IOC invites Taliban to witness Games

IOC invites Taliban to witness Games
Agencies

SYDNEY, AUG 20: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has invited representatives of Afghanistan's Taliban regime to attend the Sydney games, news reports said on Sunday.

The IOC reaffirmed earlier this month that Afghan athletes could not compete in here because of the 1999 suspension of the Taliban's Olympic Committee.

The Taliban, vowing to make Afghanistan the World's purest Islamic State, has banned women from Sports, excluded them from higher education and ordered them to stay indoors except for shopping.

Transport woes
SYDNEY: Sydney games organisers said on Sunday that Sports fans may end up walking to Olympic park from nearby train stations if there is a recurrence of derailments that over recent weeks have caused rail chaos. Olympics Minister Michael Knight revealed that contingency plans had been drawn up to cope with rail breakdowns during the 18 days of competition. He said spectators should plan to leave home up to five hours before their session begins. The Sydney Olympics are the first car-free games in the modern era with public transport the only way to venues for most ticket holders.

Balzer threatens
BERLIN: German sprint hurdler Falk Balzer has indicated he would consider legal action, should he be left out of the country's Olympic team for Sydney.

The German Athletics Federation (DLV) omitted the 26-year-old World Cup winner from the line-up in its recommendations to the National Olympic Committee (NOC). Balzar told the newspaper Berliner Zeitung he believed he would still be nominated by the NOC next week, if not so, then he would pursue legal action .