US President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened new tariffs against Beijing as he claimed to have seen evidence linking the coronavirus to a lab in China's ground-zero city of Wuhan.
Asked if he had seen anything giving him a high degree of confidence that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the origin of the outbreak, Trump replied, "Yes, I have."
Pressed by reporters at the White House for details on what made him so confident, Trump replied: "I cannot tell you that."
Asked about reports he could cancel US debt obligations to China in the row over the origins of the coronavirus, Trump said he "can do it with tariffs.

Trump says evidence ties virus to Wuhan lab, threatens tariffs

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An ambassador for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the tournament's organisers said on Thursday.
Retired Qatari midfielder Adel Khamis, 54, "was unfortunately diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19," the Supreme Committee for the organisation of the 2022 tournament wrote in a tweet.
"We wish a speedy to all those affected." The number of confirmed infections among those involved in construction for 2022 facilities stands at eight across three stadium projects, but organisers have not given an updated toll since April 17.
Qatar has reported 13,409 cases of COVID-19, 1,372 recoveries and 10 deaths.
Work on Qatar's World Cup stadiums and mega-projects linked to the tournament has continued apace despite tough social distancing rules to stem the spread of coronavirus among the largely migrant workforce.
The supreme committee responsible for delivering the tournament said it "is reviewing the situation on a continuous basis and will take the .

World Cup 2022 ambassador tests positive for virus

Twenty-five people have died and 51 were injured in clashes in the northeast of the perennially unstable Central African Republic, the communications minister said Thursday.
Fighting between armed groups in Ndele led to the deaths of 21 civilians, Ange-Maxime Kazigui said, adding: "The situation remains confused." Humanitarian workers, however, said that members of the Popular Front for CAR's Rebirth (FPRC) had clashed in Ndele on Wednesday.
The FPRC last year split into two factions: the Runga ethnic group on one side, including FPRC's military chief Abdoulaye Hissene, and rival fighters from the Gula and Kara ethnic communities.
They are fighting for control of the region's resources including its vast diamond deposits.
CAR struggles with violence despite a peace deal signed between the government and 14 armed groups. Rival militias battling over resources control more than two thirds of the country.
There have been clashes between Runga and Gula in Ndele, which is under FPRC ...

25 killed in clashes in C.African Republic

There will be no handshakes, line judges, ball boys or spectators allowed, but tennis fans can get their fix from Friday when a series of exhibition matches will be streamed live from a rural German venue.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ATP and WTA Tours are suspended until July 13 at the earliest.
However, tennis fans can enjoy live coverage of an eight-man tournament at the Base Tennis Academy in the tiny town of Hoehr-Grenzhausen, near Koblenz.
Germany's Dustin Brown, who famously beat Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon in 2015, is the best known name in the field, none of whom are ranked in world's top 100.
Compatriot Yannick Hanfmann, 28, will be the highest ranked player at 143.
"I'm really excited about it," Hanfmann told AFP subsidiary SID.
The academy's courts are already equipped with cameras and the matches will be streamed worldwide.
Due to coronavirus, only the two players and chair umpire will be allowed on the clay courts at any one time.
Digital ...

No handshakes, no fans as German tennis academy hosts televised exhibition

France's football league declared the season over on Thursday, with Paris Saint-Germain named as Ligue 1 champions.
PSG led the table by 12 points from Marseille when the season was suspended in mid-March because of the coronavirus outbreak, which has gone on to kill more than 24,000 people in France.
The announcement by the LFP comes after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Tuesday that "professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart" because of the risks linked to the pandemic.
"There is no ambiguity about this declaration. We needed to make a final decision about this season. We acknowledge that the 2019-20 season is over," said LFP president Nathalie Boy de la Tour, in a conference call with reporters.
Ruling out any possibility of following the lead of the Netherlands, who decided to void their season without a champion, relegation or promotion, the LFP said a final table was arranged on the basis of average points per game.
Ten rounds of matches remained when 

French football season declared over, PSG awarded title

La Liga is planning to start testing players for the coronavirus next week as president Javier Tebas bids to restart the season, a league source told AFP on Thursday.
"These tests must begin next week" the source told AFP, as the Spanish league's protocol governing return to competition includes COVID-19 screening for players and coaching staff.
Daily sports newspaper AS and Marca report La Liga is planning to carry out the tests between Tuesday and Thursday next week, after which they would then be able to resume individual training programmes within 48 hours.
The process contains four stages which progressively take players from individual sessions to team training and according to Tebas can last "around a month".
"I hope that we can start playing in June. We have until June 28," Tebas said to television channel Movistar on Tuesday, after the Spanish government gave the green light for professional players to return to individual training.

