Lula names staunch Amazon defenders as ministers in Brazil

Ministry for Indigenous peoples is created but new government faces huge challenges from Bolsonaro era

Two internationally celebrated Amazon defenders, Marina Silva and Sonia Guajajara, have been named as ministers in Brazil's new government in an attempt to contain the intensifying assault on Indigenous territories and the environment.

The announcement was made by incoming president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who will take office on Sunday after the country's four years of rainforest-wrecking under his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.