If you have any queries about this error, try emailing feedback@mirror.co.uk and we'll do what we can to help you. As a bonfire lit by children finished burning, the winners at the first Indigenous Games of Peruibe calmly welcomed their wooden medals around their necks with little fanfare otherwise. Yet the spectators screamed and howled around the village’s arena as defeated competitors applauded in between smoking their pipes. The two-day competition last weekend in southern Sao Paulo state was not exactly the Olympics, but some of the friendly spirit of the past echoed among about 120 athletes of the Guarani, Tupi-Guarani and Fulnio ethnicities — plus 21 of their non-Indigenous friends allowed to compete on Piacaguera Indigenous land. The program was a mix of imports and local traditions: archery, tug of war, soccer, a Brazilian Indigenous wrestling named Uca-Uca, a log-carrying relay race on the beach, dart blowing and others. The spear and rock throwing competitions were suspended because of rainy weather, and there were not enough people to play in the Indigenous badminton category, so it was canceled. The Indigenous peoples spread among 17 villages around Peruibe, a beachfront city 138km south of Sao Paulo, frequently hold their sporting events during other celebrations of their culture, but one year ahead of the Paris Olympics there is enough interest among youngsters for a solo sports competition, which elders hope will reinforce their heritage. “We didn’t expect so many people here, among competitors and visitors,” chief Awa Tenondegua dos Santos said. Wearing Paris Saint-Germain shorts and black paint on his body, he competed — and lost — in every sport he played during the games. “This is more fun than anything else. We are not the Olympic Games, but we are a success, too,” he said. Organizers say at least 500 people showed up for the event. Dozens chose to camp around the village from Friday to Sunday and live out in the open like the Indigenous. April is Brazil’s Indigenous Awareness Month, an occasion that is once again widely celebrated under Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, was a critic of Indigenous celebrations. Many Indigenous people in Brazil believe anyone above the age of 10 should be considered an adult, which sometimes puts strong contenders face-to-face with very young beginners. In a grass skirt and a feathered headdress, teenager Suri Jara finished third in the women’s archery contest. Support from the people from her village, Tapirema, gave her an added boost. “This is not a real competition, we are here to make friends, but it is nice to see I did well against them,” Jara said. “I don’t listen to people roaring like this every day. It felt special.” Archery is a clear link between the Indigenous Games in Peruibe and the Olympics, which has had the sport on its program since the 1900 Paris Games. The competitors in Brazil had to hit one out of three pieces of wood from about 20m. At the Olympics, archers shoot from at least 50m at a five-color target. Soccer and tug of war, which was once an Olympic sport, are the two imports that the Indigenous love to play, but visitors were more interested in the typically local competitions. The log-carrying relay race is popular among the Indigenous all over Brazil. Some of those races take place with logs that weigh about 100kg and with as many as 10 competitors in each team. In Peruibe, the organization sliced logs from a kind of palm tree that was cut after rituals and gave them to four team’s of two per race. The heaviest of the pieces, used in the men’s tournament, weighed about 5kg. The lightest, for children, was one-tenth of that. The pinnacle of the games for fans came on Sunday afternoon after the best warriors of the three groups — and some beginners, too — gathered for the grueling Uca-Uca wrestling competition. The rules for the brawl on the sand are simple: Fighters must make their rivals fall on their backs without using their legs, much like sumo. No breaks. “That’s the traditional Uca-Uca, but we know some fighters have some jujutsu techniques up their sleeves,” said Guaciane da Silva Gomes, one of the leaders of the Tapirema village. “That is fine. We are here to show our culture, but we also embrace what is good in others. We are not here to impose, we just want to be seen and respected as we are.” As soon as the Uca-Uca tournament was finished, the bonfire was put out. It is to be lit again at the same time next year, probably in another village close by, shortly before the Paris Olympics begin. the São Paulo state government reported 4 flood-related fatalities: 3 in Botucatu and 1 in Marília Meanwhile the number of displacements has increased to over 730 with around 350 of them in the Greater Sao Paulo area mostly in the municipalities of Carapicuíba (65); Pirapora do Bom Jesus (120); Jandira (32); and Itaquaquecetuba (128) Hundreds of people also remain displaced outside Greater Sao Paulo Heavy rain has affected wider areas of the state of São Paulo with severe flooding reported in the city of Botucatu State government in São Paulo confirmed that 246 people have been displaced across the state acting Governor Rodrigo Garcia surveyed the flooded areas of the Pinheiros and Tietê and landslides in Osasco Laranjal Paulista and Taboão da Serra have declared an emergency São Paulo State government said that the regions of Vale do Ribeira Baixada Santista and Alto Tietê were