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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is also the world's fifth-largest country by area and the seventh-largest by population, with over 213 million people. Brazil is a federation composed of 26 states and a Federal District, which hosts the capital, Brasília. Its most populous city is São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has the largest Lusophone population in the world and is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas, where it is the official language.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 kilometers (4,655 mi), among the longest in the world. Covering roughly half of South America's land area, it borders all other countries and territories on the continent except Ecuador and Chile. Brazil encompasses a wide range of tropical and subtropical landscapes, as well as wetlands, savannas, plateaus, and low mountains. It contains most of the Amazon basin, including the world's largest river system and most extensive virgin tropical forest. Brazil has diverse wildlife, a variety of ecological systems, and extensive natural resources spanning numerous protected habitats. It ranks first among 17 megadiverse countries, with its natural heritage being the subject of significant global interest, as environmental degradation (through processes such as deforestation) directly affect global issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

Brazil was inhabited by various indigenous peoples prior to the landing of Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500. The territory was subsequently claimed and settled by Portugal, which founded the country's first city, São Vicente, in 1532 and imported enslaved Africans to work on plantations. Brazil remained a colony until 1815, when it was elevated to a united kingdom with Portugal after the transfer of the Portuguese court to Rio de Janeiro. Prince Pedro of Braganza declared Brazilian independence in 1822 and, after waging a war against Portugal, established the Empire of Brazil. The country's first constitution in 1824 established a bicameral legislature and enshrined principles such as freedom of religion and the press; slavery was gradually abolished until its final abolition in 1888. Brazil became a presidential republic following a military coup d'état in 1889. An armed revolution in 1930 ended the First Republic and brought Getúlio Vargas to power. Vargas' self-coup in 1937 ushered the authoritarian Estado Novo, in which he oversaw Brazil's involvement in World War II. Democracy was restored after Vargas' ousting in 1945. An authoritarian military dictatorship emerged in 1964 with support from the United States and ruled until 1985, after which civilian governance resumed. Brazil's current constitution, enacted in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic.

Brazil is a regional and middle power, and has been described as a rising global power. It is an emerging, upper-middle income economy and newly industrialized country, with one of the 10 largest economies in the world in both nominal and PPP terms, the largest economy in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere, and the largest share of wealth in South America. With a complex and highly diversified economy, Brazil is one of the world's major or primary exporters of various agricultural goods, mineral resources, and manufactured products. The country ranks thirteenth in the world by number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, G4, Mercosur, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries; it is also an observer state of the Arab League and a major non-NATO ally of the United States. (Full article...)

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The Brazil national football team (Portuguese: Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed Canarinho, represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation, the governing body of football in Brazil. It has been a member of FIFA since 1923 and was a founding member of CONMEBOL in 1916. It was also a member of PFC, the unified confederation of the Americas, from 1946 to 1961.

Brazil is the most successful national team in the FIFA World Cup, winning the tournament five times: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. The Seleção also has the best overall performance in the World Cup competition with a record of 76 victories in 114 matches played and 129 goal difference. It is the only national team to have played in all World Cup editions without any absence nor need for playoffs, and the only team to have won the World Cup in four different continents. Brazil was the most successful team in the now-defunct FIFA Confederations Cup, with victories in 1997, 2005, 2009, and 2013. (Full article...)

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Brazil has rediscovered itself, and this rediscovery is being expressed in its people's enthusiasm and their desire to mobilize to face the huge problems that lie ahead of us.

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16 June 2026 –
MapBiomas reports that water levels in the Brazilian Amazon rise to 2.6% above the historical average in 2025 following increased rainfall. The organization warns that climate change and land-use changes continue to affect long-term hydrological stability. (AFP via The Straits Times)
Brazil's Supreme Federal Court sentences former São Paulo congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro to four years and two months in prison and bars him from holding public office for eight years after convicting him of threatening public officials in connection with U.S. sanctions efforts. (AFP via The Manila Times)
14 June 2026 – 2026 Rio de Janeiro mid-air collision
American singer Oliver Tree, Argentine YouTuber Gaspi, Argentine filmmaker Lucas A. Vignale, and three others are killed when two helicopters collide and crash into a parking lot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (The Times of India) (CNN Brasil)
8 June 2026 –
Brazil's health ministry suspends administration of its single-dose dengue vaccine after two deaths and another severe adverse event among more than 500,000 recipients prompt a safety review, although no causal link has been established. (AFP via The Straits Times)
28 May 2026 – Terrorism in Brazil
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio designates Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho, the two biggest drug trafficking-related criminal organizations in Brazil, as foreign terrorist groups. (Al Jazeera) (AP via The Washington Post)

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The 2015 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio Petrobras do Brasil 2015) was a Formula One motor race held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil on 15 November 2015. It was the eighteenth race of the 2015 FIA Formula One World Championship, and marked the 44th running of the Brazilian Grand Prix as a round of the World Championship since its inception in 1950.

Nico Rosberg, driving for Mercedes, was the defending race winner. His teammate Lewis Hamilton entered the race as World Drivers' Champion, having secured the title two races earlier in the United States. Mercedes had also already clinched the Constructors' title, having done so at the 2015 Russian Grand Prix. (Full article...)

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Giba at the 2011 World League Final

Gilberto Amauri de Godoy Filho (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʒiwˈbɛʁtu amawˈɾi dʒi ɡoˈdɔj ˈfiʎu]; born 23 December 1976), known as Giba (pronounced [ˈʒibɐ]), is a Brazilian former professional volleyball player who played as an outside hitter. For much of the 2000s, he was widely regarded as one of the best volleyball players in the world. During his professional career he played in Brazil, Italy, Russia, Argentina and briefly in the United Arab Emirates. He is mostly remembered for his successes with the national team.

With the Brazilian National Team he won a total of 8 South American Championships, 3 America's Cups, 8 World League titles, 3 World Grand Champions Cups, three World Championships (2002, 2006, 2010), a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and two silver medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics, where he was the team's captain. (Full article...)

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Lear's Macaw
Credit: Edward Lear

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Praia de Botafogo
Praia de Botafogo
Credit: Luis Rizo

Botafogo is a beachfront neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mostly a middle and high-class and small commerce community, located between the hills of Mundo Novo, Santa Marta and Morro de São João. It is named after João Pereira de Sousa Botafogo, who was its landowner in colonial times. Its name literally means "set it on fire" and is related to the Italian surname Buttafuoco.

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