Olympic soccer (football) preliminary play started yesterday, with the Chinese women's team beating Sweden 2-1 on goals from Xu Yuan and Han Duan. The men's team plays New Zealand tonight in Shenyang, and Shanghai Stadium will host games next week, beginning with men's Group A matches on Sunday. Football is the most loved sport on the globe, but Cameron Wilson writes for China Sports Today that the Olympic tournament has little significance in the eyes......

With all the bad press surrounding Steven Spielberg's Olympic boycott, Beijing seems to be scrambling to action to diffuse all the negative publicity by wooing a most unlikely target, the Pope. From Michael Sheridan of the Sunday Times (UK):TEMPTED by the prize of a historic visit to China by Pope Benedict XVI, the nation’s leaders have authorised a renewed effort in confidential discussions with the Vatican to heal their rift and inaugurate diplomatic ties. The......