26 October 2026
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party won Brazil's presidential run-off, taking more than 51 percent of the vote and over 64 million ballots. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro finished with 48 percent, or more than 59 million ballots, a margin of more than 4 million votes. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court called the race shortly after 9pm Brasilia time. In the first round on 4 October, Flavio Bolsonaro had 47 percent and Lula 45 percent, and neither reached the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off. Polls on run-off day stayed open two hours longer, until 7pm Brasilia time, after a ruling by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin. Lula, who is 80, will be sworn in on 5 January 2027. It is his fourth, non-consecutive term: he served two consecutive terms from 2002 to 2010 and a third term from 2022.
Winner's vote share:
More than 51 percent
Runner-up's vote share:
48 percent
Electoral authority:
Superior Electoral Court
Swearing-in:
5 January 2027
Why it matters for exams: Brazil's capital, currency, two-round system and its place in BRICS are repeatedly asked in world affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Run-off Run-off election — A second round held between the top two candidates when no one wins an outright majority.
26 October 2026
Algeria's upper house, the Council of the Nation, unanimously approved sending troops to Niger in an emergency session on Sunday, 25 October 2026. The lower house was expected to hold a separate session the same evening. Under the Algerian constitution the president may send military units abroad if both chambers approve by a two-thirds majority. The deployed units are expected to secure oil facilities in Niger. If approved, it would be Algeria's first military mission outside its borders since 1973, when it sent troops to support Egypt in the Arab-Israeli war. Niger's Defence Minister, General Salifou Modi, had visited Algeria the previous week and met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Chief of Staff General Said Chanegriha, and the two sides signed a military cooperation protocol. In late August Algeria had sent fighter jets to Niger; its Ministry of Defence said the aircraft went at Niger's request.
Chamber that approved:
Council of the Nation, Algeria's upper house
Constitutional threshold:
Two-thirds of parliament
Last such deployment:
1973
Why it matters for exams: Algeria and Niger, their capitals and the Sahel region are increasingly asked in world affairs.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Council of the Nation Council of the Nation — The upper house of Algeria's parliament.
26 October 2026
Bulgaria's presidential election went to a run-off after the first round on Sunday, 25 October 2026, which saw a record low turnout. The run-off will be held on November 1. The race is expected to be decided between Iliana Yotova, the incumbent president and a 62-year-old journalist and former member of the European Parliament, and Andrey Gyurov, an economist, former deputy central bank governor and former caretaker prime minister backed by pro-Western reformist opposition parties. A total of 27 candidates contested the first round. A first-round win needed turnout above 50 per cent of the 6.6 million registered voters as well as a majority of the votes. Rumen Radev, who served two terms as president, stepped down to run for parliament, and Yotova, his former vice president, took over the presidency in January 2026.
First round:
Sunday, October 25, 2026
Run-off date:
November 1
Candidates:
27
Registered voters:
6.6 million
Why it matters for exams: Bulgaria's capital, currency and EU membership, and the idea of a two-round presidential election, are standard world affairs facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Caretaker prime minister Caretaker prime minister — A head of government appointed to run the administration until a new government is formed.
26 October 2026
The Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday, 25 October 2026, that it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh that morning, a drone in the Riyadh region and a cruise missile aimed at Khamis Mushait. Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki gave the figures. The coalition later reported intercepting 10 ballistic missiles fired towards southern Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Civil Defence agency said debris from two ballistic missiles destroyed over Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah caused two injuries and damaged three residential buildings and seven vehicles. Operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had been halted on 10 October after a Houthi attack that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300; the airport said international flights would resume from Terminal 2. In Yemen, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, advanced on Jabal Sabr overlooking Taiz and have cut the main road to Aden, the interim capital. The United Nations warned that time is running out to deliver aid to the 800,000 people trapped in Taiz.
Missiles intercepted over southern Saudi Arabia:
10 ballistic missiles
Coalition spokesman:
Major-General Turki al-Maliki
People trapped in Taiz:
800,000
Why it matters for exams: Yemen's capital and interim capital, Saudi Arabia's capital and the Houthi movement's formal name are asked in world affairs papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Ansar Allah Ansar Allah — The formal name of the Houthi movement in Yemen.
26 October 2026
Israel votes on Tuesday in legislative elections for the Knesset, the first since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023. The Knesset has 120 seats and a governing majority requires 61. The electoral threshold is 3.25 per cent, and the parliament's term lasts four years. Benjamin Netanyahu leads Likud and is described as Israel's longest-serving prime minister, with more than 15 of the last 17 years in office and 19 years in total. The pro-Netanyahu bloc includes Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism-Zehut. The opposition bloc includes Yashar, the Democrats, Yisrael Beiteinu and the Together alliance. The Arab-led parties are Ra'am, the United Arab List, and the Joint List of Hadash, Balad and Ta'al. About 7.3 million Israeli citizens are eligible to vote, including about 1.2 million Palestinian citizens of Israel. A ban on publishing new surveys took effect on Friday.
