25 October 2026
Bulgarians have voted in the first round of a presidential election with 27 candidates and about 6.6 million registered voters. Polling ran from 7 am to 8 pm local time. The acting president, Iliana Iotova, who became acting president in January after Rumen Radev resigned the office to enter the parliamentary race, is one of the leading candidates. Andrey Gyurov, a former caretaker prime minister, is backed by pro-Western reformist parties. An Alpha Research poll placed Iotova at 41 per cent and Gyurov at 28 per cent. Turnout must exceed 50 per cent and was expected to be under 40 per cent. A run-off is scheduled for 1 November 2026 if no candidate wins an outright majority. Bulgaria is a member of NATO.
Candidates:
27
Registered voters:
6.6 million
Run-off date:
1 November 2026
Why it matters for exams: Bulgaria's capital, currency and membership of NATO and the European Union are standard world-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
25 October 2026
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and UNICEF have agreed a lower price for the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine. The price falls about 40 per cent to EUR 5.50 per dose, expected by early 2027, and saves about US$50 million over 2027 to 2029. The saving could protect up to one million more children with a full four-dose course. UNICEF has procured and delivered over 74 million malaria vaccine doses so far, and the Gavi-funded programme is part of routine immunisation in 25 African countries that carry over 70 per cent of the global malaria burden. RTS,S/AS01 was developed by GSK and PATH and is being transferred to Bharat Biotech for future supply. A second vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, was co-developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India. Malaria caused an estimated 610,000 deaths globally in 2024.
New price per dose:
EUR 5.50
Savings:
about US$50 million over 2027-2029
Countries with the programme:
25 African countries
Doses delivered by UNICEF:
over 74 million
Why it matters for exams: Gavi, the two malaria vaccines and their developers are frequently asked in health and science sections.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
UNICEF and Action Against Hunger have said that over 4 million children in Afghanistan are expected to need treatment for acute malnutrition in 2027, the highest number in five years. The number of provinces with critical malnutrition levels rose from 7 in 2025 to 10 in 2026 and is projected to reach 14 in 2027, more than a third of Afghanistan's provinces. About 1.09 million children are projected to have severe acute malnutrition in 2027, a 16 per cent increase over 2026, and nearly 3 million are expected to have moderate acute malnutrition. Nearly 1.3 million pregnant or breastfeeding women are expected to be malnourished. Only one in three children aged 6 to 24 months receives the right mix of nutritious foods, and nearly half of Afghan households struggle to access adequate and safe water. The projections come from the Integrated Phase Classification for Acute Malnutrition. UNICEF chairs the Afghanistan Nutrition Cluster and Action Against Hunger co-chairs it.
Children needing treatment in 2027:
over 4 million
Severe acute malnutrition projected:
about 1.09 million children
Provinces at critical levels in 2027:
14
Why it matters for exams: The Integrated Phase Classification and the agencies that publish malnutrition projections are frequently asked in reports and indices questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, has issued a statement on the continuing killing of children in the Gaza Strip. The statement says eight children were killed and 20 injured across the Gaza Strip in six days, and that 351 children have been killed since the ceasefire was announced in October 2025. It names children killed at Deir al Balah, al-Maghazi, the Beit Lahia area and northern Nuseirat, two of whom attended UNICEF-supported learning centres. A shell hit a school sheltering families, injuring two children. UNICEF says a ceasefire that does not protect children has failed them, and urges action under international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions, with transparent accountability when children are killed or maimed.
Children killed since the ceasefire was announced:
351
Children killed in six days:
8
Children injured in six days:
20
Why it matters for exams: The principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in international humanitarian law are examined directly.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
The World Meteorological Organization has opened the fourth session of SERCOM, its Commission for Weather, Climate, Hydrological, Marine and Related Environmental Services and Applications, one of its main technical commissions. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, said SERCOM turns scientific and technical excellence into services that protect lives, livelihoods and development. Ian Lisk is President of SERCOM. The session is being held during a strengthening El Nino that is worsening heat, floods, droughts, cyclones, wildfires, haze and marine heatwaves. The agenda covers amendments to the organisation's Technical Regulations and competency frameworks, new requirements for the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System, a long-term aeronautical meteorology plan, cataloguing hazardous events, the Flood Forecasting Framework and methods for monitoring global temperature. A one-day technical conference was held on the Early Warnings for All initiative, which is entering its fifth year.
Session:
Fourth session of SERCOM
Secretary-General:
Celeste Saulo
President of SERCOM:
Ian Lisk
Why it matters for exams: The World Meteorological Organization, its Secretary-General and the Early Warnings for All initiative are standard international-body questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
A side event at the fourth session of SERCOM showcased the WMO Coordination Mechanism for humanitarians, which has delivered more than 750 tailored products since 2022. Around 50 participants attended. The World Meteorological Organization and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued a joint call for urgent, coordinated anticipatory action, noting that the El Nino event may be unprecedented in strength and is expected to peak toward the end of 2026. Regional risks identified include flooding in East Africa, drier conditions in Southern Africa, heat and wildfire hazards in Southeast Asia, and flooding and drought risks in the Americas. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, and Yi Wang, who leads the mechanism, took part. The mechanism has supported operations for Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar and Bangladesh and the 2025 earthquake in Myanmar.
