Clashes between police and slum-dwellers turn Rio de Janerio's world-famous beach neighbourhood of Copacabana into a war zone.

As City of God - a film depicting wars between rival drug gangs in Rio de Janeiro - receives four Oscar nominations, a real life version is taking place in the city.

Rachel de Queiroz, grand dame of the Brazilian literary community, passed away quietly this week. A published author at 20, Queiroz was a remarkable novelist, playwright, raconteur and columnist.

Gunfights between police and gangs in a bustling Brazilian 'favela' see students at Rio's neighbouring 'American School' running for cover.

As new statistics show 133 million Americans are breathing in harmful exhaust fumes, President Bush amends a law that critics say will only inflame the growing health crisis.

The world's first black independent state is gearing up for its 200th birthday. But as Haiti's pioneering history is overshadowed by its contemporary crisis, is there anything left to party about?

International organisations to which Brazil belongs are not being paid. Rent for overseas offices is not being met and bill payments for running costs are late.

It's all work and no play for five-and-a-half million kids in Brazil, but improvements are continuing to be made, officials say…