Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced plans Thursday for a halt to all transport in and out of the capital Manila and a quarantine to contain the spread of the deadly new coronavirus.
In a nationally televised address, Duterte also approved a month of school closures, ban on mass gatherings and a prohibition on the entry of foreigners from places where the contagion is spreading.
It was not immediately clear when all the measures would take effect but Duterte said the temporary block on land, sea and air traffic into and out of the capital would start Sunday.
"It's a lockdown," Duterte said.
The Philippines has a relatively small number of confirmed cases compared to hotspots such as China and Italy, but its tally has risen from 24 to 52 since Monday.
It has recorded five deaths, one of which was a Chinese tourist from Wuhan, the disease's epicentre.
However, Duterte has faced pressure from authorities and the public to squelch the virus in a nation with a fragile health ...

Philippine president orders virus lockdown of capital

PTI Automatic

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world, Tokyo Olympics organisers received a boost Thursday with World Athletics president Sebastian Coe's assumption that track and field would take place at the Games.
There is growing concern that the Tokyo Games, scheduled for July 24-August 9, will be either postponed or even cancelled as the outbreak of COVID-19 spreads.
A multitude of sporting events have been either cancelled or postponed as public health authorities worldwide move to contain the virus, of which there have been more than 127,000 cases recorded in 115 countries and territories, killing 4,687 people, according to an AFP tally.
World Athletics had already been forced to postpone the world indoor championships in the Chinese city of Nanjing until March 2021. The world half-marathon champs in Poland have been pushed back to October and a number of marathons across the world have been cancelled.
"On the broader picture of what does the remaining element of the season look like, .

World Athletics chief Coe says: 'We'll be in Tokyo'

French chef Michel Roux, widely acknowledged as helping kickstart modern restaurant dining in Britain with "Le Gavroche" in London, has died at the age of 78, his scholarship fund said Thursday.
"We are deeply saddened to have lost our founding father, Michel Roux OBE," said a statement from the Roux Scholarship, a competition set up by the chef and his brother Albert to identify new talent.
"A humble genius, legendary chef, popular author and charismatic teacher, Michel leaves the world reeling in his wake.
"Michel's star will shine forever, lighting the way for a generation of chefs to follow," it added.
Roux, who had battled pulmonary fibrosis for some time, followed his brother to London in the 1960s where the pair opened the signature restaurant in 1967, at a time when Britain's reputation for cuisine was in tatters.
The restaurant, along with "The Waterside Inn" that they opened in nearby Bray, Berkshire, were both awarded Michelin stars in 1974 and again in 1977, as fine dining 

French chef who helped spark UK dining revolution dies at 78

The ATP announced Thursday it was suspending the men's tennis tour for six weeks "due to escalating health and safety issues" arising from the coronavirus pandemic.
The virus, which has so far infected more than 127,000 people globally and killed over 4,600, according to an AFP tally, is wreaking havoc on the tennis calendar and global sport.
The ATP announcement came shortly after the cancellation of the Miami Open, which followed the axing of the Indian Wells tournament in California.
Next month's Fed Cup tennis finals in Budapest have been postponed.
"This is not a decision that was taken lightly," said ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi.
"However, we believe this is the responsible action needed at this time in order to protect the health and safety of our players, staff, the wider tennis community and general public health in the face of this global pandemic.

ATP suspends men's tour for six weeks over coronavirus

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde warned on Thursday that the coronavirus had delivered a "major shock" to the global economy that required urgent, coordinated action, as she unveiled fresh stimulus to keep credit flowing.
The latest major central bank to jump into the fray, the ECB launched a flurry of measures to cushion the impact of the virus, including increased bond purchases and cheap loans to banks.
But it surprised observers by leaving key interest rates unchanged.
The Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges extended earlier losses after Lagarde's announcements to post drops of more than 10 percent in the early afternoon.
"The spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 has been a major shock to the growth prospects of the global economy and the euro area," Lagarde told reporters in Frankfurt.
"Even if ultimately temporary by nature, it will have a significant impact on economic activity."
She urged governments to step up and do their bit alongside monetary policymakers as ...

