Syrian Refugee Rescue Caught On Film

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Illegal immigrants are dying in the Mediterranean in record numbers because criminal gangs know that rich northern European countries such as the UK are too scared to address the issue of international migration because of domestic politics.

As European leaders meet this week to discuss demands for help from frontline countries like Malta, Sky News has obtained exclusive pictures of the moment hundreds of Syrians are left swimming for their lives over a hundred miles from shore.

Hundreds of refugees were tipped into the sea when their boat sank

Mediterranean countries say the whole European Union has to do more and must ignore local politics to help genuine refugees.

There is nothing more scary that being in heavy waters in a rubber dinghy when you are fleeing a war-torn country and you are already completely exhausted.

For refugees and illegal migrants that is normal. Life is basically terrible.

Malta, Spain and Italy are trying to deal with this daily problem.

Survivors scrambled onto life rafts thrown to them by the Maltese navy

The system is not perfect and to be frank they are not being as vigilant as they could be because they cannot really cope with what is going on.

This is a huge international problem that has been going on for years - but nobody so far has done anything significant to stop it.

Sky News obtained a remarkable series of videos from the Maltese government that show for the first time an entire rescue.

The migrants' boat has been shot at by Libyan gunmen who are traffickers and have not been paid off.

Young children were among those pulled from the water

Within hours the boat either capsizes or sinks, with Syrian migrants dumped into the sea.

By chance a Maltese spotter plane sees them and a rescue mission, lasting more than 20 hours, begins.

This man does not know if his two children survived

The spotter plane drops a life raft that gives the survivors a point to aim for. They swim in their dozens to try to find something to hold onto.

It will take over an hour of treading water before the rescue boats arrive. Many people die in this time.

Patrol boats and launch vessels pick the survivors from the sea. This is a joint venture between the Maltese and the Italian navy.

Men, women and children are transferred from the rubber boats to the safety of the patrol vessels.

Among them, a little girl and her father clutching one another survived. Her twin sister has died; her mother, his pregnant wife, perished trying to save the girl.

They know nothing of this as they stand on the rescue ship deck being dried. As with all these disasters many families are split forever in the rescue.

On shore the Syrian migrants wait in a detention centre for news of family members who have simply disappeared. A man cries in anguish and writes on a shoe box: "Where are my two children?"

A translator says he does not know if they are dead or not.

A doctor represents the people in an emotional appeal for more information. I speak to him quietly. I ask why a paediatrician is here, risking this dreadful trip.

"We have no choice, Stuart, you know that," he says. "It is too dangerous in Syria so I decided to take my family to somewhere safe.

"But this has been terrible. Worse than I ever imagined."

I ask if he would do it again.

"Yes," he says. "There is no choice."

These are not work-shy foreigners looking for benefits. These are refugees.

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Migrant Crisis: 'UN Should Police Libyan Ports'

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

The Maltese Prime Minister has accused Northern European leaders of "hypocrisy" over the handling of immigration into Europe.

Joseph Muscat says a United Nations force should police Libyan ports to stem the tide of illegal immigrants if richer countries refuse to help frontline states.

Speaking before today's European Council meeting, Mr Muscat promised to be less co-operative on important Euro issues like bailouts if countries like Malta do not get more assistance.

Not far from the Maltese leader's office, a young Somali man shivers on the deck of a patrol boat as it enters the Grand Harbour of Valetta.

A refugee from North Africa in a Maltese detention centre for migrants

He and the others huddle together on the front and rear decks - over 120 of them.

They look scared and still worried, although in real terms they are safe now.

Fourteen hours earlier they were plucked from heavy Mediterranean seas by a United States warship, the USS San Antonio, then transferred to the Maltese armed forces.

They are herded ashore by masked and suited sailors, tagged and guided onto police buses before being driven to their new home - a detention centre where they will likely stay for the next 18 months.

Many in the centre have travelled thousands of miles from Africa

They are not prisoners, but holding centres are prisons in every sense.

High barbed wire walls keep the inmates inside. They sleep in large dormitories and they plan their moves to get an interview with a potential host nation that could offer them asylum.

As the latest inmates arrive there is a buzz of anticipation and the noise level rockets. The young men are sent to find their new accommodation. Many look terrified.

They have travelled thousands of miles from Somalia, risked their lives on unseaworthy boats, spent every penny they have and are now locked up in a huge noisy barracks. Arrival day is not a good day for Malta's new inhabitants.

Joseph Muscat: 'Europe is tackling the problem with tools of the past'

"We want freedom not this b*******," a young man whispers into my ear.

"We are escaping murder and we are treated like convicts. Nobody is happy about this, but nobody will say anything, they don't want to get sent back to Somalia," he said before disappearing into the throng.

