The non-governmental organization Action Aid has placed Brazil top of a ranking of developing countries according to their efforts to combat hunger. Read more

The Central Bank has published an online guide containing advice for anyone making international money transfers either to or from Brazil. Read more

President Lula participated in the Financial Times Investing in Brazil Summit in London on 5 November with a delegation including chief of staff Dilma Rousseff, finance minister Guido Mantega, social communication minister Franklin Martins, central bank governor Henrique Meirelles and deputy foreign minister Antonio Patriota. He also received the Chatham House Prize 2009, met British prime minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street and had an audience with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Read more

The Ministry of External Relations announces a drawing competition on the theme 'My Brazil' for Brazilian children aged 6-11 who are living abroad. Read more

Foyles bookshop in central London will be hosting a Festival of Ibero-American Literature from 10-15 November. Writers, academics and journalists will be discussing a wide range of subjects including Latin America's Female Authors, Literature and Cinema in Latin America, and Latin American Short Stories. Read more

Energy in Brazil by Antonio Dias Leite is set to make a major contribution to the discussion around climate change mitigation. It analyses Brazil’s range of energy sources, in each case examining environmental and socio-economic issues and the potential for future development. The book was launched at the Embassy of Brazil on 13 October. Read more

The choice of Rio de Janeiro as host city for the 2106 Olympic and Paralympic Games reflects international recognition of Brazil's role in world affairs, the strength of its democracy and the stability of its economy. Read more

The global credit rating agency Moody's has awarded Brazil 'investment grade' status in recognition of the country's economic solidity. It is the third major global agency to have done so in the last eighteen months. Read more

Speculation about the safety of Brazilian beef appears to ignore various facts – not least that the form in which it is exported to the EU makes it incapable of carrying foot-and-mouth disease. Read more

With analysts anticipating a return to growth for Brazil in the second half of the year, President Lula this week said the country was the ‘best prepared’ to ride out the global economic crisis. Read more

The total area of pasture in Brazil has actually been decreasing, and almost none of the Brazilian beef or leather sold in EU countries comes from the Amazon region. Read more

Successful measure to be extended to 2010, as environment minister declares ‘soy is not a relevant factor in Amazon destruction any more’. Read more

An update regarding Marcelo Freixo, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the Rio de Janeiro State Assembly, who has been at the forefront of investigations into the activities of militias in the state. Read more

Government ministers have expressed their determination to ensure the 2014 football World Cup will have an enduring legacy in terms of infrastructure, tourism and also Brazil's image around the world. Read more

A group of UK school and college leavers have been selected to spend six weeks in Brazil as part of the second year of the Prime Minister's Global Fellowship programme. Read more

The 2nd Brazilians in the World conference (Conferência Brasileiros no Mundo – CBM) will now be taking place on 15-16 October in Rio de Janeiro. Read more

A new initiative has been launched in order to improve the safety and living conditions of sugarcane workers in Brazil. Read more

President Lula believes rich countries are doing too little to help developing countries cope with the global economic crisis, and that the G8 is now less important than the more inclusive G20. Read more

A new law approved on 25 June aims to reduce land disputes and combat deforestation by establishing private ownership of landholdings in the region. Read more

A joint statement by the foreign ministers of Brazil, India and South Africa on 25 June called for a 'rules-based multilateral trading regime that is fair, equitable and addresses the legitimate aspirations of the developing countries'. Read more

The first summit of the four 'BRIC' emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – took place this week in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Since 2003 the BRIC countries have been responsible for 65% of total global economic growth and Brazil's annual trade with the other three has increased by 500%. Read more

Joaquim Nabuco, British Abolitionists and the End of Slavery in Brazil, edited by Leslie Bethell and José Murilo de Carvalho, reveals the little-studied relationship between Nabuco, the leading Brazilian abolitionist, and the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society during the struggle to abolish slavery in Brazil in the 1880s. Read more

Brazil's economy shrank less than expected in the first quarter of 2009, raising hopes that the recession will be short-lived. Read more

The National Foundation for the Indian (FUNAI) is committed to finding a fair and definitive solution to the land dispute involving the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous people in Mato Grosso do Sul. Read more

FIFA has announced the twelve Brazilian cities that will host matches during the 2014 football World Cup. Read more

The Brazilian Government has called on Pyongyang to rejoin the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as soon as possible. Read more

Plans by London studio SUBdv for the headquarters of a residents' association in a São Paulo favela have been approved by the municipal authorities. Read more

Plan would see importers and exporters in the two countries making and receiving payments in reais and renminbi. Read more

The focus of this year's event is the Brazil-UK energy agenda. The Brazilian 2009 'Personality of the Year' award will go to Edison Lobão, Minister for Mines and Energy; the British recipient will be Sir Robert Wilson, Chairman of BG Group. The keynote speakers will be Paulo Skaf, Chairman of the State of São Paulo Industry Federation, and Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Read more

Brazil has confirmed four cases of swine flu, all of them Brazilian nationals who contracted the virus abroad, but there are no indications the virus is circulating within the country. Read more

Satellite-based study shows that soy cultivation is now causing very little deforestation in the Amazon region. Read more

A Petrobras platform vessel today began a Long-Duration Test in the Tupi field off south-east Brazil, estimated to contain between 5-8 million barrels of oil and natural gas. Read more

Rio de Janeiro's bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games was formally presented this week to the evaluation commission of the International Olympic Committee. As no South American country has ever staged the Olympics, President Lula said that bringing the 2016 games to Rio would be an act of 'continental and national self-affirmation'. Read more

CAPES announces the selection process for Brazilians wishing to work as visiting assistant professors (leitores) in foreign universities. Read more

Vicente Amorim’s 'Good', based on a stage play by C. P. Taylor, is the tale of a literary professor in 1930s Germany who is lured into ever-closer association with the Nazi party. Read more

Embraer, the world's third largest commercial aircraft producer, has taken an order from BA for eleven new-generation aircraft that will ensure lower CO2 emissions and greater passenger comfort. Read more

Speaking at a press conference at the Embassy of Brazil after the G20 summit, the Brazilian president said there had been a new understanding among world leaders that 'the market is not always right'. Read more

On 26 March the British prime minister had wide-ranging discussions with President Lula in Brasília ahead of the G20 summit in London on 2 April. Read more

Canning House hosted the prize-giving ceremony for winners of the competition on 24 March. Read more

Brazil's tourism industry has grown to become the thirteenth biggest in the world. Read more

Finance minister Guido Mantega and central bank president Henrique Meirelles will be participating in the G20 meeting in Horsham, West Sussex, on 13-14 March. Read more

British commentators believe Brazil is relatively well placed to weather the global economic storm. Read more

Brazil's environment minister believes rich countries should set more ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also that cooperation between the developed and developing worlds is essential if climate change is to be tackled successfully. Read more

Rio de Janeiro is bidding to become the first ever South American city to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is competing against Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo, with the successful candidate due to be announced in October. Read more

President Lula this week warned against protectionism in the face of the global economic crisis and called on developed countries to practise what they have preached with regard to free trade. Read more

This week Brazil is hosting the World Social Forum in Belém and is also represented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Read more

In a radio programme this week President Lula discussed various issues in the context of Barack Obama's inauguration as President of the United States, including world trade, US-Latin America relations and biofuels. Read more

2008 was a record year for the production, consumption and export both of sugarcane ethanol and biodiesel. Read more

A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that Brazil's economy has so far performed relatively well during the global economic downturn. Read more

A decree recently passed by the Brazilian government reinforces the prohibition of the hunting of whales and dolphins in Brazilian waters. Read more