Brazilian Busted in Murder of US Nun Nabbed on Slavery Charges

Sustainable condom project to use Amazon rubber

(NEWSER) - Brazil has unrolled an ambitious plan to preserve vast areas of the Amazon rainforest by tapping its rubber trees to make sustainable condoms. Most "rubbers" are now made from cheaper synthetic materials, but officials of the Brazilian government—which buys 1 billion condoms a year—say the project will reduce its dependence on imports and give local people a livelihood dependent on trees which ensures they will battle deforestation. More»

Victim was swimming in shallow water of Brazilian river

(NEWSER) - An 11-year-old girl who was swimming with friends in a river in Brazil was attacked and killed by a 13-foot-long alligator, according to local media reports. The girl was playing in shallow water in the northern part of the country, near the Amazon, when the alligator struck. The reptile was shot and killed about 100 yards from the site of the attack so that the victim's body could be recovered, the AP reports.. More»

Team spots evidence of massive Amazon civilization

(NEWSER) - The legends of lost cities that drew Spanish explorers to their doom seeking "El Dorado" in the Amazon may have been rooted in truth after all. Deforestation in Brazil and northern Bolivia has revealed signs, including roads and massive earthworks, of an Amazon civilization much bigger than anything previously believed to have existed, reports a team of archeologists. More»

(NEWSER) - Brazil freed more than 4,600 slaves this year after storming a record number of remote farms, the Guardian reports. Often teaming up with federal police, the government's anti-slavery task force raided 255 farms, but advocates say thousands of poor are still being trapped into debt slavery. "It is a very sad situation that leaves you feeling impotent," said activist Leonardo Sakamoto. More»