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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 November 1999 Issue No. 455 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 11 - 17 November 1999 Issue No. 455
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Books Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Slow start for new watchdog
MONTREAL lawyer Richard Pound, vice president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said last Sunday in Ontario that he will head a new worldwide anti-doping agency for the committee. The drug-testing watchdog is due to start work today, but Pound said it was not likely to be operating much before the IOC board meeting on 10-11 December in Lausanne, Switzerland.A blow to boxing
THE INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation president and three offficials were indicted on charges of taking bribes from promoters and managers to manipulate rankings during a 13-year scheme.None of the 23 boxers believed to be involved was named in the indictment, but it referred to a fight in which a heavyweight champion faced a previously unranked boxer in 1995. There was only one such fight that year, when George Foreman defeated the German Axel Schulz to retain his title.
Maradona's appeal rejected
AN ARGENTINE court last week rejected an appeal by former football star Diego Maradona after a court sentenced him to two years in jail for shooting journalists with an air-powered pellet rifle.Maradona can still appeal to the National Supreme Court. However, even if the court rejects his appeal, he would not have to go to jail. In Argentina, a sentence below three years allows him to remain free as long as he is not convicted of any new crime within four years.
Possible sanctions on Ahli
THE AFRICAN Football Confederation (CAF) is considering the imposition of sanctions on Ahli after the unacceptable behaviour of their supporters during the team's match against Raja of Morocco in Cairo last September. The sanctions may include the transfer of one or more of Ahli's matches to grounds outside Cairo in the next African Championship plus a fine.Breaking records
THE NATIONAL Basketball Association (NBA) Utah Jazz player Karl Malone has secured himself a place in the history of American basketball, becoming the fourth highest scorer in the NBA after notching up 29,012 points from his first appearance in the league 14 years ago. The three top scorers are Karim Abdel-Jabbar with 38,387 points, Wilt Chamberlin with 31,419 and Michael Jordan with 29,277.NYC marathon winners
JOSEPH Chebet's 2:09:14 victory in last Sunday's New York City marathon was in doubt until the final 200 metres when he resisted a challenge by Portugal's Domingos Castro and held on to win by six seconds.However, the triumph of Mexico's women's winner, Adriana Fernandez, in 2:25:06, seemed a foregone conclusion from almost the very beginning of the 26.2-mile (42.2 km) race.
A great loss
PRIMO Nebiolo, who transformed athletics into a multibillion-dollar business during almost two decades as International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) president, died of heart failure last Sunday. Nebiolo was taken ill at his Rome home late last Saturday and was rushed to hospital where he suffered a fatal heart attack at around 1.00am. He was 76.Paris to stage European Cup final
THE EUROPEAN Cup final will be played at the Stade de France, Paris, on 24 May next year, the United European Football Association (UEFA) announced last week. The UEFA cup final will be staged in Copenhagen on 17 May.FIFA boosts Palestinian soccer
FIFA President Sepp Blatter promised Palestinian soccer a $1 million boost last week. "We are giving Palestine priority treatment... I will help football in Palestine," Blatter told a news conference in Gaza, a day after meeting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank town of Ramallah.Russian pair capture gold at Skate Canada
RUSSIAN pair skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze won the gold medal with a spellbinding performance at Skate Canada in Saint John last week. Meanwhile, Michelle Kwan brought down the house with the only flawless short programme in the women's event.Women's League starts tomorrow
THE SECOND Women's National Football league is set to begin tomorrow. Altogether, 11 teams from across Egypt will participate in the event: Maaden; Smouha; Helwan; Maadi; Sayeda Zeinab; Beni Suef; Kafr El-Sheikh; Sayadeen; Tayaran; Senbelawin; and Kawaseen.According to the schedule issued by the Egyptian Football Association, the opening match of the tournament will take place in Alexandria between Smouha and Senbelawin. In the second week, Helwan will meet Kafr El-Sheikh in Cairo.
Because it is school term-time, all matches will take place on Fridays.
Karate kids win in Bulgaria
THE EGYPTIAN junior karate team clinched sixth place in the World Junior Karate Championship held recently in Sofia, Bulgaria, where Egypt's prodigy, Karim Sherif, was fifth in the kata event.Altogether, 45 countries participated in the competition, including Japan, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary and Turkey. The Egyptian team participated in the kata event represented by Karim Sherif, Michael Youssry, Karim Mahmoud and Nahla Tahar.
"The biggest problem for the Egyptian junior karate team is that its members have to support themselves financially and this led to only four players participating," said Sherif.
Furthermore, as Sherif explained, "The training wasn't adequate because we only trained for two weeks before the championship while countries like Spain have been training since June."
This was 18-year-old Sherif's last junior event; he is now set to join the senior team.
Japanese grant to Gezira Youth Centre
ON MONDAY, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt Takaya Suto attended a ceremony to hand over sports training and gymnastic equipment to the Gezira Youth Centre. The equipment was purchased through Japanese Cultural Grant aid.The Gezira Youth Centre has since inaugurated the "Japanese Equipment Halls" which will accommodate the sports equipment purchased through this grant.
