangamati administration suspended tourist visits to Sajek until further notice.
Tourists evacuated:
More than 2,000
District:
Rangamati
Why it matters for exams: The Chittagong Hill Tracts districts of Bangladesh and their place names appear in neighbourhood geography and security questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Sajek Valley Sajek Valley — A hill tourist destination in Bangladesh's Rangamati district.
23 October 2026
Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned a drone-related incident at Saudi Arabia's Shaybah oil field in which a Nepali national was killed.
The field lies in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and is operated by Saudi Aramco.
Debris from a drone that Saudi air defences had intercepted fell near a facility at the oil field.
Others were injured in the incident.
The Ministry expressed deep sorrow, condemned attacks on civilians and critical infrastructure, and called for disputes to be resolved peacefully through dialogue, negotiation and diplomacy.
It extended condolences to the victim's family and wished the injured a recovery.
Oil field:
Shaybah, Eastern Province
Operator:
Saudi Aramco
Why it matters for exams: Saudi Arabia's major oil fields and their operator are standard energy-geography facts, and attacks on them move oil markets.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Saudi Aramco Saudi Arabian Oil Company — Saudi Arabia's state oil company.
23 October 2026
The Institute of International Finance puts total world debt at $365 trillion, covering government, household and corporate borrowing.
Total debt rose by $10 trillion in the first half of 2026, with much of the increase coming from emerging markets.
Advanced economies paid more than $3.3 trillion in interest on government bonds over the past year, which exceeds global spending on defence at $3.1 trillion, artificial intelligence at $2.6 trillion and clean energy at $2.3 trillion.
Japan's debt stands at 199 per cent of GDP, the highest ratio among major economies, with the United States at $41.4 trillion and 127 per cent of GDP.
France owes $4.2 trillion, or 118.5 per cent of GDP, the fifth largest in the world, and pays about 5 per cent to borrow for ten years against 3.41 per cent for Germany.
France's ten-year borrowing cost is its highest since 2002 and now exceeds those of Italy and Greece.
Total world debt:
$365 trillion
Rise in first half of 2026:
$10 trillion
Japan's debt-to-GDP:
199 per cent
Interest paid by advanced economies:
More than $3.3 trillion
Why it matters for exams: Debt-to-GDP ratios of major economies and the body that compiles global debt totals are standard economy questions.
UPSCSSCBank
In plain words
IIF Institute of International Finance — A global association of financial institutions that compiles world debt data.
Debt-to-GDP ratio Debt-to-GDP ratio — A country's debt expressed as a share of its annual output.
23 October 2026
Overnight Russian strikes on Kyiv into 22 October 2026 killed at least four people and injured dozens, including four children, according to Ukraine's national emergency service.
A residential house in Kyiv was destroyed by a missile strike, and metro infrastructure was damaged at the Pivdenny Bridge over the Dnipro, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
Two people were killed in a strike on a market at Lozova in the Kharkiv region.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people were wounded after Ukraine launched 630 drones, 163 of them towards Moscow, most of which were intercepted.
The strikes came a day after US envoy Steve Witkoff met President Vladimir Putin at Constantine Palace in St Petersburg, where Russia released jailed US teacher Stephen Hubbard.
The Kremlin said Moscow was in principle willing to restart US-mediated talks with Ukraine.
Killed in Kyiv:
At least four
Drones launched by Ukraine:
630, of which 163 towards Moscow
Venue of the Witkoff-Putin meeting:
Constantine Palace, St Petersburg
Why it matters for exams: The war's diplomatic track and the places and officials named in it are asked in international relations questions.
UPSCSSC
In plain words
Kremlin Kremlin — The seat of the Russian presidency, used to mean the Russian government.
23 October 2026
Haze from Indonesia's worst wildfires in a decade has covered skies in Malaysia and Singapore for about two months, with the fires estimated to have burned more than 2 million hectares.
Singapore's National Environment Agency has issued notices to 10 Indonesia-based firms this season under the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act of 2014, which allows prosecution of overseas activity and fines of S$100,000 a day up to S$2 million.
No company has yet been prosecuted under the Act.
The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution was signed in 2002 and is legally binding on ASEAN's 11 members, but it has no judicial enforcement body and disputes can only be settled through negotiation.
The agreement's coordinating office in Jakarta opened in April 2026, nearly 25 years after it was envisioned.
Malaysia has said it could consider a similar law, having abandoned such a proposal in 2023.
Area burned:
More than 2 million hectares
Firms issued notices:
10
ASEAN haze agreement signed:
2002
Maximum fine under Singapore law:
S$2 million
Why it matters for exams: The ASEAN haze agreement, its year and Singapore's domestic haze law are the classic case study of transboundary pollution law.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Transboundary pollution Transboundary pollution — Pollution that originates in one country and causes harm in another.
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations — The regional grouping of Southeast Asian states.
Background
Chapter I of the Charter of the United Nations sets out the Organization's purposes in Article 1 and its principles in Article 2. The first purpose is to maintain international peace and security. The second is to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. The third is to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and in promoting respect for human rights without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. The fourth is to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these common ends. Article 2 states that the Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members, and that nothing in the Charter authorises the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state, though this does not prejudice enforcement measures under Chapter VII.
Purposes set out:
Four, in Article 1
Founding principle:
Sovereign equality of all Members
Why it matters for exams: The purposes in Article 1 and the sovereign equality principle in Article 2 are the most quoted clauses of the Charter in examination papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Domestic jurisdiction clause Article 2(7) of the Charter of the United Nations — It bars the United Nations from intervening in matters essentially within a state's own jurisdiction.
Background
Chapter IV of the Charter of the United Nations governs the General Assembly. Article 9 provides that the General Assembly consists of all the Members of the United Nations, and that each Member shall have not more than five representatives in the Assembly. Article 18 provides that each member of the General Assembly has one vote, and that decisions on important questions are made by a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting. Those important questions include recommendations on the maintenance of international peace and security, the admission of new Members and budgetary questions. Article 17 provides that the General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of the Organization, and that the expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned by the Assembly.
Maximum representatives per Member:
Five
Majority for important questions:
Two-thirds of those present and voting
Why it matters for exams: The one-member-one-vote rule and the two-thirds majority for important questions are among the most asked facts about the General Assembly.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
Background
Chapter X of the Charter of the United Nations governs the Economic and Social Council. Article 61 provides that the Council consists of fifty-four Members of the United Nations elected by the General Assembly. Eighteen members are elected each year for a term of three years, and a retiring member is eligible for immediate re-election. Article 61(3) records the enlargement of the Council from twenty-seven members to fifty-four: at the first election after the increase, twenty-seven additional members were elected, nine of them for a one-year term and nine for a two-year term. Article 67 provides that each member of the Council has one vote and that decisions are made by a majority of the members present and voting.
Members:
Fifty-four
Elected each year:
Eighteen, for three-year terms
Why it matters for exams: The membership figure of the Economic and Social Council and its three-year staggered terms are standard objective questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council — The principal organ of the United Nations that coordinates economic, social and related work.