The Maltese guards and the government accept it is not the best place in the world, but say they get little help from the outside world and the problem is not only not new, it is getting worse.

And still the international community does little to stop the stream of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

This migrating human crisis now crosses Africa and the Middle East. Syrians are the latest nationality to join Nigerians, Somalis, Ethiopians and a host of others trying to get to Europe.

The boats usually come from Libya. A criminal network guides these people to the sea and on to Europe, although the chances of making it are often no better than 50/50.

The chaos of Libya means there is no law enforcement, so Europe's protection is down to Malta, Italy and Spain.

The centre holds migrants from Nigeria, Somalia and Ethiopia

Malta's minuscule military has tens of thousands of miles of sea to patrol. Simply put, it can't manage.

The prime minister wants a UN force to control Libya's ports and is demanding, along with other Mediterranean nations, that richer northern nations such as the UK do more, pay more and take more responsibility.

Mr Muscat will tell European leaders that countries receiving their aid money must find ways to screen people wanting to migrate.

He says that illegal immigrants who do not pass muster for legitimate immigration should be repatriated by Europe working as a united body.

"Europe is trying to tackle a problem with tools of the past. It's like trying to send an e-mail on a fax machine," he told Sky News in the magnificent surroundings of the PM's official castle built to protect Europe centuries ago.

"It is a European problem and global problem."

More migrants arrive in Malta every week

Accusing Europe of "hypocrisy" over the immigration issue, he says European leaders will "talk" and do nothing.

"It is all wrong. I turn down applications on a technicality. But if they get on a boat and come here illegally they stay and make it to Europe. They are making people act like criminals," he said.

"We could have said 'tough luck' when they wanted money for the bailouts. But we did the right thing. We need solidarity now."

The truth is that in Europe, where more than 270,000 people claimed asylum last year, governments do not like the whole immigration issue one bit.

Politically, it could cost an election, so they dodge it - or at least dodge giving an easy welcome to anyone, even if they are legitimate asylum seekers rather than benefit fraudsters.

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Maria: Police Question Bulgarian 'Mother'

A woman in Bulgaria has confirmed she has been questioned by police about whether she is the mother of Maria, the blonde girl found in a Greek Roma camp.

Speaking to Bulgarian TV, Sasha Ruseva, 38, said she gave birth to a girl while working in Greece "several years ago", but had to leave the child because she did not have enough money to take her home.

It is also being reported that she is willing to take a DNA test, and take the child back if it is shown to be hers.

She insisted she did not get paid for giving up the girl. She had reportedly told one of her neighbours that she had sold the child for the equivalent of around £213, and that she had recognised Maria, when her discovery made headlines around the world.

According to reports Mrs Ruseva, who is married and lives in the central Bulgarian town of Nikolaevo, has between eight and 10 children, five of whom are blonde, and even closely resemble the girl found in central Greece last week.

Eleftheria Dimopoulou and Christos Salis claim they were given Maria

Speaking on TV, Mrs Ruseva said: "I intended to go back and take my child home, but meanwhile I gave birth to two more kids so I was not able to go back."

Police in Bulgaria have declined to comment on the case.

Investigators in Greece have also refused to be drawn on their inquiry.

"We have nothing to say at the moment, there is no information to give," a police spokesman in Athens said.

Greek police have sought help from Interpol to help identify the blonde girl, whose discovery in a Roma camp near Farsala has sparked global interest.

Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, a Roma couple who claimed they were given Maria by her Bulgarian mother who could not care for her, have been charged with abduction.

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Germany Summons US Envoy Over Spying Row

US Spying And The Moral High Ground

Updated: 1:16pm UK, Thursday 24 October 2013

All nations spy, but not all nations claim they have liberal values and transparent government.

For those that do, it is a little embarrassing to be caught spying on your friends and military allies.

To be caught listening in on the private phone calls of the head of government of an ally is to be embarrassed on a different level.

Hence we see the presence of the US Ambassador to Berlin at the German foreign ministry.

Mr John B Emerson was called in to see foreign minister Guido Westerwelle for a touch of "clarification" on remarks made by the White House on Wednesday night.

This follows a call to Chancellor Angela Merkel's office by the Der Spiegel newspaper.

It asked a question which was probably based on some of Edward Snowden's files, to which it has access: "Has the US been tapping the mobile phone of the Chancellor?"

Der Spiegel says Germany's Federal Intelligence Service had enough information for Mrs Merkel to phone Barack Obama and ask the same question.

The Chancellery was confident enough to make public the call.

Within an hour, White House spokesman Jay Carney came up with an answer: "The  President assured the Chancellor that the United States is not monitoring, and will not monitor, the communications of the Chancellor."

