The US Federal Bureau of Investigation and cybersecurity experts believe Chinese hackers are trying to steal research on developing a vaccine against coronavirus, two newspapers reported Monday.
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are planning to release a warning about the Chinese hacking as governments and private firms race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported.
The hackers are also targeting information and intellectual property on treatments and testing for COVID-19.
US officials alleged that the hackers are linked to the Chinese government, the reports say.
The official warning could come within days.
In Beijing Foreign Affairs ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected the allegation, saying China firmly opposes all cyber attacks.
"We are leading the world in COVID-19 treatment and vaccine research. It is immoral to target China with rumors and slanders in the absence of any evidence," Zhao said.
The warning would add to a ..

US says Chinese hacking vaccine research: reports

PTI Automatic

Serie A club Atalanta paid tribute to former youth team midfielder Andrea Rinaldi who died on Monday after suffering a brain aneurysm.
The 19-year-old became ill on Friday while training at his home in Como, in the north of Italy, and passed away in hospital in Varese.
Rinaldi came through Atalanta's youth system after joining the Bergamo club at the age of 13, playing through to the U19 side.
He won an U17 Scudetto and Italian SuperCup with the outfit and was on loan this season to fourth-tier Serie D side Legnano, just outside Milan.
"President Antonio Percassi and the entire Atalanta family are deeply moved and feel the pain of Andrea Rinaldi's family and AC Legnano," the team said.
"Just as on the pitch you were always the last to surrender, this time too you fought with all your might not to fly away too soon.

Ex-Atalanta academy member Rinaldi dies of brain aneurysm

Real Madrid's players returned to work at the club's training ground on Monday ahead of the planned resumption of La Liga next month.
After finding no positive cases from tests for coronavirus last week, Madrid's players arrived at Valdebebas to train for the first time in two months.
Madrid were one of the first clubs to go into quarantine after a basketball player tested positive for coronavirus on March 12, the same day La Liga suspended all competitive fixtures.
But after almost nine weeks training at home, Zinedine Zidane's players initiated the first phase of La Liga's training programme, that includes players working individually, with a maximum of six on a pitch at once.
"Divided into two rotations and on various pitches, Real Madrid footballers carried out their first individual exercises with and without the ball," the club said in a statement, with several photographs of the players in action.
Eden Hazard was among those pictured running, the Belgian returning after ...

Real Madrid return to training ahead of planned La Liga restart

Portugal's reigning champions Benfica have confirmed that midfielder David Tavares tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, taking the tally for positive cases to at least eight players in Primeira Liga.
The Portugese top flight is planning to restart behind closed doors towards the end of the month after the government announced on April 30 that games could resume, pending approval from the health authorities.
Benfica said 21-year-old Tavares, who is not a regular first-team player, was asymptomatic and in quarantine. His positive test comes after Vitoria Guimaraes confirmed three positive cases on Saturday and Moreirense one more.
According to the Portugese news agency Lusa, three Famalicao players are also infected, as well as two members of the club's non-playing staff.
When Primeira was suspended on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Porto were top of the table with a one-point lead over Benfica.
The Portugese government have said the last 10 rounds of the season will ...

Benfica's Tavares tests positive for coronavirus

One of Italy's best known golf clubs has reopened after two months of lockdown with a handful of players returning to the links under new social distancing rules.
San Domenico Golf in Apulia in the heel of Italy's boot and neighbouring luxury resort Borgo Egnazia reopened at the weekend but face an uncertain future.
"We closed at the beginning of March," said Aldo Melpignano, owner of Borgo Egnazia, where Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel held their wedding in 2012.
"But this week the Apulia Region allowed some individual sports to resume and golf is one of them. We jumped at the chance and decided to reopen immediately at the weekend."
The resort and golf club will initially rely on Italian guests but hopes that foreigners will soon also return.
"We're resigned to this reality at least for the summer," he said.
Notable changes in the rules on the greens are that players must keep at least three metres apart when hitting the ball and not remove the flag from the hole.
European Tour ..

