Olympic swimming silver medallist Frederick Bousquet on Sunday criticised the French team officials which he believed deprived him of a gold medal in Beijing.

BEIJING, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - China's double Olympic and eight-time world champion gymnast Li Xiaopeng has recovered from injury and will make his long-awaited comeback next April, state news agency Xinhua said Saturday.

Li, 27, has been out of international competition for two years after a series of injuries, the latest of which was a fractured toe, Xinhua reported.

His return means he should be fit to compete in the 2008 Olympics being held in Beijing.

WASHINGTON, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Republican hopeful Ron Paul will almost certainly not be the next president of the United States. But the spry septuagenarian has already emerged as the political phenomenon of the 2008 White House race.

Of the 16 presidential candidates from both parties, Paul, 72, has made his mark as the most radical and unorthodox.

WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Herewith a glossary of terms and events as the pace heats up in the race ahead of party nominating contests in the 2008 US presidential election campaign.

A meeting of party activists to select delegates to a formal state or national nominating convention. The fabled caucuses all around the midwestern state of Iowa are so far scheduled to kick off the election on January 3, 2008.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Sketches of Republicans battling for the right to be their party's presidential candidate ahead of the first party nominating contests, the Iowa caucuses, on January 3, 2008.

Tough-talking former New York mayor and hero of the September 11 attacks in 2001. Giuliani, 63, leads national Republican polls but faces suspicion from the key 'religious right' voting bloc which opposes his comparatively liberal past record on abortion and gay rights.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Portraits of candidates of Democratic candidates for president, vying for the party nomination in the sprint to first nominating caucuses and primaries in early January.

Clinton 59, is vying to become America's first woman president, and first former First Lady to make it to the White House in her own right. Wife of 42nd president Bill Clinton (1993-2001), the first Democrat to win two presidential terms since World War II. A New York Senator, Clinton vows to end the Iraq war, restore US prestige abroad and reform healthcare.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Attempts by strategic states to play a key role in selecting Republican and presidential candidates have resulted in a highly compressed schedule of primary and caucus nominating contests.

New Hampshire, which holds a fabled 'first in the nation' primary election, is expected to name its date sometime next month, which could fall in early January, or even in an unprecedented move in December 2007.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Never has a US election campaign been so lengthy, debates so frequent and candidates under such intense scrutiny -- more than a year before actual Election Day.

But the early saturation of the media market with election material is already beginning to get on voters' nerves.

DES MOINES, Iowa , Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - It is less than a tenth of the size of Texas, just over a third of the population of New York city, but for one day every four years Iowa is the kingmaker of American politics.

For the past 35 years, nobody has won their party's presidential nomination without a strong placement in Iowa.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - Doughnut eateries, stationery chains and purveyors of private jets are cashing in as White House campaigns open their warchests leading into the make-or-break weeks of primary voting.

Financial data released by the candidates shows they have raised collectively a staggering 420 million dollars this year, led by Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, who has taken in just under 91 million.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - A compressed, chaotic and changeable election calendar is forcing campaign managers in the frenetic 2008 White House chase to tear up decades of battle-tested political war plans.

New Hampshire and Iowa, small, largely rural states, peopled mainly by whites and few minorities have traditionally kicked off modern US election campaigns, with their fabled primary and caucus nominating contests.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - The most diverse, intense, expensive and potentially historic US election campaign ever is hitting top gear, just 10 weeks at the most, before voters start choosing party White House nominees.

The 2008 race casts a shadow of historic possibility, and is interwoven with intriguing storylines.

Vowing to break America's highest 'glass ceiling,' Democrat Hillary Clinton could give Americans their first woman president.

Party rival Barack Obama dreams of thwarting her and becoming the first black president.

WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Several thousand Christian conservative voters rebuffed an olive branch from Republican White House hopeful Rudolph Giuliani Saturday, over his support for abortion rights.

The former New York mayor tops Republican national polls in the quickening 2008 race, but was unable to win over a cross-section of a crucial party voting bloc at a huge 'Values Voter' conference in Washington.

