At least 48 cities in eight states across Brazil have cancelled their carnivals due to the recession.

Pregnant women are being warned not to go to the Rio Olympics after a virus causing thousands of babies to be born with unusually small heads swept the region.

Brazil's economy will contract more than previously forecast and is heading for the deepest recession since 1901.

Hedge funds are betting your morning cup of coffee is going to get cheaper.

Two Russian photographers have taken a series of spectacular images from the shoulder of Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer.

The happy trio, who reportedly have shared a bed for years and say they want to raise a child, took an oath of love in early October in the presence of Rio de Janeiro notary.

The ceremony of the sacred fire opened the first World Indigenous Games - billed as the indigenous Olympics - in Brazil this week.

Danniella Gomes is about to head home to Brasilia from Texas to get some facial hair zapped and skin stains lightened, and perhaps have a tummy tuck.

Sao Paulo's clubbing scene has something for everyone, writes Bella Ann Townes.

Murderer and sex offender Phillip John Smith's lawyer is arguing his rights to a presumption of innocence have been breached.

It's like Noah's Ark on the world's greatest flood plain, writes Lorraine Brown.

Brazil's so-called little crop is going to be bigger than ever, flooding an already oversupplied global corn market and further pressuring prices.

More than 42,000 people were shot dead in Brazil in one year, according to figures that show the highest level of gun killings in 35 years.

The man who allegedly fled the country on a false passport, sparking an international manhunt, will try to move the case to the High Court next month.

During a trip up the Amazon, John Borthwick discovers people and wildlife largely untouched by civilisation.

Dealing with Brazilian real estate companies and literally testing the waters are among steps being taken by Rowing New Zealand to achieve their Olympic ambitions next year in Rio de Janeiro.

In the very heartland of football, Premiership Rugby and the British Council are introducing the oval-ball game.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Brazil had had a "very measured response" to news reports that New Zealand spied on its campaign to get Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo elected.

A Brazilian woman who helped identify escaped murderer Phillip John Smith will visit New Zealand after a local man offered to pay for her holiday.

The 2016 Olympics will be no panacea for Brazil's faltering economy if last year's World Cup is any guide.

The Department of Corrections underestimated Phillip Smith when they planned his temporary release from prison, an inquiry has found.

The Government has confirmed the terms of reference for an independent inquiry into the escape of convicted killer Phillip Smith.

A week after Phillip John Smith's arrest in Rio de Janeiro, there's still no firm indication of when he will be back in New Zealand.

Captured killer Phillip John Smith has confirmed he received help in renewing the passport he used to flee the country.

Phillip John Smith will voluntarily return to NZ to escape harsh conditions in the Brazilian jail system, says his lawyer.