Italian golfers swing again as lockdown eases

- Manchester City's parent company has added a ninth club to its global portfolio with the purchase of Belgian second-tier side Lommel SK.
It has been reported that Lommel's debts of 1.75 million pound (USD 2.1 million) will be wiped out by the City Football Group (CFG) as part of the deal.  CFG has full or part-ownership of clubs in three European countries, and in four other continents.
In addition to Lommel and Premier League champions Manchester City, they have stakes in New York City FC, Melbourne City, Yokohama F Marinos, Montevideo City Torque, Girona, Sichuan Jiuniu and Mumbai City.
CFG chief executive Ferran Soriano said the deal would improve the chances of unearthing Belgian talent such as current and former Manchester City stars Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany.
"We are excited to welcome Lommel SK to City Football Group and to work together with the fans and the city to develop the club," Soriano said in a statement on Monday.
"Belgium is one of Europe's best football .

Man City parent company adds ninth club with Lommel SK deal

Premier League clubs meet on Monday for further talks on "Project Restart" despite growing disquiet among players over safety issues and divisions over proposals on how to end the season.
The English top flight has a huge number of hurdles to clear if it is to follow Germany's Bundesliga, which plans to return from a two-month coronavirus shutdown later this week.
A return to training in small groups is seen as the next step and clubs hope to get more guidance from the British government on Monday over when this will be possible after the lockdown in England was eased by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Players, coaches and staff will need to be tested at least twice a week at a significant cost to the clubs, with tests being privately sourced.
Protocols also need to be agreed on what would happen in the event of a positive test, an issue that was brought into sharp focus when Brighton confirmed on Sunday that a third member of their squad had tested positive.
Cases have also been found .

Premier League presses on with 'Project Restart' despite mounting problems

French Top 14 clubs could boycott next season's European Champions Cup if they are stopped from having eight sides in the competition, newspaper Midi Olympique reported on Monday.
The league wants an increase from the usual six outfits in the top-tier continental competition so record 20-time French champions Toulouse, who were seventh in the table when the Top 14 was declared over in April, and Montpellier who were eighth, can feature in it.
The EPCR, who run both the Champions Cup and second-tier Challenge Cup, are considering reform for next season due to issues regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
Options include increasing the main tournament from 18 to 24 teams, which is the preferred solution for French sides, but the English Premiership and the Pro14 also have unresolved problems with both leagues postponed.
"We have particularly attractive formats available to us to do it. We will adapt in the common interest," EPCR president Vincent Gaillard told the paper.
This term's ...

Top 14 threatens Champions Cup boycott: report

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said there was no prospect of easing its blackout on NBA matches following a tweet last year by the Houston Rockets' general manager supporting Hong Kong protests.
The NBA is on hold along with most other sports because of the coronavirus pandemic, but even before that CCTV had kept matches off its schedule since October following Daryl Morey's support for the pro-democracy demonstrations.
"Regarding rumours (about broadcasting games), we should reiterate we have not had any contact or dialogue with the NBA as of today," CCTV News wrote on the Twitter-like Weibo on Monday, along with footage of an anchorman making the same statement on air.
"On issues concerning sovereignty, our attitude is severe, resolute, consistent and there is no room for manoeuvre. The NBA should understand this position."
The backlash in China against Morey's comments cast a cloud over the NBA's lucrative broadcasting, merchandising and sponsorship interests in the country, where .

Chinese state broadcaster 'resolute' on NBA blackout

Barcelona football star Gerard Pique said he was "pessimistic" that the Davis Cup Finals, which his company finances, would be held in Madrid this year.
Pique's Kosmos investment group has a 25-year deal worth $3 billion with the International Tennis Federation.
However, he believes that the November 23-29 finals in the Spanish capital could fall victim to the coronavirus.
"There is a lot of uncertainty, we try to be aware of what the government says regarding sports and to whether we can put spectators inside the Caja Magica," Pique told Movistar television.
"I would say I am a bit pessimistic, because a Davis Cup without fans is difficult.
"I think that nobody at the moment has the certainty that we can put fans in or if it will have to be behind closed doors. As the days go by, I suppose we will have a little more clarity."
Spain, one of the worst-affected countries by the pandemic, started a four-phase plan last week to relax the strict confinement rules applied since ...

Pique 'pessimistic' over Davis Cup finals

Fernando skips down the wing and crosses for Ricardo Goulart, who tees up Elkeson to smash the ball into the top corner.
Alan and Aloisio join in some Samba-style celebrations as a goal made in Brazil propels China to the 2022 World Cup.
It is the stuff of make-believe, but the world's most populous nation will soon be able to field a team with a distinctly Brazilian flavour.
Despite making Elkeson the first Brazilian-born player to represent their national team last year, China's hopes of reaching only a second World Cup hang in the balance after a lacklustre qualifying campaign so far.
However, naturalised forwards Elkeson and Aloisio are both in coach Li Tie's current squad while Goulart, Alan and Fernando are reportedly close to call-ups having finalised or nearly finalised the paperwork to play for China.
All five were born in Brazil, are offensive players and, according to transfermarkt.com, are contracted to Fabio Cannavaro's Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Guangzhou ...

