After his swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 1, Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva walked up the ramp to the presidential palace arm in arm with Indigenous leader Raoni Metuktire, instantly recognizable by his yellow headdress and wooden lip plate.
But a major railway that would accelerate deforestation in Metuktire's ancestral land risks souring relations between the leftist leader and the chief of the Kayapó people. And it's just one of several mega-projects that activists and experts say would devastate the natural world — and seriously dent Lula's newfound image as a defender of the environment — if they proceed.

Drought-stricken Spain says last month was the hottest and driest April since records began in 1961.
The State Meteorological Agency, known by the Spanish acronym AEMET, said Monday the average daily temperature in April was 14.9 degrees Celsius (58.8 Fahrenheit), that is 3 degrees Celsius above the average.

Carlos Alcaraz is paving his way back to the top of the world rankings after a second-straight Madrid Open title.
Alcaraz beat lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the Spanish capital on Sunday to guarantee his return to the No. 1 spot by playing at least one match at the upcoming Italian Open in Rome.

A display of character and resilience from Arsenal has ensured there's plenty of life left in the Premier League title race.
The fight to finish in the Champions League qualification positions is far from over, too, after David De Gea's latest mistake in another away loss for Manchester United.

Two of the best attacking teams in Europe face off in the Champions League semifinals this week, with Manchester City's record-seeking Erling Haaland going against Real Madrid's red-hot trio of Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo and Karim Benzema.
It will be a rematch of last year's semifinal, when Madrid got the better of a City team that didn't have Haaland in the squad. City fell short of European success yet again, while Madrid went on to win a record-extending 14th title.

Facebook says it is not dead. Facebook also wants you to know that it is not just for "old people," as young people have been saying for years.
Now, with the biggest thorn in its side — TikTok — facing heightened government scrutiny amid growing tensions between the U.S. and China, Facebook could, perhaps, position itself as a viable, domestic-bred alternative.

Russians returned to international judo competition on Sunday for the first time in nearly a year at the world championships as Ukraine boycotted the key Olympic qualifier.
Competing under the name of "Individual Neutral Athletes," the Russians had a slow start in Doha as their first competitor, Sabina Giliazova, lost her opening contest to France's Blandine Pont. Three more Russians are due to compete Monday.

At least 100 people were killed in clashes that erupted last month between armed fighters in a city in Sudan's restive region of Darfur, according to the Sudan's Doctors Syndicate.
Hospitals were still out of service in the Darfur city of Genena and an accurate count of the wounded was still hard to make, the doctors' union added in a statement posted on their official Facebook page late Sunday.

China's foreign minister told the U.S. ambassador on Monday that Washington is responsible for the downturn in relations between the two countries and must "reflect deeply" before ties can return to a healthy track, an official said.
Qin Gang's comments follow a suspension of serious dialogue on a range of issues between the world's largest economies, increasingly at odds over tariffs, attempts by Washington to deprive China of cutting-edge technology, and China's claims to self-governing Taiwan and large parts of the South and East China Seas.

Ukraine air defenses shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv in Russia's latest nighttime assault, as attacks across Ukraine by the Kremlin's forces killed four civilians, officials said Monday.
The bombardments came as Moscow enforced tight security on the eve of traditional Red Square commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
