Rio de Janeiro  - A nine-year-old Brazilian girl, who was raped by her stepfather and conceived twins, had an abortion Wednesday, doctors said.

Sergio Cabral of the University of Pernambuco's Amaury de Medeiros Integrated Health Centre said the procedure was successful and the girl was recovering quickly.

Abortion is illegal in Brazil, but the law admits exceptions, allowing it in cases of rape and pregnancies that put the mother's life at risk. Cabral said the abortion was carried out with the consent of the girl and her mother.

Rio de Janeiro - At least eight people died and seven others were injured Wednesday in southern Brazil when the hospital shuttle bus they were travelling in crashed near the town of Venancio Aires, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

According to preliminary police reports, the accident happened early Wednesday. The bus belonged to the town of Sobradinho, and was taking sick people to a hospital in state capital Porto Alegre.

Rio de Janeir

Rio de Janeiro  - Hot samba rhythms mixed with confetti and fireworks as the best samba schools in Rio de Janeiro danced well into Tuesday morning, in their fight for the Carnival crown.

Like the previous night, the second and final round of the official Carnival competition featured six samba schools with their gigantic floats and thousands of dancers at Rio's sambadrome.

The winner of this edition of the world-famous Carnival is to be announced Wednesday.

Rio de Janeiro  - Millions of Brazilians and tens of thousands of foreigners were poised to put aside their worries about the global financial crisis in favour of the fantasy of Carnival, which starts Saturday and lasts through Tuesday.

At the center of festivities will be Rio de Janeiro, which is gearing up for the festival feast marked by glitter, glamour and sensuality and attracts rich and poor, famous and anonymous, locals and foreigners alike.

Rio de Janeiro - Three days before its "official" beginning, the world-famous Brazilian Carnival started Thursday in the historic city of Salvador, in the northeatern state of Bahia.

According to municipal tourism body Salvatur, over 650,000 tourists were expected in the city for the event, where hotels showed an occupancy rate of over 90 per cent.