The US military launched air strikes against a pro-Iranian group in Iraq following the deaths of two Americans and a Briton in a rocket attack, US military officials told AFP on Thursday.
"The operation is underway" and is targeting weapons facilities, one official said on condition of anonymity, without specifying where the strikes were taking place.
"US air strikes targeted Hashed al-Shaabi positions in multiple provinces across Iraq, targeting logistics nodes and UAV (drone) storage units," said a second official, adding that the Iran-backed armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah was one of those targeted.
Earlier Thursday US Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that "all options are on the table" to respond to the death of the three soldiers in a rocket attack on the Taji air base on Wednesday.
Fourteen others were injured in the attack, including Americans, British, and Poles.
The rocket attack sparked fears of a fresh escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran.
While there 

US retaliatory strikes underway in Iraq: US officials

PTI Automatic

A parliamentary committee on Thursday warned that China and Russia are threatening Canada's national security and democracy by stepping up "clandestine and coercive" efforts to influence politicians, students and the media.
"The threat is real, if often hidden," the national security and intelligence committee of Canadian parliamentarians warned in its annual report.
"The threat to Canada from foreign interference is increasing. The perpetrators have become more brazen and their activities more entrenched," it said, singling out China and Russia as the main culprits.
Their activities, said the report, "threaten the fundamental building blocks of Canada's democracy."
The committee also criticized this government's response to the foreign meddling, saying "Canada has been slow to react to the threat of foreign interference" and "must do better."
The interference has targeted elected officials and their staff, student associations and hundreds of media outlets in Canada that publish or ..

Canada intelligence committee warns of 'brazen' interference by China, Russia

Disneyland will close its doors beginning Saturday after California called for large gatherings to be canceled to slow the spread of coronavirus, the resort said Thursday.
The giant 100-acre (40-hectare) attraction in Anaheim is the second-most visited theme park in the world, drawing tens of thousands of visitors each day, but will remain shut at least until the end of March.
"After carefully reviewing the guidelines of the Governor of California's executive order and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure," a statement said.
No cases of the virus had been reported at the resort, it added.
Disney will monitor the situation, and on-site hotels will remain open until Monday to give guests time to leave.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said Disney had "made the right call in the interest of public health and agreed to shut down their California parks."
"Expect more announcements like this ..

Disneyland in California to close over virus

Four towns in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region were put under quarantine on Thursday, the civil protection agency said, in a first in the country.
The 66,000 inhabitants of the localities of Igualada, Odena, Santa Margarida de Montbui and Vilanova del Cami "cannot leave their urban core" although they can leave their homes, a statement said, citing instructions from Catalonia's governor.
Catalonia's health minister Alba Verges tod reporters that the authorities would be focussing on Igualada, a town of 40,000 inhabitants which is only 70 kilometres ( (40 miles) from the regional capital Barcelona, as the number of cases was growing rapidly.
There are currently 58 cases in the town, 38 more than on Wednesday, he said.

Four towns in northern Spain quarantined: official

A key adviser to Iran's supreme leader has been placed in quarantine after experiencing "mild symptoms" of the new coronavirus, Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
Ali Akbar Velayati, who advises supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on foreign policy, was "quarantined after having experienced mild symptoms of coronavirus," the agency said.
It quoted a spokesman at Tehran's Massih Danechvari hospital for its report.
The hospital, of which Velayati, a paediatrician by profession, is the head, is the main centre for coronavirus patients.
"Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, when the light symptoms appeared, doctors prescribed a test" for the 74-year-old Velayati, Tasnim said.
He was later placed in isolation at his home and given medicine, the agency added without saying whether Velayati had tested positive for the virus.
But Tasnim said that Velayati's "general health is improving".
Velayati is a close adviser to Khamenei and served as Iran's foreign minister from 1981-1997.
The ...

