27 October 2026
The 76th session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for Europe has opened at Copenhagen, with Dr Corinne Capuano serving as Officer-in-Charge of the Regional Office. The Director-General told the session that the Region remains polio-free and that measles cases fell sharply last year, while measles transmission has returned in several countries that had eliminated it. The session's agenda includes a new healthy ageing strategy, a roadmap for safe, ethical and equitable artificial intelligence in health, a new strategy on noncommunicable diseases and health promotion, and a discussion on primary health care building on the Alma-Ata Declaration. The Director-General said Member States adopted amendments to the International Health Regulations in 2024 and the WHO Pandemic Agreement in 2025, and that the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex must be finalised before the Agreement can open for signature. The Region has 322 WHO collaborating centres, the most of any region, and the Regional Office maintains 33 country offices.
Session:
76th session of the Regional Committee for Europe
WHO collaborating centres in the Region:
322
Country offices:
33
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the World Health Organization has six regional committees and that the Regional Office for Europe is at Copenhagen, that the International Health Regulations govern public health emergencies of international concern, that the WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted in 2025, and that the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978 set out primary health care.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IHR International Health Regulations — The legally binding rules under which WHO Member States report and respond to public health emergencies of international concern.
PABS Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing — The annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement on sharing pathogen samples and the benefits that come from them.
27 October 2026
UNESCO has launched Las Visiones del Manglar, a Spanish-language comic book on mangroves, at COP17 in Yerevan, Armenia. It is published by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme as part of the MangRes initiative, titled Mangrove Restoration as a Nature-Based Solution in Biosphere Reserves of Latin America, which covers seven biosphere reserves in Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative is funded by the Government of Flanders and Spain's National Parks Autonomous Agency, and the comic book is illustrated by Antonia Lara Gomez. UNESCO says mangroves are coastal forests with rich biodiversity whose restoration helps build climate resilience, and that local communities and traditional knowledge are central to conserving them.
Biosphere reserves covered:
7
Launched at:
COP17, Yerevan, Armenia
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Man and the Biosphere Programme is UNESCO's intergovernmental scientific programme that designates biosphere reserves, and that COP17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity is being held at Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
MAB Programme Man and the Biosphere Programme — UNESCO's intergovernmental scientific programme that runs the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
26 October 2026
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, caused by the Bundibugyo virus, has become the deadliest in the country's history. United Nations and World Health Organization figures put the outbreak at more than 9,760 cases and about 4,727 deaths since it was declared on 15 May, with eight provinces affected: Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Sud-Ubangi, Tshopo and Nord-Ubangi. There is no approved vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus. United Nations Senior Ebola Response Coordinator Julien Harneis condemned an attack in which a nurse responding to an Ebola alert was killed at Bafwasende in Tshopo province and called for a thorough investigation. Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, spoke of the recovery of a patient in Nigeria as an achievement for the regional response. This is the seventeenth Ebola epidemic recorded in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Cases:
more than 9,760
Deaths:
about 4,727
Provinces affected:
eight
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Bundibugyo virus is one of the species of Orthoebolavirus that cause Ebola disease, that Ebola was first identified near the Ebola river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, that Kinshasa is its capital, and that a WHO Regional Office for Africa coordinates the response.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bundibugyo virus A species of Orthoebolavirus — One of the Ebola viruses, first identified in Uganda; no approved vaccine exists for it.
15 October 2026
UNESCO and Ukraine's Ministry of Culture have held a workshop at Lviv on the Culture in City Reconstruction and Recovery Framework, known as the CURE Framework, which UNESCO developed with the World Bank in 2018. About 40 representatives took part, from ministries covering culture, territorial development, infrastructure, the economy and social policy, from the Lviv City Council and the Lviv Oblast Administration, and from the Recovery Support Unit set up within the Ministry of Culture in 2024. International partners included the European Union Delegation to Ukraine, the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, UN-Habitat and the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine. The discussions covered four areas: damage and needs assessment, policy and strategy, financing, and implementation. The CURE Framework draws on reconstruction experience from cities including Mostar, Beirut, Timbuktu and Kathmandu, and the activity was financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.
Participants:
about 40
Areas discussed:
4
Venue:
Lviv Culture Hub, Lviv
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the CURE Framework was developed by UNESCO with the World Bank in 2018, that UNESCO has its headquarters at Paris, and that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and UN-Habitat are the bodies named as recovery partners.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
CURE Framework Culture in City Reconstruction and Recovery Framework — A UNESCO and World Bank framework for putting culture into the reconstruction of cities after conflict or disaster.
26 October 2026
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for maximum restraint and diplomatic solutions over the conflict between Iran and the United States, speaking at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at Cairo. He said navigational rights and freedoms must be fully restored in and around the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and praised Egypt's mediation role, including its work with partners such as the Egyptian Red Crescent on aid for Gaza. He asked Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid and remove obstacles to the Security Council endorsed plan to end the conflict, said he was deeply alarmed by settlement expansion, evictions and violence in the West Bank, and reaffirmed support for Palestinian self-determination and the two-State solution. On Sudan he said the fighting must stop and called for an inclusive political process, and on Libya he called for unifying institutions and holding national elections. This was his ninth visit to Egypt since he took office in 2017.