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 2007 (AFP) - A compressed, chaotic and changeable election calendar is forcing campaign managers in the frenetic 2008 White House chase to tear up decades of battle-tested political war plans.

New Hampshire and Iowa, small, largely rural states, peopled mainly by whites and few minorities have traditionally kicked off modern US election campaigns, with their fabled primary and caucus nominating contests.

WASHINGTON, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - Republican White House hopeful Rudolph Giuliani Saturday told a lion's den of skeptical evangelical Christians they had nothing to fear from his views on core moral issues.

The former New York mayor tops Republican national polls in the quickening 2008 race, but his past, comparatively liberal positions on abortion and gay rights have sparked anxiety in the mighty 'religious right' bloc.

WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) - Republican White House hopefuls Friday tried to convert skeptical Christian conservatives to their causes, wooing a crucial party power base taking a dim view of the party's 2008 line-up.

In a field lacking a clear standard bearer for the mighty 'religious right,' Republican candidates waded into pulpit politics at a 'Values Voter Summit' as they sprint to their first nominating contest in Iowa in 75 days.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Sleigh bells will ring, snow will glisten ... and White House hopefuls will blitz television viewers with screaming Yuletide attack ads, with the 2008 campaign set to rage through Christmas.

A decision by Republicans in the key strategic state of Iowa to hold their fabled caucus nominating contest on January 3, means the already historic 2008 race will register another first -- full-bore festive season campaigning.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - White House challenger Barack Obama is trying to stamp out the notion that front-runner Hillary Clinton is the 'inevitable' Democratic nominee, warning it is too early for her to declare 'mission accomplished.'

Obama, who styles himself as a break from the politics of rancor which he says has stifled Washington, is cranking up increasingly personal rhetoric against the former first lady.

WASHINGTON, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Sleigh bells will ring, snow will glisten ... and White House hopefuls will blitz television viewers with screaming Yuletide attack ads, with the 2008 campaign set to rage through Christmas.

A decision by Republicans in the key strategic state of Iowa to hold their fabled caucus nominating contest on January 3, means the already historic 2008 race will register another first -- full-bore festive season campaigning.

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - After a long day stumping America's heartland, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani met an enthusiastic crowd of college students here that hope he will become the next Republican president of the United States.

Giuliani is campaigning ahead of the January 3 Republican caucus in the midwestern state of Iowa, a key event that will help set the tenor for the 2008 nomination process.

WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - They are political polar opposites, but for Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, hidden family ties run deep, as they are distant cousins.

The vice president's wife Lynne Cheney told MSNBC that she had uncovered the bizarre political twist while researching her new book, a memoir of growing up in the western state of Wyoming.

'Dick and Barack Obama are eighth cousins ... isn't that an amazing thing?' Cheney said in the interview.

WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Former US vice president Al Gore said Wednesday that his Nobel Peace Prize triumph had not altered his intention to stay out of the 2008 presidential race.

But Gore could still shake up the Democratic Party nomination by endorsing a candidate other than front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Speculation following the peace prize announcement last week that Gore would run was quashed he told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: 'I don't have plans to be a candidate again, so I don't really see it in that context at all.'

WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Former US vice president Al Gore on Wednesday ruled out a late entry into the 2008 presidential race, but could still shake up the Democratic Party nomination by endorsing a candidate other than front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Speculation that Gore would run was quashed when the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize winner told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: 'I don't have plans to be a candidate again, so I don't really see it in that context at all.'

WASHINGTON, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Democrats are embroiled in a new legal battle over voting in Florida, seven years after the 2000 US presidential election fiasco that they blame for George W. Bush's presidential win.

But this time, Democrats can hardly accuse Bush's Republican Party of stirring the turmoil, because the source of the controversy is the Democratic party itself.

WASHINGTON, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - Lynne Cheney said Tuesday that her husband, Vice President Dick Cheney, is a distant cousin of his political polar opposite: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

Cheney said she made the surprising discovery that her 66-year-old Republican husband and Obama, 46, are eighth cousins while she was doing family research for a book about her experiences growing up in Wyoming.

The vice president's wife said she traced a common ancestor of the two men to a 17th century immigrant from France.