La Liga preparing to test players for virus: source

Serie A "will comply" with the Italian government's decision should it choose to end the current season due to the coronavirus pandemic, the league's president said on Thursday.
Italy's top flight, a majority of its clubs and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) have repeatedly insisted that they want to finish the 2019-20 campaign but on Wednesday Minister of Sport Vincenzo Spadafora said the chances of restarting were "increasingly narrow".
And Paolo Dal Pino in a statement said that Serie A would maintain a "constructive and collaborative" dialogue with the government after weeks of hostility.
"If it's possible to do it (restart) while respecting health legislation, great," Dal Pino said.
"Otherwise we will rigorously comply, as we have always done, with the government's decision. The (sports) ministry can be sure of our constructive and collaborative spirit."
Serie A, which has been suspended since March 9 due to a pandemic that has killed around 28,000 people in Italy, will ...

Serie A will comply should government end season, says chief

Premier League clubs will meet on Friday to discuss whether it is realistic to complete the season during the coronavirus crisis or whether they will have to brace for a devastating financial hit.
The Dutch season has already been called off, Belgium looks set to go the same way and French clubs met Thursday to decide whether to declare their season over.
But with the English top-flight facing an eye-watering estimated loss of ?1 billion ($1.25 billion) if no more football is played, there is a huge incentive to play the 92 remaining games if feasible.
The Premier League also appears to have the support of the government in Britain, which now has the third-highest death toll in the world from COVID-19.
Speaking in parliament last week, Oliver Dowden, Britain's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, said he had been in talks with league chiefs over getting football up and running again.
Liverpool fans will be the keenest for the season to restart, with Jurgen Klopp's side on the .

Premier League wrestles with 'Project Restart'

The German league confirmed Thursday that clubs have started testing players for the coronavirus as part of plans for the Bundesliga to resume next month.
Testing for the virus, which has so far claimed over 6,000 lives in Germany, is a key component in the plans to restart the Bundesliga in stadiums without spectators.
The DFL confirmed to AFP subsidiary SID that regular testing has begun in the top two leagues amid hopes matches could be played from as early as May 9 or May 16.
However, the league still needs the go-ahead from Angela Merkel's government to resume.
The labour ministry, which has approved the plans, has demanded each player be tested twice before clubs resume team training, having so far trained mainly in smaller groups.
Players would be subject to strict hygiene measures, including testing for the virus every few days.
German Chancellor Merkel is chairing a video conference with the premiers of 16 states on Thursday with the Bundesliga set to be discussed, but a ...

Bundesliga starts testing players amid restart hopes

The Lausanne Diamond League meeting will not take place on August 20 because of restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic but organisers said Thursday they were looking at "other options".
The meeting director told AFP he instead hoped to hold a joint Swiss event with the Zurich Weltklasse, one of the Diamond League's traditional highlights that is scheduled to take place on September 11.
"With a heavy heart we have had to take the decision to not go ahead with the Athletissima on August 20," organisers said in a statement.
They said it was "impossible to allow a large number of people to gather in a restricted space before the end of August".
But they said they were looking at "which alternatives and which formats could still be possible to give athletes the possibility of competition".
The meeting director, Pierre Tenger, said while he hoped to hold a meeting in cooperation with the Zurich event, the format "had not yet been decided".
The Diamond League season, which had been .

Lausanne Diamond League organisers seek 'other options'

The French football league (LFP) is expected to formally end its season after calling a board meeting on Thursday afternoon, sources told AFP, clearing the way for Paris Saint-Germain to be declared champions again.
The crisis meeting follows this week's announcement by the French Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, that "professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart" because of the risks linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Large gatherings remain banned until September with more than 24,000 people having died from the virus in France, one of the highest death rates worldwide.
"The league is following government directives, and the government has decreed that the leagues be stopped," explained one board member, who added that "the season is finished".
Now the LFP must decide how to determine the final standings in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, with various media reports suggesting that will be done on average points per game.
That may only be formally decided at a General ...

