26 October 2026
Two storms in two days, Austen and Boelo, swept across northern Europe and left more than 150,000 homes without power.
On Sunday about 82,000 homes in Britain, nearly 60,000 in France and at least 10,000 in Germany were without electricity. At the peak of Austen on Saturday about 288,000 homes in France were cut off.
Gusts of up to 135 km per hour were recorded in Argyll and Bute in western Scotland.
The United Kingdom's Met Office warned that Boelo posed a danger to life from flying debris and crashing waves and advised people to stay indoors.
The storms also hit the Netherlands and Belgium, with hundreds of flights cancelled or diverted and Amsterdam Schiphol warning of delays.
Some ferries were cancelled, trucks were barred from Denmark's Great Belt Bridge and some Swedish train services were suspended.
Homes without power:
more than 150,000
Highest gust:
135 km/h in Argyll and Bute
Why it matters for exams: European windstorm names, the Met Office and the geography of the North Sea coast are asked in geography papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Met Office The United Kingdom's national weather service — The official British forecaster, which issues storm warnings and names storms.
26 October 2026
The fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China opened in Beijing on 26 October 2026 as a closed-door, four-day meeting.
About 300 Central Committee members are attending. Eight seats are vacant and fifteen members are under investigation.
The Political Bureau will report its work to the Central Committee, and the session will study major issues in advancing the Party's full and rigorous self-governance.
The decision to hold the session was taken at a Political Bureau meeting chaired by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
Strengthening party discipline and supervision of cadres is the central item, and appointments to the Central Military Commission are possible.
The Political Bureau meeting noted that the Party's self-governance faces new circumstances and challenges.
Session:
Fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee
Members attending:
about 300
Why it matters for exams: The CPC's Central Committee, Political Bureau and Central Military Commission are asked about in world polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CPC Communist Party of China — The sole governing party of the People's Republic of China.
Plenary session A full meeting of the Central Committee — A meeting of the whole Central Committee, usually held once a year between Party Congresses.
26 October 2026
The 350th meeting of the Council of the European Space Agency was held at ESA Headquarters in Paris on 21 and 22 October 2026 at delegate level.
The Council approved two new directors who take up their posts on 1 January 2027: Andrzej Banasiak as Director of Commercialisation and Industry Partnership, and Nicolaus Hanowski as Director of Space Operations.
The Council advanced preparations for the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting, IMM26, to be held in Rome on 15 December.
It discussed the Director General's proposal titled Europe's Future in Space Exploration, which sets out a scalable European path in low Earth orbit, on the Moon and towards Mars.
Member States also reviewed ESA and European Union cooperation, including the first Sherpas meeting of the Commission's Space Team Europe initiative, the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028 to 2034, the European Competitiveness Fund, the EU Space Act and the EUSPA regulation.
ESA emphasised a clear division of responsibilities with the European Union to avoid duplication.
Council meeting:
350th, at Paris
Ministerial meeting:
IMM26 at Rome on 15 December
Why it matters for exams: ESA's Council, its headquarters and its relationship with the European Union are regular science and international questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ESA European Space Agency — The intergovernmental space agency of European states, with headquarters in Paris.
EUSPA European Union Agency for the Space Programme — The European Union agency that runs the operational side of EU space programmes such as Galileo.
25 October 2026
Aleksandar Vucic conceded defeat in Serbia's snap parliamentary election held on 25 October 2026, saying it was clear that his side had lost.
The winner is the opposition Student List, which grew out of nationwide anticorruption protests led by students.
Vucic said the Student List was expected to win between 135 and 140 of the 250 seats in the National Assembly, while his own list was expected to take about 105. A majority needs 126 seats.
The State Election Commission put turnout at 64.9 per cent by 6 pm local time, the highest since Yugoslavia broke up in 1992.
Vucic led the Serbian Progressive Party, which had governed Serbia since 2012. He resigned as president in September to run for prime minister.
Smaller lists including the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians also won seats, and parties must cross a 3 per cent threshold.
Seats in the National Assembly:
250
Turnout by 6 pm:
64.9 per cent
Electoral threshold:
3 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Serbia's National Assembly, its party system and the breakup of Yugoslavia are standard world polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Snap election An election called earlier than scheduled — A national vote held before the legislature's normal term ends.
SNS Serbian Progressive Party — The party that governed Serbia from 2012 and was led by Aleksandar Vucic.
25 October 2026
Marine Le Pen launched her campaign for the French presidency with a rally at Orleans, where organisers put attendance at 8,500.
She is the presidential candidate of the Rassemblement National, the National Rally, a nationalist and anti-immigration party.
The French presidential election is due in May 2027. Le Pen said a Le Pen presidency would restore the rule of law.
Jordan Bardella, who was re-elected president of the party with 98.98 per cent of the vote, introduced her on stage and would be her prime minister if she wins.
Le Pen has given up chairing the party's group in the National Assembly, and Sebastien Chenu is taking over that role.
About 3,000 security and emergency personnel were deployed in Orleans over the weekend.
Rally attendance:
8,500 (organisers)
Bardella's re-election margin:
98.98 per cent
Why it matters for exams: France's semi-presidential system, the National Assembly and party names are frequent world polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Rassemblement National National Rally — A French nationalist, anti-immigration party, formerly called the National Front.
25 October 2026
Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, returned to Venezuela after nearly ten months in exile.
She announced her return in a post on X, writing "I am here. With you".
Machado had covertly left Venezuela in December 2025 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
According to her party she tried to return seven times in the past three months from the United States, Panama and Curacao and was blocked by Venezuelan authorities each time.
Nicolas Maduro's deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, is ruling as interim president after United States forces took Maduro to New York to face criminal charges.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio credited United States supported reconciliation talks for her safe return.
