21 October 2026
Robin Geiss, Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, briefed journalists at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 20 October 2026.
He said artificial intelligence is already widely used on the battlefield and that human judgment in military operations is shrinking rapidly.
AI is taking on intelligence analysis, target identification, drone operations and the orchestration of cyber-attacks, including in the nuclear domain.
He said many such systems are opaque, which raises the risk of error, miscalculation and unintended escalation.
Geopolitical competition is a serious obstacle to regulating military AI, although concern about the risks is shared across political views.
The Institute's Centre of Excellence on AI, Peace and Security is launching a multi-stakeholder forum on AI in international peace and security.
The forum will work on a voluntary framework for industry, an AI security lexicon, and the risk of misuse by non-State armed groups.
Institute:
United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
Director:
Robin Geiss
Venue:
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Why it matters for exams: Lethal autonomous weapon systems and the regulation of military artificial intelligence are live international security topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
LAWS Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems — Weapons that can select and engage targets without meaningful human control.
21 October 2026
United Nations agencies briefed from Geneva on 20 October 2026 on the renewed fighting in Yemen.
More than 250,000 people have fled, and about half of them have sought shelter in Taiz governorate.
Thirty-two civilians have been confirmed killed across Taiz governorate, including 14 children and nine women.
Ten of the 16 districts in the governorate are already at emergency levels of food insecurity.
Twelve hospitals in Taiz have about four days of fuel left, and 115 of 127 essential medicines have stocks for about one week or less.
About 65,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly from Somalia and Ethiopia, need urgent support.
Volker Turk appealed for immediate humanitarian access, and UNICEF, WHO, UNHCR and the World Food Programme described blocked routes and exhausted supplies.
People displaced:
more than 250,000
Civilians confirmed killed:
32, including 14 children and nine women
Districts at emergency food insecurity:
10 of 16
Essential medicines running low:
115 of 127
Why it matters for exams: West Asian conflicts and the humanitarian agencies that respond to them are a standing international affairs topic.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees — The United Nations refugee agency, which protects people forced to flee.
21 October 2026
The report is titled National health workforce accounts: health workforce levels and trends 2026.
It is the first in an annual series built on National Health Workforce Accounts data, and this edition focuses on ageing.
Global health workforce density rose 52 per cent, from 44.8 to 67.9 per 10,000 population, between 2006 and 2025.
More than 70 million health and care workers are employed worldwide.
Doctor density is 13 times higher in the European Region than in the African Region, and nurse and midwife density is six times higher.
Nearly one in four doctors is over 55 and will retire within the next decade, based on data from 122 countries, rising to nearly one in three in high-income countries.
The projected global shortage is 11.1 million health workers by 2030, with 67 countries unable to meet population health needs.
Projected shortage by 2030:
11.1 million
Density change:
44.8 to 67.9 per 10,000 population
Countries short of workers by 2030:
67
Why it matters for exams: Global health workforce figures are frequently used in reports and indices questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
NHWA National Health Workforce Accounts — A WHO system through which countries report standard data on their health workforce.
21 October 2026
The manual is titled Global Breast Cancer Initiative Training Manual, a package for programme managers.
It is a technical derivative of the Global Breast Cancer Initiative implementation framework.
It translates global recommendations into step-by-step approaches for capacity building at national, subnational and facility levels.
The manual covers the care continuum of prevention, early detection, diagnosis and management, along with health products, team-based care and patient navigation.
It supports three operational pillars: early detection, timely diagnosis and comprehensive management.
The Initiative's target is that at least 60 per cent of all new breast cancers are diagnosed at early stages.
Partners in Ethiopia, Eswatini and the Philippines are adapting the materials into national training programmes.
Initiative:
Global Breast Cancer Initiative
Early diagnosis target:
at least 60 per cent
Countries adapting the manual:
Ethiopia, Eswatini, the Philippines
Why it matters for exams: WHO initiatives with numerical targets are a reliable source of health and indices questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GBCI Global Breast Cancer Initiative — A WHO initiative to reduce breast cancer deaths through early detection, timely diagnosis and comprehensive management.
21 October 2026
The session was titled Traditional medicine, resilience and well-being and was held at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany.
It was the third World Health Summit session on traditional medicine since 2025.
Dr Hiba Boujnah of the WHO Collaborating Centre at the Charite Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine moderated the panel.
Tunisia's Minister of Health, Dr Mustapha Ferjani, opened the session and pledged political support for integrating traditional medicine into health systems.
Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i. of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, called for country-led and evidence-informed approaches.
Vivian Camacho, an Indigenous health leader from Bolivia, described her country's recognition of traditional healers.
