PARIS, July 28, 2008 (AFP) - The French government agreed Monday to pay businessman and ex-minister Bernard Tapie 285 million euros (450 million dollars), ending a 13-year furore over the sale of his Adidas sports group.

FRANKFURT, July 28, 2008 (AFP) - Adidas, the second-biggest sportswear company in the world, feels that Chinese salaries are now too high and it will transfer some production to more competitive countries, its chief executive said in an interview on Monday.

BARCELONA, July 23, 2008 (AFP) - More than 5,000 athletes, gay and straight, from across Europe are converging on Barcelona for the Eurogames which get underway on Thursday in the Spanish port city, organisers said.

SHANGHAI, July 12, 2008 (AFP) - Chinese race walker Song Hongjuan, who competed in the last Olympics, has been banned from competing for four years after failing a drugs test, officials said Saturday.

TEHRAN, July 8, 2008 (AFP) - Iran has banned sports and movie stars from appearing in commercial advertisements on the grounds that celebrities should not promote consumerism, the government newspaper Iran reported on Tuesday.

BERLIN, July 6, 2008 (AFP) - Rarely do brains and brawn come together in this way. A Russian was crowned world champion Sunday in the novelty sport of chess boxing that requires equal skill at moving pawns and throwing punches.

BERLIN, July 6, 2008 (AFP) - Rarely do brains and brawn come together in this way. A Russian was crowned world champion Sunday in the novelty sport of chess boxing that requires equal skill at moving pawns and throwing punches.

BUCHAREST, July 3, 2008 (AFP) - Romania football captain Cristi Chivu on Thursday married television presenter Adelina Elisei in a small ceremony in Bucharest.

MADRID, June 30, 2008 (AFP) - Spain's victory in the final of Euro 2008 means its success at football finally matches those of other sports in which it has excelled.

Spaniards have become accustomed to excellence in individual sports. Rafael Nadal is king of clay court tennis, having won the French Open singles title four times, and is becoming a major power on other surfaces too.

MADRID, June 30, 2008 (AFP) - Spain's victory in the final of Euro 2008 means its success at football finally matches those of other sports in which it has excelled.

Spaniards have become accustomed to excellence in individual sports. Rafael Nadal is king of clay court tennis, having won the French Open singles title four times, and is becoming a major power on other surfaces too.