Hailed by Brazil as “a crucial moment to demonstrate the strength of the health sector in global climate action,” a blueprint for global health systems to adapt to rising temperatures and extreme weather has been launched at the COP30 UN climate conference.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is supporting Ethiopia as the country faces a suspected viral haemorraghic fever outbreak in the south, the UN agency said on Thursday.

More than nine in 10 children in Gaza are displaying signs of aggressive behaviour linked to more than two years of war between Hamas and Israel, welfare agencies have reported.

BELÉM, Brazil, November 12 (IPS) - Concerned scientists at the UN climate conference in Belém are appealing for collective action to combat climate change-related misinformation and disinformation.

DOHA, November 12 (IPS) - Qatar hosted the Second World Summit for Social Development from 4–6 November. According to the United Nations, more than 40 Heads of State and Government, 230 ministers and senior officials, and nearly 14,000 attendees took part. Beyond plenaries and roundtables, more than 250 “solution sessions” identified practical ways to advance universal rights to food, housing, decent work, social protection or social security, education, health, care systems and other public services, international labor standards, and the fight against poverty and inequality.

BELÉM, Brazil, November 12 (IPS) - In a departure from the past two COPs, in Dubai and Azerbaijan, there have been increasingly intense demonstrations from activists at the COP30 venue in Belém, the capital of the northern Brazilian state of Pará.

VICTORIA, November 12 (IPS) - COP30 Brazil, though shadowed by the absence of many world leaders, remains a pivotal milestone in the global fight against climate change, tasked with building on the Paris Agreement’s momentum. Yet the glaring lack of commitment, coupled with withdrawals from the accord casts a grim shadow over the future. The planet continues to warm, and scientists warn that current targets may not prevent a catastrophic temperature spike. While the summit’s focus on implementation not just new promises—is a welcome shift, it’s clear: words alone won’t cool the Earth.

MEXICO CITY, November 12 (IPS) - “This issue has been spiralling out of control year after year. The first responders are the communities themselves. There is no information explaining what a wildfire is in our native language (Mixtec), not even a pamphlet or video that can be distributed”, indigenous language education student Estela Aranda tells IPS.

BELÉM, Brazil, November 12 (IPS) - Generational lived experiences are key to confronting and living with a changing climate, say Indigenous knowledge holders and activists at the UN Climate Conference (COP30).

UNITED NATIONS, November 12 (IPS) - Eleven months after the fall of the Assad regime, Syria continues to grapple with severe instability as the country navigates a turbulent political transition. Rates of displacement have surged, and humanitarian organizations are struggling to support large numbers of refugees returning home. In recent weeks, the United Nations (UN) has documented numerous cases of enforced disappearances and abductions, calling for stronger accountability measures as the transition continues to unfold.