CAIRO: Al-Jazeera news network said that a state of chaos surrounded the first day of the Pan-Arab Games.

The opening ceremony took place on Sunday at Cairo International Stadium in the presence of President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak and other Arab leaders.

However, Al-Jazeera claimed that reporters from the Qatari network encountered problems while granting license cards for covering the event.

The report also mentioned that the top Arab event is facing other technical setbacks after a number of teams forfeited.

Three Handball teams pulled out of the men s competition, while the women s Basketball competition has been cancelled due to a shortage in the number of teams.