Sadly, at the time of writing, the White House press corps did not appear to have asked the obvious question which arises from such a slippery answer: "OK - is not, and will not monitor, but has it monitored?"

President Obama has now found himself on the receiving end of phone calls from several indignant presidents.

The leaders of Brazil, Mexico, France, and Germany have all made it clear they take a dim view of activities of the American intelligence agencies in their own countries.

Brazil's President, Dilma Rouseff, even went so far as to cancel a state visit to Washington DC.

The US administration is now asking itself how much damage all of this is causing.

Some officials argue that spy storms come and go, but relationships survive.

Others agree about survival but say the relationships will be weakened and that America's standing in the world is damaged in the long term.

It is well known that Russia spies on Britain, which spies on China, which spies on America, which spies on … well, everyone it now appears.

Spying on enemies is obvious, and spying on trade partners is tolerated even if measures are taken to prevent it.

Spying on allies is frowned upon even if most countries do it while taking counter measures.

The French are well known to have been trying to steal everyone's business secrets for decades, and very good they are it too.

The golden rule is: don't get caught and don't embarrass us in public and remember, when it comes to allies, there are limits.

If the French and Americans wanted to know their respective positions ahead of a crucial UN Security Council vote, which was in the balance, they might use a variety of measures to find out.

If some of those measures were, perhaps, questionable and became public, it would be embarrassing but, behind the scenes, both sides would shrug their shoulders.

However, listening into the private calls of a head of government of a key ally is crossing a line - it is personal, a question of trust in a personal relationship, and it is impossible to justify in public.

Therefore, if the claims are true, the Americans have a stark choice.

In their democracy, with its open government, and liberal values, what has the greater value? The information you get from spying on friends at the highest levels or the moral standing you have among those friends and global public opinion?

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Madeleine McCann: Portugal Cops Reopen Case

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 3:44pm UK, Thursday 24 October 2013

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: Feb 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: Feb 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: Feb 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

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Sophia Loren Wins 39-Year Tax Battle In Italy

Italian cinema legend Sophia Loren has won a 39-year tax battle with the courts in her home country.

The dispute was over the taxes the actress should have paid in 1974.

The row between the 79-year-old and the courts over her tax issues became so heated over the years she even served a brief spell in jail.

Loren in 1959

But Rome's Court of Cassation has now ruled that her version of how much tax she should have paid in the year in question was correct.

Loren claimed she should have paid 60% tax on her earnings that year, while the state argued the percentage should have been 70%.

She was reported by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera as saying afterwards: "It's a miracle of justice. Just when you don't believe anymore, it finds a way to give you new hope. I was finally proven right."

Her lawyer Giovanni Desideri said: "It is a Kafkaesque story, this 40-year dispute that Ms Loren has experienced. What's more, it was for taxes she paid properly. The Supreme Court has now, finally, made this right."

As Italy's most renowned actress Loren appeared in a string of international movies in the 1950s and 60s, including El Cid, with Charlton Heston. She was in three films in 1974, including a TV movie adaptation of Brief Encounter with Richard Burton.

Her most recent big film was Nine in 2009.

The period she served in jail was in 1982, which was over a separate dispute relating to other tax owed.

She spent 17 days of a 30-day sentence in prison after admitting that her accountant, who had subsequently died, had made a mistake.

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Nasa Fires Lasers At Moon For Fast Downloads

Nasa has used laser beams to transfer data between the moon and Earth at a record-breaking download rate.

It is the first time the space agency has used laser communication in this way, having previously relied on radio signals - a method that has grown out of date as demand for data capacity increases.

The new development will eventually allow spacecraft to beam back high quality images and 3D videos from space.

Nasa transferred data to and from a probe called Ladee, which is orbiting the moon some 239,000 miles (370,000km) away from Earth.

It used a system called the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), and achieved a download rate of 622 megabits per second. By contrast, average residential broadband speeds in the UK this year were measured at 5.7 megabits per second.

Earlier this year, Nasa shot an image of the Mona Lisa into space using a laser beam, but reached a rate of only 300 bits per second.

Nasa's Badri Younes said: "LLCD is the first step on our roadmap toward building the next generation of space communication capability.

"We are encouraged by the results of the demonstration to this point, and we are confident we are on the right path to introduce this new capability into operational service soon."

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Ireland: Roma Child Removals To Be Investigated

A watchdog will investigate why two children in Ireland were taken from their Roma families and put into state care.

The Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, will review the circumstances that led to Irish police removing the children from their homes.

She will receive two reports - from the Garda Commissioner and the Health Service Executive (HSE) - in two weeks' time.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said it was important that the incidents - one in a Dublin suburb and the other a town in the Irish midlands - were reviewed independently, but insisted he believes the authorities acted in good faith.

