For those making their way to this year's Olympic games in Rio this August, Visa will be the only card accepted at official venues -- a pretty sweet deal for the payment provider. But, rather than be satisfied with exclusive access to the wallets of a half million tourists, the company is using the event to introduce a new ring that will let people pay with a wave of their hand: No phone, wallet or even battery needed.

One of Spain’s most famous athletes, the basketball player Pau Gasol, has said he is considering skipping this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro due to fears over the Zika virus. Gasol said he has spoken to other athletes who were considering whether to compete at the Games. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see some athletes deciding not to participate in the games to avoid putting their health and the health of their families at risk,” Gasol, who plays for the Chicago Bulls, said.

A group of 150 prominent scientists, doctors and medical ethicists have signed a letter calling for this summer's Olympic Games to be postponed or moved from Rio de Janeiro due to the ongoing Zika virus outbreak in Brazil. In a letter directed to World Health Organization Director Dr. Margaret Chan, the group said that new findings about the Zika virus should result in the games being moved or postponed to safeguard the thousands of athletes, staff and reporters scheduled to attend the games.

Daniel Stapff was once a chubby, 11-year-old tennis player from Curitiba, Brazil, the son of a former pro whose entire family lived racket-in-hand. But one day Stapff found himself bored and near a golf course. He whacked a few balls.Stapff left the course underwhelmed. Striking the tiny dimpled ball with an awkwardly shaped club was a towering task. The game was tedious to learn — and besides, Stapff's dream was to turn pro in his father’s sport.

If Olympic opening ceremonies should capture the atmosphere in a host nation, then Rio 2016's curtain-raiser should be interesting. With 100 days until the Games begin, Brazil is unraveling fast -- largely overshadowing the impending arrival of sport's greatest showpiece. Who needs the staple pre-Olympic media diet of venue delays and security fears when you have a leader facing impeachment, a gigantic corruption scandal and a global public health emergency?

At least two people were killed Thursday in the collapse of a new elevated bike path that has been heralded as a top legacy project of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The accident on the Tim Maia bike path is the latest in a series of problems besetting preparations for the Aug. 5-21 games, which include worries about an outbreak of the Zika virus, political turmoil that threatens to topple President Dilma Rousseff, underwhelming ticket sales and budget cuts amid...

There is no chance that the Rio Olympics will be cancelled because of a Zika virus outbreak, Brazil has said. The authorities said there was no risk to athletes and spectators - except pregnant women - at the August event. Earlier, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned a disease linked to Zika posed a global public health emergency requiring a united response.

Russia, an Olympics powerhouse, is likely to miss the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, the head of Europe's top sports body said Tuesday. Russia was banned indefinitely by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) recently after a commission by the World Anti-Doping Agency uncovered widespread doping among its athletes. The report also claimed the Russian government was complicit in a well-organized program to give its competitors...

New tests carried out by the Associated Press have found that the waters around Rio de Janeiro are heavily and dangerously contaminated, even 1Km out to sea. The new tests bring further doubt on Rio's ability to safely hold the Olympics in 2016. The tests are the second series carried out by AP, who found in July that the waters had disease-causing virus levels 1.7 million times higher than what would cause extreme alarm in the US or Europe.