also among the worst affected Torrential rain has caused flooding and landslides in the Greater São Paulo area, Brazil The state government said some places recorded more rain in 3 hours than normally seen in the entire month of February According to Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET) Barueri recorded 145.8mm of rain in 24 hours to 10 February Mirante de Santana in São Paulo City recorded 121.8mm during the same period The rain caused the Tietê and Pinheiros rivers to overflow with levels of the Pinheiros River at their highest for 15 years according to the Empresa Metropolitana de Águas e Energia (EMAE) Some schools have been closed and public transport suspended The São Paulo Fire Department has responded to more than 4,000 calls from late 09 February with 7 landslides and 132 flood points reported in the Greater São Paulo area overnight By early 10 February these figures had increased to 88 incidents of landslides and flooding in 546 points Cookies | Privacy | Contacts © Copyright 2025 FloodList but she turned into a giant animal," Rosangela said stretched out in front of the family sofa with cats and dogs clambering around her."She came to bring me joy but I just love animals"Selling Lilica for meat would give her family's finances a major boost but Rosangela isn't interested."Someone offered me 20,000 reais ($3,600) this week for her for slaughter but she is not for sale."Reporting by Leonardo Benassatto writing by Anthony Boadle; editing by John Stonestreet Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Authorities said that as much as 683 mm of rain fell in Bertioga in a 24-hour period to 19 February 2023 Governor Tarcísio de Freitas declared a state of emergency for the cities of Ubatuba including 35 in São Sebastião – 31 in Barra do Sahy Flooding and landslides have damaged homes across the region and 566 people have been displaced or made homeless Civil Defense has distributed relief supplies in affected areas Drinking water infrastructure has been severely damaged in São Sebastião Caraguatatuba and the municipality of Ilhabela Drinking water is being delivered by tank trucks in areas of São Sebastião Dozens of roads have been washed out or blocked More than 130 teams from the Civil Defense Fire Department and the Brazilian Army have been delayed to the areas carrying out relief and search and rescue operations Much of the work is concentrated in the region of Barra do Sahy and Camburi in São Sebastião Around 80 more police officers are expected to be delayed on 20 February The government of São Paulo state said that heavy rain began on 18 February Below are some of the highest accumulations for a 24-hour period to 19 February: This is the second severe flood event in the state in the last two weeks Flooding affected the Greater São Paulo Region on 07 February State news agency Agência Brasil reported one person died in flood waters in Osasco Another person was reported missing and later found dead in floods in Parque São Lucas Heavy rain also has caused flooding and landslides in other areas of the state state Civil Protection provided an update for the period 01 December 2022 to 13 February 2023 Richard Davies is the founder of floodlist.com and reports on flooding news The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n \n \n \n '.concat(e,' Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response SAO PAULO – Hundreds of penguins that apparently starved to death are washing up on the beaches of Brazil worrying scientists who are still investigating what's causing them to die About 500 of the black-and-white birds have been found just in the last 10 days on Peruibe Praia Grande and Itanhaem beaches in Sao Paulo state Related readings: All-black penguin discovered Baby king penguin dances boldly out into public life Gay penguin leaves partner First emperor penguin egg laid in China Many are not finding it: Autopsies done on several birds revealed their stomachs were entirely empty — indicating they likely starved to death Scientists are investigating whether strong currents and colder-than-normal waters have hurt populations of the species that make up the penguins' diet or whether human activity may be playing a role "Overfishing may have made the fish and squid scarcer," Nascimento said Nascimento said it's common for penguins to swim north this time of year some get lost along the way or die from hunger or exhaustion and end up on the Brazilian coast far from home But not in such numbers — Nascimento said about 100 to 150 live penguins show up on the beach in an average year "is the absurdly high number of penguins that have appeared dead in a short period of time." became a well-known figure after her performance at the Paris Olympic Games A gold medalist in the over 78 kg judo category and crucial in securing Brazil's bronze in the mixed team competition she has begun to be recognized on the streets and has appeared in commercials with over 3.2 million followers on Instagram she is using her popularity to promote the causes she supports I was greatly inspired by Black women in my own home everyone who needs a role model," she said in an interview with Folha She also addressed comments about her body Whenever something bothers me and I can change it fight against society’s standards," she said noting that she plans to compete in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics Receive in your email inbox a summary of the day