Video shows boa constrictor squirming as dozens of white quills protrude from its skin.

International animal protection groups are heading to Wellington Zoo to talk conservation.

Here are some questions and answers about what goes into the big show that is Carnival.

Police in Brazil made a shocking discovery when they found a kidnapped woman in a car boot during a routine check.

Rio de Janeiro is making final preparations for its annual carnival, known as the "world's biggest spectacle".

NZ exchange student describes scenes in the city of Vitoria as 'horrific and extremely disturbing'.

It's hard giving up summer for an overseas holiday, so why torture yourself? We've come up with five of the world's best summer destinations.

The growth in new air routes is stoking travel by New Zealanders to new destinations, according to a House of Travel survey.

Tourists visiting Rio may soon have to pay just in case they're mugged.

The desperate last words of the pilot flying the doomed jet carrying a Brazilian football team have emerged.

An Australian comedian has been forced to apologise after he tweeted an off-colour joke about a plane crash that killed 71 people

Investigators already have an idea of what's to blame for the plane crash tragedy that killed 71 passengers, including a beloved football team.

This is the heartbreaking moment a Brazilian footballer found out he was to become a father - just one week before he was killed in the Colombian jet crash.

Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo was one of just seven people initially found alive after a charter plane crashed in Colombia killing 75 people.

The footballers of Chapecoense changed to the doomed plane after Brazilian officials prevented them from taking a charter flight, it has been claimed.

The best of NZ Herald Business: Brazilian plane maker Embraer has developed a twin jet airlifter that is in the running to replace the RNZAF's aging Hercules.

Grant Bradley gets a ride in an experimental Brazilian cargo plane, dipping, ducking and diving over the plantations of Sao Paulo state.

Remarkable new images have emerged of an uncontacted tribal community in the Brazilian Amazon which environmentalists fear could be destroyed by outside influences.

Topsy-turvy weather in Brazil is pushing up the cost of commodities in your breakfast drink.

A giant snake measuring 10.5m long has been discovered on a building site in northern Brazil.

Thoughts are already turning to life after the Olympics, with plans to capitalise on Brazil's worldwide exposure.

Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia have recalled their ambassadors to protest what they call a "coup" in the wake of the dismissal of Brazil's President.

COMMENT: Brazilians waited for the final round of the presidential impeachment process more anxiously than any Olympic competition.

Brazil's Senate has begun the impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff and could permanently oust her as soon as next week.

Sao Paulo's just a 60-minute flight from the Olympic host city, but worlds apart in spirit and style.

Zac Efron has revealed he felt compelled to fly all the way to Rio to meet US gymnast Simone Biles as soon as he heard she was a fan of his.

As well as a gold medal, this North Korean athlete has picked up another title in Rio - the saddest medal winner at the Games.

A police officer has been shot in the head after he took a wrong turn and entered a slum run by drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro.

His gutsy swim at the 2000 Sydney Games made him a cult figure, but what has become of Eric Moussambani since?

Yet another mishap to hit the Olympic games - this time a man is reported to have been impaled on a fence outside media accommodation in Rio.