PSG poised to be declared champions as French league prepares to confirm season over

English cricket's controversial new Hundred competition has been delayed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic, cricket chiefs announced on Thursday.
The new 100-balls-per-side format, to be played by eight franchises rather than the established 18 first-class counties, had been due to start in July.
But with the English season delayed until at least July 1 and matches after that likely to be played behind closed doors, the England and Wales Cricket Board has decided to hold the Hundred over until next year.
"The situation we find ourselves in as a country means that delivery of the Hundred will not be possible this summer," ECB chief executive Tom Harrison in a statement.
"Whilst we are naturally disappointed that we won't get to realise our ambitions this year, the Hundred will go ahead in 2021 when we are safely able to deliver everything we intended to help grow the game."
The ECB's statement said playing the Hundred behind closed doors was not an option because an event .

Virus forces delay of English cricket's Hundred until 2021

The mayor of Liverpool fears restarting the Premier League could lead to the "farcical" situation of fans congregating in large groups outside Anfield despite the coronavirus crisis.
When the Premier League was postponed on March 13, runaway leaders Liverpool were just two wins from clinching the title.
Premier League chiefs still hope to complete the season but their "Project Restart" plan has come under fire from current and former players, who think it is too soon to resume while the virus is still a major problem.
Matches would be played behind closed doors but Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said he did not believe that would be enough to stop fans from gathering.  He highlighted the potential issue of fans ignoring social-distancing guidelines to celebrate Liverpool's first English title in 30 years.
"Even if it was behind closed doors, there would be many thousands of people who would turn up outside Anfield," Anderson told BBC Sport on Thursday.
"There's not many people who would 

Liverpool mayor fears 'farcical' scenes if Premier League resumes

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) on Thursday announced a NZ$7.4 million (US$4.53 million) loss for 2019, having earlier this month expressed worries over the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The figures do not take into account the last few months, which have seen international rugby grind to a halt due to the health crisis.
The federation of the All Blacks -- world rugby's most dominant team of the past two decades --  have warned that the health crisis could cost it up to NZ$100 million, but on Thursday said that "cash reserves of NZ$93 million" had provided a "vital buffer".
"We face significant challenges, but many are not new with continued demand for our players overseas, the need to stay relevant to young people and adapt to fast moving technologies," said NZR chairman Brent Impey.
In total, the federation generated NZ$187 million last year, one percent less than in 2018 but 40 percent more than in 2015, the year of the last World Cup before the 2019 edition in Japan.
The ..

New Zealand Rugby posts $4.5 million annual loss

Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho believes bringing football back, even behind closed doors, would be a much-needed morale boost for fans starved of action during the coronavirus crisis.
No Premier League games have been played since March 9 due to the pandemic, which has claimed more than 26,000 British lives.
Dutch football chiefs have called an end to the Eredivisie season while French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu on Thursday called for the French league to end the Ligue 1 season.
England's top-flight clubs are due to meet on Friday with "Project Restart" at the top of their agenda. They will discuss how they can complete the season despite the logistical difficulties.
"I miss football," Mourinho told Sky Sports from the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, which has been transformed to house a testing centre, outpatient services for a local hospital and a food distribution hub.
"But I prefer to say I miss our world, like I think we all do. Football is just part of my world. But we have .

Football's return 'good for everyone' - Mourinho

Marouane Fellaini will lend his former club Standard Liege three million euros ($3.26 million) to help them through the coronavirus crisis, Belgian media reported on Thursday.
The former Everton and Manchester United midfielder, who now plays for Shandong Luneng in China, followed in the footsteps of international teammate Axel Witsel, who has also invested in the Pro League club.
According to one report, Borussia Dortmund's Witsel recently acquired a 45-percent stake in Standard's stadium, which is due to undergo extensive renovation works.
Standard were refused a professional licence by the Belgian football federation earlier this month. Without it, the 10-time national champions could be relegated to the amateur divisions.
They have appealed to the Belgian sports court, and are expected to obtain the licence thanks to the help of Fellaini and other investors, according to the Belga agency.
The court is expected to make a decision on May 5.

