Brazil: Amazon destruction is on the rise

RIO DE JANEIRO, June 4 (UPI) -- Brazil's rainforest is being destroyed at a higher rate this year despite government efforts to curtail the cutting down of trees in the Amazon, officials said.

Satellite photos released by Brazilian environmental agencies showed that 430 square miles were destroyed in April and the depletion was accelerating, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.

Deforestation in Brazil had declined for three straight years, said environmental officials -- who blame illegal logging for most of the destruction in the world's largest rainforest.