News

CAIRO: Across the world, word that Saudi Arabia would send female athletes to the Olympics for the first time immediately rocketed to the top of websites and broadcasts. In Saudi Arabia’s official media? Not even a hint. The state-sponsored silent treatment was indicative of the deep sensitivities inside the kingdom about the measured steps the country makes from its ultraconservative …

LONDON: Every country competing at the London Games will include female athletes for the first time in Olympic history after Saudi Arabia agreed Thursday to send two women to compete in judo and track and field. The move by the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom to break with its practice of fielding male-only teams followed earlier decisions by Qatar and Brunei to …

LONDON: It has been a tough few months at the pockmarked concrete high-rise known as Fred Wigg Tower. First there was the fire, which left dozens of residents temporarily homeless. Then came the rash of burglaries of fire-damaged apartments. And now the British army will be putting a battery of high-velocity missiles on the roof. The defense ministry says the …

DAMASCUS: A Syrian official says the country’s Olympic chief will not attend the London Games because the organizing committee did not invite him. Syrian Olympic Committee president Gen. Mowaffak Joumaa had previously insisted he would travel to London despite indications he would be denied entry by Britain because of his links to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime. But on Tuesday, …

BERLIN: Without a cycling helmet, she would probably have been killed. Three years after surviving a horrific accident, German cyclist Kristina Vogel will arrive at the Olympics as the world team sprint champion and record holder. Her Melbourne world championship triumph was the 21-year-old’s first taste of glory on the world stage and she will be battling alongside Britain’s Victoria …

LONDON: IOC President Jacques Rogge says he can’t guarantee “100 percent” that female athletes from Saudi Arabia will compete at the London Olympics, although he remains optimistic the Gulf kingdom will send women to the games for the first time. Rogge tells The Associated Press in an interview that the International Olympic Committee is discussing the “operational details” with Saudi …

SYDNEY: Australia’s Olympic athletes will be banned from using sleeping pills, officials said Tuesday, after ex-swimming star Grant Hackett admitted to a heavy use of the sedatives while he was still competing. Australian Olympic Committee chief John Coates said prescription medications such as the powerful sleeping pill Stilnox would be banned for the first time at London after Hackett said …

LONDON: The gleaming Westfield Stratford City mall poses an interesting question about human behavior: Is it possible to head off to a major international sports event and forget to go? Could a person be so distracted by 250 shops, 70 restaurants, 14 bowling lanes and a 24-hour casino that they don’t complete their journey to Olympic Park, just a few …