Visit number to Egypt:
ninth since 2017
Straits named:
Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Antonio Guterres has been United Nations Secretary-General since 2017, that the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa — It connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and is a key route to the Suez Canal.
27 October 2026
The International Labour Organization has published a statistical brief titled The state of domestic work in 2025: 15 years after Convention No. 189. It estimates 80.0 million domestic workers aged 15 and over in the world, up from 75.6 million in 2019, making up 2.2 per cent of total employment and 4.4 per cent of employees. Women are 77.2 per cent of domestic workers. The informality rate is 83.1 per cent, or 66.5 million workers, which is 5.1 million more than in 2019, although informality fell or held steady in 91 of the 140 countries with comparable data. Asia and the Pacific accounts for 40.2 million domestic workers, about half the global total, and Africa has an informality rate of 93.3 per cent. Domestic workers earn 53.3 per cent of the average monthly wage of other employees, down from 56.4 per cent in 2019, with women domestic workers at 48 per cent and men at 65.8 per cent. More than a third, 35.2 per cent, work at least 49 hours a week.
Domestic workers worldwide:
80.0 million
Share who are women:
77.2 per cent
Informality rate:
83.1 per cent
Asia and the Pacific:
40.2 million
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Domestic Workers Convention of the International Labour Organization is Convention No. 189 of 2011, that it is accompanied by Recommendation No. 201, and that the ILO is the United Nations agency for labour standards with its headquarters at Geneva.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Convention No. 189 Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 — The ILO convention that sets labour standards for domestic workers; Recommendation No. 201 accompanies it.
27 October 2026
North Macedonia and the International Labour Organization have launched the Decent Work Country Programme 2026-2030 at Skopje. It was developed through tripartite consultations and signed by the Government, employers' organizations, trade unions and the ILO, and it is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2026-2030. The programme sets three priorities: an enabling economic environment, through harmonising labour and occupational safety and health legislation, promoting social dialogue and collective bargaining and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises; vocational training and skills development, so that education and lifelong learning match labour market needs; and the economic empowerment of women, by removing barriers such as care responsibilities, the gender pay gap and workplace violence and harassment. Claire Harasty, ILO Director for Central and Eastern Europe, and Besar Durmishi, Minister of Economy and Labour of North Macedonia, spoke at the launch.
Programme period:
2026-2030
Priorities:
3
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that Decent Work Country Programmes are the ILO's main planning instrument at country level, that Skopje is the capital of North Macedonia, and that the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework is the UN's country planning document.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
DWCP Decent Work Country Programme — The ILO's framework of cooperation with a country, agreed with the government, employers and workers.
26 October 2026
The World Meteorological Organization has issued a Global Seasonal Climate Update covering November 2026 to January 2027, forecasting that sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific may rise to 3.8 degrees Celsius above average. An El Nino event is under way, which the WMO says could be unprecedented in strength and will peak towards the end of 2026, with impacts lasting longer. The WMO declares an El Nino when the anomaly in that region reaches 0.5 degrees Celsius. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo set out the forecast, which was presented with the United Nations humanitarian leadership so that governments and humanitarian organisations can anticipate risks and prepare operations. The update points to wetter conditions in parts of East Africa, drier conditions in Southern Africa from November, heat and rainfall deficits in Southeast Asia, and above-normal rainfall in some parts of the Americas with higher drought risk in parts of Central America, the southern Caribbean and the Amazon. It states that these are seasonal outlooks, not predictions of individual events.
Forecast sea surface temperature anomaly:
up to 3.8 degrees Celsius above average
WMO El Nino threshold:
0.5 degrees Celsius
Period covered:
November 2026 to January 2027
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the World Meteorological Organization is the United Nations agency for weather, climate and water with its headquarters at Geneva, that El Nino is the warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation in the tropical Pacific, and that the WMO threshold for declaring El Nino is an anomaly of 0.5 degrees Celsius.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
El Nino Warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation — A warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific that shifts rainfall patterns around the world.
13 October 2026
UNESCO has reported on the 2026 Young Masters for Heritage Conservation Symposium held at Suzhou in China, on the theme Classical Gardens: Living Conservation and Public Participation. It was organised by UNESCO's Regional Office for East Asia, the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Gardens and Landscaping and the Suzhou Centre of the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for Asia and the Pacific, known as WHITRAP, as part of a three-year action plan. Of 68 submissions from 27 countries, 19 cases from 10 countries were selected for presentation by young heritage professionals. Shan Jie, Vice Mayor of Suzhou, and Professor Shahbaz Khan, Director and Representative of UNESCO's Regional Office for East Asia, spoke at the opening. WHITRAP Suzhou and the Domaine de Chaumont-sur-Loire of France exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding at the symposium.
