It was to be China's time to shine, a year of celebrations with the Olympic spirit touching the hearts and minds of one-fifth of the world's population as the Olympics headed to Beijing.

Organizers of the 2014 Sochi Olympics have agreed to return $720 million to the government as loans to help combat the Russian financial crisis, a news agency reported Tuesday. Dmitry Kozak, the deputy prime minister overseeing preparations for the games, told Interfax that at least half of the unallocated funds given to the Olympstroi state corporation would be returned as loans to the...

As the economic crisis cuts into funding for sports, the international volleyball federation wants the British government to bail out the nation's Olympic teams ahead of the 2012 London Games. FIVB president Wei Jizhong told Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 organizing committee, it is "imperative" that the government help fund volleyball and beach volleyball for the next four years.

(In U.S. dollars unless noted)