China

A U.S. insurance giant and major Olympic sponsor has said the committee responsible for Sydney's successful bid for the 2000 Games appeared to have been involved in bribery.

Leading Australian media figures have denied they had agreed to keep quiet about Sydney's tactics in wooing International Olympic Committee (IOC) votes for the city's bid to host the 2000 Games.

Hundreds of Cuban exiles will protest when the Baltimore Orioles host a Cuban national team May 3 in a historic baseball series between teams from longtime political foes the United States and Cuba.

The International Olympic Committee has summoned Australian IOC member Phil Coles to appear before an inquiry panel to explain allegations of misconduct.

Nike is to increase its manufacturing capacity in Thailand to between 2.5 to 2.9 million pairs of sports footwear a month as a step to achieve "balanced production" in its global network.

Manchester United will take another step towards global brand status by opening a chain of retail shops in the Middle East.

A sell-out crowd and record viewing figures have all but been ensured by the presence of the US team in next Saturday's Women's World Cup Final at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

English Premier Leauge soccer club Manchester United is involved in talks with three potential Chinese partners with a view to setting up more club shops in the country.

Whisky firm The Famous Grouse has struck a deal to continue its sponsorship of the China national rugby team.

The 20th Southeast Asian games begin on Saturday with attention focused as much on the tiny sultanate of Brunei as the actual competition itself.

Lisbon is expected to launch its second bid this year to host a major sports event.

China will take tough action against athletes who test positive for performance enhancing drugs as part of efforts to intensify a crackdown on doping, the official Xinhua news agency said on Tueaday.

CSI has signed a deal with German sports marketing agency SportA to represent, with immediate effect, its programming catalogue.

Preparations for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games are in full swing after the initial delays that worried the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Games broadcasting supremo Manolo Romero said on Thursday.

The IOC cannot be expected to help China with any internal issues or foreign disputes during the build-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, IOC president Jacques Rogge has said.

Badminton's prestigious World Grand Prix finals are to be scrapped in their present format.