Events

International sports chiefs are to attend a world conference on drug abuse after recent controversies have shown that doping is still a huge problem nearly a decade after the Ben Johnson scandal.

England?s Chelsea football club chairman Ken Bates has received substantial but undisclosed libel damages and a public apology over a newspaper article which he said cast a slur on his name.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) has outlined a broad campaign to rid the sport of the scourge of doping following the scandals which plagued the Tour de France last month.

Cricket authorities are likely to come under pressure to increase the jurisdiction of the third umpire following the planned use of slow motion replays in non-televised matches at next month's Commonwealth Games.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has hit out on at

Former Thai soccer coach Withaya Laohakul said he hoped a decision by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to ban the country from international competition would only be a temporary punishment.

The Melbourne Cricket Club could lose the right to run the world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground under the State Government's radical plan to "professionalise" the ground's management by removing sports clubs and politicians.

Television networks paid more than ever to broadcast National Football League games but the ratings have not lived up to expectations, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Bangkok Asian Games Organising Committee (Bagoc) chairman and deputy prime minister Bhichai Rattakul has requested chefs de mission from 43 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) not to withdraw their teams from the Bangkok Asiad.

Thailand will close all schools and colleges, suspend road works and deploy an army of policemen to prevent traffic jams during next month's Asian Games, the chairman of the organising committee said on Monday.

Madison Square Garden has outbid its rivals to stage the most anticipated fight of 1999 when Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis climb into the ring for a heavyweight unification bout on March 13.

Three days before Asia's biggest sporting event kicks off, harried Thai organisers are still battling bugs that threaten to turn the 13th Asian Games into a farce.

President Juan Antonio Samaranch has said the IOC would expel members from the organisation if they were found guilty of wrongdoing in the scandal over allegations that votes to win the games are for sale.

French digital satellite TV service Television par Satellite (TPS) said on Wednesday that it will launch an interactive soccer news channel from December 19.

The International Olympic Committee has hinted it may step in to offer assistance to the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games if there is any financial shortfall as a result of sponsors being put off by bribery allegations.

Fast food giant McDonald's has said it is pleased the International Olympic Committee responded quickly to address alleged corruption among its members and remains committed in its support of the Olympics.

Germany's Football Association still plan to visit Qatar next month following new FIFA guidelines aimed at avoiding any trace of scandal in the bid to stage the 2006 World Cup.

The default of tennis superstar Andre Agassi from the $350,000 Sybase Open on Wednesday for cursing near a linesman has led to calls that the ATP Tour's Code of Conduct be changed.