A second-half goal from Urby Emanuelson gave AC Milan a 1-0 friendly win over Schalke 04 on Tuesday in a pre-season warm-up match played in Gelsenkirchen.

The Italian visitors, who were missing several players who had been called up for Euro 2012, came closest to scoring in the first half through Stephan El Shaarawy, while Lewis Holtby threatened for the Germans.

More than half of Britain-based employees believe the London Olympics will have no effect on workforce morale as the country struggles to exit a deepening recession, a poll showed on Wednesday.

A survey by business performance consultants Lane4 -- a firm run by Olympic swimming gold medalist Adrian Moorhouse -- showed 58 percent of respondents thought the Games would have no effect on workforce morale.

Malaysian Islamic and Olympic officials said athletes from the predominantly Muslim country are excused from fasting for Ramadan while competing at the London Games.

The London Olympics which open Friday mark the first time the Games will be held during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan since the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Malaysia's New Straits Times newspaper said.

Andre Villas-Boas has launched a fresh attack on Luka Modric after branding the Tottenham midfielder as unprofessional following his summer revolt.

Modric, a target for Real Madrid, is desperate to force through a summer move and has angered Spurs by going on strike.

British police on Monday rescued and arrested a man who dived off London's iconic Tower Bridge during a protest by taxi drivers against travel restrictions imposed by Olympic Games' organizers.

A statement issued by the city's Metropolitan Police force confirmed that officers from the marine policing unit pulled the man out of the River Thames at around 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT) before arresting him for a public order offense.

Iranian athletes will compete against Israelis at the London Olympics, according to the country's chef de mission.

Iran has been criticized in the past because some of its athletes withdrew from events against Israelis at the 2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing Games.

Didier Drogba made an instant impact on his debut for Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, setting up his new team's equalizer in a 1-1 draw away to Guangzhou R&F.

The former Chelsea striker started the game on the bench but came on at half time, almost scoring with his first touch of the ball -- an outrageous 40-yard free kick which Guangzhou goalkeeper Cheng Yuelei tipped wide.

Bradley Wiggins has been crowned Britain's first Tour de France champion, becoming an instant sporting hero at home just ahead of the London Olympics -- in which he hopes to star again.

Wiggins, who had virtually sealed victory the previous day, finished the three-week, 3,479km epic with a 3min 21sec lead over British team-mate Chris Froome after Sunday's 20th and last stage to Paris.

McLaren have defended Lewis Hamilton's decision to pass Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and un-lap himself during Sunday's German Grand Prix.

Hamilton, who fell to the back of the field after a second-lap puncture, emerged from his second pit stop with new tires and chose to un-lap himself by passing Vettel, who was battling for the lead with eventual race-winner Fernando Alonso.

The massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Munich Olympics had Jacques Rogge the athlete fighting with his conscience over whether to carry on competing or not.

Now, 40 years later, the 70-year-old International Olympic Committee president has endured similar soul-searching.