Belgium

Thirty members of the European Parliament have taken the French organisers of the soccer World Cup to court to force them to redistribute hundreds of thousands of tickets abroad.

A crippling pilots strike kept most Air France flights grounded for a second day on Tuesday but negotiations were set to resume in the afternoon, raising hopes the dispute could be settled before the start of the World Cup.

Two executives working for FIFA's marketing affiliate were placed under formal legal examination on Wednesday by a court investigating allegations of a World Cup ticket fraud, court sources said.

Canadian broadcaster TSN says first round World Cup matches have produced outstanding ratings.

A Belgian court will rule on whether the system of transfer fees for soccer players violates European Union rules, in a case reminiscent of a dispute over Brazilian striker Ronaldo's move to Inter Milan in 1997.

In a rare show of European unity, French Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn joked that France and the Netherlands should share the World Cup, predicting their soccer teams would meet in the July 12 final.

Everyone is caught up in the World Cup and the spirit of soccer.

Kellogg's and the National Basketball Association have signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement.

South Africa is convinced it will host a Formula One Grand Prix race next season after a six year gap despite the introduction of a bill banning tobacco advertising, Sports Minister Steve Tshwete has said.

Dutch police are expecting to be overstretched during the 2000 European soccer championship and their union is already calling for the three-week tournament to be shortened by a week.

The European Commission has given the go-ahead for pay TV group Canal Plus and French telephone company Cegetel to take a majority stake in America Online France.

UEFA, battling to avert the creation of a breakaway Super League, it may merge two of Europe's three major competitions.

A reassuring progress report on Euro 2000 has been issued by tournament director Alain Cortais.

Saturday's Grand Prix final will be staged in Moscow as planned despite security fears among leading competitors, the International Amateur Athletic Federation has said.

International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) president Primo Nebiolo has insisted it was safe to stage the Grand Prix final in Moscow.

UEFA president Lennart Johansson has said he was confident that UEFA's plans to reform their club competitions would prevent the creation of a breakaway European Super League.

European Union competition chief Karel Van Miert has said he would take a close look at whether plans for a breakaway European Super League complied with EU law.

Local media reports say Toronto's SkyDome Corp. faces a "significant cash shortage."