Top adviser to Iran's Khamenei quarantined with virus symptoms

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday announced schools in France would close indefinitely from next week to curb the spread of the coronavirus, also urging people over 70 to stay at home.
In an address to the nation on the fight against COVID-19 which has already killed 61 people and infected almost 2,900 in France, Macron made clear that it could no longer be business as usual.
Creches, schools and universities would close from Monday "until further notice", Macron said, describing the novel coronavirus as France's most serious health crisis for a century.
But the president also announced that nationwide local elections scheduled for Sunday will not be postponed.
"We are just at the beginning of this crisis," Macron said.
"In spite of all our efforts to break it, this virus is continuing to propagate and to accelerate." From Monday, "and until further notice, all creches, schools, middle schools, high schools and universities will be closed," he said.
Macron asked all people older ..

France to close schools over coronavirus: Macron

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has undergone a test for the new coronavirus after a top aide contracted the disease following a trip on which both met with Donald Trump, his son said Thursday.
"President Bolsonaro has been tested for coronavirus and we are waiting for the results. However, he is not exhibiting any symptoms of the disease," Eduardo Bolsonaro, a lawmaker, wrote on Twitter.
The far-right leader's test results are expected Friday, Brazilian media reports said.
He cancelled a scheduled trip Thursday to the city of Mossoro, in northeastern Brazil, and his office said he had no other official events on his daily agenda.
Bolsonaro had previously sought to downplay the coronavirus outbreak, saying its severity had been "overstated." The news came after Bolsonaro's communications chief, Fabio Wajngarten, tested positive for COVID-19 after a trip to the United States last weekend during which both men met with the US president at his Florida resort.
Wajngarten was ...

Brazil's Bolsonaro tested for coronavirus: son

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on organisers of non essential events gathering hundreds of people to cancel them to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
"That is a call to all," she said, noting that "where possible, social contact must be avoided".
Merkel said all events of under 1,000 people should be cancelled. The German government had previously recommended the cancellation of events gathering more than 1,000 people.
But with Germany reporting increasing COVID-19 cases reaching 2,369 including five deaths on Wednesday, Merkel's government has ramped up its response.
While acknowledging that developments in coming days could lead to more closure of kindergartens or schools in Germany, Merkel fell short of announcing a blanket closure.
The regional governments of Germany's 16 states will decide if they want to shutter school gates according to the local situation, Merkel said, adding that an option could be to bring forward April's Easter school holidays.

'Unnecessary events' big events should be scrapped: Merkel

Senegal announced five new cases of novel coronavirus Thursday, bringing the West African state's total number to ten, and making it the worst affected country in the region.
The five new cases are all family members of a Senegalese national whom health authorities declared positive for the virus on Wednesday.
The man, who is normally resident in Italy, had been in Senegal's second-largest city Touba when he exhibited symptoms and visited a doctor, the health ministry said.
His five family members, like him, have now been hospitalised in the capital Dakar. Authorities are also tracking down 71 other people they think he was in contact with.
The new coronavirus cases bring Senegal's total number to ten, although the health ministry said two infected people have since recovered.
But the appearance of coronavirus in Touba has raised questions about the viability of the country's religious festivals.
The city has some 1.5 million inhabitants, but it also attracts hundreds of thousands of .

Senegal announces 5 new coronavirus cases

Brexit trade talks scheduled to be held in London next week have been cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, a joint EU-UK statement said.
"Given the latest COVID-19 developments, EU and UK negotiators have today jointly decided not to hold next week's round of negotiations in London," the statement said.
"Both sides are currently exploring alternative ways to continue discussions, including if possible the use of videoconferences," it added.
The talks were set to be held in the British capital from March 18-20.
Around 100 European negotiators were due to travel to the United Kingdom from next Tuesday, where 590 cases of coronavirus were officially registered.
But according to the UK government, the number of infected people is probably between 5,000 and 10,000.
More than 20,000 people have been infected in Europe with the new coronavirus and 930 have died.
Following the first round of negotiations in early March, the UK and the EU acknowledged major differences of ..

