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.

Russian rocket breaks up in Earth orbit: space agency

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Lyon hit out at the French football league (LFP) on Sunday for "suddenly" ending the Ligue 1 campaign, saying the decision could see the division slip further behind Europe's top leagues and calling for it to be reversed.
The LFP ended the season last month with 10 rounds of matches unplayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, crowning Paris Saint-Germain champions and relegating the bottom two, Amiens and Toulouse.
Lyon, who have reached this season's Champions League last 16, were left seventh in the standings and outside the European qualification places.
"Today, it is not only about OL, but quite simply about the future of French football," the seven-time champions said in a lengthy statement.
"There is still time, until May 25, to back off and avoid a huge rout for the French championship."
Lyon insisted they were not pushing so hard for a restart of the season for "OL's exclusive interests" and claimed that French football could suffer short-term losses of 900 million euros (USD ...

Lyon slam 'sudden' decision to end Ligue 1 season

Swiss top-flight sides are preparing to return to training from Monday, despite the possible resumption of matches on June 20 being clouded by total uncertainty and debate.
The Super League has been suspended since February 23, with 13 rounds remaining, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But clubs cannot agree on whether to restart the season, with some, including two-time league champions FC Sion, believing they have far more to lose than to gain.
When the league was halted, Saint Gallen and Young Boys were level on points at the top of the table, five points clear of third-placed Basel.
Sion were languishing eighth in the 10-team division, only four points above the relegation play-off spot and are refusing to restart training, having cancelled several players' contracts, including those of former Arsenal pair Alex Song and Johan Djourou.
"Ninety-three percent of our resources come from ticket office sales, members and sponsors, and only seven percent from television rights," Sion ...

Swiss Super League prepares for training return despite restart row

The Bundesliga restart is not at risk even after the entire squad of second-tier Dynamo Dresden was placed under quarantine, the head of the German Football League (DFL) said.
Dynamo were ordered to self-isolate for 14 days on Saturday after testing uncovered two new coronavirus cases.
The blow came just days after Chancellor Angela Merkel's government gave the green light for the Bundesliga season to resume on May 16 following a two-month absence.
But DFL boss Christian Seifert downplayed the Dynamo setback.
"It's not a reason to call the entire season into question," he told German broadcaster ZDF late Saturday.
"It was always clear to me that this could happen. We're at the very beginning of the restart." The Bundesliga will be the first top European league to restart matches since the outbreak of the coronavirus forced lockdown measures to be imposed across the continent.
Matches will be played behind closed doors and with a maximum number of 300 people, including both teams, ...

Bundesliga restart on track despite Dresden setback: DFL boss

The first official football to be played in western Europe since March took place to little fanfare, behind closed doors in the Faroe Islands.
Originally scheduled to start two months ago, the Faroese top flight belatedly kicked off its 2020 season this weekend after being delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the last of Saturday's five games, three-time national champions Vikingur were held to a goalless draw by AB.
Vikingur captain Atli Gregersen, who has made 59 appearance for the Faroes' national team, told AFP that he hopes supporters can return to the grounds as soon as possible.
"We play for the fans, so it's very hard to play a game without spectators," the 37-year-old said.
"But with a little luck, it will soon be over and we can have our fans back again."
Under normal circumstances, around 10 percent of the 52,000 inhabitants of the islands, situated between Iceland and Scotland, can congregate in the region's largest stadium.
But despite not being allowed inside the .

Top-flight football returns, in the Faroe Islands

Dynamo Dresden placed their entire squad into a 14-day quarantine, just a week from the restart of the Bundesliga season, after the club reported two more cases of coronavirus.
The decision, taken on Saturday, means that Dynamo, who are bottom of the second division, will not be able to play their fixture against Hanover next weekend.
The setback comes just three days after Chancellor Angela Merkel's government gave the German Football League (DFL) the green light to return to action on May 16 after a two-month absence.
"In the past few weeks, we have made an enormous effort, both in terms of personnel and logistics, to strictly implement all prescribed medical and hygienic measures," said Dresden sporting director Ralf Minge.
"We are in contact with the responsible health authority and the DFL. The fact is that we cannot train or participate in games in the next 14 days."
As well as the players, Dresden will isolate its entire coaching and supervisory staff.
The Bundesliga will be ...

