28 October 2026
The United Nations General Assembly opened its debate on Tuesday and votes on Wednesday, for the 34th time, on a resolution on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. Each of the 193 Member States has one vote. The Cuban-drafted text reaffirms the sovereign equality of states, non-intervention, non-interference and freedom of trade and navigation, and expresses concern over the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, arguing that its extraterritorial effects undermine the sovereignty of other states; it calls on all states to refrain from such measures and urges those applying them to repeal them. The first vote, in 1992, drew 59 in favour, 3 against and 71 abstentions. Support peaked at 191 votes in favour in 2015, 2016 and 2017. During the debate Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla interrupted United States Ambassador Mike Waltz on a point of order and the President of the General Assembly briefly suspended the session. Waltz said United States exports to Cuba exceeded 876 million dollars in the first eight months of 2026.
Vote number:
34th
Member States voting:
193, one vote each
Law the resolution objects to:
Helms-Burton Act of 1996
Why it matters for exams: The Helms-Burton Act of 1996, the one-state-one-vote rule of the General Assembly and its 193 Member States are standard International Relations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Point of order — An intervention in a meeting that asks the chair to rule on the rules of procedure.
Extraterritorial — Applying to persons or activities outside the country that made the law.
27 October 2026
Israel held its legislative election on Tuesday, 27 October 2026. Israel's Central Elections Committee reported that almost 45 per cent of voters had cast ballots by two in the afternoon, the highest at that hour in 50 years and about 6 percentage points above the same point in the 2022 election. A party must cross an electoral threshold of 3.25 per cent of the vote to enter the Knesset. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel filed a complaint with the Central Elections Committee about delays reported in at least 18 communities. Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot were the main contenders, and counting continued into Wednesday.
Turnout by 2pm:
Almost 45 per cent, the highest at that hour in 50 years
Electoral threshold:
3.25 per cent
Election authority:
Central Elections Committee
Why it matters for exams: The Knesset, Israel's 3.25 per cent electoral threshold and its Central Elections Committee are standard world-polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Knesset — Israel's single-chamber parliament, elected by proportional representation.
Electoral threshold — The minimum share of the vote a party must win to get seats.
27 October 2026
The 2026 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change was published in The Lancet ahead of COP31 in Turkiye. It tracks 54 indicators and states that climate change has become a global health emergency, asking that it be formally recognised as one. It reports that more than half a million deaths a year between 2016 and 2023 were linked to heat, that 68 per cent of those heat deaths are attributed to human-caused climate change, and that nearly 3 million deaths over 2016 to 2023 are attributed to a warming planet. The report was produced with the World Health Organization.
Indicators tracked:
54
Share of heat deaths attributed to climate change:
68 per cent
Deaths attributed to a warming planet, 2016-2023:
Nearly 3 million
Why it matters for exams: The Lancet Countdown, its publisher and the venue of COP31 are typical report-and-index questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Lancet Countdown Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change — An annual international research collaboration that tracks the health effects of climate change.
27 October 2026
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has urged continued international support for Ukraine as Russian airstrikes intensify against energy infrastructure, leaving millions without heat, electricity or reliable water. UNHCR director Philippe Leclerc said the increase in long-range missile and drone strikes means there is no safe place in Ukraine. Between September and mid-October several security incidents affected agency staff, partners, aid facilities and clearly marked relief vehicles. The agency expects internal displacement to continue as evacuations from frontline areas grow, and said nearly 5.2 million Ukrainian civilians are living as refugees across Europe.
Ukrainian refugees in Europe:
Nearly 5.2 million
Agency:
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency
Target of the strikes:
Energy infrastructure
Why it matters for exams: UNHCR, its office of the High Commissioner and the scale of Ukrainian refugee displacement in Europe are regular International Relations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees — The UN agency that protects and assists refugees, returnees and stateless people.
27 October 2026
Kenyan authorities are leading an emergency response plan to host more than 36,600 Ethiopians who fled escalating insecurity in southern Ethiopia. The displacement follows fighting between forces from Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions, which stems from a decades-long dispute over boundaries and resources. Many of the displaced are staying with host communities. The United Nations is supporting the government-led response: the World Food Programme, the International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency are assessing needs and providing emergency supplies and technical support, while UNICEF Kenya reported delivering therapeutic nutrition supplies to a local hospital and is supporting malnutrition screening, infant and young child feeding, safe water and hygiene services. UNICEF provided four water tanks of 10,000 litres each and hygiene kits for about 1,000 households.
