China

Boxing heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman will defend his titles in August in Beijing, his promoter has confirmed.

China's hopes of staging the Olympics for the first time in 2008 face a severe test on Tuesday when the IOC publishes an evaluation report on the five candidates in the race for the Games. For more on this see FEATURES section of sportbusiness.com.

The San Francisco Giants are preparing a proposal for a 20,000-seat sports and entertainment arena across China Basin from Pacific Bell Park, team officials say.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell says the US is still deciding whether to adopt a stance on Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games but is sensitive to the idea of not mixing politics with sport.

TVB, the free-to-air Hong Kong-based broadcaster, has gained the rights to the UEFA Cup and the European Super Cup for the next three years.

Olympic boss Juan Antonio Samaranch said on Tuesday he did not support Kim Un-yong's plan to allow IOC members to visit cities bidding for the Games if the South Korean is elected IOC president in July.

Beijing would have liked a quiet period just now as the city bids to bring the Olympic Games to China for the first time. For the full story see the FEATURES section of sportbusiness.com.

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.

A U.S. congressional committee has approved a resolution urging Olympics organisers to reject China's bid to host the Games in 2008, citing concerns about Beijing's human rights record.

Asian Internet firm chinadotcom is to cut more than 400 staff by June and sell non-core operations.

A broadcast war is developing in China between the country?s national broadcaster and ESPN over the right to televise China?s top soccer league.

A bipartisan group of US Congressmen has appealed to the International Olympic Committee not to award the 2008 Summer Games to Beijing.

IOC inspectors have begun a visit to Istanbul to evaluate the Turkish city's bid to stage the 2008 Games.

Toronto claimed a perfect 10 from a visiting team of inspectors from the International Olympic Committee, but said the city's rivals to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games might match that score.

British Olympic chiefs are planning a bid for London to stage the 2012 Summer Games, the Daily Mail newspaper has reported.

South Korea plans this week to discuss cultural and sports exchanges with North Korea - including sharing of some 2002 World Cup soccer matches.