Brazilian holidays are more likely to bring to mind sand than saddles, but major investment in new cycle paths around the country has made cicloturismo an increasingly attractive option. The various networks of cycle paths, stretching 2,500 kilometres, include excellent routes in Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and the state of Santa Catarina. Read more

Brazilian foreign minister Antonio Patriota had talks with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon this week while attending the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He also participated in a lively debate entitled 'Is democracy up to the challenge of the 21st century?' Read more

Speaking at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre this week, President Dilma Rousseff expressed sympathy with the 'indignation' behind the recent international protests against social and economic inequality. The 'dissonance between the voice of the markets and the voice of the streets' is increasing, she said. Read more

William Hague this week made a two-day visit to Brazil during which he met with foreign minister Antonio Patriota and defence minister Celso Amorim. A joint communiqué spoke of a 'new momentum' in the Brazil-UK relationship – recently reflected by the significant increase in bilateral trade. It also covered the UK's support for Brazil as a permanent member of a reformed UN Security Council, continued cooperation on hosting the Olympics, and the growing partnership between the two countries' academic institutions. Hague said during the visit that the UK welcomes Brazil's 'growing impact on the economic and political landscape of the world'. Read more

Finance minister Guido Mantega predicts that Brazil's economy will grow by between 4% and 5% during 2012. In an overview of Brazil's economic performance during 2011 he expressed particular satisfaction with the rate of job creation, which has seen unemployment fall to a historic low of 5.2%. Read more

Brazil last year achieved an agricultural trade surplus of almost $80bn – the biggest since records began. The main exports were soy, sugar, ethanol and meats, while the principal importers were the European Union, China, the US, Russia and Japan. Read more

Dilma Rousseff this week sent an optimistic message regarding Brazil’s economic prospects in 2012, declaring the country will maintain a ‘very favourable’ monetary policy and an ‘advantageous’ credit situation. Read more

Brazilian foreign minister Antonio Patriota has contacted British foreign secretary William Hague to express his solidarity in the wake of the recent attack by Iranian protestors on the UK embassy in Tehran. Read more

According to recent figures from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), average life expectancy in Brazil in 2010 was 73.5 years (69.7 for men, 77.3 for women) – more than three years higher than in the year 2000. The increase is due partly to the significant fall in infant mortality over the last decade. Read more

Based on an online poll conducted by the New7Wonders organization over the last four years, Brazil's Iguaçu Falls and the Amazon rainforest have been included among the 'new seven wonders of nature'. Read more

The soundness of Brazil's economy is indicated by the credit-rating agency’s decision to upgrade the Government's local currency debt from BBB+ to A-, and its sovereign dollar-denominated debts from BBB- to BBB. Read more

Many of the findings from Brazil's 2010 census reflect significant social and economic progress – such as the fall in the illiteracy rate to less than 10% among adults and less than 4% among children aged 10-14. Read more