People to be hosted:
More than 36,600
Regions in conflict:
Somali and Oromia regions of Ethiopia
UN agencies involved:
WFP, IOM, UNHCR and UNICEF
Why it matters for exams: Ethiopia's Somali and Oromia regions, Kenya's place in the Horn of Africa and the UN agencies WFP, IOM and UNICEF are regular geography and international-organisation questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Horn of Africa — The eastern projection of Africa covering Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea.
27 October 2026
The United Nations has reported that around 950,000 people in Gaza are in displacement sites at medium to high risk of flooding as families face a fourth winter in tents and makeshift shelters, and that a shelter assessment found supply stocks for those sites insufficient. The Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Jorge Moreira da Silva, reported three incidents affecting its convoys and premises over three consecutive days, including close-proximity explosions, drivers detained at checkpoints and small-arms rounds hitting a guesthouse, and said the safety of UNOPS staff had been compromised too many times. UN transport was suspended on Tuesday because Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing for election day. In the past week partners gave school bags to more than 8,000 children; the week before they provided stationery to about 22,000 children and supported around 300 classrooms serving about 60,000 children. For the occupied West Bank, the UN aid coordination office OCHA records 331 Palestinians killed, including 77 children, more than 42,000 displaced, 21 Israelis killed and 3,684 attacks by Israeli settlers causing casualties or property damage between January 2025 and the end of September 2026.
People at flooding risk:
Around 950,000
Crossing closed on election day:
Kerem Shalom
West Bank toll, January 2025 to end-September 2026:
331 Palestinians and 21 Israelis killed
Why it matters for exams: UNOPS, OCHA and the Kerem Shalom crossing are the kind of body-and-place facts an International Relations paper asks.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — The UN body that coordinates emergency relief across agencies.
27 October 2026
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, briefed journalists virtually on a report about the media. Citing UN sources, the report counts nearly 300 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza, more than 100 detained and about 150 media centres and offices destroyed, which it puts at 80 per cent of Gaza's media infrastructure. It records more than 139 attacks on journalists in the West Bank. The report criticises Israel's ban on foreign journalists entering Gaza and the absence of accountability for the killing of the journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and also documents intimidation of Palestinian journalists by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Albanese said United States sanctions prevented her from attending the briefing in person.
Journalists and media workers killed in Gaza:
Nearly 300
Share of Gaza's media infrastructure destroyed:
80 per cent
Attacks on journalists in the West Bank:
More than 139
Why it matters for exams: The office of UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory and its current holder are regular International Relations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Special Rapporteur — An independent expert given a mandate by the Human Rights Council to report on a country or a theme.
Background
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is the centrepiece of aviation safety and environmental protection in Europe. As an independent and neutral body it proposes and formulates rules, standards and guidance; certifies aircraft, parts and equipment; and approves and oversees organisations in all aviation domains. It has over 800 employees from 31 European countries and 5 international permanent representations. Its stated aims are the highest common level of safety protection for EU citizens, the highest common level of environmental protection, a single regulatory and certification process among Member States, an internal aviation single market with a level playing field, and work with other international aviation organisations and regulators. The rules it administers rest on what it calls the Basic Regulation. It certifies and approves products and organisations in fields where it has exclusive competence, airworthiness among them, and has shared competence with Member States in fields such as air operations and air traffic management, where it provides oversight and support. It publishes Airworthiness Directives and Safety Information Bulletins, grants Third Country Operators authorisations, and contributes to the EU safety list. The agency has a Management Board and an Executive Director, and its values are respect, unity, integrity, transparency and innovation.
Staff and countries:
Over 800 from 31 European countries
International representations:
5
Rules rest on:
The Basic Regulation
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the full form of EASA, the Basic Regulation its rules stem from, that airworthiness is a field in which it has exclusive competence while air operations and air traffic management are shared with Member States, and its Management Board.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
EASA European Union Aviation Safety Agency — The EU agency for aviation safety and environmental protection.
Airworthiness Airworthiness — Whether an aircraft or part is fit and safe to fly.
TCO Third Country Operators — Airlines based outside the EU that need an EASA authorisation to fly there.
Background
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is an EU body that borrows money on capital markets and lends it on favourable terms to projects that support EU objectives. It is jointly owned by the EU countries, and all EU countries are shareholders in the EIB; none of the money comes from the EU budget, and about 90 % of loans are made within the EU. Its products and services are lending, which is about 90 % of its total financial commitment, blending, which lets clients combine EIB financing with additional investment, and advising with technical assistance. The EIB makes loans above EUR 25 million directly, and where smaller loans are involved it opens credit lines for financial institutions that then lend the funds on. The Board of Governors, made up of ministers from all EU countries, defines general lending policy. The Board of Directors, chaired by the EIB President, approves lending and borrowing operations. The Management Committee is the executive body of the bank and handles day-to-day business. The Audit Committee checks that EIB operations are conducted in a proper manner. The EIB is also the majority shareholder of the European Investment Fund, which provides funding to small and medium-sized enterprises through venture capital and risk finance instruments. The seat of the bank is at Luxembourg.
