Pele is an ambassador for the World Cup but the association has been problematic.

There is nothing like the sight of a man, mere seconds ago a formidable athlete, now rolling around on the ground in agony because someone touched his shirt to tell you that the football/soccer World Cup is upon us.

Yellow fever is one of the least likely to pose a real threat. But there are two important things to know about the illness.

Brazil native Ana Paula De Jesus says her dream football World Cup final would be to see her countrymen play their arch-rival, Argentina.

A mobile scanner designed to spot a 3D-printed plastic pistol hidden under a gunman's clothing is to be used in Brazil after threats by organised criminals to disrupt the World Cup.

Goldman Sachs say buy Brazilian stocks because the country will win the World Cup, giving a boost to the local equity market. But investors need to move fast as the gains won't last.

Sao Paulo is facing "imminent water rationing" after the worst drought on record, less than six weeks before the city hosts the World Cup opening ceremony and first game.

At least 10 residents and police officers were injured yesterday as authorities ousted squatters from an abandoned building just steps from Rio's Maracana stadium.

Part of the stadium that will host the World Cup opener in Brazil next year collapsed today, causing significant damage and killing two people, authorities said.

Rio de Janeiro's endless beaches and lush tropical forest will be a photographer's dream during the 2016 Olympics. But zoom in on the likes of once-pristine Guanabara Bay, and the picture is of household trash and raw sewage.

From her office in a painted shipping container high up in Rio de Janeiro's biggest favela, the woman with the toughest police job in the city has a definitive view of the divided landscape.

Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana beach has been packed with tens of thousands of revellers taking part in the city's gay pride parade.

Brazil plans to divorce itself from the US-centric internet over Washington's widespread online spying, a move that many experts fear will be a potentially dangerous first step toward fracturing a global network built with minimal interference by govts.

Bino's back was killing him. He was suffering from scoliosis. He couldn't move his legs, two of them anyway, and his tail just wouldn't swish.

The Iguazu Falls in South America are one of the world's wonders, writes Josie Dale

Frenzied crowds of Roman Catholics mobbed the car carrying Pope Francis when he returned to his home continent for the first time as pontiff, embarking on a seven-day visit meant to fan the fervour of the faithful around the globe.

Pope Francis will land in a Brazil electric with anticipation for the pontiff's first international trip, heading into the open arms of his home continent where mammoth crowds are expected to celebrate Mass on Rio's Copacabana beach.

As more Kiwis look to South America for adventure, Karen Phelps compiles a bucket list for the continent.

Aerial trams and cable cars take visitors up mountains, over rivers and above cities, and sometimes these cable cars are the destination themselves.

The Vatican has asked Brazil for an additional €30 million ($49.5 million) to help cover an expected shortfall in funding for the visit of the Pope to Rio de Janeiro this month.

The demonstrations in Brazil began after a small rise in bus fares triggered mass protests.

More than 270 drops comprise Iguazu Falls on the Brazil-Argentine border, one of the world's grandest water falls.

Eight people have been charged in connection with the deadly nightclub fire in southern Brazil that killed 241 people earlier this year, prosecutors said.

Prime Minister John Key has wrapped up his tour of Latin America with a meeting with Brazil's "Iron Lady".