Philip Reeves

In Rio de Janeiro, thieves are robbing banks by blowing them up. The country's president is putting the military in charge of security there.

The U.S. is trying to get Pakistan put on a global terror watch list in the latest sign of tensions between the two countries.

Brazilians say carnival is about dropping your inhibitions and letting your emotions out. One large, extended family prepares an annual exercise that acts as a release valve for the pressures of life.

Brazilians were transfixed as an appeals court upheld former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's corruption conviction. The decision promises a vast impact on ballot boxes later this year.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left Brazil's presidency at the end of 2010 with a more than 80 percent approval rating. Since then, he's been convicted of corruption. But that hasn't dimmed his ambition. He may again seek the presidency, but a court ruling will determine how challenging that path might be.

Dozens of prisoners remain at large after a New Year's Day riot at a jail in central Brazil. Nine prisoners were killed. The violence erupted when rival gangs at the prison clashed.

In Brazil, there's been a resurgence of Tropicalia — the anti-authoritarian, anarchic music that emerged under the military junta of the 1960s. It's back and fused with rap and lyrics fighting for Brazil's poor and marginalized.

Climate change is having a big impact on Chile's wine industry. Growers are being forced to change the way they position their grapes, face historic wildfires and battle a plague of hungry rabbits.

An Argentinean submarine carrying 44 crew members reported an electrical problem when it last was heard from a week ago. A massive search for the vessel is underway. But while there's enough food to last 90 days, the oxygen supply is only enough for one week when the vessel is submerged.

Brazil may be known for its beaches and bikinis but it is a conservative and religious country, and apparently getting more so. Artists who tackle issues of sex and gender say they face a backlash.

An international search effort continues amid stormy seas for the Argentine Navy submarine ARA San Juan. The diesel sub, with 44 crew aboard, has been out of contact since last Wednesday.

Cristina de Kirchner is accused of hiding Iran's role in a 1994 bombing that killed 85. Investigators conclude the prosecutor investigating that attack, who was mysteriously found dead, was murdered.

Argentinians took to the streets seeking answers about the murder of a political activist who had disappeared. The country hasn't forgotten how thousands disappeared during the military dictatorship.

The truck attack in New York City killed eight people — five of them were high school buddies from Argentina celebrating the 30th anniversary of their graduation.

Five of the eight people killed in a truck attack were celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation. NPR looks at how their town, Rosario, Argentina, is reacting to their deaths.

The unassuming, 45-year-old Sergio Moro has jailed many of Brazil's rich and powerful, formerly presumed unimpeachable. Moro plays down accolades but some want him to run for president.

In a public park in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a handful of psychotherapists are open for business. This is literally a public service — they've set up shop on folding beach chairs in a busy city park.

The request for the Army to patrol areas comes days after rival members of a drug cartel started a war in Rio's most dangerous favela. Since Sunday, shootouts have become common in the area.

As Venezuela's government grows increasingly autocratic, its shortages of food, medicine and the basics of life grow more dire. Venezuelans are finding new ways to cope.

Brazil's chief prosecutor ordered the arrest of one of the country's richest men after he and a colleague recorded themselves discussing crimes related to a sprawling corruption probe.