30 October 2026
At its monetary policy meeting on 30 October 2026 the Bank of Japan decided to keep encouraging the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 1.25 per cent. The decision was taken by 8 votes to 1. Takata Hajime dissented and proposed a rate of around 1.5 per cent. The Board also decided, unanimously, to raise the pace at which it sells its exchange-traded fund holdings from about 330 billion yen a year to about 860 billion yen a year at book value, which is about 0.1 per cent of market trading value. The faster sales take effect from January 2027, and the Bank may temporarily adjust or suspend sales within that annual pace depending on market conditions. The pace of sales of Japan real estate investment trusts, J-REITs, stays at about 5 billion yen a year at book value. The uncollateralized overnight call rate is the Bank of Japan's main policy rate.
Policy rate:
Around 1.25 per cent
Vote:
8-1
New ETF sale pace:
About 860 billion yen a year, from January 2027
J-REIT sale pace:
About 5 billion yen a year
Why it matters for exams: Fixes the Bank of Japan's policy instrument - the uncollateralized overnight call rate - its level, and the new annual pace of its ETF unwinding.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ETF Exchange-traded fund — A fund whose units trade on a stock exchange; the Bank of Japan bought ETFs for years and is now selling them down.
J-REIT Japan real estate investment trust — A listed trust that holds Japanese real estate; the Bank of Japan also holds and sells these.
29 October 2026
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said more than 281,000 people have been forced from their homes in Yemen since the beginning of August 2026, as fighting escalated around Taiz city in the country's south-west. OCHA said time is running out to deliver aid to the 800,000 people trapped in Taiz, and that damage to a key road has pushed relief convoys on to narrow mountain routes. Fighting has intensified on the Al-Aqroudh and Al-Masrakh fronts south of Taiz, below Jabal Sabr, the mountain overlooking the city. The escalation followed the seizure of territory on the Red Sea coast and a counter-offensive by forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognised government. Flights resumed at Aden international airport after a missile landed nearby. The United Nations has called for humanitarian access to the affected areas.
Displaced since August 2026:
More than 281,000
People trapped in Taiz:
800,000
Fronts named:
Al-Aqroudh and Al-Masrakh
Why it matters for exams: Fixes OCHA as the UN body that reports displacement figures, and places Taiz and Jabal Sabr in south-west Yemen.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — The UN body that coordinates humanitarian response and publishes displacement and access figures.
29 October 2026
UNESCO published a tribute on 29 October 2026 mourning the loss of the Palestinian artist Suleiman Mansour. Mansour was a laureate of the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture in 2019. UNESCO described him as a champion of art education who created platforms for younger artists, and as a custodian of cultural memory whose paintings, sculptures and writings reached collections and audiences worldwide. The organisation said his dedication to teaching art and supporting emerging artists fostered mutual understanding across borders, and that his legacy will keep inspiring future generations. The UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture is awarded for contributions to the development and promotion of Arab culture. UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with its headquarters at Paris.
Prize:
UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture
Year of award:
2019
UNESCO headquarters:
Paris
Why it matters for exams: Links Suleiman Mansour to the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture and names what that prize is awarded for.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — The UN specialised agency for education, science and culture, with headquarters at Paris.
29 October 2026
In Haiti, acute food insecurity at a high level now reaches over 5.9 million people, the Food and Agriculture Organization reports. That is more than one Haitian in two, and among the worst hunger figures recorded anywhere. Rein Paulsen, Director of FAO's Office of Emergencies and Resilience, said violence is cutting people off from markets, from their land and from farm inputs, and that a very strong El Nino is bringing drier conditions and higher temperatures to the Caribbean. El Nino is expected to cause crop losses and delay planting, pushing the problem further next year, while inflation of about 17 per cent is eating into what households can buy. FAO is giving emergency kits of seeds, poultry, ducks and goats so families can produce milk and eggs quickly. On the same day the World Food Programme gave its own projection: about 6.35 million people in the March-to-June window next year. So far in 2026 WFP has reached 2.6 million people, and it puts at 78 million dollars what it still needs to keep going through March.
People in acute food insecurity:
More than 5.9 million
WFP projection:
6.35 million between March and June next year
Inflation:
Approximately 17 per cent
Why it matters for exams: FAO puts more than 5.9 million people in Haiti in high acute food insecurity, and WFP projects 6.35 million between March and June next year, with El Nino and about 17 per cent inflation named as drivers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization — The UN agency for food security and agriculture, with its seat in Rome.
WFP World Food Programme — The UN's food assistance agency, also seated at Rome.
El Nino El Nino — A warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific that shifts rainfall worldwide.
29 October 2026
The United Nations Security Council held a debate on emerging technologies and maritime security, asking whether new technology can keep the world's sea lanes safe. The Council first took up maritime security as a thematic subject in August 2021, and it has met on artificial intelligence seven times since July 2023, so the two strands came together in this meeting. Rules for crewless vessels have begun to arrive: a first safety code covering autonomous ships, drawn up by the International Maritime Organization, came into force on 1 July. A new informal Council expert group on technology, peace and security is to hold its first meeting in November. The Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and the only one whose decisions bind all Member States. The International Maritime Organization is the UN agency that writes the rules for the safety and security of shipping and for preventing pollution from ships.
