Names In The News

French handball champion NIKOLA KARABATIC will "face trial in a match-fixing scandal" along with 15 other people, his lawyer said on Wednesday. The case is "set to go to trial by mid-year after a judge granted a prosecutors' request." Prosecutors suspect players from Montpellier, who had "already won the title, deliberately lost a match against Cesson-Rennes Metropole" in May '12 (REUTERS, 4/1). ... Three-time F1 world champion JACKIE STEWART "fears for the future of F1 in Europe." Stewart said that it is "'essential' that there always be a place on the calendar for the classic events" such as Italy, Britain, France and Germany, as they "helped 'motorsport to become what it is today.'" Stewart: "That sounds like me being a purist. But you have to respect history. They should always be on the calendar. It's terrific we have a United States Grand Prix, a Brazilian Grand Prix, one in Bahrain, and that we are going to new countries. But you still have to respect your heritage" (PITPASS, 4/1).