DES MOINES, Iowa, Oct 16, 2007 (AFP) - America's tug-of-war fight for the nation's first caucus ahead of the 2008 US presidential election began to fall into place Tuesday as Iowa Republicans selected the unprecedented early date of January 3.

The symbolic impact of Iowa is all-important because the state's early bird status has the power to break a front-running candidacy or rocket an outsider off on the road to the White House.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Russia should be barred from the G8 group of powerful nations for trying to 'bully' its neighbors and cutting political freedoms, Republican White House hopeful John McCain said in an essay released Monday.

Writing for an upcoming issue of Foreign Affairs journal, the Arizona senator also warned America could not afford a 'historic loss' to Islamic extremists in Iraq and added the war could not be 'wished away.'

WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Hillary Clinton said Monday women voters could shatter America's 'highest glass ceiling' and make her its first female president, in her campaign's most overt bid so far to highlight her gender.

Clinton settled onto the couch of a popular morning television show aimed at women, and addressed a event named after ex-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, launching a week of events showcasing the pivotal 2008 role of female voters.

'America is ready for change -- and I believe women will lead that change,' said Clinton in a campaign statement.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Democratic 2008 front-runner Hillary Clinton Monday said she would offer Iran incentives to halt its nuclear program, but did not rule out a military strike on the Islamic Republic.

Clinton laid out a blueprint for a new era of US diplomacy, stressing engagement, rebuilding trust among US allies and battling the impact of climate change in an article for an upcoming issue of Foreign Affairs journal.

She accused President George W. Bush of tragically wasting 'the respect, trust and confidence' of US allies by 'rushing' to war in Iraq.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - Hillary Clinton's campaign Monday made its most overt bit yet to highlight her historic potential as the possible first US woman president, suggesting female voters could vault her to victory.

The front-running Democrat kicked off a week of events highlighting her perceived appeal to women, as her campaign released a memo implying she could best exploit the 'pivotal' voting bloc in 2008.

'Women are and will be a powerful force in American politics this presidential election,' the memo said.

WASHINGTON, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - The prospect of nearly 30 years of uninterrupted White House rule by a Bush or Clinton is triggering debate about dynastic power in the cash-hungry world of US politics.

A victory for Hillary Clinton in next year's presidential election would mark not only the election of America's first female commander-in-chief but take government by a well-placed few to new extremes.

WASHINGTON, Oct 14, 2007 (AFP) - The specter of a hypothetical US military strike on Iran is emerging as a dominant foreign policy theme in a 2008 White House race already haunted by the war in Iraq.

The campaign trail is hardly the place for diplomatic nuance and candidates are facing questions they might rather avoid, about how they might deal with the Islamic Republic should nuclear diplomacy fail.

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Democratic White House front-runner Hillary Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, on Friday congratulated former vice president Al Gore after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Hillary Clinton emblazoned a message headlined 'Congratulations!' on her website, for Gore, who served for two terms as vice president to her husband.

'Congratulations to Al Gore for his well deserved Nobel Peace Prize. His dedication and tireless work have been instrumental in raising international awareness about global warming.'

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on Friday took his most hostile swipe yet at rival Hillary Clinton, pouring scorn on her judgement on foreign policy hotspots Iraq and Iran.

The Clinton campaign hit straight back, after what appeared to be a strategic shift by Obama, accusing him of abandoning his signature 'politics of hope' theme in a desperate bid to carve into her huge lead in opinion polls.

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - With a Nobel Peace Prize and an Oscar under his belt, Al Gore's fervent fans are hoping he will go for a unique grand slam and take another shot at the US presidency.

Speculation about Gore's political future blossomed anew Friday after the announcement that the former vice president and environmental guru had shared the Nobel award with a UN panel on climate change.

WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - Even if Al Gore spurns fresh calls for a 2008 White House run, his Nobel prize-winning environmental crusade has thrust global warming into a US election campaign like never before.

While green issues have thickened Europe's electoral stew for years, climate change has been on the fringe of US national politics, even though America is the world's single largest greenhouse gas polluter.