WHO described its emerging Living Well initiative as a platform linking traditional knowledge, science, innovation and international cooperation.
Venue:
World Health Summit, Berlin, Germany
Initiative named:
Living Well
Opened by:
Dr Mustapha Ferjani, Minister of Health, Tunisia
Why it matters for exams: The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine and its programmes are relevant to both health and India-related general awareness.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GCTM WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine — The WHO centre dedicated to evidence and policy on traditional medicine.
21 October 2026
The event was titled From Knowledge to Action: Communication for a Safer World.
It was held in Geneva on 14 October 2026 to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, on the theme Resilience Starts at Home.
It was hosted at the headquarters of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The event was jointly led by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNESCO and the IFRC.
Participants included disaster management authorities, media professionals and regulators, broadcasting unions, humanitarian actors and researchers.
Mariya Gabriel, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, said counting how many people received a warning tells us about its reach.
UNESCO tools cited include a Model Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan for Media Institutions in eight languages and a Rapid Post-Disaster Needs Assessment survey in six.
Event:
From Knowledge to Action: Communication for a Safer World
Date and place:
14 October 2026, Geneva
Theme:
Resilience Starts at Home
Led by:
UNDRR, UNESCO and IFRC
Why it matters for exams: The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction and the agencies behind early warning systems are standard disaster management questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNDRR United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction — The United Nations body that coordinates disaster risk reduction work worldwide.
21 October 2026
The second edition of the DIGITAfrica Summer School on Digital Sciences and Research Infrastructures was held from 12 to 15 October 2026.
The venue was the Ecole Polytechnique de Thies in Senegal.
Thirty-two students from seven Senegalese higher education and research institutions took part over four days.
Training covered 5G networking, cloud-native infrastructure, artificial intelligence and digital services.
Participants built a 5G infrastructure, tested it and then joined multidisciplinary teams for an Urban Digital Services Hackathon.
Partners included UNESCO Campus Africa, the Network of Public Engineering Training Institutions in Senegal, the Senegalese Association of Computer Science Researchers and Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar.
Studies under DIGITAfrica have covered five African countries: Tunisia, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya and Cameroon.
Dates:
12 to 15 October 2026
Participants:
32 students from seven institutions
Countries studied:
Tunisia, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Cameroon
Why it matters for exams: UNESCO capacity building programmes in Africa appear in education and international cooperation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UCAD Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar — Senegal's largest public university and a partner in the DIGITAfrica consortium.
21 October 2026
The renewal was announced on 20 October 2026 under the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation made a new financial contribution covering two priority areas over the next two years.
The first is the development of locally relevant National Action Plans for Indigenous language revitalization.
The second is support for the participation of Indigenous Peoples in international forums linked to the Decade.
Motorola became the first smartphone manufacturer to fully support Nheengatu, an endangered Amazonian language, in its user interface in 2021.
An Indigenous Collections App was launched in July 2026 with the Rainy Lake Ojibwe community, offering Ojibwe vocabulary, oral histories and narratives.
Mariya Gabriel of UNESCO, Janine Oliveira of Lenovo and Ojibwe language educator Jason Jones spoke on the partnership.
Framework:
International Decade of Indigenous Languages
Language supported since 2021:
Nheengatu
App launched:
Indigenous Collections App, July 2026
Why it matters for exams: The International Decade of Indigenous Languages and UNESCO's culture mandate are recurring art and culture topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Nheengatu Nheengatu language — An endangered Indigenous language of the Amazon region.
21 October 2026
UNESCO set out the shape of its World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development in an article published on 20 October 2026.
The conference will be held from 13 to 15 January 2027 in Nairobi, hosted by the Government of Kenya.
It falls at the midpoint of the ESD for 2030 framework and will review progress from 2021 to 2026.
Expected outcomes include the adoption of the Nairobi Consensus and renewed commitments from governments and partners.
Each Member State may nominate up to two participants, the Minister of Education and one accompanying representative.
Fifty young participants aged 18 to 30 will attend.
Financial support is limited to one Minister from each eligible Least Developed Country or Small Island Developing State.
Dates:
13 to 15 January 2027
Host:
Government of Kenya, Nairobi
Outcome document:
Nairobi Consensus
Young participants:
50, aged 18 to 30
Why it matters for exams: UNESCO conferences and their outcome documents are regularly asked in education and environment sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ESD Education for Sustainable Development — UNESCO's framework for building the knowledge and values needed to respond to challenges such as climate change.
21 October 2026
The ADVANCE-ID Clinical Trial Workshop 2026 was held in Singapore from 31 August to 2 September 2026.
It ran for two and a half days and drew 77 clinicians, clinician-scientists and researchers.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa nominated ten participants from Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia.