Length of exile:
nearly 10 months
Why it matters for exams: The Nobel Peace Prize, its awarding body and Venezuela's geography are standard current affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Exile Living outside one's own country, usually for political reasons — Being away from one's country, often because returning is unsafe or barred.
26 October 2026
A study published in Nature measured the contribution of salt marshes to wave attenuation during extreme storms, at a time when storms have been battering northern Europe.
In a full-scale flume experiment an intact salt marsh was exposed to waves up to 2 m significant wave height.
The marsh substrate persisted with negligible erosion, with average surface lowering of about 7 mm over roughly 21 hours.
The vegetation was progressively damaged: after about 21 hours above-ground biomass fell to 20 to 25 per cent of its initial level and stem length dropped by 47 per cent.
The vegetation's contribution to wave attenuation was 6 to 22 per cent for 0.75 m waves and 0 to 6 per cent for 2 m waves.
In a global analysis, vegetation was most effective on low-energy coasts with waves up to 1 m, where attenuation generally exceeded 10 per cent and reached up to 50 per cent.
Maximum wave height tested:
2 m significant wave height
Attenuation on low-energy coasts:
generally above 10 per cent, up to 50 per cent
Why it matters for exams: Nature-based coastal defence and the journals that publish such findings are asked in environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Salt marsh Coastal wetland flooded by salt water at high tide — A low coastal wetland of salt-tolerant plants that is flooded and drained by tides.
Wave attenuation Reduction in wave energy and height — The weakening of waves as they travel across shallow water or vegetation.
25 October 2026
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, the United States and Russia is set for November, in an attempt to restart stalled peace talks.
He said in a Ukrainian television interview that Ukraine is ready to talk and that a territorial question must be addressed at leadership level.
United States envoy Steve Witkoff met Zelenskyy and European leaders in Oslo and then met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.
Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said Putin had agreed in principle to restart talks after 10 November and that the talks would focus on a post-conflict security framework.
Three earlier rounds had been held, two in Abu Dhabi and one in Geneva, and produced little beyond prisoner-of-war exchanges.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store and Finnish President Alexander Stubb took part in the Oslo meeting.
Earlier rounds:
two at Abu Dhabi, one at Geneva
Why it matters for exams: The capitals and leaders of the states in the Russia-Ukraine talks are standard international relations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Trilateral Involving three parties — A meeting or agreement between three countries or parties.
26 October 2026
A paper published in Nature reports that cold temperature activates a BH2 metabolic network that promotes longevity and protects proteins in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
Cold raises levels of the enzyme CAT-4, called GCH1 in humans, which increases production of dihydrobiopterin, or BH2.
BH2 is described as a transportable reservoir for the bioactive cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin, or BH4.
Muscle makes BH2, which travels to tissues such as the intestine and neurons, where the enzyme DHFR-1 converts it into BH4.
BH4 is a cofactor for PAH-1, which drives tyrosine synthesis and extends lifespan, and the pathway also prevents disease-related protein aggregation and neuronal dysfunction during ageing.
In human cells, supplying BH2 or tyrosine reduced the aggregation of polyQ-expanded huntingtin and of mutant TDP-43 and FUS linked to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Model organism:
Caenorhabditis elegans
Cold-induced metabolites identified:
45
Why it matters for exams: Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism and the journals that publish ageing research are common science questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Proteostasis Protein homeostasis — The cell's system for keeping its proteins correctly folded and functional.
ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — A progressive disease of the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement.
Background
The European Space Agency's Council has just held its 350th meeting and approved two new directors, so it is worth knowing how the agency is built.
ESA was created in 1975 as an intergovernmental organisation and has 23 Member States.
Its headquarters is in Paris, where policies and programmes are decided.
The Council is ESA's governing body and sets the basic policy guidelines for the European space programme. Each Member State has one vote regardless of its size or financial contribution.
The Council elects the Director General every four years. Josef Aschbacher is the Director General, and ESA's budget was 7.68 billion euro for 2025.
Its establishments include ESTEC at Noordwijk in the Netherlands, ESOC at Darmstadt in Germany, ESRIN at Frascati in Italy, ESAC near Madrid in Spain, the European Astronaut Centre at Cologne and ECSAT at Harwell in the United Kingdom.
Founded:
1975
Member States:
23
Budget:
7.68 billion euro for 2025
Why it matters for exams: ESA's founding year, membership, headquarters and centres are directly asked in science and international questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ESTEC European Space Research and Technology Centre — ESA's main technical centre, at Noordwijk in the Netherlands.
ESOC European Space Operations Centre — ESA's mission control centre, at Darmstadt in Germany.
Background
The Communist Party of China is holding the fifth plenary session of its 20th Central Committee in Beijing, so the structure behind that name is worth setting out.
The Party's National Congress meets once in five years and elects a Central Committee, which is numbered after the Congress that elected it; the present one is the 20th Central Committee.
Between Congresses the Central Committee meets in plenary sessions, usually once a year, and these are numbered in order, so the fifth plenum is the fifth such full meeting of this Central Committee.
The Political Bureau, or Politburo, acts for the Central Committee between plenums and reports its work to the plenary session.
The General Secretary of the Central Committee is the Party's highest post, and Xi Jinping is the general secretary who chaired the Political Bureau meeting that convened this session.
The Central Military Commission is the Party's top military body, and the session may decide appointments to it.
National Congress interval:
once in five years
Current Central Committee:
the 20th
Why it matters for exams: The Congress, Central Committee, Politburo and Central Military Commission are the standard set of Chinese polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Politburo Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee — The small body that acts for the Central Committee between its plenary sessions.
CMC Central Military Commission — The Party body that commands China's People's Liberation Army.