Backed by Catholic aid agency CAFOD, two indigenous indians from Brazil have arrived in London this week to make an urgent plea to members of parliament for help to save their Amazon forest home.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil's has said that his country will bypass the commercial patent on a crucial anti-AIDS drug manufactured by Merck, the US pharmaceutical giant, in order to ensure that those who desperately need treatment can get a cheaper, generic Indian-made version.