ECB fires off stimulus to counter virus 'major shock'

Real Madrid's players and staff went into quarantine on Thursday, Spain's La Liga paused its season and the NBA halted games indefinitely as the coronavirus pandemic rocked world sport.
La Liga authorities took the decision to suspend matches in the top two divisions for two weeks after Real Madrid confirmed its senior football team was in quarantine following a positive test for one of the club's basketball players. The teams share facilities.
Real Madrid said "it has been decided to close the facilities at our training ground and it is also recommended that all Real Madrid personnel who work there remain in quarantine."
Serie A in Italy, the European country worst hit by the virus, has already suspended its matches until April 3 while France's Ligue 1 will continue its season but without spectators.
In Greece, the lighting of the Olympic flame for the 2020 Tokyo Games went ahead earlier Thursday with the ceeremony closed to the public.
Preparations for the Formula One season-opening 

Real Madrid in quarantine, Australian GP in doubt

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez declared a state of emergency on Thursday over the coronavirus outbreak and began canceling mass gatherings, including the ATP and WTA Miami Open.
The hardcourt tennis tournament, one of the world's top events outside of the Grand Slams, was scheduled to begin with qualifying on March 23 and run through April 5.
The ATP and WTA earlier wiped out the combined event at Indian Wells, California, which was to have started main-draw play Thursday.
The news came hours after the NBA, including the Miami Heat, halted its season in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Miami-Dade County is under a state of emergency as we deal with the public health threat of COVID-19," Gimenez said in a statement.
"Although we do not have community spread at this time, we want to take the preemptive steps to keep it that way.
"Therefore, I have decided to suspend the operation of the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair, the Miami Open tennis tournament, the MIA 5K run, and all 

ATP-WTA Miami Open called off by local officials

Stock markets tumbled across the globe and oil prices slumped Thursday after President Donald Trump banned all travel from mainland Europe to the United States for a month to fight the coronavirus pandemic, ramping up fears of worldwide recession.
With the market panic having already wiped away more than USD 11 trillion in global value, the head of the World Health Organisation said the COVID-19 outbreak "is a controllable pandemic" if countries stepped up measures to tackle it.
"We are deeply concerned that some countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva, according to a statement.
Following an overnight slump, Sydney tumbled 7.4 percent Thursday to suffer its worst session since the 2008 global financial crisis.
Tokyo closed down 4.4 percent, putting it in a bear market after slumping more than 20 percent from a recent high.
Hong Kong shed 3.7 percent, 

Stocks, oil plunge as Trump travel ban fans recession fears

Spain's government underwent coronavirus testing Thursday after a minister tested positive and was quarantined with her partner, deputy prime minister Pablo Iglesias, and cases soared close to 3,000.
The surge in infections brought the total to 2,968 cases in Spain up from 2,140 on Wednesday evening, with deaths leaping to 84 from 48 within the same time frame.
"This morning, all members of the government will undergo testing," a government statement said, indicating the results would be published later in the day.
"The minister (Irene Montero) is in a good condition and second deputy prime minister Pablo Iglesias is also in quarantine due to the situation."
Montero tested positive on Wednesday evening, three days after appearing at a mass march of some 120,000 people through Madrid for International Women's Day.
A special cabinet meeting to discuss an emergency plan of action to respond to the crisis went ahead around 1200 GMT as planned, with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and 14 ...

Spain govt tested as minister infected, cases touch 3,000

Astronauts awaiting a space mission are banned from leaving Star City training centre outside Moscow due to the novel coronavirus and will skip traditional pre-launch rituals, the centre's head said Thursday.
The next launch to the International Space Station is due to blast off from Baikonur in Kazakhstan on April 9 with Russian cosmonauts Ivan Vagner and Anatoly Ivanishin and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy on board.
Pavel Vlasov, the head of Star City, where all astronauts prepare for missions, said that "quarantine for the crews started earlier than usual," referring to the astronauts and the reserve crew.
Astronauts go into quarantine routinely ahead of space missions and give a final press conference at Baikonur from behind a glass wall to protect them from infection.
Vlasov said this procedure was speeded up because of the coronavirus pandemic. So far there have been 28 confirmed cases in Russia, most of them in Moscow.
Quoted on Star City's website, Vlasov said: "The crews are ...

