London  - An inquest opened in Britain Monday into the accidental shooting by police of a Brazilian man they believed was a terrorist in the immediate aftermath of the London tube and bus bombings in July 2005.

Relatives of 27-year-old Jean Charles de Menezes had demanded the inquest, which is presided over by a judge and will be heard by a jury of ordinary men and women who will decide whether or not de Menezes was "unlawfully killed."

It provides the first opportunity for members of de Menezes' family to question those involved in his death.

The hearing, expected to last three months, takes place in a specially-erected courtroom at the Oval cricket ground in south London, near where de Menezes was shot on July 22, 2005.

Rio de Janeiro - A 77-year-old Brazilian former model who was the young love of US Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been found by a newspaper in the South American country.

Maria Garcinda Tedixeira de Jesus met McCain in 1957 while he was in Rio de Janeiro on leave from his Navy ship. At the time, he was still a cadet at the US Naval Academy. He spent every free minute with the Brazilian beauty and describes the encounter in his 1999 memoir Faith of my Fathers.

Washington, Aug 29 : Reese Witherspoon has spoken against domestic violence during her recent visit to Brazil.

The Legally Blonde star is touring the South American country as part of her duties as she is the global ambassador of Speak Out Against Domestic Violence campaign.

The initiative was launched by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Avon cosmetics company in 2004.

And Witherspoon is hoping her involvement will help stamp out the abuse of women - insisting she herself has been close to people who were the victims of domestic violence.

Cologne - German and Brazilian industry leaders launched a business conference Monday against the backdrop of rapidly growing economic ties between the two countries.

"German company investment in Brazil is already at a record level," said Juergen Thumann, the president of Germany's Federation of Industry (BDI).

"An investment program of about 200 billion euros (296 million dollars), a stable economy and a steady hand on the nation's finances, along with recent positive reports from rating agencies would help German investment in Brazil to increase," said Thumann on opening the conference, held in the west German city of Cologne.

Luxembourg - ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel company, announced Wednesday that it was expanding its operations in Brazil with the acquisition of London Mining Brasil for about 810 million dollars (551 million euros).

The Luxembourg-based company also said it would develop an iron ore port facility in Sepetiba Bay, some 70 kilometres west of Rio de Janeiro.

ArcelorMittal wants to use the port to export iron ore extracted from the London Mining Brasil mine in the state of Minas Gerais to its steel facilities in the Atlantic basin.