8 November 2026
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he will put forward Ilse Aigner, speaker of the Bavarian state parliament and a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU), for the post of Federal President. He told Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leaders at a dinner on Sunday. She is a nominee and has not been elected. If she wins, she will be the first woman to hold the office. The CDU and CSU are due to settle on her at a meeting on Monday, and the SPD and the Greens have already said they support her. A body called the Federal Convention votes on January 30 to pick the successor to Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose two-term limit ends in March 2027. The post is mostly ceremonial.
Nominee:
Ilse Aigner (CSU)
Electing body:
Federal Convention
Incumbent:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Why it matters for exams: Heads of state and how they are chosen are core international-affairs facts: Germany's Federal Convention, the ceremonial role and the two-term limit.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
CSU Christian Social Union in Bavaria — The Bavarian sister party of the CDU.
8 November 2026
Mercedes have won the 2026 Formula 1 Constructors' Championship, with the title confirmed at the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos. George Russell took fourth place and Kimi Antonelli fifth, and those points were enough to settle it. McLaren's Lando Norris won the 71-lap race, which turned from wet to dry and wet again, finishing 14.6 seconds clear after starting on pole. It was his third win of the season. Max Verstappen of Red Bull came second after starting 21st, with team-mate Isack Hadjar third. Lewis Hamilton was ninth in his 400th Formula 1 race.
Race winner:
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Winning margin:
14.6 seconds
Race length:
71 laps
Title clinched:
Mercedes, Constructors'
Why it matters for exams: Sports bodies (FIA), the two F1 championships and circuit locations are standard sports questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
FIA Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile — The governing body of Formula 1.
8 November 2026
Pope Leo XIV flew into Buenos Aires from Uruguay on Sunday, the second stop of a 12-day tour of South America. No pope had visited Argentina since 1987, so this is the first visit in almost four decades. President Javier Milei welcomed him at Jorge Newbery airport at a time when the government and the Catholic Church disagree over spending cuts. In a speech at the Palacio Libertad to officials, civil society and diplomats, the pope said the economy should serve the person, not the other way round. He asked for special care for the poor, retired people and those who are ill or disabled.
Tour length:
12 days
Last papal visit to Argentina:
1987
Arrival airport:
Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires
Why it matters for exams: Papal diplomacy and Latin American capitals come up regularly; the Vatican City is the world's smallest sovereign state.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Palacio Libertad Cultural centre in Buenos Aires where the pope addressed officials — The venue of the pope's first public address.
9 November 2026
Foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) are meeting in Paris on Monday and Tuesday. The seven members are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. On the table are how Europe can have a part in American efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine, and how to persuade Washington not to start fresh military action against Iran. Talks between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the United States, are due to start in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has said Europeans will be represented there. European governments worry that Ukraine may be pushed towards a settlement that favours Russia.
Meeting:
G7 foreign ministers, Paris
Members:
7
Parallel talks:
Abu Dhabi, US-mediated
Why it matters for exams: G7 membership, Russia's suspension from the old G8 and the venues of peace talks are regular international questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
G7 Group of Seven leading industrialised democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.
7 November 2026
The US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday that it has set up a new team, Task Force Iron Gate, to stop Iran bringing advanced weapons and other banned goods in over its land borders and across the Caspian Sea. It adds to a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz that has lasted for months. The team has 20 civilian and military members and is based in Florida. CENTCOM's commander, Admiral Brad Cooper, said it would make it harder for Iran to raise money and rebuild weapons factories. President Donald Trump wrote on Sunday that the task force was already working. Iran's Revolutionary Guards say the effort will fail. The war has gone on for about eight months.
Task force:
Iron Gate
Team size:
20
CENTCOM chief:
Admiral Brad Cooper
War duration:
Eighth month
Why it matters for exams: Choke points like the Strait of Hormuz and the command structure (CENTCOM) of the US military recur in international and security sections.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
CENTCOM United States Central Command — The US military command for the Middle East.
8 November 2026
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz won the Paris Masters on Sunday, beating American Ben Shelton 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the final. It is his first title at the event and his ninth ATP Masters 1000 crown in all. He has now won seven of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments; only Canada and Shanghai are missing. The 23-year-old had lost to Shelton in the US Open quarter-finals in September and has won three titles in the two months since. The Paris Masters is one of nine Masters 1000 events on the men's tour.
Final score:
7-6 (5), 7-5
ATP 1000 titles:
9
Opponent:
Ben Shelton (USA)
Why it matters for exams: Tennis tournament tiers (Grand Slams, ATP Masters 1000) and players' nationalities are standard sports questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
ATP Masters 1000 Nine top-tier ATP Tour events below the Grand Slams — The Paris Masters is one of nine such events.
9 November 2026
Türkiye, which is hosting the UN climate conference COP31 in Antalya, wants electrification to be the main theme. The talks run from 9 to 20 November. Türkiye has put forward a non-binding 35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge, under which electricity would meet at least 35 per cent of the world's energy demand by 2035. The International Energy Agency says electricity now meets about one-fifth of final energy use. Murat Kurum, Türkiye's environment minister, is the COP31 president, while Australia leads the negotiations. The conference will also begin the second global stocktake, the Paris Agreement's formal check on collective progress.
Venue:
Antalya, Türkiye
COP31 president:
Murat Kurum
Pledge:
35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge
Negotiations led by:
Australia
Why it matters for exams: COP host cities, presidents and pledges are staple environment questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Global stocktake The Paris Agreement's formal progress assessment — COP31 will launch the second one.
Background
The Kristallnacht pogrom took place on the night of November 9-10, 1938, and its 88th anniversary falls this week. A panel at the United Nations in New York looked back at it. During that night synagogues were burned, Jewish homes and shops were wrecked, and about 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps. The name means night of broken glass, but the UN calls it a softened word that hides the violence done to people. The attacks reached Jewish communities across Germany, Austria and the Sudetenland. Historian Christoph Kreutzmüller noted 2,416 violent incidents against Jews in Germany, within its 1937 borders, during 1938. Rabbi Arthur Schneier, who as a boy saw his Vienna synagogue burn, spoke by video.
Night of the pogrom:
9-10 November 1938
Jewish men arrested:
About 30,000
Violent incidents recorded in 1938:
2,416
Why it matters for exams: Background on the Holocaust timeline and how the UN remembers it; each question here is a settled historical fact.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Kristallnacht Night of Broken Glass — Name for the November 1938 pogrom against Jews in Nazi-controlled lands.