Rio de Janeiro  - A violent Sunday left one person dead and over 40 injured in clashes between rival football hooligans in the Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, the authorities said Monday.

The most serious incident happened in Belo Horizonte, where a 20- year-old supporter of Atletico Mineiro was shot dead. Two people shot him from a motorbike while he waited at a bus stop to go to the Mineirao stadium, where his team was to play Cruzeiro.

Zurich - The mystery of a Brazilian woman who claimed she was attacked by three skinheads in Zurich earlier this week deepened Friday as new details emerged that cast some doubts on her story.

Police responded to a train station in the major Swiss city on Monday after reports that a pregnant woman was attacked with a knife during a racially motivated crime. The
26-year-old Brazilian, who said she was three months pregnant at the time of the attack, said she went into a bathroom afterward and miscarried.

However, the Institute of Forensic Medicine determined Friday that she was not pregnant at the time of the attack. Police also said the wounds on her body could have been self-inflicted.

New Delhi, Feb 11 : A Brazilian website is selling a coffee cup which was reportedly used by Tom Cruise while on holiday in Forte da Urca, Brazil.

So far the empty cup has a sale price of 2,200 dollars, reports the China Daily.

The man who initiated the auction on website Mercado Libre goes by the screen name Rafael Mak.

The authenticity of the sale has, however, been contested.

London  - Brazil's Italy-based internationals said Monday they were looking forward to meeting the Azzurri in a high-level friendly in London Tuesday.

Inter Milan defender Douglas Maicon, one of the 10 Serie A players summoned by coach Dunga, Monday told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "It never occurred to me to play against the national team of the country where I play.

"I hope it all goes well for Brazil. It will certainly be a good experience."

Sao Paulo  - An airplane carrying 24 people crashed into a river in the state of Amazonas in northern Brazil late Saturday.

The turboprop plane manufactured by Brazilian company Embraer was on its way to Manaus and crashed because of unknown reasons in the Manacapuro River. Officials said the plane disappeared from the radar screens about 20 minutes before its scheduled arrival.

At the last minute, the pilot attempted an emergency landing in the town of Manacapuro, but crashed about 500 metres from the runway.

Rio de Janeiro  - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Thursday that he prays for US President Barack Obama to be successful in his efforts to overcome the ongoing economic and financial crisis.

"I pray for him more than I pray for myself, that he may find a way out for the United States. And who knows whether that may help solve the problem for other countries," Lula said as he opened a hydroelectric plant in the central Brazilian state of Tocantins.