Indigenous groups held protests Nov. 14 in Belém, blocking the main entrance to the restricted area at the UN Climate Summit (COP30) to demand that the Brazilian government halt extractive projects that jeopardize their cultures and livelihoods.

A comprehensive global report on "uncontacted" indigenous peoples, published Oct. 27 by UK-based Survival International estimates that the world still holds at least 196 uncontacted or isolated peoples living in 10 countries in South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. Nine out of 10 of these groups face the threat of unwanted contact by extractive industries, including logging, mining, and oil and gas drilling. It's estimated that a quarter are threatened by agribusiness, with a third terrorized by criminal gangs. Intrusions by missionaries are a problem for one in six groups. After contact, indigenous groups are often decimated by illnesses, mainly influenza, for which they have little immunity. Survival International found that unless governments and private companies act to protect them, half of these groups could be wiped out within 10 years.

Following another year of record temperatures and powerful storms, world leaders are gathering in Belém, Brazil, ahead of the official opening of the COP30 climate talks. But the leaders attending—notably, they do not include US President Donald Trump—will be confronted by the fraying global consensus on climate change, amid difficult geopolitical headwinds. A major risk to multilateral climate action is the presidency of Trump, who has described global warming as the world's "greatest con job." Reuters reported that some European officials have been bracing for a possible intervention by the Trump administration—despite the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Washington recently torpedoed a carbon levy on shipping, and the European officials are worried that the Trump administration could make threats with tariffs or visa restrictions to influence the COP talks too. "If they pull the same tactics, I think there's zero chance of having any sort of rallying around the Paris Agreement in response," one official told Reuters.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Oct. 23 announced that he will open the entire 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas leasing. These lands are sacred to the Gwich'in Nation, home to irreplaceable wildlife, and have never seen industrialization.

In an action taken during a government shutdown, the Department of Interior (DoI) held a press conference to announce a series of resource development decisions aimed at opening up Alaska for the benefit of corporate interests. A key announcement was the rescission of the Biden administration's restrictive drilling program for the refuge. The DoI is now essentially replacing that program with the previous Trump-era plan to fully open the Coastal Plain of the ANWR to oil and gas development.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Oct. 16 condemned the adoption of a constitutional reform in Chad, stating that it could pose a significant setback to democracy and the rule of law by empowering current President Mahamat Idriss Déby to remain in power for generations to come. HRW Central Africa director Lewis Mudge commented on the severity of the issue, stating: "By removing presidential term limits, Chad's authorities have dismantled an important safeguard against authoritarianism."

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced Sept. 30 that he is ready to declare a state of emergency in response to aggression by the United States. Such a declaration would give the army control over public services and the country's oil industry, which Venezuelan leaders say the US is preparing to grab. The US has increased its naval presence in the Caribbean over the past weeks and launched repeated deadly strikes on civilian vessels in international waters off Venezuela. President Trump has claimed, without evidence, that the vessels were carrying drug traffickers. In a confidential notice sent to several Congressional committees and obtained by the New York Times, the White House said that the US is engaged in a formal "armed conflict" with drug cartels that his team has labeled terrorist organizations, and that suspected smugglers for such groups are "unlawful combatants." 

Three US Aegis guided-missile destroyers have been dispatched to waters off the coast of Venezuela, as part of what the Trump administration calls an effort to counter threats from Latin American drug cartels. The mobilization follows Washington's decision to increase the bounty for the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, doubling it to an unprecedented $50 million. Last week, US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the seizure of assets worth $700 million from the Venezuelan head of state.

Angolan police used excessive force and carried out arbitrary arrests during a peaceful protest in Luanda on July 12, Human Rights Watch charges. According to reports, officers fired tear-gas and rubber bullets without justification, assaulted demonstrators, and detained 17 protesters, some of whom were released only after legal intervention.