China

The man in charge of the 2000 Sydney Olympics has proposed a full audit of the records of the city's bid for the Games to clear the air "for once and for all" on allegations of corruption.

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.

A man is suing Sydney's Olympic Games organisers for more than A$19m ($9.6m/?11m) claiming they breached their contract allowing him to sell memberships to an Olympic loyalty programme.

A US government official has stated that President George Bush will not block Bejing?s bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, despite the current political unrest between the US and China.

The Badminton Association of Indonesia has denied that it is bidding to host the 2002 Thomas and Uber Cups, pointing to its own financial straits and the current uncertainty in Indonesia.

China bid farewell to Olympic Games inspectors on Sunday, brushing off human rights concerns and vowing to make Beijing the clean, green and modern city it promised in its bid to host the 2008 Games.

Beijing's high-kicking, kung-fu fighting Special Police Brigade is ready to persuade soon-to-visit Olympic officials that they can handle bombs, hostage-takings and terrorists.

Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon on Tuesday urged European officials not to drag their feet over new rules governing player transfers because uncertainty threatened to damage the game.

eToSports.com, the China-based sports industry online network, has contracted US application services provider MyWeb Inc.com to provide a full range of web solutions.

Beijing is eyeing the 2008 Olympics as a cure for problems ranging from choking smog to taxi-clogged streets, and as an image boost for the Communist capital.

FIBA, the international governing body for basketball, has created a pre-Olympic competition, the FIBA Diamond Ball, which will take place every four years to promote basketball globally.

The China Rally has been removed from the 2000 world championship calendar at an International Automobile Federation (FIA) hearing.

US LAWYER Alan Caplan says he and his colleagues have launched court action in California against Nike, alleging that it is deceiving consumers over the working conditions in its Asian factories, The Australian reports.

The start of the Asian rugby union championship was thrown into disarray by the last-minute withdrawal of the Thai team on Saturday.

China's top sports official has decried corruption in the sporting world, saying bribery threatens the country's athletic development and could have a negative impact on social order, state media said on Tuesday.

Osaka, Japan's second largest city, has formally launched its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympics saying its campaign would mark the rebirth of "clean" Games.