Astronauts grounded in Russia's Star City over virus

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez declared a state of emergency on Thursday over the coronavirus outbreak and began canceling mass gatherings, including the ATP and WTA Miami Open.
The hardcourt tennis tournament, one of the world's top events outside of the Grand Slams, was scheduled to begin with qualifying on March 23 and run through April 5.
The ATP and WTA earlier wiped out the combined event at Indian Wells, California, which was to have started main-draw play Thursday.

ATP-WTA Miami Open scrapped by Miami-Dade County Mayor

Golfers teed off in Thursday's opening round of The Players Championship while US PGA Tour officials watched for updates from health officials regarding the coronavirus.
Autograph seekers were kept from players as the tour's signature event began at the famed TPC Sawgrass layout in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler all opened with pars in their star trio while back-nine starter Scottie Scheffler was the early leader thanks to three birdies in his first four holes.
Defending champion and world number one Rory McIlroy, trying to become the first back-to-back winner in the event's history, was among those scheduled for an afternoon start.
The event began hours after the NBA decided to shut down its season in the wake of a player testing positive for COVID-19 and after the tour updated fans on its status.
"The PGA Tour is aware of rapidly changing developments regarding COVID-19," a tour statement Thursday said. "We will absolutely continue to ...

PGA Players Championship begins amid coronavirus concern

The European Central Bank on Thursday followed other major central banks with a flurry of measures to cushion the impact of the coronavirus, including increased bond purchases and cheap loans to banks, but surprised observers by leaving key interest rates unchanged.
Policymakers agreed a new round of cheap loans to banks, known as long-term refinancing operations (LTROs) "to provide immediate support to the euro area financial system," a spokesman said.
They also eased conditions on an existing "targeted" LTRO programme, aiming to "support bank lending to those affected most by the spread of the coronavirus, in particular small- and medium-sized enterprises."
And the ECB will pile an extra 120 billion euros ($135 billion) of "quantitative easing" asset purchases this year on top of its present 20 billion per month.
The "quantitative easing" (QE) scheme will include "a strong contribution from the private sector," the ECB said, as room to buy government debt while respecting ...

ECB pumps up bank lending, bond buys to cushion virus impact

Pakistan cricket authorities appeared Thursday to brush off fears for the coronavirus pandemic as it prepared to host several Pakistan Super League matches in the bustling commercial hub of Karachi.
The city of at least 15 million people is set to host five Twenty20 league games starting Thursday evening at the national stadium, which can hold up to 30,000 spectators.
The decision to move ahead with the league comes as anxiety escalated globally about the potential of unchecked transmission of the virus at big sports events.
Sporting events around the world have been cancelled or postponed over the virus, including the suspension of NBA games in North America.
Social media users in Pakistan voiced concerns over authorities continuing to host games despite a rise in coronavirus cases.
"Still trying to understand why PSL hasn't been canceled during a GLOBAL PANDEMIC," tweeted Pakistan novelist Fatima Bhutto.
"World's best sports events are cancelled but in Pakistan flight operations are 

Pakistan pushes ahead with T20 league despite virus fears

A joint Russian-European mission to Mars has been postponed for two years, the Russian and European space agencies said Thursday, citing the novel coronavirus and technical issues.
"We have made a difficult but well-weighed decision to postpone the launch to 2022," said Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia's Roscosmos agency.
The unmanned ExoMars mission aims to place a robot on the Red Planet to find out whether life is present.
It was scheduled to launch later this year after experiencing several delays.
Officials at the European and Russian spaces agencies said they agreed to delay the mission until August or September 2022 to carry out further tests.
Following recommendations by European and Russian inspectors, "ExoMars experts concluded that the tests necessary to make all the components of the spacecraft for the Mars adventure need more time to complete," the statement said.
European Space Agency director general Jan Werner said both sides wanted to be "100 per cent" sure of a ...

Russia-Europe Mars mission delayed to 2022 over virus

The internet is "not working for women" and is fuelling a new era of widespread abuse against females, the creator of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, warned on Thursday.
In a bleak assessment published on the World Wide Web Foundation, an organisation founded by Berners-Lee that advocates a free and open web for all, he also argued that a "dangerous trend" of abuse threatens any advances in gender equality.
"The web is not working for women and girls," he wrote.
"The world has made important progress on gender equality thanks to the unceasing drive of committed champions everywhere.  "But I am seriously concerned that online harms facing women and girls -- especially those of colour, from LGBTQ+ communities and other marginalised groups -- threaten that progress." The abuse was so extensive that "over half of young women surveyed have experienced violence online", said Berners-Lee, citing a survey from the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
The world-famous ...