Fellaini lends struggling Standard Liege 3 million euros: report

Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has started a research fund to help improve kidney transplants and patient wellbeing following his own battle against kidney failure.
Cole, who won multiple trophies under Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, suffered kidney failure in 2015 after picking up a virus while on tour in Vietnam as a United club ambassador.
He had a life-saving transplant three years ago, with his nephew providing the donor kidney.
The 48-year-old, currently in isolation due to the coronavirus, wants to help others through the Andy Cole Fund run by Kidney Research UK, focusing on research into improving kidney transplants and patient wellbeing.
"I've been mentally strong enough to play football, but this is the toughest battle I've ever had to deal with," said Cole, who has been working as an assistant coach at third-tier Southend.
"I don't want anyone to end up struggling like I did. The mental battle is bigger than the physical problem. Your mind is the most powerful ..

Former Man Utd star Cole starts kidney research fund

Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino says he wants to return to the Premier League club one day to finish the job he started.
The Argentine left Spurs in November, six months after leading them to the Champions League final, and has been linked with Newcastle in recent days.
Reports claim he is the main target of the Magpies' prospective new Saudi Arabian owners should they complete a takeover, but Pochettino could not disguise his desire to return to north London at some stage in his career.
The ex-Southampton boss, who spent more than five years at Spurs, told BT Sport:
"It was an amazing journey that finished the way no one wanted it to finish.
"But deep in my heart I am sure our paths will cross again. From the day I left the club, my dream is to be back one day and to try to finish the work we didn't finish. We were so close to winning the Premier League and Champions League."
Pochettino said he felt motivated for his next job but still felt the pull of Tottenham.
The ...

Pochettino 'wants to manage Spurs' again

French sports minister Roxana Maracineanu on Thursday called for the French league to end the Ligue 1 season and hit out at football clubs and players for a "lack of empathy" during the coronavirus pandemic.
The league will hold a teleconference on Thursday to discuss what to do next, after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said this week the "2019-20 professional sports leagues, notably football, cannot restart".
"A decision has to be made," Maracineanu told radio station RTL.
"The signal that the prime minister gave was clear and simple. We expect sporting bodies to assume their responsibilities as we do."
One leading club president, Lyon's Jean-Michel Aulas, has said he does not believe the season is necessarily dead and has even suggested a series of play-offs to decide relegation and European places, but the minister does not want that to happen.
"Resuming this season in August would go against what the prime minister and the government have proposed," Maracineanu, a former Olympic 

French minister criticises football, calls for season to end

Moeen Ali is keen to make a "fresh start" and regain his place in England's Test side after ending his self-imposed exile from the five-day game.
The off-spinning all-rounder was dropped by England following a poor display in last year's Ashes opener and then lost his England central contract.  Moeen then decided to take a break from Test cricket that saw him miss series in New Zealand and South Africa.
He also made himself unavailable for this year's tour of Sri Lanka, cut short before the internationals by the coronavirus, even though he'd taken 18 wickets at an impressive average of 24.5 during England's last visit to the island 18 months ago.
But now, with 181 wickets in 60 Tests behind him, Moeen is ready to fight for his place in Joe Root's XI once again despite the competition from the likes of fellow spinners Jack Leach and Dom Bess.
"For sure if I got the call tomorrow to play I would definitely put my hand up," Moeen told reporters via video link on Wednesday.
"I will be ...

Moeen eager for 'fresh start' after ending Test exile

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has asked the "Hand of God" to deliver the world from the coronavirus pandemic and allow normal life to resume.
The World Cup winner referred to his hand-assisted goal in the 1986 World Cup after Argentine football chiefs voted to end the current season as well as suspend relegation, saving Maradona-managed bottom club Gimnasia from the drop.
"Today this happened to us and many people say it is a new Hand of God," said Maradona, alluding to his infamous goal against England.
"But today I'm asking for that hand to end this pandemic so people can go back to living their lives, healthy and happy."
Then-Argentine captain Maradona responded to the controversy over his goal at the World Cup in Mexico by saying "it was the Hand of God!" Argentina went on to beat England 2-1 in the quarter-final.
On being thrown a lifeline by the suspension of the season, he told Argentine daily Clarin: "It's not the ending we had wanted, we were convinced we could ...

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