Ahmad Al Sabah

Sheik Ahmad Al-Sabah of Kuwait was aware of the rumors that his country would be attacked by Iraq, but like others in the royal family, he did not take them seriously. So he was not fleeing Kuwait City when he boarded a plane bound for Geneva on that fateful August morning, a short time before the airport was closed because of the Iraqi invasion. He had a business meeting to attend. "I left Kuwait at 2 o'clock in the morning on the last flight that was allowed to leave the country," he said.

Sheik Ahmad Al-Sabah of Kuwait was aware of the rumors that his country would be attacked by Iraq, but like others in the royal family, he did not take them seriously. So he was not fleeing Kuwait City when he boarded a plane bound for Geneva on that fateful August morning, a short time before the airport was closed because of the Iraqi invasion. He had a business meeting to attend. "I left Kuwait at 2 o'clock in the morning on the last flight that was allowed to leave the country," he said.

The political deck is being reshuffled in the Arab world. The oil-boom era has come to an end, and governing is a different game in times of economic contraction. The pressures vary from country to country--a shrinking economy, a population of questionable loyalty, regional hostilities (and one declared war), terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism.

Under pressure from importing nations, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries begins a two-day meeting today that could increase output just as fuel demand starts to buckle under the weight of high prices. Crude has fallen from a record $70.85 a barrel in the three weeks since Katrina tore into U.S. gulf refineries, losing $1.75 on Friday to close at $63. "For OPEC the price is still very high," OPEC President Sheik Ahmad al-Sabah told reporters in Vienna.

Throughout the boycotts of the 1976, '80 and '84 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee maintained that governments should allow sports to remain independent from politics. But that idea has remained elusive even for the IOC. As 87 IOC members gather here for their annual meeting, their most urgent business is to vote Tuesday on a city to organize the 1996 Summer Games.

China's men and women sprinters dashed off with gold medals in two relay races Sunday, clinching victory for their nation in a tense duel with South Korea for the most golds of the 10th Asian Games. South Korea won the final event of the 16-day Games, beating Saudi Arabia, 2-0, for the soccer gold medal, and finished with 93 golds and the most total medals, 224. The Chinese had a record 94 golds and 222 medals overall. Japan had set the previous record of 77 golds in 1966.

The International Olympic Committee drew a line in the sand Thursday, saying it still recognizes the national Olympic committee of Kuwait. The action was welcomed by the son of an IOC member from the Middle Eastern nation slain in the Iraqi invasion of his country last month. "They now know that there is still a Kuwait and that we still have an Olympic committee. We are grateful for that," said Sheik Ahmed Al-Sabah, head of the Kuwaiti Olympic panel in exile.

JUNE 21, 1970 -- Brazilians insist that Carlos Alberto's goal in the final against Italy in Mexico City is the best of all time, and after watching Clodoaldo's amazing midfield dribble and three perfect passes from Rivelino to Jairzinho to Pele to Alberto, who could argue? JUNE 22, 1986 -- Diego Maradona's "hand of God" goal for Argentina, scored with his fist in a quarterfinal against England in Mexico City, is allowed by Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser, who later ludicrously claims that treatment for a hemorrhoid complaint had impaired his eyesight.

In the Palais de Beaulieu's Grand Hall, where the 13 cities that were bidding for the 1992 Winter and Summer Olympics had elaborate exhibitions, the star attraction this week was Gina Lollobrigida. She was here to try to charm members of the International Olympic Committee into awarding the Winter Games to Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. She is not believed to be an expert on luge conditions in Cortina, but apparently that was OK, since no one bothered to ask.

The attacks on passengers at airports in Rome and Vienna on Friday capped a year of bloody international terrorism that saw a sharp rise in hijackings, kidnapings, bombings and assassinations. The State Department says more than 630 separate terrorist attacks occurred during 1985. Experts say the number of incidents is growing at the rate of 12% to 15% a year, with the number of target nations now expanded to 60. The number of fatalities is also increasing.