Samba-style China bank on Brazilians in World Cup push

A mere 0.7 percent of people tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, Major League Baseball learned after it recently conducted the largest coronavirus-related antibody study in the US.
Just 60 of the 5,603 MLB employees tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, said Stanford University doctor Jay Bhattacharya.
Dr. Bhattacharya, a professor of medicine at Stanford University, said that based on previous smaller studies he had seen, he expected the MLB number to be much higher.
"It's very clear that the epidemic is still in the early stages throughout the country," he said.
"I was expecting a larger number. It shows the value of doing the science as opposed to guessing."
The survey also showed that about 70 percent of those who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies had been asymptomatic.
Twenty-six of MLB's 30 teams participated in the study, which sent out 10,000 test kits. Participants used a pin prick to draw blood and received almost immediate results.
There was no information .

Small number of MLB employees test positive for COVID-19 antibodies

The younger brother of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo plans to skip US college and play pro ball in Europe because he sees it as a faster route to the NBA.
Prospect Alex Antetokounmpo graduated from an American high school in Milwaukee and has received scholarship offers from several colleges, including DePaul University in Chicago.
"I want to become a pro as soon as possible," he said. "I was born and raised in Europe. I know European basketball and the best thing for me would be to sign a contract with a European club."
The six-foot-seven (2 meters) Alex was born in Greece and played forward last season for Dominican High School.
"I will have to train and compete against grown men, I will experience strong competition and pressure," Alex said of the European move.
If he reaches the NBA, Alex would become the fourth member of his family to get there, joining older brothers Giannis, the 2018-19 league MVP; Thanasis, who also plays for the Bucks; and Kostas, who plays for ..

Giannis Antetokounmpo's younger brother wants to play in Europe

Warring Premier League clubs will meet on Monday with tensions mounting over the divisive 'Project Restart' plan to finish the season amid the coronavirus crisis.
Premier League chiefs hope to return to action in June, but that goal could be scuppered by an internal battle between clubs fiercely protecting their own interests.
The Premier League delayed their latest meeting until after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's address to the nation on Sunday.
But, for those clubs and players concerned about the rush to return, Johnson's admission that the virus transmission rate is still too high to significantly ease Britain's lockdown until at least June 1 was hardly reassuring.
Johnson offered no details about the Premier League's short-term future and indicated that, while the general population will be allowed to play sports from Wednesday, they must do so only with those in their own households.
And the growing unease about the Premier League's desire to finish their remaining 92 ..

Division threatens Premier League's chances of comeback

Scottish Professional Football League chief executive Neil Doncaster has pleaded with clubs to work together to get through the coronavirus crisis after reconstruction talks collapsed.
Several Scottish Premiership clubs decided to block any plans for reforming the leagues in the aftermath of the vote to cancel the Championship, League One and League Two seasons because of the pandemic.
Partick Thistle's relegation to League One now looks certain, while Falkirk will be denied promotion after finishing a point behind Raith Rovers when the pandemic stopped play.
Hearts will be relegated if, as seems likely, the Premiership is also abandoned.
The fall-out has been bitter, with Falkirk claiming Scottish football had become an "utter shambles", Partick Thistle calling Premiership clubs "thoughtless and selfish" and Hearts accusing their rivals of "appalling disrespect".
Doncaster wants a show of unity to halt the fighting and on Sunday he told BBC Radio Scotland: "This is a passionate game .