Internet inventor warns web 'not working for women'

McLaren pulled out of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix Thursday after a team member tested positive for coronavirus, throwing the race into chaos.
The employee was among eight Formula One personnel who went into isolation after showing flu-like symptoms typical of the virus this week in Melbourne.
The other seven -- including four from the Haas team -- all returned negative results, organisers said.
"The team member was tested and self-isolated as soon as they started to show symptoms and will now be treated by local healthcare authorities," McLaren said in a statement.
"The decision (to withdraw) has been taken based on a duty of care not only to McLaren F1 employees and partners, but also to the team's competitors, Formula 1 fans and wider F1 stakeholders."
McLaren's decision to pull out casts doubt over whether the race will be run without a full complement of teams, and whether others will follow suit.
The Australian Grand Prix Corporation said it was "currently in ...

Season-opening Australian Grand Prix in chaos as McLaren pulls out

Britain on Thursday hit back at a US decision to impose a travel ban on Europeans to limit the spread of coronavirus, insisting there was no proof such measures worked.
President Donald Trump slapped a 30-day ban on people travelling from the Schengen passport-free zone, as the continent grapples with spiralling numbers of cases in the global outbreak.
Britain, which left the European Union on January 31 but is still abiding by EU rules until the end of the year, is not affected by the restriction, as it never signed up to Schengen.
But finance minister Rishi Sunak told BBC radio: "With regard to flight bans, we are always guided by the science as we make our decisions here.
"The advice we are getting is that there isn't evidence that interventions like closing borders or travel bans are going to have a material effect on the spread of the infection." Britain, which has 460 confirmed cases, including eight deaths, is expected to introduce more stringent measures to delay the spread of 

UK says 'no evidence' travel bans effective after US virus move

The remains of suspected US airmen killed in Myanmar during World War II were repatriated on Thursday, as American officials continue searching for 500 unaccounted servicemen in the country.
Myanmar was a key battleground between the Allies and Japan during the war.
The remains are thought to be those of some of the seven servicemen in a B-25G aircraft downed in February 1944 in northern Salingyi.
Although the wreckage was located two years later, it was not until 2019 that the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) found possible remains in the same region and returned this year to continue the search.
On Thursday, a ceremony was held in honour of the lost servicemen at Mandalay airport as white-gloved US guards carried the coffins draped in the American flag into a C-17 military plane.
The remains will be taken for further analysis at a Hawaii laboratory.
"Brave Americans gave their lives on a river bank in Sagaing, fighting for peace, justice and freedom far from home," said ..

Remains of suspected WWII US airmen repatriated from Myanmar

European officials reacted with surprise and anger on Thursday after US President Donald Trump imposed a trans-Atlantic travel ban they fear will wound economies already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump closed US arrivals to travellers from the Schengen border-free zone -- which does not include Britain and Ireland -- in what he said was an "aggressive" effort to contain the spread of the often deadly disease.
But European leaders argue that their scientific advice suggests travel restrictions are ineffective when the virus is already present almost worldwide, and lamented that they had not been consulted.
"The coronavirus is a global crisis, not limited to any continent, and it requires cooperation rather than unilateral action," EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel said.
"The European Union disapproves of the fact that the US decision to impose a travel ban was taken unilaterally and without consultation," the presidents of the European Commission and ...

Europe furious over Trump's unilateral travel ban

World Athletics on Thursday fined Russia's track and field federation $10 million for breaching anti-doping rules and capped at 10 the number of Russians allowed to compete as neutrals at the Tokyo Olympics.
The system of allowing Russian athletes to take part as Authorised Neutral Athletes, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe warned, "will be suspended if $5 million of the $10m fine is not paid by 1 July 2020".
"The remaining $5 million of the fine will be suspended for two years, to be paid immediately if during that period RUSAF (the Russian federation) commits a further breach of the Anti-Doping Rules or fails to make meaningful progress towards satisfying the reinstatement conditions set by Council.

AFP

AFP

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