CURRENT AFFAIRS INDIA
Anti-CEC protest LIVE updates: CJP to address press meet as protesters detained across Delhi, Mumbai. Over 5,000 protesters, including CJP’s Dipke, CPI(M) leaders, and student activists, have been detained in New Delhi. Even as the Delhi Police — who denied permission for the demonstration — detained founder Abhijeet Dipke and other CJP leaders including Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka as soon as they landed in Delhi, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said the youth protest will carry on with or without its leadership. Mamata Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress leaders detained in Kolkata. Activist and scientist Sonam Wangchuk said that he will be “compelled” to consider an Anshan Fast or Padyatra March if detained protestors are not released by tomorrow.The protest called by the CJP and other Left organisationson Saturday (October 10, 2026) to step up pressure on the demand of CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, is facing severe crackdown.
Israel to honour Indian pilot Smit Machchhar with top civilian bravery award. Israel will honour Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar with the Presidential Award for Civil Heroism for his role in preventing a major aviation disaster aboard a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv, President Isaac Herzog announced Herzog made the announcement while presenting the Presidential Medal for Civilian Heroism to six Israeli passengers who helped thwart the alleged attempt to crash flight FZ1073 last week.The ceremony was held in Jerusalem.“Alongside the Israeli heroes we honor today, we send our heartfelt wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Captain Smit Machchhar of India. Captain Machchhar’s courage, bravery and professionalism helped prevent this catastrophe,” Herzog said.“Once he regains his strength, it will be an honour and a privilege for me to present him, on behalf of the people of Israel, with the Presidential State of Israel Award for Civil Heroism,” he added.The announcement came as Machchhar continued to recover in a hospital in Abu Dhabi after sustaining serious injuries during an alleged attack by his co-pilot inside the aircraft’s cockpit.
CURRENT AFFAIRS INTERNATIONAL
Houthis claim new attack against airport in Saudi capital Riyadh as witness reports evacuation. Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency said a kindergarten and medical complex in Riyadh were damaged by shrapnel from an intercepted missile, hours after explosions rattled Riyadh. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen claimed the new attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, saying the ballistic missile caused damage but giving no evidence.
‘Navi’ Pillay, South African jurist of Tamil descent, wins 2026 Peace Nobel. Ms. Pillay has served as a judge on the High Court in South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Court. Navi Pillay has begun giving a press conference after the declaration that she has won this year’s Nobel Peace prize. She began by saying she dedicates the award to “survivors of international crimes”.She called on people to stand together in the defence of rule of law.US imposes sanctions on ICC, hours after former judge Pillay wins Nobel peace prize – as it happened. The ICC’s deputy prosecutor condemned the sanctions and said they would not halt the tribunal’s work.
Nobel Prize in Literature goes to Canadian author Anne Carson. Anne Carson was awarded the prize “for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature,” the Swedish Academy said.
SUPERB SCIENCES
Three Science Discoveries That Sound Straight Out Of Sci-Fi. This year’s Nobel science winners were honoured for their research on tiny particles from space, using light to control brain cells, and studying mirror-image molecules.This year’s Nobel science winners were honoured for their research on tiny particles from space, using light to control brain cells, and studying mirror-image molecules. The 2026 Nobel science prizes have recognised discoveries that mirror something straight out of sci-fi films. This year’s Nobel science winners were honoured for their research on tiny particles from space, using light to control brain cells, and studying mirror-image molecules.
Nobel Prize in Physics
Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to Francis Halzen for his work on the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a giant detector built into the ice near the South Pole.The observatory is designed to detect neutrinos, tiny particles that rarely interact with ordinary matter. This allows them to travel through space and matter over long distances without being easily detected.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their research on using light to control brain cells. The research began in the 1990s when Hegemann was studying a type of single-celled algae called Chlamydomonas. He noticed that the algae responded to light much faster than the human eye. He suspected that the algae had a special protein that helped them react quickly to light. With the help of Nagel, he studied two genes that produced light-sensitive proteins.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Henri Kagan of the University of Paris-Saclay and Kenso Soai of the Tokyo University of Science for their work on mirror-image molecules, called chirality. It refers to a property in which a molecule and its mirror image cannot be perfectly placed on top of each other. The two forms are similar to a person’s left and right hands. For example, amino acids, which make up proteins, are generally left-handed, while sugars used by living organisms are right-handed. Scientists have long tried to understand how this difference developed. Kagan made an important discovery in 1986. He showed that chemical reactions could increase the difference between the two forms of a molecule beyond what scientists had expected.
