10 October 2026
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 on 6 October 2026.
It goes to Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA, "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin".
Halzen first presented his vision for capturing neutrinos at the South Pole in 1988. IceCube covers a cubic kilometre of ice and was finished in 2011.
When a neutrino collides with an atomic nucleus it produces a flash of light, which sensors in the clear glacial ice can track.
Halzen was born in 1944 in Tienen, Belgium. The prize amount is 12 million Swedish kronor.
Laureate:
Francis Halzen
Announced:
6 October 2026
Prize amount:
12 million Swedish kronor
Observatory:
IceCube Neutrino Observatory
Why it matters for exams: Nobel laureates, their fields and prize amounts are staple awards questions; neutrino astronomy links physics to Antarctica.
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In plain words
Neutrino Neutrino — An elusive particle that passes through the Earth and our bodies without being noticed.
IceCube IceCube Neutrino Observatory — A cubic kilometre of South Pole ice equipped with light sensors.
Background
The International Development Association, or IDA, is a part of the World Bank that supports low-income countries with grants and concessional loans.
It was established in 1960 and serves 78 countries, where it is the largest provider of essential social services.
Thirty-five countries no longer borrow from IDA, and when a borrowing country later returns as a donor that is treated as a milestone for IDA.
The World Bank Group is made up of five institutions: IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID.
IDA combines financing with knowledge and research to help countries reduce poverty, stimulate economic growth and improve living conditions.
Countries served by IDA:
78
Countries that no longer borrow from IDA:
35
Institutions in the World Bank Group:
5
Why it matters for exams: Examiners ask which arm of the World Bank Group lends on concessional terms to the poorest countries, and expect the five institutions of the Group to be named.
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In plain words
IDA International Development Association — The World Bank arm that gives grants and concessional loans to low-income countries.
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — The oldest institution of the World Bank Group, which lends to middle-income and creditworthy governments.
MIGA Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency — The World Bank Group arm that offers guarantees against non-commercial risk to investors.
Background
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a global agreement to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the chemicals that deplete it.
The phase-out plan covers both the production and the consumption of ozone-depleting substances.
The agreement was signed in 1987 and entered into force in 1989.
The parties meet once a year to take decisions on implementation, including adjusting or amending the Protocol, which has been done six times.
The most recent amendment is the Kigali Amendment, which called for the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons in 2016.
HFCs had come in as replacements for ozone-depleting substances eliminated by the original Protocol; they do not deplete the ozone layer but are powerful greenhouse gases.
Times the Protocol has been adjusted or amended:
Six
Meetings of the parties:
Once a year
Most recent amendment:
The Kigali Amendment
Why it matters for exams: The Kigali Amendment and the reason HFCs were brought in are standard environment questions, and the production-and-consumption coverage is a frequent trap.
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In plain words
HFCs Hydrofluorocarbons — Gases used in place of ozone-depleting substances that do not harm the ozone layer but warm the climate strongly.
Kigali Amendment Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol — The amendment that brought hydrofluorocarbons under the Protocol for a phase-down.
Background
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas, with rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.
It was opened for signature on 10 December 1982 at Montego Bay in Jamaica.
That was the culmination of more than 14 years of work involving more than 150 countries from all regions and all legal and political systems.
The Convention entered into force in accordance with its article 308 on 16 November 1994, twelve months after the sixtieth instrument of ratification or accession was deposited.
It rests on the idea that all problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and must be addressed as a whole.
Tommy T. B. Koh of Singapore, President of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, called it a Constitution for the Oceans.
Article under which it entered into force:
Article 308
Delay after the sixtieth ratification:
12 months
Place opened for signature:
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Countries involved in the negotiations:
More than 150
Why it matters for exams: The place of signature, the twelve-month and sixtieth-ratification rule under article 308 and the Constitution for the Oceans description are the standard UNCLOS questions.
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In plain words
UNCLOS United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea — The treaty that sets the rules for all uses of the oceans and their resources.
Background
There are four Geneva Conventions, listed by the International Committee of the Red Cross as the First, Second, Third and Fourth Convention, together with their Additional Protocols.
They are international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war.
They protect people who do not take part in the fighting, such as civilians, medics and aid workers, and those who can no longer fight, such as the wounded, the sick, the shipwrecked and prisoners of war.
The Conventions and their Protocols are at the core of international humanitarian law, the body of law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects.
They call for measures to prevent or put an end to all breaches, and contain stringent rules on what are known as grave breaches.
Those who commit grave breaches must be pursued and tried or extradited, whatever their nationality.
The ICRC publishes Commentaries on each Convention and Protocol, and is updating them to reflect how the treaties are now interpreted.
Geneva Conventions:
Four
Body of law they form the core of:
International humanitarian law
Why it matters for exams: The number of Conventions, who they protect and the obligation to try or extradite for grave breaches are the standard international humanitarian law questions.