Next week's London Brexit talks cancelled over virus

Nine Nigerien soldiers were killed on Thursday in an attack on an army post close to the Mali frontier, a security source said, in the Tillaberi region that has been frequently targeted by jihadists.
All the assailants were "neutralised" in an airstrike after they attacked a military post in Ayorou, 200 km (124 miles) northwest of the Niger capital Niamey, the security source said.

Niger attack kills nine soldiers near Mali border: security source

Spain's cabinet and the royal family underwent coronavirus testing Thursday after a minister tested positive and was quarantined with her partner, the second deputy prime minister.
Equality Minister Irene Montero's positive test coincided with infections nationwide jumping to 2,968 cases by 1200 GMT, from 2,140 on Wednesday evening, and deaths leaping to 84 from 48 within the same timeframe.
Writing on Twitter, Montero, 32, said she had tested positive late Wednesday, three days after appearing at a mass march of some 120,000 people through Madrid for International Women's Day.
She and her partner Pablo Iglesias went into quarantine, an official statement said. Government ministers all underwent testing on Thursday, it added.
Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were also tested for the virus after taking part in an event with the minister several days ago, the palace told AFP.
A special cabinet meeting to discuss an emergency plan to respond to the crisis went ahead and was ...

Spain cabinet, royals tested as minister infected

An American woman who has recovered from the novel coronavirus has a simple message for people who are worried: Don't panic -- but do think about high-risk individuals and stay home if you feel ill.
Elizabeth Schneider lives in Seattle, the biggest city of Washington state, which has the most deaths in the United States from the disease sweeping the globe.
The 37-year-old, who has a PhD in bioengineering, said she was sharing her story "to give people a little bit of hope" through her own relatively mild experience with the infection, which she treated herself from home.
But, she added, "obviously, it's not something to be completely nonchalant about, because there are a lot of people who are elderly or have underlying health conditions.
"That means that we need to be extra vigilant about staying home, isolating ourselves from others." This week, US health authorities citing Chinese data said 80 percent of cases have been mild, while the remaining serious cases that required ...

'Don't panic' says US woman who recovered from coronavirus

Wall Street stocks sunk deep into the red Thursday afternoon as the economic toll from the coronavirus mounts, amplifying worries about a global recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 1,850 points, or 7.9 percent, to 21,701.67 at around 1740 GMT.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 7.3 percent to 2,54158, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 7.0 percent to 7,475.25.
Stocks bounced somewhat after the New York Federal Reserve announced measures to inject an additional $1.5 trillion in cash into financial markets this week, and continue to do so for the coming month at least.
But the boost was short-lived following a stream of announcements about cancelations due to the virus.
More major sporting events were canceled, with Major League Soccer indefinitely suspending games shortly after a similar announcement from the National Basketball Association, and a big tennis championship in Florida also fell by the wayside.
"Bottoming is a process, it's not a ...

US stocks tumble in latest rout over virus

The US central bank announced on Thursday a massive increase to its cash injections into American financial markets to quell the growing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The New York Fed, which has ramped up short-term funding to markets in recent days, said it will offer USD 500 billion in three-month funds called repurchase agreements or "repos" on Thursday and Friday, and $500 billion in one-month repos on Friday.
Over the coming month, it will provide $500 billion a week of one- and three-month repos.
That is on top of the at least USD 175 billion daily in overnight funding, and twice-weekly offers of at least USD 45 billion in two-week repos.
"These changes are being made to address highly unusual disruptions in Treasury financing markets associated with the coronavirus outbreak," the New York Fed said in a statement.
The bank said operations "will be adjusted as needed to foster smooth Treasury market functioning."
In was the third time this week the New York Fed .

New York Fed says to offer USD 1.5 trillion in cash this week

The World Trade Organization said Thursday that a planned ministerial conference in Kazakhstan in June would "not be feasible" due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"It is our considered view that holding MC12 (the 12th Ministerial Conference) as previously agreed from 8-11 June will not be feasible," WTO chief Roberto Azevedo said in a note circulated to member states and sent to the media.
WTO said it had reached the conclusion after consultations with the government of Kazakhstan, who had asked that members "revisit the decision" to hold the conference in its capital Nur-Sultan in June.
The final decision will meanwhile be up to member states, and the WTO said a special General Council meeting would be held "as soon as conditions permit" to discuss "how to proceed with revised arrangements for MC12." That could meanwhile take a while.
Earlier this week, the global trade body said it would suspend all meetings until March 20 after one of its staff members contracted the new ...