Submissions received:
68 from 27 countries
Cases selected:
19 from 10 countries
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are that the Classical Gardens of Suzhou are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China, and that WHITRAP is the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region, a UNESCO category 2 centre with branches including one at Suzhou.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
WHITRAP World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region — A UNESCO category 2 centre in China for World Heritage training and research, with a centre at Suzhou.
Background
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nations agency that serves innovators and creators, providing services that let them protect and promote their intellectual property across borders. It has 194 member states, which approve its strategic direction and activities at the annual meetings of the Assemblies. Its staff form the Secretariat, which carries out the programmes the member states approve. WIPO was established in 1967 and its headquarters are at Geneva, Switzerland. Some 250 non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations hold official observer status at WIPO meetings. WIPO runs the global filing systems known by the treaties behind them: the PCT as the international patent system, Madrid as the international trademark system, Hague for industrial designs, Lisbon for appellations of origin and geographical indications, and Budapest for the deposit of microorganisms. Its external offices are at Algiers, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Tokyo, Abuja, Moscow and Singapore.
Member states:
194
Headquarters:
Geneva, Switzerland
Observers at meetings:
Some 250 NGOs and IGOs
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the full form of WIPO, its 194 member states, its Geneva headquarters and which filing system covers patents, trademarks and designs.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization — The United Nations agency for intellectual property.
Secretariat WIPO Secretariat — The staff of the organization, who carry out what member states approve.
Observer status Official observer status — A seat at meetings without a vote, held by many NGOs and IGOs.
Background
The Rotterdam Convention on the prior informed consent procedure for certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides in international trade was adopted by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries at Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and entered into force in 2004. It creates legally binding obligations for the implementation of the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, and built on the voluntary PIC procedure initiated by UNEP and FAO. The Convention covers pesticides and industrial chemicals that Parties have banned or severely restricted for health or environmental reasons and have notified for inclusion in the PIC procedure. One notification from each of two specified regions triggers consideration of adding a chemical to Annex III, and severely hazardous pesticide formulations that present a risk under conditions of use in developing countries or countries with economies in transition may also be proposed for inclusion in Annex III. Once a chemical is included in Annex III, a decision guidance document (DGD) on it is circulated to all Parties, and Parties then have nine months to prepare a response concerning the future import of the chemical. That response can be either a final decision - to allow import, not to allow import, or to allow import subject to specified conditions - or an interim response. A decision by an importing country must be trade neutral, applying equally to domestic production for domestic use and to imports from any source. The Chemical Review Committee, a subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties, reviews chemicals and pesticide formulations against the criteria the Convention sets out in Annexes II and IV respectively and makes recommendations to the Conference of the Parties. The Convention also obliges an exporting Party, when exporting chemicals that are to be used for occupational purposes, to ensure that an up-to-date safety data sheet is sent to the importer.
Adopted at:
Rotterdam, the Netherlands
List of covered chemicals:
Annex III
Time to respond on imports:
Nine months
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the full form of PIC, that Annex III carries the listed chemicals, the UNEP and FAO origin of the voluntary scheme and the nine-month response window.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
PIC Prior Informed Consent — A listed chemical can be exported only after the importing country has been told and has replied.
Annex III Annex III of the Rotterdam Convention — The list of chemicals that the PIC procedure applies to.
Chemical Review Committee Chemical Review Committee — The subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties that reviews chemicals and pesticide formulations and recommends whether to list them.
Background
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) supports the pursuit of monetary and financial stability by central banks through international cooperation, and acts as a bank for central banks. Established in 1930, it is owned by 63 central banks, representing countries that together account for about 95% of world GDP. It has two main buildings in Basel, Switzerland, the Tower headquarters building on Centralbahnplatz and the Botta building on Aeschenplatz. Through what it calls the Basel Process, the BIS hosts committees engaged in standard setting and in the pursuit of financial stability: the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Committee on the Global Financial System, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, the Markets Committee, the Central Bank Governance Group and the Irving Fisher Committee. The Financial Stability Institute carries out policy work, capacity development and an outreach programme, and the BIS also runs an Innovation Hub and a Cyber Resilience Coordination Centre. It has an Office for the Americas and an Office for Asia and the Pacific, is governed by a Board of directors, and publishes the Annual Economic Report and the Quarterly Review.
Owner central banks:
63
Share of world GDP:
About 95%
Headquarters city:
Basel, Switzerland
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the full form of BIS, its Basel base, its 63 owner central banks and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision it hosts.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
BIS Bank for International Settlements — An international institution that acts as a bank for central banks.
Basel Process The Basel Process — The way the BIS hosts standard-setting committees under one roof.
FSI Financial Stability Institute — The BIS unit whose work is policy work, capacity development and outreach.