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In plain words
IHL International humanitarian law — The law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects.
ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross — The body that publishes the Commentaries on the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols.
Grave breaches Grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions — The most serious violations, which States must pursue and try or extradite whatever the offender's nationality.
Background
The Commonwealth is made up of 56 independent countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific.
Its member countries include some of the world's biggest, smallest, richest and poorest countries.
Thirty-three of the world's 42 small states are Commonwealth members, each with a population of 1.5 million or less.
The Commonwealth Secretariat says 2.7 billion people live in Commonwealth countries, and more than 60 percent of them are aged 29 or under.
All Commonwealth members have an equal say regardless of size or wealth.
Leaders of member countries shape Commonwealth policies and priorities, and meet every two years at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
Member countries:
56
Small states that are members:
33 of the world's 42
Population threshold for a small state:
1.5 million or less
People living in Commonwealth countries:
2.7 billion
Why it matters for exams: The membership figure, the small-state threshold and the two-year cycle of the Heads of Government Meeting are the regular Commonwealth questions.
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In plain words
CHOGM Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting — The meeting of member country leaders, held every two years, that sets Commonwealth priorities.
Background
Four main EU institutions work together to set the Union's agenda and to initiate and coordinate EU law-making: the European Council in Brussels, the European Parliament in Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg, the Council of the European Union in Brussels and Luxembourg, and the European Commission in Brussels and Luxembourg.
The European Council does not generally make laws; its main role is to determine the EU's political direction, though it can agree on changes in the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
In most cases the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission produce the policies and laws that apply across the Union.
The work of the four is complemented by three more institutions that handle judicial, financial and audit tasks: the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, the European Central Bank in Frankfurt and the European Court of Auditors in Luxembourg.
Around 60,000 EU civil servants and other staff serve the 450 million people living in the EU.
The institutions work with a network of EU agencies whose main function is to translate policies into realities on the ground.
Main EU institutions:
4, complemented by 3 more
Seat of the European Central Bank:
Frankfurt
Seat of the Court of Justice of the European Union:
Luxembourg
People living in the EU:
450 million
Why it matters for exams: Which EU body sits in which city, and the difference between the European Council's political role and the law-making trio, are standard objective questions.
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In plain words
CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union — The institution that makes sure EU law is applied the same way across the Union.
ECB European Central Bank — The institution that manages the euro and implements EU monetary policy.
Background
NATO describes collective defence as its most fundamental principle.
Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that an armed attack against one NATO member shall be considered an attack against them all, and it triggers an obligation for each member to come to the assistance of the one attacked.
That assistance may or may not involve the use of armed force, and can include any action the Allies deem necessary to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Article 5 is consistent with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, which recognises that a State that is the victim of an armed attack has the inherent right to individual or collective self-defence and may request others to come to its assistance.
Within the NATO context, Article 5 translates that right of self-defence into a mutual assistance obligation.
NATO invoked Article 5 for the first and only time in its history after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the United States.
Though applied only once, Article 5 underpins NATO's wider deterrence and defence work, including military exercises and the deployment of its standing military forces.
Times Article 5 has been invoked:
Once
Corresponding UN Charter article:
Article 51
Why it matters for exams: That Article 5 has been invoked only once, and the link between it and Article 51 of the UN Charter, are the facts examiners test on collective defence.
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In plain words
Article 5 Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty — The collective defence clause under which an attack on one member counts as an attack on all.
Article 51 Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations — The article that recognises the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence against armed attack.
Background
The International Health Regulations (2005) are a binding international legal agreement involving 196 countries, including all the Member States of the World Health Organization.
Their aim is to help the international community prevent and respond to acute public health risks that can cross borders, while avoiding unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.
The IHR Emergency Committee is made up of international experts who give technical advice to the WHO Director-General.
The Committee gives its views on whether an event is a public health emergency of international concern, on the Temporary Recommendations that should be taken, and on the termination of such an emergency.
The Director-General makes the final determination, based on the Committee's advice, information from States Parties, scientific experts and an assessment of the risk to human health, of international spread and of interference with international travel.
Temporary Recommendations automatically expire three months after they are issued, so Emergency Committees are reconvened at least every three months.
The Regulations define such an emergency as an extraordinary event that is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response.
Countries involved in the Regulations:
196
Life of a Temporary Recommendation:
Three months
Who makes the final determination:
The WHO Director-General
Why it matters for exams: Who declares a public health emergency of international concern, how many countries the Regulations bind and the three-month life of Temporary Recommendations are the standard questions on global health governance.
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In plain words
IHR International Health Regulations (2005) — The binding agreement under which countries detect, report and respond to cross-border public health risks.
PHEIC Public health emergency of international concern — An extraordinary event that poses a public health risk to other States and may need a coordinated international response.
Emergency Committee IHR Emergency Committee — The panel of international experts that advises the WHO Director-General on such an emergency.