(1) Bihar elections in two phases starting November 6
Bihar Assembly elections will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, 121 constituencies will go to polls on November 6. In the second phase, 122 constituencies will go to polls on November 11. The counting of votes will be held on November 14, the Election Commission of India announced on Monday (October 6, 2025).
Over 7.4 crore people are eligible to vote in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, including 14 lakh first-time voters, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said. The CEC asserted that the Bihar elections will be conducted in a transparent and peaceful manner.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday announced 17 new initiatives that will be unrolled during the Bihar Assembly polls, including compulsory webcasting and mobile phone-deposit facilities at all polling stations
The term of the 243-member State assembly ends on November 22.
(2) Gaza peace plan: Palestinians return to devastation in Gaza
Tens of thousands of Palestinians headed back to the heavily destroyed northern Gaza Strip on Friday (October 10, 2025) as a U.S.-brokered ceasefire came into effect in a deal that raised hopes for ending the Israel-Hamas war. All the remaining hostages were set to be released within days.
Questions remain over who will govern Gaza as Israeli troops gradually pull back and whether Hamas will disarm, as called for in U.S. President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended a ceasefire in March, hinted that Israel might renew its offensive if Hamas does not give up its weapons.
The fighting has displaced around 90 per cent of the Gaza population of some 2 million, often multiple times. Many of them will find fields of rubble where their homes once stood. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, a total of 67,173 Palestinians were killed and around 1,69,780 were reportedly injured since October 7, 2023.
As per United Nations Office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, famine has been confirmed in the Gaza governorate.
The Israeli military confirmed the start of the ceasefire Friday, and the remaining 48 hostages, around 20 of them believed to be alive, are to be released by Monday, October 13.
A steady stream of people, the vast majority on foot, crammed onto a coastal road in the central Gaza Strip, heading north to see what might remain of their homes. It was a repeat of emotional scenes from an earlier ceasefire in January. Others headed to different parts of the Palestinian territory in the south.
(3) Cough syrup deaths: WHO issues medical product alert
The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed “deep concern” over gaps in India’s drug safety regulations, following the deaths of at least 24 children from contaminated cough syrups. It has also warned that such medicines could reach other countries through unregulated distribution channels.
The deaths, reported from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan over the past month, have been linked to three cough syrups, samples of which have been found to contain diethylene glycol (DEG) – a toxic substance found in industrial solvents.
India’s drug regulator has identified three contaminated cough syrups – Coldrif (Sresan Pharmaceuticals), Respifresh (Rednex Pharmaceuticals), and ReLife (Shape Pharma) – and shared the information with WHO.
Many states have banned these cough syrups while some have prohibited the use of all cough and cold syrups for children under the age of two.
Sresan Pharmaceuticals, based in Kanchipuram and licensed in 2011, had reportedly operated unchecked for over a decade, despite repeated violations of national drug safety rules. Owner G Ranganathan was arrested by Madhya Pradesh police on October 9.
(4) Nobel Prizes 2025
The announcement on Monday (Oct. 13, 2025) that three laureates will share the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences for explaining innovation-driven growth brings this year’s Nobel awards to a close.
All but the Nobel Peace Prize, which was announced on Friday in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, are announced in Stockholm. The award ceremonies will be held on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, who founded the prizes.
Here are this year’s winners:
(5) U.S. government shutdown enters second week
The U.S. government shutdown entered its second week on Monday (October 6, 2025), with no sign of a deal between President Donald Trump’s Republicans and Democrats to end the crisis.
Democrats are refusing to provide the handful of votes the ruling Republicans need to reopen federal departments unless the two sides can agree on extending expiring health care subsidies.
With the government out of money since Wednesday and grinding to a halt, Senate Democrats looked set to vote against a House-passed temporary funding bill for a fifth time.
A government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass or the president refuses to sign a spending bill to fund the federal government’s operations.
This creates a funding gap that can cause several government functions to be temporarily disrupted. Shutdowns are usually resolved by Congress passing continuing resolutions which provide short-term funding while negotiations for a long-term solution continue.
Published – October 14, 2025 02:34 pm IST