SAO PAULO (AP) – As Brazil seeks to boost its environmental credentials by hosting the United Nations’ climate summit, a proposal to build a railway through the Amazon has threatened to tarnish that image amid protests by Indigenous groups and environmentalists.

BELEM, Brazil (AP) – Two global power players pushed negotiators on Wednesday to find compromises at United Nations climate talks in Brazil’s Belem, where a self-imposed deadline is rushing up fast. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrived at the COP30 talks to take a hand.

BERLIN (AP) – Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday downplayed the impact of remarks he made about Brazil that drew sharp criticism from officials there, and the German leader’s spokesperson said he hadn’t denigrated the South American country.