First thematic meeting on maritime security:
August 2021
Meetings on artificial intelligence:
Seven since July 2023
IMO autonomous ships code:
Took effect on 1 July
Why it matters for exams: The Security Council first took up maritime security thematically in August 2021, and the International Maritime Organization's first safety code for autonomous ships took effect on 1 July.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UNSC United Nations Security Council — The UN organ responsible for international peace and security, with 15 members.
IMO International Maritime Organization — The UN agency that sets rules for shipping safety, security and marine pollution.
29 October 2026
The International Labour Organization said on 29 October 2026 that it will bring out a report called Women in Business and Management: Scaling Success. Its findings go public at the United Nations' routine media briefing in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations, on the morning of 3 November 2026, and nothing may be reported before that hour. The report looks at how far women have reached into business leadership worldwide, what gender equality does to how an enterprise performs, and which policies and workplace habits actually move a firm towards equality. The ILO is the United Nations agency for the world of work. Governments, employers and workers all sit in its governing bodies, which is what makes it tripartite. Its seat is Geneva, and the Palais des Nations there houses the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Report:
Women in Business and Management: Scaling Success
Publisher:
International Labour Organization
Launch venue:
Palais des Nations, Geneva
Why it matters for exams: Names the report and its publisher, the ILO, and fixes the ILO's tripartite governance and Geneva headquarters.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ILO International Labour Organization — The United Nations specialised agency for labour standards, run on a tripartite basis by governments, employers and workers.
29 October 2026
The International Labour Organization set out the results of the EU-Bangladesh Talent Partnership at a Dublin event on 29 October 2026, put together by Ireland's presidency of the Council of the European Union together with Quality and Qualifications Ireland. The European Union pays for the project. The ILO runs it, and two Bangladeshi bodies are its partners there: the ministry that looks after expatriates' welfare and overseas employment, and the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training. The point is to give Bangladeshi migrant workers skills that match shortages in chosen EU member states, and to keep their migration legal and safe. It began on 1 July 2024 and closes on 30 June 2027. Training reached more than 1,000 people across 12 occupations, and 776 were certified as competent. Chief Technical Advisor Lotte Kejser presented the findings. The proposals urge EU states to accept competency-based assessment for non-regulated jobs, to let recognition finish after arrival, and to tie it to the EU Talent Pool, Europass and ESCO.
Beneficiaries trained:
More than 1,000
Assessed as competent:
776
Occupations covered:
12
Project period:
1 July 2024 to 30 June 2027
Why it matters for exams: Names the EU-Bangladesh Talent Partnership, its ILO and Bangladeshi implementing bodies, and the EU tools - Talent Pool, Europass and ESCO - for skills recognition.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
ESCO European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations — The European Union's multilingual classification of skills, qualifications and occupations.
Europass Europass — An EU platform for presenting skills and qualifications in a comparable format across member states.
29 October 2026
The World Health Organization published on 29 October 2026 the report of a regional workshop on phasing out dental amalgam in the WHO South-East Asia Region. The workshop was held at Bangkok, Thailand, on 13 and 14 July 2026, and the report carries the WHO reference SEA-NCD-118. Dental amalgam is a tooth filling material that contains mercury, and its phase-down is governed by the Minamata Convention on Mercury. The report sets out what countries need: national policies, affordable mercury-free alternatives, training for dental workers, monitoring systems and environmentally sound handling of mercury waste. Governments, WHO, the UN Environment Programme, the Minamata Convention Secretariat, academic institutions and professional bodies took part. Thailand's experience under a Global Environment Facility project on phasing down dental amalgam was highlighted. The aim is to help countries draw up national action plans and meet the global phase-out target of 2034.
Workshop venue:
Bangkok, Thailand
Workshop dates:
13-14 July 2026
Global phase-out target:
2034
WHO reference:
SEA-NCD-118
Why it matters for exams: Links dental amalgam to the Minamata Convention on Mercury and names WHO South-East Asia Region as the publisher of the workshop report.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Minamata Convention on Mercury Minamata Convention on Mercury — A global treaty to protect health and the environment from mercury, named after the Japanese city where mercury poisoning was identified.
UNEP UN Environment Programme — The United Nations body for the environment, which hosts the Minamata Convention Secretariat.
29 October 2026
The International Labour Organization published on 29 October 2026, the International Day of Care and Support, an account of how trade unions in Armenia are reaching informal and domestic workers. With ILO support, the Yourself Trade Union, known as INKD, was set up in September 2025 under the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia, and it is the country's first union for informal and domestic workers. The work was done through an ILO project on pre-empting the informalisation of work and promoting the transition to formality in a refugee crisis, funded by the ILO's Regular Budget Supplementary Account and running from May 2024 to May 2026. Two ILO standards frame the effort: the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), and the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). A report from the project draws six lessons, among them that trust must come first and that fears about documentation and taxes keep workers informal. Agriculture accounted for 57 per cent of informal employment in Armenia in 2024.
Union founded:
INKD, September 2025
Parent confederation:
Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia
Agriculture's share of informal employment:
57 per cent in 2024
Why it matters for exams: Names ILO Recommendation No. 204 and Convention No. 189 and ties them to Armenia's first union for informal and domestic workers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Convention No. 189 Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 — The ILO convention setting out decent work standards for domestic workers.
Recommendation No. 204 Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 — The ILO instrument guiding countries in moving informal workers and units into the formal economy.