Referees presumed dead AMONG those missing and presumed dead following Saturday's Kenya Airways crash were three African football referees. "Our strong thoughts to the families of the three CAF referees who were on board, heading off to exercise their passionate job," said the president of the Confederation of African Football Issa Hayatou. Airline officials see no chance of finding survivors after the plane crashed in Cameroon on Saturday following take-off from Douala International Airport. The Boeing 737-800 was carrying 114 passengers and crew from at least 23 countries. Princess candidate THE International Olympic Committee (IOC) will nominate four people for election as IOC members, including Jordanian Princess Haya bint Al-Hussein. Wife of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed Ben Rashed, prince of Dubai, Princess Haya is president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). She became the first female athlete to represent Jordan in the equestrian discipline of show jumping at the age of 13, and competed at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. She is currently a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission and the IOC Commission for Culture and Olympic Education. Patrick Baumann (Switzerland), secretary-general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), started basketball first as a player and then continued as a referee. Working for FIBA for 13 years, he attended the Games of the last three Olympiads in his FIBA capacity and was a member of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2008 Olympic Games and is a member of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXX Olympiad in London 2012. Andrés Botero (Colombia), president of the Colombian Olympic Committee, has won several national and international titles in waterskiing. At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich he participated in water skiing as an official demonstration sport. For 10 years he has been president of the International Water Skiing Federation. In addition, he has been president of the Association of the IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF). Rita Subowo (Indonesia), president of the Indonesian Olympic Committee, was the first woman in her country to be elected to this position. For over a decade she has actively been involved in volleyball and developed and promoted the sport in Indonesia as well as in Asia. She is executive vice-president of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and vice- president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). The IOC will vote on the candidatures in Guatemala City in July. Games for the young THE IOC has unanimously welcomed the idea of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The concept will be put forward for consideration by the IOC in Guatemala City in July. The Youth Olympic Games are conceived, in conjunction with other initiatives, to address the decline in the relevance of sport amongst the younger generation and to give them an education based on values. The purpose of the YOG is to complement the Olympic Games and "not to create mini-Games," explained the IOC President Jacques Rogge. It would have a different character, and target youngsters aged between 14 and 18, adapted to the different sports. By creating a special occasion which places as much, if not more, emphasis on the manner in which things are achieved, rather than the sporting achievement itself, the YOG would be true to the vision of educating young people through the values sport teaches. Sports events would be carefully chosen to protect the health of young athletes. The YOG would be a demonstration of the IOC's commitment to young people by providing for them an event of their own in the spirit of the Olympic Games. The summer and winter Youth Games would alternate every four years. The summer events would be staged in the years of the Olympic Winter Games and vice versa. The first edition of Summer YOG is envisaged for 2010. Estimates of participant numbers range from 3,000 for the summer YOG and 1,000 for the winter counterpart. The organisational effort for a city to host the YOG would be significantly lower for the Olympic Games. However, the details of the concept still need to be defined in close cooperation with the members of the Olympic movement. Experience can be gathered from events like the European and Australian Youth Olympic festivals. Beach potential IF THE last seven women's SWATCH-FIVB World Tour stops is any indication about the contenders for the medals at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the host country for the next Summer Games will be among the favourites to reach the Chaoyang Park podium with beach volleyball powers Brazil and the United States. With the beach volleyball qualifying process for the Beijing Olympic Games beginning with this week's $400,000 China Shanghai Jinshan Open, China captured its fourth gold medal in the last seven women's SWATCH-FIVB World Tour events when top-seeded Jie Wang and Jia Tian outlasted fifth-seeded Nila Ann Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen of Norway 14-21, 21-18 and 15-13 in 59 minutes. Roeder resigns GLENN Roeder has resigned as manager of Newcastle United. The Magpies have had a torrid time with injuries this season and currently lie 13th in the Premiership having failed to shine in the cup competitions. Newcastle have not scored a league goal at St James' Park in over eight hours of playing time, which is their worst run since 1951. Roeder and chairman Freddy Shepherd came under fire from fans after their home defeat by Blackburn on Saturday. Five Live's Ian Dennis said: "Roeder has resigned, walking away with immediate effect after being summoned to a hastily arranged board meeting on Sunday morning. "It's no surprise in the north east that Sam Allardyce is already emerging as a strong favourite to replace him." Roeder spent 15 months in charge at St James' Park including his spell as caretaker. Stoner stretches lead DUCATI's Casey Stoner saw off the challenge of Valentino Rossi to win the China Grand Prix and extend his MotoGP championship lead to 15 points. The Australian took the lead from Rossi at the start of the second lap and his victory was assured when the Italian went wide around a corner on lap 16. The 21-year-old finished the 22-lap race in 44 minutes 12.891 seconds, more than three seconds ahead of Rossi. American John Hopkins finished third for Suzuki and his first podium finish. Reigning world champion Nicky Hayden of the United States suffered a spectacular spin on the second lap but recovered to finish 12th. Stoner now tops the riders' standings with 86 points to Rossi's 71. He said: "It was a very difficult race with a lot of pressure from Valentino behind. "Then he made a mistake and I was able to hold on. It was another big day for us." Rossi, who started from pole and managed to pass Stoner several times on corners before being pegged back on the straights, insisted he was satisfied with second place. "I tried to attack him," said the 28-year-old. "I'm happy because this track was always going to be difficult for us and we have 20 points." Last year's winner Dani Pedrosa of Spain won a duel for fourth place with fellow Honda rider Marco Melandri of Italy while Stoner's Italian team-mate Loris Capirossi was sixth on the other works Ducati. Spain's Toni Elias, fourth in the championship at the start of the race, also had a day to forget, crashing out after a wild lunge up the inside on the first corner. In the 250cc race, world champion Jorge Lorenzo of Spain blew away his rivals for his third victory of the season. Lukas Pesek took the first victory for a Czech in the 58-year history of the 125cc category, with Britain's Bradley Smith back in eighth.