Shareholders:
All EU countries
Control body:
Audit Committee
Seat:
Luxembourg
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the full form of EIB, that all the EU countries are its shareholders, which body defines its general lending policy, which body checks that its operations are conducted properly, and the fund for small and medium-sized enterprises in which it is the majority shareholder.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
EIB European Investment Bank — The bank of the European Union that lends to projects supporting the aims of the Union.
EIF European Investment Fund — The fund for smaller businesses in which the EIB holds the majority of shares.
Blending — Letting a client put EIB money together with other investment in the same project.
Credit line — A standing limit the bank gives another lender to draw on and pass to small borrowers.
Background
The Codex Alimentarius Commission sets the international food standards. It works under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, and the Codex Secretariat sits at FAO headquarters, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy. Codex standards are science-based and are developed with input from Codex Members and Observers, who bring their own experience and expertise into the standard development process. The Commission works through subject committees. Its Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods has just concluded a session at Cairo, co-hosted by Egypt, advancing three codes of practice for final adoption and agreeing on new work proposals. The Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems concluded a session at Perth in Australia, and the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products has taken up a proposed draft standard for pasteurized liquid camel milk. The working rules of the Commission are set out in the Codex Alimentarius Commission Procedural Manual, and the Codex Trust Fund supports countries taking part in Codex work. The Commission has published a strategic plan for the coming years.
Parent programme:
Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme
Secretariat:
FAO headquarters, 00153 Rome, Italy
Rule book:
Procedural Manual
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are the two UN bodies behind the Joint Food Standards Programme, the Rome seat of the Codex Secretariat, the Procedural Manual and the Codex Trust Fund.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Codex Alimentarius Codex Alimentarius Commission — The joint FAO and WHO body that adopts international food standards.
Code of practice Codex code of practice — A Codex text that advises how to handle a food safety hazard in practice.
Codex Trust Fund Codex Trust Fund — A fund that helps countries take part in Codex standard setting.
Background
EU-OSHA is the European Union information agency for occupational safety and health. It protects the safety and health of workers by informing policy, supporting risk prevention, raising awareness and engaging key actors, and it provides evidence and knowledge on current, new and emerging risks and how they can be prevented, to support policymaking and research. Its key activities include the Healthy Workplaces Campaigns, which are two-year campaigns that raise awareness of occupational safety and health topics across Europe; the Online interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) project, which gives small and medium-sized enterprises online tools to assess and manage risks; the ESENER survey, which provides a snapshot of how safety and health risks are managed in European workplaces; OSHwiki, a collaborative online encyclopaedia on the subject; foresight projects on new and emerging risks; OSH overviews on specific topics, which also identify priorities; and NAPO films, a series of short, lighthearted, language-free films on workplace safety and health. It is governed by a Management Board and an Executive Board and works through national focal points, and its contribution feeds the Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work of the European Commission. Its latest Healthy Workplaces Film Award went to Sometimes Sadness, Sometimes Rebellion.
Field of work:
Occupational safety and health
Campaign cycle:
Two-year campaigns
Governing boards:
Management Board and Executive Board
Why it matters for exams: The durable facts are what OSH stands for, the two-year cycle of the Healthy Workplaces Campaigns, and the OiRA, ESENER, OSHwiki and NAPO products of the agency.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OSH Occupational safety and health — The field of keeping workers safe and healthy at work.
OiRA Online interactive Risk Assessment — Free online tools that let a small firm assess its own workplace risks.
ESENER ESENER survey — The extensive EU-OSHA survey of how workplaces manage safety and health risks.
Background
The United Nations has drawn attention this month to the work of saving a century of sound and film, which makes this observance worth knowing. World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is marked on 27 October each year by audiovisual archives worldwide. It is a key initiative for both UNESCO and the Coordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA). The day is built around three calls to action - Discover, Share and Remember: showcasing the work of archives, connecting with audiences online, and underlining the importance of safeguarding audiovisual heritage such as recordings and moving images, which decay quickly and are lost without active preservation.
Observed on:
27 October
Bodies behind it:
UNESCO and the CCAAA
Three calls to action:
Discover, Share, Remember
Why it matters for exams: The date of World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and the two bodies behind it, UNESCO and the CCAAA, are the kind of observance facts asked in general knowledge papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Audiovisual heritage — Sound recordings and moving images preserved as cultural record.