Tehran - Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim arrived in Tehran on Saturday to prepare for the upcoming Iran-Brazil summit, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Amorim conveyed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the written approval of President Luiz Inacio Lula de Silva for attending the summit in Tehran in the near future, without however setting a specific date.

Sao Paulo  - Fernando Alonso was fastest in the final practice session ahead of qualifying later Saturday for Sunday's Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix.

The Renault driver clocked a time of 1 minute 12.141 seconds in for the 4.309-kilometres lap at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo.

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes was second fastest, 0.071 seconds slower than Alonso, with McLaren teammate Heikki Kovalainen third quickest.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Hamilton's world championship rival, was fourth quickest on the circuit.

Havana - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met with the ailing former Cuban president Fidel Castro, whom he said he found "very lucid and active."

Lula and the elderly Castro - who formally stepped down from the Cuban presidency in February to pursue his recovery for unspecified health problems - met for some two hours just before the end of the Brazilian's less-than-24-hour visit to Cuba.

Havana - Cuban President Raul Castro is set to visit Brazil in December for a summit between Latin America and the Caribbean in the north-eastern Brazilian city of Salvador.

"(Castro) is finally going to Brazil," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in confirming the upcoming visit in Havana, where Lula and Raul Castro presided over bilateral agreements Friday.

This is to be Raul Castro's first trip abroad since he took over power from his brother Fidel Castro over two years ago, before he formally became Cuban president in February.

Sao Paulo - Brazilian comedians gave symbolic "bad luck presents" to British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, who is seeking the world championship title Sunday in Sao Paulo.

Hamilton's rival for the title is Brasilian Felipe Massa, so many of his compatriots are hoping for a "miracle" at the season-ender on the Interlagos circuit.

Sao Paulo - Brazilian football legend Pele made clear his scepticism as to the likelihood that Diego Maradona might be successful as coach of Argentina's senior team.

"Great stars, great players do not usually make good coaches. And sometimes a footballer that was not so brilliant in his career becomes a great coach," Pele noted, in comments that Brazilian media published Thursday.

Pele and Maradona are regarded as the two great candidates for the title of the best football players in history.