China

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.

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.

World record-breaking pole vaulter Sergei Bubka is set to clear another new height this week in his rapid rise up the ranks of world sport's administration.

Rival cable television broadcasters HBO and Showtime are negotiating to present a fight between former champions Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.

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.

As Olympic inspectors weigh up Beijing's bid for the 2008 Games, Chinese and foreign sponsors are itching to cash in on the first ever Olympics in the world's most populous nation. For more on this see FEATURES section of sportbusiness.com.

A Toronto city councillor has warned that taxpayers may drown in debt if the city emerges as the host of 2008 Olympics.