Brazil accepts £10m from UK to fight fires

THE Brazilian government has accepted £10million in aid from the UK to battle a devastating wave of forest fires in the Amazon region.

Jair Bolsonaro, the bullish far-right president, had rejected a separate offer of $22million (£18million) in assistance from G7 countries, amid a war of words with Emmanuel Macron, the French president.

Mr Bolsonaro suggested he would only accept the G7 funds if he received a personal apology from Mr Macron, who last week called his counterpart a “liar” for promising to respect the country’s climate commitments when they met at the G20 summit in June.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr Bolsonaro called a meeting with governors from the nine Amazonian states, when he was urged to accept financial aid.

Helder Barbalho, the governor of Pará, claimed Mr Bolsonaro had “wasted a lot of time” by squabbling with Mr Macron.

Flávio Dino, the Left-wing governor of Maranhão, warned Brazil could be frozen out on the world stage, adding: “If Brazil isolates itself, we risk being exposed to severe trade sanctions.” The Amazon rainforest has been plagued by more than 75,000 fires this year, drawing international criticism for Mr Bolsonaro’s permissive stance towards deforestation.

In Porto Velho, the capital of Rondônia state, a children’s hospital has reportedly treated an average of 50 young people per day with respiratory problems this month.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Salles, the embattled environment minister, was admitted to hospital yesterday morning. Reports that he had suffered a heart attack were dismissed. He is in intensive care in a stable condition.