The Madeira is at its lowest recorded level, disrupting cargo navigation, with most of its riverbed now endless sand dunes under a sky thick with smoke

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, after months of hedging on the issue, has committed his government to finishing a road through a pristine part of the Amazon rainforest, a move scientists say will bring disastrous deforestation.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pledged to pave a controversial road in the Amazon, despite warnings from environmentalists that it could lead to "historic deforestation." The BR-319 highway,

While about 40% of the Amazon rainforest remains unprotected, Brazil's President Lula da Silva is throwing his backing behind a major trans-Amazon highway.