Scottish chief urges unity after reconstruction row

As European leagues prepare to return from the enforced coronavirus break, screening tests are revealing cases in various championships, although, as yet, not calling into question plans to resume playing.
Germany still plans to be the first of the five "big" leagues ahead of Spain, England and Italy - France has declared its season over - to kick off on May 16, behind closed doors, despite the sobering events at Dynamo Dresden.
The second-tier club were ordered to self-isolate for 14 days on Saturday after testing uncovered two fresh coronavirus cases.
"It's not a reason to call the entire season into question," league CEO Christian Seifert told German broadcaster ZDF.
"It was always clear to me that this could happen. We're at the very beginning of the restart." Seifert warned, however, that further coronavirus cases could jeopardise plans to end the season by June 30.
"It can reach a scale where it's not feasible anymore," he said. "It would depend on how much time there is left to 

European leagues move at different speeds toward restart

Former Nigeria striker Chinedu Obasi alleged on Sunday he was asked to pay a bribe to feature at the 2014 World Cup, before eventually missing out on selection.
Obasi, 33, who has been a free agent since leaving Swedish outfit AIK in January, made his last Super Eagles appearance in 2011 and had club spells in Germany with Hoffenheim and Schalke.
"I was supposed to be at the World Cup in 2014, I was playing with Schalke in the Champions League everything was going fine. At the end of the season, I was given an invitation for the World Cup preparations for friendlies in South Africa," Obasi said on social media.
"So, two days before the list came out, I was asked to pay some money if I wanted to be in the team," he added.
Obasi, who won a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and played at the 2010 World Cup, said a move away from the Bundesliga fell through after missing the tournament four years later.
"I felt like I've paid my dues for the country, if you're a new player, I can .

Ex-Nigeria attacker Obasi in 2014 World Cup bribe claim

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber on Sunday revealed a third player at the Premier League club has tested positive for the coronavirus, raising fresh concerns about the attempt to finish the English top-flight season.
The unnamed player was tested on Saturday and will self-isolate for 14 days while he recovers from the virus.
The rest of Brighton's squad will continue to train at home and in solo sessions at the team's training ground.
Two other Brighton players, who were not named, contracted the virus several weeks ago and have reportedly recovered.
"Unfortunately we have had a third player test positive just yesterday," Barber told Sky Sports News.
"Despite all the measures we have all been taking over the last few weeks, when the players haven't been involved in taking any significant training at all, we have still suffered another player testing positive for the virus.
"There are concerns and I think it is normal for all clubs to have those concerns.
"We want to make sure we ..

Third Brighton player tests positive for coronavirus: club

Portugese top-flight club Vitoria Guimaraes confirmed that three players have tested positive for coronavirus.
Teams in Portugal's Primeira Liga have resumed individual training to prepare for the resumption of the season, scheduled for the end of May.
The players are "asymptomatic and quarantined," the club said in a statement on Saturday night, without naming them.
The cases were detected during a screening on Friday of all the club's staff, coaches and players.
The Portuguese government announced on April 30 that the Portuguese first division would be allowed to resume from the last weekend in May, behind closed doors and subject to the approval of a health protocol.
Sports and health authorities are still working on this protocol and have not yet confirmed the date for the resumption of matches, with ten rounds still to be played.
When the competition was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Porto were at the top of the table, one point ahead of Benfica.
"It is important that .

Three players test positive from Portugese club Vitoria

Five players from Spain's top two leagues have tested positive for coronavirus, La Liga confirmed on Sunday.
Players in Spain's top-flight and Segunda division were allowed to carry out individual work at training grounds last week.
The move was the beginning of a staggered training programme, with the aim to restart competitive games in the middle of June.
La Liga insist identifying infected players through positive tests are part of that plan.
The five players, who have not been officially named, will now be quarantined at home and tested again "in the next few days".
They will be allowed to rejoin their club's training programme only after obtaining two consecutive negative test results.
A La Liga statement read: "Among La Liga Santander and La Liga SmartBank (Segunda) clubs, five positive cases were detected in players, all of them asymptomatic and in the final phase of the disease."
"One of the objectives of these medical tests, according to the La Liga's protocol for returning ..

Five players test positive for coronavirus, La Liga confirm

Russia's space agency on Sunday confirmed one of its rockets used in past launches and floating in space has broken down, leaving debris in orbit.
The agency said the Fregat-SB upper stage rocket was used to deliver the Russian scientific satellite Spektr-R to orbit in 2011.
"The breakdown happened on May 8 2020" between 0500 and 0600GMT, above the Indian ocean, the agency said in a statement.
"Currently we are working to collect data to confirm the quantity and orbit parameters of the fragments," it said.
The disintegration of Fregat was reported on Saturday by the Twitter account of the 18th Space Control Squadron, a US Airforce unit which tracks space debris.
It said the rocket broke up into 65 pieces but there was no indication it was caused by collision.
The Spektr-R radio telescope stopped responding to ground control in January 2019 and the mission was declared completed several months later.

AFP

AFP

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