Seats in the Knesset:
120
Seats for a majority:
61
Electoral threshold:
3.25 per cent
Eligible voters:
About 7.3 million
Why it matters for exams: The Knesset's size, the 61-seat majority and the 3.25 per cent threshold are precise, durable facts about a parliament often asked about.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Knesset Knesset — Israel's unicameral parliament, with 120 members.
Electoral threshold Electoral threshold — The minimum share of the vote a party must win to enter parliament.
26 October 2026
UN News reported on 25 October 2026 that governments and industry have backed a faster global rollout of air traffic flow management after five days of talks in Montreal convened by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Air traffic flow management lets airlines, airports, controllers and weather services share information and decide together, so that airports which cannot take more aircraft coordinate with other airports to hold back departures instead of leaving planes circling. New international rules on flow management are due in November 2030, with regional workshops planned for 2027. EUROCONTROL estimated that air traffic management delays in Europe cost an estimated $2.3 billion or more in 2025, and a EUROCONTROL programme avoided around 3.1 million minutes of delay between May and August 2026, saving an estimated $448 million. Collaborative trials in the Americas supported by ICAO saved more than 265,000 minutes of flying time in 2026 and over $38.9 million, with about 13,330 tonnes of fuel saved and 42,160 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions avoided. ICAO says airlines carried nearly five billion passengers on 38 million flights in 2025, and projects air travel could reach 12.4 billion passengers by 2050.
ICAO member States:
193
New international rules due:
November 2030
Passengers carried in 2025:
Nearly five billion on 38 million flights
Projection for 2050:
12.4 billion passengers
Why it matters for exams: ICAO, its headquarters and member count, and EUROCONTROL are standard international organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization — The United Nations agency that sets global aviation standards, based in Montreal.
26 October 2026
A World Health Organization Disease Outbreak News item published on 23 October 2026 says Nigeria has reported one imported case of Bundibugyo virus disease, confirmed on 20 October in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, making it the fifth affected country since the outbreak was declared on 15 May 2026. As of 20 October, 44 contacts were being monitored in Nigeria. The Democratic Republic of the Congo had 9704 confirmed cases and 4687 deaths, a crude case fatality ratio of 48.3%, with 2595 recoveries across 66 health zones in eight provinces. Kenya had nine cases including one death, with the first imported case confirmed on 6 October. Contact follow-up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo stood at 79.7%, below the 95.0% target. WHO rates the risk as very high in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, high for countries sharing land borders with it, and low for the rest of the African region and globally. WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, affected countries.
Nigeria's cases:
One imported case, confirmed 20 October in Federal Capital Territory Abuja
DR Congo cases and deaths:
9704 confirmed cases, 4687 deaths
Crude case fatality ratio:
48.3%
Outbreak declared:
15 May 2026
Why it matters for exams: The WHO, its Disease Outbreak News and the capitals of the affected countries are regular health and world affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WHO World Health Organization — The United Nations agency for international public health, based in Geneva.
Case fatality ratio Case fatality ratio — The share of confirmed cases of a disease that end in death.
21 October 2026
The Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return, published by the United Nations Environment Programme, says global temperature rise is set to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and that countries must cut emissions urgently to minimise the overshoot and return below the threshold by the end of this century. The report outlines a lowest possible overshoot scenario in which peak warming by roughly mid-century is limited to 1.7 to 1.8 degrees Celsius. Achieving this requires cutting emissions by 18 per cent by the end of the decade, 45 per cent by 2035 and 69 per cent five years later, compared with 2025 levels. If current policies continue, warming could reach 2.8 degrees Celsius within this century. Even if all national climate action plans are delivered and similar efforts continue, warming will be limited to 2.6 degrees Celsius. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a message with the report that overshoot is not surrender. UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said every additional fraction of a degree above 1.5 degrees Celsius increases climate impacts and risks.
Report:
Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return
Lowest possible overshoot:
Peak warming limited to 1.7 to 1.8 degrees Celsius
Cuts needed by 2035:
45 per cent, compared with 2025 levels
Warming under current policies:
Could reach 2.8 degrees Celsius
Why it matters for exams: UNEP, the Emissions Gap Report and the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement are among the most asked environment facts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme — The UN body that publishes the annual Emissions Gap Report.
Overshoot Temperature overshoot — Warming that rises past a temperature limit before being brought back below it.