"I've no doubt that in these two cases the Garda acted in good faith," Mr Shatter said.

"Fortunately it turned out that the concerns that arose in these cases were unfounded, and I'm very keen to ensure that any lessons that need to be learned are learned."

The Roma family of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed schoolgirl removed from them by Garda has supported calls for an independent investigation after tests proved she is their daughter.

A lawyer said they believed the authorities had no proper basis for their action after the seven-year-old was taken into state care for two nights.

A member of the public raised concerns about her appearance compared to relatives in the south Dublin suburb of Tallaght.

DNA results proved she belonged to her parents, who maintained she was theirs since she was taken by authorities on Monday afternoon.

Earlier, a Roma family in Athlone was reunited with their two-year-old son, who had been removed and spent Tuesday night in state care.

The toddler, also blond and blue-eyed, was returned after Garda were satisfied he was in fact theirs.

It comes amid fears there is hysteria after the case of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl named Maria who was found with a Roma family in Greece.

The Garda and health chiefs have been accused of racial profiling.

Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister also said questions need to be answered as to why the decisions were taken, and by whom to remove the children from their families.

Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore said the ordeal must have been "very distressing" for those involved, and wanted to know the nature of the complaints that were made to police, which would have justified their concerns for the youngsters.

"Every child in this country and every family in this country, irrespective of their ethnic background, their religious background and any other background, is given the same rights," Mr Gilmore said.

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FBI Probing Russian 'Spy Recruitment Centre'

The FBI is probing possible espionage at a Russian cultural exchange institute in Washington - a claim Moscow has denied.

The FBI is looking into whether Yuriy Zaytsev, the head of the government-run Russian Centre for Science and Culture, tried to recruit young Americans as intelligence assets, according to US officials cited by the AP news agency and other reports.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was "bewildered" by the reports and said the "fabrications they contained had nothing to do with the reality".

It demanded that the US government "unequivocally and publicly disavow the ill-intended attempts to cast a shadow on the activities of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture".

Mr Zaytsev dismissed the accusations as an attempt to hurt ties between Moscow and Washington.

"It's a shame that echoes of the Cold War are heard in Russian-American relations from time to time," the Russia news agency Itar-Tass quoted him as saying.

Anna Chapman was among Russian agents exposed in the US in 2010

The American magazine Mother Jones, which first reported the story, said the centre run by Mr Zaytsev had footed the bill for about 130 Americans to visit Russia.

The centre offers language lessons and cultural activities. The magazine said Mr Zaytsev or his associates had built files on participants, including one who had been an adviser to a US state governor.

The magazine said FBI agents have been interviewing Americans who participated in the programme.

US-Russian ties have been strained recently over differences on Syria, Moscow's decision to give refuge to former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden and the Kremlin's crackdown on the opposition and rights activists.

A flurry of spy cases has added to the tension.

In May, Russian security services arrested a US diplomat who they say was caught red-handed while trying to court a spy. He left the country a few days later.

In 2010, the FBI busted a ring of sleeper agents for Russia that it had been following for years in the United States.

All 10, including the now well-known Anna Chapman, pleaded guilty and were returned in a swap.

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Purring Titi Monkey Among New Amazon Species

A monkey that purrs like a cat is among hundreds of new animals and plants found deep in the Amazon rainforest.

Described as "remarkable" by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Caquetta titi monkey, or Callicebus caquentensis, was one of 441 new species discovered between 2010 and 2013.

It was spotted in Colombia by a team including scientist Thomas Defler, who said the animal had an endearing trait.

"When they feel very content they purr towards each other," he said.

The new creature is one of about 20 species of titi monkey, all of which live in the Amazon Basin.

Much of the rainforest - the largest in the world, covering around a third of South America - is yet to be fully explored.

The monkey was the only new mammal to be found during the four-year study of the Amazon, which also revealed 258 plants, 84 fish, 58 amphibians and 18 birds, as well as numerous insects and invertebrates.

A shy lizard with "war paint" markings, a vegetarian piranha that eats river weeds and a thimble-sized frog were among the animals discovered.

Damian Fleming, head of programmes for the Amazon at WWF UK, said: "The richness of the Amazon's forests and freshwater habitats continues to amaze the world.

"The more scientists look, the more they find.

"With an average of two new species identified every week for the past four years, it's clear that the extraordinary Amazon remains one of the most important centres of global biodiversity."

However, the WWF warned the rainforest remains under threat from tourism and deforestation, with the equivalent of three football pitches of land lost every minute.

Initiatives like Sky Rainforest Rescue, which is helping to save one billion trees in the Brazilian state of Acre, are designed to preserve the Amazon's biodiversity for future generations.

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