Soai took the research further in a study published in 2003. He showed that even a very small difference between the two forms could grow much larger through repeated chemical reactions. In one example, repeating a reaction three times increased the imbalance between the two forms by 630,000 times.
This year’s Nobel-winning research shows how scientists are finding new ways to answer questions that once seemed impossible to solve.
SPORTS SCOREBOARD
Asian Games:
Every child deserves a story that feels like home. |
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A few days ago, we told you that behind every fundraiser, there is a story worth giving. Today, we’d like to introduce you to five of them. Each one is a child, a classroom, or a community waiting for books, and each is one gift away from a little closer to its goal. Daan Utsav ends on October 8, so there’s still time to be the reason a story finds them.
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HEAL THE WORLD
French Students Protest for Better Schools
Education is often described as the foundation of a nation’s future. Yet thousands of students across France have recently taken to the streets to protest against what they believe are deteriorating conditions in their schools. What began as protests in the Paris region in September 2026 has grown into a nationwide movement, with students, teachers and parents demanding greater investment in education.
One of the biggest problems highlighted by the protesters is the shortage of teachers. Students complain that absent teachers are often not replaced, leaving them without proper instruction. Overcrowded classrooms are another major concern, with some teachers reportedly having more than 35 students in a class. Students also point to ageing and poorly maintained school buildings, inadequate furniture and classrooms that become extremely hot during heatwaves.
The protesters are therefore demanding more teachers and support staff, smaller classes, better-maintained buildings and increased funding for schools. They also want school timetables to be reconsidered because long and demanding schedules can contribute to stress and exhaustion. More broadly, many students are calling for greater equality, arguing that children in poorer areas often receive fewer educational resources than those in more privileged neighbourhoods.
The situation can be improved through a long-term commitment to education. The government should recruit and retain more teachers, ensure that absent teachers are quickly replaced and invest in renovating unsafe or unsuitable school buildings. Schools should also provide adequate counselling, healthcare and career guidance. Most importantly, students should be given a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their education.
However, protests must remain peaceful. Violence and confrontation can overshadow legitimate demands and make constructive dialogue more difficult.
The French protests send a powerful message: a country cannot build a strong future while neglecting the classrooms in which that future is being educated. Investing in schools is not merely an expense; it is an investment in the nation’s people, equality and future.
Contradictory US economic news drives expectations of monetary policy
- Last week, in the United States, there was some good economic news, and investors appeared to respond accordingly. In the second quarter, growth in real gross domestic product was upwardly revised, while inflation eased slightly in August. These factors likely contributed to investors’ expectations that the Federal Reserve is less likely to tighten monetary policy at its next meeting. The result was an initial rise in equity prices before they reverted. Yet, bond yields continued to rise despite the good inflation news.
Markets stage weekly comeback after 8-week slide, rupee loses ground. The Indian rupee extended its losing streak for the second consecutive week, depreciated by 41 paise to close at 96.73.Indian equity markets snapped their eight-week losing streak, the longest in 25 years, amid heightened volatility during the week, despite persistent foreign fund outflows, elevated crude oil prices, rising global bond yields, and the Reserve Bank of India’s shift to a calibrated tightening stance after raising the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50%.
RECOMMENDED READS
ADAM & EVE BY JEFFREY ARCHER
Armistice Day 1918.
Two children are born on the same day, hours – but worlds – apart.
One the son of a shepherd, the other the daughter of an Earl
Adam and Eve.
Their births mark the end of one war. Their love will change the outcome of another.
Divided by class. United by love.
Farewell, Jeffrey Archer
Politician, novelist, conman, jailbird and survival specialist!
With a combination of charisma and chutzpah, Archer survived everything life threw at him and was loved by hordes of readers, especially in India. The Man Who Got Away With It might be the title for a biography of this Conservative politician, novelist, athlete, athletics coach, gymnast, police constable, PR professional, fund-raiser (and alleged embezzler of some of the funds raised), philanthropist, playwright, theatre-owner, fraudster with a side line in insider trading, jailbird, art gallerist, legendary party host, owner of Monets and Picassos, cricket lover and survival specialist.
Even in television interviews, Archer’s unique combination of charisma and chutzpah came through. He had a very good opinion of himself, untrammelled by the inevitable pitfalls and comeuppances of “fifty lives rolled into one,” as his (unofficial) biographer Michael Crick put it. He survived everything life threw at him, including cancer. He survived too everything he threw back at life which bounced back at him. He died “between writing sessions,” said his publisher, and there is something to admire in that. He was loved by a reading public in India more interested in straight stories than literary subtleties.