One clinician-researcher from Kazakhstan attended from the Summer School on Clinical Research alumni.
The ADVANCE-ID Network is based at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore.
The workshop followed WHO's Guidance for best practices for clinical trials, covering research questions, study design, statistics, feasibility, public engagement, dissemination and funding.
It formed part of capacity building through the Global Clinical Trials Forum.
Participants:
77
Host institution:
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore
African countries represented:
Cameroon, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia
Why it matters for exams: WHO guidance on clinical trials and global research capacity programmes are useful for science and health questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
GCTF Global Clinical Trials Forum — A platform that works to strengthen clinical trial capacity across countries.
Background
The Bank for International Settlements is the bank for central banks. Established in 1930, it is owned by 63 central banks, representing countries from around the world that together account for about 95% of world GDP, and it calls itself the world's oldest international financial institution. Its mission is to support central banks' pursuit of monetary and financial stability through international cooperation and to act as a bank for central banks. To do that it provides them with a forum for dialogue and broad international cooperation, a platform for responsible innovation and knowledge-sharing, in-depth analysis and insights on core policy issues, and banking services. It has been headquartered in Basel, Switzerland since 1930 and currently has two main buildings in the city, the Tower headquarters among them, with representative offices for the Americas and for Asia and the Pacific. The cooperation it hosts is known as the Basel Process: the standard-setting committees that meet at the Bank, together with its research and statistics, are the channel through which central banks and financial supervisory authorities work out common positions.
Established:
1930
Owners:
63 central banks
Share of world GDP:
about 95% of world GDP
Headquarters:
Basel, Switzerland
Representative offices:
for the Americas and for Asia and the Pacific
Why it matters for exams: Banking papers ask who owns the Bank for International Settlements, where it sits and what the Basel Process is.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
Basel Process Cooperation hosted at the Bank for International Settlements — The standard-setting committees that meet at the Bank work through it.
Bank for central banks Banking services supplied to monetary authorities — Its customers are central banks, not firms or households.
Background
The European Union is based on the rule of law: every action it takes is founded on treaties approved voluntarily and democratically by all its member countries, and if a policy area is not cited in a treaty the Commission cannot propose a law in that area. A treaty sets out the Union's objectives, the rules for its institutions, how decisions are made and the relationship between the Union and its member countries. The Union lists its main treaties in reverse order of date. The Treaty of Lisbon was signed on 13 December 2007 and entered into force on 1 December 2009; it gave more power to the European Parliament, changed voting procedures in the Council, created the citizens' initiative, a permanent president of the European Council, a new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and a new diplomatic service, and it clarifies which powers belong to the Union, which to member countries and which are shared. The Treaty of Nice, signed on 26 February 2001 and in force from 1 February 2003, reformed the institutions for a Union of 25 member countries. The Treaty of Amsterdam was signed on 2 October 1997 and took effect on 1 May 1999. The Treaty on European Union, the Maastricht Treaty, signed on 7 February 1992 and in force from 1 November 1993, established the European Union itself and introduced the co-decision procedure. The Single European Act, in force from 1 July 1987, extended qualified majority voting in the Council. The Merger Treaty, also called the Brussels Treaty, signed on 8 April 1965 and in force from 1 July 1967, created a single Commission and a single Council to serve the then three European Communities, EEC, Euratom and ECSC, and was later repealed by the Treaty of Amsterdam. The Treaties of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957 and in force from 1 January 1958, set up the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. The list, which runs from latest to oldest, ends with the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, signed on 18 April 1951, in force from 23 July 1952 and expired on 23 July 2002. A Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe, with aims similar to the Lisbon Treaty, was signed but never ratified. The founding treaties were also amended each time new countries joined, most recently for Croatia.
Treaty of Lisbon signed and in force:
13 December 2007; 1 December 2009
Maastricht Treaty signed and in force:
7 February 1992; 1 November 1993
Treaties of Rome signed and in force:
25 March 1957; 1 January 1958
Coal and Steel Community treaty:
18 April 1951; in force 23 July 1952; expired 23 July 2002
Single European Act in force:
1 July 1987
Treaty never ratified:
Treaty establishing a constitution for Europe
Why it matters for exams: Objective papers ask which treaty established the European Union, which treaty is in force since when, and which founding treaty has expired.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Maastricht Treaty Treaty on European Union — The treaty that established the European Union and introduced the co-decision procedure.
Qualified majority voting Voting rule in the Council — The Single European Act extended it, making a single country's veto harder.
Euratom European Atomic Energy Community — One of the two communities set up by the Treaties of Rome.
EUR-Lex Database of European Union law — Where the full texts of the treaties and legislation can be read.