Uncovering the Secrets of the Toughest Fish Scales on Earth
The design of the armor-like scales of an Amazonian fish could have military applications, researchers said in a study Wednesday.
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Brazil
Seven-Story Building Collapses in Brazil, Trapping People
A seven-story building collapsed Tuesday in an upscale part of the Brazilian city of Fortaleza, killing one person and leaving others trapped with some communicating with family members by cellphone from under debris, officials said.
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Mystery Oil Spills Blot More Than 130 Brazilian Beaches
The source of large blots of oil staining more than 130 beaches in northeastern Brazil remained a mystery Tuesday despite President Jair Bolsonaro’s assertions they came from outside the country and were possibly the work of criminals.
Read moreUS Blocks Goods From Companies Suspected of Forced Labor
The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it is holding imports of clothing, gold, diamonds and other items believed to have been produced with forced labor by companies based in Brazil, China and Malaysia as well as some gold mined in eastern Congo and diamonds from a region in Zimbabwe.
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Brazilian President Arrives at UN Spoiling for a Fight
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been in power for less than nine months, but he’s already had diplomatic spats with France, Germany, China, Norway, Arab nations, Venezuela, Cuba and Argentina.
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Forest Fires Destroying Vital Buffer Against Climate Change
With fierce blazes raging in jungles from the Amazon to Indonesia, concerns are mounting about the impact as rainforests play a vital role in protecting the planet against global warming.
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Amazon Rainforest Fires Take Center Stage at House Hearing
The thousands of fires that have been engulfing the Amazon Basin since last month are largely a cause of Brazilian policy failure and climate change, witnesses told a House panel Tuesday.
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Brazil’s Indigenous People Ravaged by Amazon Fires
As fires raged in the Amazon rainforest, Mydje Kayapo sat in a small boat looking out over the Curua River in the Bau indigenous reserve. The smell of smoke filled the air, and Kayapo was worried.
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Respiratory Illnesses Rise in Brazil as Amazon Fires Rage
Lingering smoke in the Amazon is causing concern among Brazilians who say that respiratory problems — particularly among children and the elderly — have increased as fires in the region rage.
Read moreLand Grab for Soybeans Blew Up the Amazon Rainforest
The thousands of fires burning the Amazon rain forest are the result of a rush to plant soybeans that brought land-grabbers to burn the woods so it can be used to plant food for hogs and chickens in China.
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Brazil Choked by Smoke From Fires Consuming Amazonia
Equipped with hoses connected to rubber backpacks, Brazilian firefighters in the Amazon on Monday raced in a truck along dirt roads toward plumes of smoke after a spotter in a military helicopter directed them to a fast-spreading fire.
Read moreBrazil Military Begins Operations to Fight Amazon Fires
Backed by military aircraft, Brazilian troops on Saturday prepared to deploy in the Amazon to fight fires that have swept the region and prompted anti-government protests as well as an international outcry.
Read moreMacron Leads Pressure on Brazil Over Amazon Fires
France’s Emmanuel Macron led a growing wave of international pressure on Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro over the fires raging in the Amazon rainforest Friday, telling him Paris would block efforts to seal a major trade deal.
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Bolsonaro Defiant as Amazon Rainforest Burns
Amid global concern about raging fires in the Amazon, Brazil’s government complained Thursday that it is being targeted in smear campaign by critics who say President Jair Bolsonaro is not doing enough to curb widespread deforestation.
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Record Number of Fires Scorching Amazon Rainforest
Brazil’s Amazon rainforests – the so-called lungs of planet Earth – are being scorched by fire and a new report shows the infernos raging there have hit an all-time high.
Read moreWalmart Settles Brazil Corruption Case for $138M
Walmart has agreed to fork over roughly $138 million in criminal penalties to settle claims by the Justice Department that one of its subsidiaries in Brazil paid a “sorceress” over $500,000 in bribes to make permitting problems go away.
Read moreUS Lags Way Behind in Banning Harmful Pesticides
Farmers in the United States use 72 pesticides banned in the European Union, 17 agricultural substances outlawed in China and 11 pesticides no longer allowed in Brazil, the Center for Biological Diversity revealed in research published Thursday.
Read moreProtected Lands Losing Ground in US and Amazonia
Once the global leaders in land conservation, the United States and Brazil are now scaling back legal protections for national parks and other lands at an alarming pace – compromising efforts to conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change, a new study suggests.
Read more57 Dead in Brazilian Prison Riots
Forty-two inmates were killed at three prisons in the capital of Brazil’s northern Amazonas state Monday, authorities said, a day after 15 died during fighting among prisoners at a fourth prison in the city.
Read moreSwiss Say They Returned $365M to Brazil in Petrobras Probe
Swiss prosecutors say they have returned some $365 million to Brazil so far in funds seized during investigations related to Brazilian construction company Odebrecht and state-run oil giant Petrobras.
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