Tailored products since 2022:
more than 750
Expected El Nino peak:
toward the end of 2026
Why it matters for exams: OCHA, anticipatory action and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation are standard disaster-management topics.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has launched the Mapping of Irrigation Potential and Needs Initiative, known as IRMA, a digital decision-support platform that helps countries identify where irrigation is feasible, needed and likely to deliver sustainable benefits. QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, spoke at the Rome Water Dialogue 2026 during the World Food Forum and said water security is food security. The organisation set out a 4R approach of reduce, reuse, recycle and replenish, and four priorities: water-use efficiency, fair access, drought and flood preparedness, and ecosystem protection. It identified four types of water value, namely cultural, social, economic and environmental. The Global Dialogue on Water Tenure was launched at the 2022 UN Water Conference. King Letsie III of Lesotho and LI Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, took part.
Platform:
IRMA, Mapping of Irrigation Potential and Needs Initiative
Approach:
4R: reduce, reuse, recycle, replenish
Event:
Rome Water Dialogue 2026
Why it matters for exams: The Food and Agriculture Organization, its Director-General and its headquarters are among the most frequently asked international-body facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
San Marino has deposited instruments of ratification for the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981, which is Convention No. 155, its 2002 Protocol, and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006, which is Convention No. 187. The instruments were deposited on 22 October 2026 by Alessandro Bevitori, Secretary of State for Labour, Economic Planning, Ecological Transition and Technological Innovation, and received by Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization. With these ratifications San Marino completes ratification of all ten fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Organization. San Marino has now ratified 28 Conventions and one Protocol in all. Conventions No. 155 and No. 187 were declared fundamental by the International Labour Conference in 2022. The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations with its headquarters at Geneva.
Conventions ratified:
No. 155 and No. 187, plus the 2002 Protocol
Fundamental Conventions completed:
all 10
Total ratified by San Marino:
28 Conventions and 1 Protocol
Why it matters for exams: The International Labour Organization's fundamental Conventions, its Director-General and its tripartite structure are directly examined.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
The UNESCO Media and Information Literacy Alliance has announced the creation of 16 new Chapters to strengthen global cooperation. The Alliance describes itself as a network of networks with over 700 members from 110 countries. The Chapters were approved after a global call for proposals launched in May 2026. Regional Chapters include the East Africa Chapter, the Francophone Africa Chapter, the Latin American Chapter, two Chapters for Europe and North America, the Australian Media Literacy Alliance Chapter and the South Asian Network for Media and Information Literacy Pedagogy, Resources and Assessment. Nine thematic Chapters cover artificial intelligence, conflict resolution, families, cities, diplomacy, school media and children's communication, youth engagement and related themes. Mariya Gabriel, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO, announced the Chapters.
New Chapters:
16
Alliance membership:
over 700 members from 110 countries
Thematic Chapters:
9
Why it matters for exams: UNESCO, its headquarters and what media and information literacy means are standard education and culture questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
25 October 2026
Serbia has held a snap parliamentary election called in September, in which voters elect 250 members of the National Assembly. More than 6.45 million people were eligible to vote. Aleksandar Vucic, who served as prime minister and then president for over a decade, resigned the presidency in September to run for prime minister, and leads the Serbian Progressive Party. The opposition Student List, led by the cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, fielded about 250 candidates including university professors, actors and farmers. About 150,000 supporters attended a final student rally in Belgrade. The movement grew after a railway station canopy collapsed at Novi Sad in 2024, killing 16 people. Polls were open from 7 am to 8 pm local time, with first results expected about two hours later.
Seats in the National Assembly:
250
Eligible voters:
more than 6.45 million
Student List candidates:
about 250
Novi Sad canopy collapse deaths:
16
Why it matters for exams: Serbia's capital, its relationship with Kosovo and its European Union candidacy are standard questions on the Balkans.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
25 October 2026
UNICEF has reported that at least 12 children, some as young as two, were killed in two separate incidents in Sudan's West Kordofan and Khartoum states. On 17 October 2026, at least nine children, five boys and four girls aged 5 to 10, were killed in an attack on a camp for displaced families east of Sanakit in West Kordofan State. On 19 October 2026, an armed drone struck a residential area in Khartoum, killing three children aged 2 to 6 and their father. Angela Kearney, UNICEF Acting Representative in Sudan, said the families had sought safety by fleeing or returning home and that neither was protecting the children. The statement notes more than three years of conflict in Sudan and calls on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Children killed:
at least 12
States affected:
West Kordofan and Khartoum
Why it matters for exams: Sudan's capital, its states and the UN agency that reports on children in conflict are standard current-affairs questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC