Google shut down its mainland Chinese-language portal earlier this year over censorship concerns and a cyber attack it said it traced to China. China has the world's largest number of Internet users and while the market has boomed, Beijing has kept a tight grip over sensitive content on subjects like politics and ethnic unrest. Robert Boorstin, Google's director of corporate and policy communications, said the company is working with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the State Department, Commerce Department and European officials to build a case to take to the World Trade Organization. Such a case could help U.S. tech companies seeking greater access to Chinese consumers while furthering the U.S. government's human rights agenda.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her technology advisers have promoted Internet freedom as a basic human right.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa got under way with a spectacular and vibrant opening ceremony at the 94,000-capacity Soccer City in Johannesburg.  The ceremony was followed by the first game of the tournament between the hosts and Mexico, which ended 1-1.  Africa is staging the World Cup for the first time, with 32 nations competing in 64 games until the final on 11 July. Nelson Mandela was due to attend the opening ceremony but withdrew following the death of his great-granddaughter.  Zenani Mandela, 13, died in a car crash when travelling home from the pre-World Cup concert in Johannesburg on Thursday. She was one of the 91-year-old anti-apartheid icon's nine great-grandchildren.

Brazil's economy grew at its fastest rate in at least 14 years in the first three months of 2010, official figures have shown. Its gross domestic product (GDP) surged by 9% compared with the same period a year earlier.
However, higher interest rates and the withdrawal of some tax breaks are expected to cool growth eventually. Brazil's economy is the largest in Latin America and the eighth-biggest in the world.
Agriculture and industry were among the growth sectors, the government said.

After months of iPad mania, it's time to see if the iPhone can pack another punch.Apple CEOSteve Jobs is expected to take the wraps off the fourth edition of the company's prized smartphone today. It doesn't matter that the iPhone is now in its third year and that what is likely to emerge is merely an update. Legions of tech geeks, Apple competitors and ordinary consumers will be hanging on Jobs' every word. With back-to-back-to-back best sellers in the iPod, iPhone and iPad, Apple "comes up with more good ideas than any other company on Earth," says Richard Doherty, an independent analyst at the Envisioneering Group.