COMMENT: You could trace the mountains in the night. In Rio, they stick out like fence palings and in the darkness the landscape looms, the cliffs a shade darker than the sky.

Its members call it, with an almost religious conviction, "the Olympic Movement," or "the Movement" for short, always capitalised.

COMMENT: I want Rio to make all the bad news recede when I watch its Olympic opening ceremony.

Brazil won the right to host the Olympics when times were good. But locals are now not so sure the city is up to the task.

The Russian vice-consul in Rio de Janeiro shot dead an armed mugger who had tried to hold him up in his car.

Japanese gymnastics great Kohei Uchimura learned the hard way about cellphone roaming costs while playing Pokemon Go in Rio.

Kiwi sportsman Jason Lee, who alleged he was kidnapped by police in Rio this week, is safe after a second scare in the Olympics host city.

The Kiwi sportsman in Rio who says he was kidnapped by men in police uniform now says the same police were outside his apartment.

Watch NZ Herald Focus: Jason Lee says he was kidnapped by men in police uniform and forced to withdraw money from ATMs.

COMMENT: Today Brazil can say with confidence: we are ready to host the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to take place in South America.

ICYMI: An exclusive look and what makes TNZ duo Peter Burling and Blair Tuke tick

When Brazil was awarded the Olympics in 2009, the country was booming. Now it is in the middle of a crippling recession.

In the flurry of blue and white that lit up Rio de Janeiro's vast Sambadrome last week, black bands could be spotted on the wrists of some who marched to the driving beats.

If the Rio Olympics were held tomorrow, New Zealand would stand to collect a record 18 medals, including eight golds and 12 medals won by women.

Former New Zealand track coach Justin Grace has been appointed Britain's sprint coach as they prepare for a strong performance at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

High above Rio de Janeiro, travel boss Lee Thompson became the first man to take a selfie atop Brazil's iconic 40m statue Christ the Redeemer.

Residents of Rocinha, the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, have been portrayed as domestic servants, thieves and uneducated nonentities for too long, they say.

There will be a RoboCop style to the face of policing in Rio when football fans turn up for the World Cup in Brazil next month.

Ipanema Beach's 2700 metres of smooth sand exudes the alluring free-spiritedness that defines the marvellous Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Rio Fashion Week photos from the summer 2010/2011 collections.