Bolsonaro says Amazon nations should decide region's future

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Wednesday that Latin America's Amazon countries will meet in September to discuss both protecting and developing the rainforest region, which has been hit by weeks of devastating fires.

The Brazilian leader also escalated a deeply personal dispute with French President Emmanuel Macron, accusing him of portraying himself as "the one and only person" concerned about the environment.

Bolsonaro's remarks pushed back at international allegations that, on his watch, the weakening of environmental safeguards in Brazil had set the stage for farmers, developers and others to set fires more aggressively this year as a way to clear land, much of it already deforested.

They also highlighted the Brazilian government's contention that some international offers of help to fight the fires were an infringement of Brazilian sovereignty over the region.

Macron and other European leaders argue the fires in the Amazon require a global response because of the ...