20 October 2026
Robin Geiss, Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, told journalists at a briefing at UN Headquarters in New York that artificial intelligence is already being widely used on the battlefield and that the role of human judgment in military operations is shrinking rapidly. He warned that AI is on track to crowding out human decision-making, and asked whether machines should be allowed to target and kill human beings. He said AI is being given a growing number of responsibilities from intelligence analysis and target identification to drone operations and cyber-attacks, including in the nuclear domain. He said many of these systems are opaque and increase the risk of error, miscalculation and unintended escalation, and that easier AI tools will make sophisticated military operations available to non-State actors. He said geopolitical competition is a serious obstacle to regulating military AI, but that concerns are increasingly shared, and that the Secretary-General's calls for a legally binding treaty on lethal autonomous weapon systems are finding an echo. UNIDIR's Centre of Excellence on AI, Peace and Security was to launch a multi-stakeholder forum on AI in international peace and security.
Speaker:
Robin Geiss, Director of UNIDIR
Venue:
UN Headquarters, New York
Treaty sought:
A legally binding treaty on lethal autonomous weapon systems
Why it matters for exams: UNIDIR, lethal autonomous weapon systems and the push for a binding treaty are new but frequently examined topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research — The UN's independent research institute on disarmament and security.
LAWS Lethal autonomous weapon systems — Weapons that can select and attack targets without direct human control.
Background
The Met Office, Met Éireann and KNMI, the Dutch national meteorological service, select storm names jointly as the western Europe storm naming group. Their list for 2026/27, published by the Met Office, begins with Austen, Boelo and Chloe and runs to 21 names, ending with Vesna and Wende. The list excludes certain letters to align with international storm-naming conventions. A storm is named when it has the potential to cause medium or high impacts in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, which usually means an amber or red warning is expected at some point during the event. Strong winds are the primary consideration, but rain or snow with significant impacts can also trigger a name. Names are assessed for difficulty of pronunciation, differing meanings across the three countries, links to significant public figures and potential controversy. Austen and Boelo are the first two names on the 2026/27 list, and the Western Europe storm naming group named four storms in the previous season.
Naming services:
Met Office, Met Éireann and KNMI
Names on the list:
21
First three names:
Austen, Boelo and Chloe
Naming trigger:
Potential for medium or high impacts in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands
Why it matters for exams: Storm naming, amber and red warnings and the national met services of Europe come up in geography and disaster management questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
KNMI Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut — The Dutch national meteorological service, one of the three that name storms for western Europe.
Met Éireann Met Éireann — Ireland's national meteorological service.
Background
The Emissions Gap Report 2026 rests on the machinery of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which was adopted in 2015 and set the 1.5-degree target. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit national climate action plans, known as NDCs. UN News reports that even if all NDCs are delivered and similar efforts continue, warming will be limited to 2.6 degrees Celsius, and that new NDCs submitted since the last emissions report have hardly made a difference. The first-ever Global Stocktake was a process held from 2021 to 2023 to assess collective progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement, and the report calls for accelerating implementation of the goals it set out, including tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling the annual rate of energy efficiency improvement. The report also notes that renewable energy has boomed since 2015 and that total energy supply from coal and oil has grown more slowly than projected.
Paris Agreement adopted:
2015
First Global Stocktake:
Held from 2021 to 2023
Warming if all NDCs are delivered:
2.6 degrees Celsius
Why it matters for exams: NDCs, the Global Stocktake and the year the Paris Agreement was adopted are asked in almost every environment paper.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NDC Nationally Determined Contribution — A country's own climate action plan submitted under the Paris Agreement.
Global Stocktake Global Stocktake — The periodic review of collective progress towards the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Background
The World Health Organization describes Bundibugyo virus disease as a severe Ebola disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus, one of the Orthoebolavirus species. The outbreak that has now reached five countries was declared on 15 May 2026, and the WHO page lists the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and France among the countries that have reported cases since then. The WHO page states that no approved vaccines or specific treatments currently exist for Bundibugyo virus disease. A pivotal Phase 2/3 vaccine trial against Bundibugyo virus, named TUMAINI, was launched on 23 October, with the first participants enrolled in Bunia. Contact tracing is central to control: in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the follow-up rate was 79.7%, below the target of 95.0%. The WHO advises against any restriction of travel to, or trade with, affected countries.
Virus species group:
Orthoebolavirus
Outbreak declared:
15 May 2026
Vaccine trial:
TUMAINI, a Phase 2/3 trial, first participants in Bunia
Contact follow-up rate in DR Congo:
79.7%, below the 95.0% target
Why it matters for exams: The virus family behind Ebola, the phases of a vaccine trial and the role of contact tracing are standard health questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Orthoebolavirus Orthoebolavirus — The genus of viruses that cause Ebola disease, of which Bundibugyo virus is one species.