They have played for Olympic gold in parks, next to car parks and on royal parade grounds, but at the Rio Games beach volleyball will actually be played -- on a beach.
Take a look at images from Pope Francis' first foreign trip as pontiff.
The world welcomed 2026 with spectacular celebrations across continents. From dazzling fireworks illuminating iconic landmarks like the London Eye, Marina Bay, and Copacabana beach to intimate gatherings at historic sites, the New Year brought together diverse cultures in joyous unity.
Erika Villaecija did as thousands of Rio de Janeiro's residents and visitors did on Sunday afternoon - she went to the city's famed Copacabana Beach.
Argentina and Brazil are traditional rivals and there was a time when their antagonism was being compared to India-Pakistan relations. They have overcome to a great extent their history of hostility. That an Argentinean Pope was so warmly embraced in Brazil shows that his great office does transcend such divides, notes B S Prakash, India's former ambassador to Brazil.
The many moods of the fans at the World Cup in Brazil.
Home favourites Talita Antunes and Larissa Franca will be out to prove American Kerri Walsh Jennings's dream of a fourth successive Olympic gold is built on sand when beach volleyball returns to its spiritual home at the iconic Copacabana beach.
Not even Bollywood's megastar Amitabh Bachchan was spared from the football bug that had bitten the whole world over the last month. Bachchan Sr tweeted about his trip to Rio de Janeiro and watching Brazil fall to another loss in the 3rd place match against The Netherlands at the just concluded FIFA World Cup.
As much as I would love to witness a Brazil-Argentina final at the Copacabana beach, Colombia, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina look like the semi-finalists and, if Argentina peaks at the right time, Germany vs Argentina could be the title match, says Mauktik Kulkarni.
Will the German discipline take them to the final? Will Brazil be able to overcome the loss of Neymar Jr.? Will Argentina move its game to the next level for the semi-final? Or would the Dutch shrug off a bad day at work to reach the final again and get a shot at redemption?
Presenting an interactive quiz on the greatest sporting show on earth.
Parts of a mutilated body washed up on the sands of Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, police said, just meters (yards) from where beach volleyball athletes will compete in the upcoming Olympics.
The mascots for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be named 'Tom' and 'Vinicius' after the singer-songwriters who wrote 'The Girl from Ipanema', organisers said on Sunday.
Israeli soldiers and tanks on the move in Gaza. Palestinians killed and wounded in Israeli strikes. When will it all end?
Around 60 percent of Brazilians believe the games, expected to cost about 40 billion reais ($12.2 billion), will bring more harm than good to Brazil, while 32 percent believe the games will bring more benefits to the country than losses.
Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt will come to India next week to play a cricket match against a team that includes World Cup hero Yuvraj Singh.
The Jamaican clocked 9.98 seconds into a slight breeze at the Kamila Skolimowska Memorial in front of a 20,000 crowd on a new track laid down the side of the infield.
Authorities said they had received several complaints about the event, which Brazilian media reported was being held at Neymar's luxury condominium in Mangaratiba,
Barely a week before the Rio Olympics opening ceremony, organisers are scrambling to put the final pieces in place.
Damp beach volleyball players and a bundled up crowd found out the hard way on Wednesday that grim rain and wind can even beat down on Rio's picture-perfect Copacabana beach.
Here's a glimpse of how the world welcomed 2016.
This week's collection of unbelievably unusual images from across the world
With hotels mostly booked, landlords are charging a pretty penny for tourists still seeking accommodation in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics in August -- asking as much as $2,305 per night for a three-bedroom apartment far from venues and beaches.
Annemiek van Vleuten suffered three fractured vertebrae and a concussion after a horrifying high-speed crash in the Olympic women's road race on Sunday but the Dutch rider said she will be fine and was more disappointed at missing out on a medal.
The drone photography community Dronestagram released a collection of their favourite drone photography of the year.
Happy New Year! Stunning fireworks displays welcomed the New Year across the world. Take a look.
Pope Francis has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2013.
Rio de Janeiro, on Monday enters the one-month countdown to becoming the first South American city to host the Olympics.
Here are 8 images that show we live in a crazy, odd world
Belgium's Greg van Avermaet snatched gold in a thrilling and incident-packed men's Olympic road race, out-sprinting Denmark's Jakob Fuglsang alongside the Copacabana beach after a spectacular day of racing along Rio's coastline on Saturday.
Iran and Nigeria laboured to the first stalemate of a scintillating World Cup on Monday with a dismal 0-0 draw that left both sides still chasing their first victory at a finals since 1998.
Iran and Nigeria laboured to the first stalemate of a scintillating World Cup on Monday with a dismal 0-0 draw that left both sides still chasing their first victory at a finals since 1998.
Bright yellow and cat-like, with a green leaf-haired brother, the mascots for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro were launched by organisers late on Sunday.
In the first allegation of corruption linked to next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Epoca magazine reported that construction company Carioca Engenharia allegedly bribed the speaker of the lower house of Congress in order to secure funds for a massive port area regeneration project.
Sailors and rowers were not worried about getting sick during the Rio Olympics next year despite reports that waters to be used for events have pollution levels equivalent to raw sewage, competitors said on Thursday.
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