WTO says June ministerial conference 'not feasible' amid pandemic

Equity markets plunged Thursday, with some recording their worst day in decades, after the US banned travel from Europe and the ECB failed to stem the selling tide.
The oil price also fell sharply as the move ramped up fears of a worldwide recession.
The European Central Bank failed to calm nervous investors despite unveiling measures to support the economy.
Markets lived through "a horror show", said Connor Campbell, an analyst at Spreadex. The travel ban was heightening "the likelihood of a global recession", he said.
Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com said "all of the efforts being made to curtail the spread of the coronavirus are going to produce negative economic outcomes that will weigh far and wide".
Across the world, stock markets saw daily plunges not seen in decades, if ever.
London recorded its worst day since the 1987 crash and Frankfurt its blackest day since 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell.
Paris suffered its worst one-day loss ever.
Tokyo entered bear territory, and .

Stocks see worst slump in decades as Trump ban bites

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife announced they were self-isolating Thursday as she undergoes tests for the new coronavirus after returning from a speaking engagement with "mild flu-like symptoms."
Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau's symptoms have subsided since she recently got back from Britain, but as a precaution the prime minister "will spend the day in briefings, phone calls and virtual meetings from home," according to a statement.
Trudeau also cancelled a meeting Thursday and Friday with Canada's provincial and territorial leaders in Ottawa, but still planned to speak with them and world leaders by phone about measures being taken to curb the spread of the virus in Canada.
Gregoire-Trudeau's symptoms had included "a low fever late last night." She immediately sought medical advice and testing.
Trudeau has exhibited no symptoms, and was advised by doctors "to continue daily activities while self-monitoring."
"However, out of an abundance of caution, the prime minister .

Canada PM working from home as wife tested for COVID-19

Britain on Thursday said up to 10,000 people in the UK could be infected with the novel coronavirus, as it announced new measures to slow the spread of the outbreak.
Government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said there were currently 590 confirmed cases but it was "much more likely we've got somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people infected".
Britain was "about four weeks" behind the level of cases currently seen in Italy and other worst-hit countries in Europe, he added.
Vallance was speaking after Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the outbreak, which has so far killed 10 people in Britain, "the worst public health crisis for a generation" and warned it would get worse.
"Many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time," he told a news conference at his Downing Street office.
He announced new measures to combat the rapid spread of the virus, recommending anyone with COVID-19 symptoms stays at home for at least seven days.
He also said schools will be ...

5,000-10,000 people 'likely' have COVID-19 in UK: govt

Britain on Thursday said up to 10,000 people in the UK could be infected with the novel coronavirus, as it announced new measures to slow the spread of the pandemic.
Government chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said there were currently 590 confirmed cases but it was "much more likely that we've got somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 people infected".

5,000-10,000 people could have COVID-19 in UK: govt

UEFA will hold a crisis meeting next week, European football's governing body announced on Thursday, as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to force the postponement of Euro 2020 and the ongoing Champions League.
A videoconference will be held "to discuss European football's response to the outbreak" next Tuesday "in the light of the ongoing developments in the spread of COVID-19 across Europe and the changing analysis of the World Health Organisation."
The meeting will involve representatives from all 55 national associations and club and player bodies.
One possible solution for the European Championship could be to delay the tournament by a year until 2021.
UEFA later confirmed that next Tuesday's Champions League last 16, second legs between Manchester City and Real Madrid, and between Juventus and Lyon were postponed.
Real, who lost the first leg 2-1 at home to City, announced on Thursday that their squad has been placed in quarantine after one of the club's basketball players ...

AFP

AFP

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