Bundesliga restart blow as Dresden squad placed in 14-day quarantine

Pavle Jovanovic, who competed in bobsleigh for the United States at the 2006 Olympics, took his own life last weekend at the age of 43, the US Bobsled and Skeleton federation said Saturday.
"The winter sports community has suffered a tragic loss," said federation chief executive Aron McGuire, a former teammate of Jovanovic.
"Pavle's passion and commitment towards bobsled was seen and felt by his teammates, coaches, competitors, and fans of the sport. He lived life to the fullest and had a lasting influence on all those who had the opportunity to spend time with him."
Jovanovic, who competed in bobsleigh for the United States at the 2006 Olympics, took his own life last weekend at the age of 43, the US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation said Saturday.
"The winter sports community has suffered a tragic loss," said federation chief executive Aron McGuire, a former teammate of Jovanovic.
"Pavle's passion and commitment towards bobsled was seen and felt by his teammates, coaches, competitors, 

US bobsleigh Olympian Jovanovic dies at 43

Former New Zealand head coach and current England defence chief John Mitchell believes some good may come for rugby union from the coronavirus if it creates "greater professionalism" thanks to a concentration of talent at fewer clubs worldwide, including Super Rugby.
Even before COVID-19 saw this year's edition of Super Rugby suspended after seven rounds in March, there was a widespread view the southern hemisphere's now 15-string premier club tournament had become increasingly unattractive for fans and broadcasters alike, with talent spread too thinly.
The pandemic has already had a huge financial impact on rugby and there are concerns current club structures won't survive the outbreak fully intact.
England's Rugby Football Union has lost ?15 million ($19 million) so far due to the crisis, with Twickenham chiefs forecasting a total loss of ?107 million if the autumn internationals are cancelled.
Meanwhile Rugby Australia, already reeling after reaching a multi-million dollar ...

Less is more for Mitchell when rugby resumes post virus

Mary Pratt, believed to be one of the last surviving members of the women's baseball league which was celebrated in the Hollywood film "A League of Their Own," has died. She was 101.
The baseball icon Pratt pitched in the 1940s for the Rockford Peaches, one of the original teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She was the last surviving member of the Peaches.
She died peacefully in her sleep at the John Scott Nursing home in Quincy, Massachusetts.
"We are terribly sad to report that former Rockford Peaches and Kenosha Comets pitcher, Mary Pratt passed away on May 6th. She was 101 years old," the AAGPBL  wrote on its Twitter account.
"Mary was the last known original Peaches player that played on the 1943 team. Her stories, her energy will be missed for a long time." The league was immortalized in the 1992 film which was directed by Penny Marshall and starred Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.
Born in 1918 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Pratt joined the inaugural season of 

Peaches pitcher Mary Pratt dies at age 101

French tennis chief Bernard Guidicelli admitted Sunday that Roland Garros, already controversially pushed back four months due to the coronavirus, could be staged behind closed doors.
Guidicelli, who said that the French federation (FFT) had "no regrets" over its unilateral decision to move the clay court Grand Slam from May 24-June 7 to September 20-October 4, insisted all options remain on the table.
"We haven't ruled out any option. Roland Garros is first and foremost a story of matches and players," he told the Journal du Dimanche.
"There is the tournament taking place in the stadium, and the tournament on TV screens.
"Millions of viewers around the world are waiting. Organising it behind closed doors would allow part of the business model -- television rights (which account for more than a third of the tournament's revenues) -- to go ahead. This cannot be overlooked."
The spread of the coronavirus has halted all tennis since mid-March and will not resume until July 13 at the ...

Roland Garros could be behind closed doors, says French tennis boss

The US PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament will use radio frequency identification (RFID) chips in spectator badges to ensure fans maintain social distance at the July 16-19 event, Golf Digest reported.
Dan Sullivan, director of the tournament hosted by 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus in Ohio, said on Saturday a Zoom presentation conducted by the Greater Columbus Sports Commission that the high-tech badges were just one measure that will be used to maintain safety amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"At any time we can know around the golf course how many people are collecting in a certain area," Sullivan said of the benefits of the tracking technology.
"We're going to use that technology to make sure that we're protecting everyone around us, protecting the folks that are inside those various venues and make sure that we're monitoring effectively and producing a tournament that everyone can be comfortable with."
In a phone interview with Golf Digest Sullivan explained that a small group of 

US PGA's Memorial to track fans to maintain COVID-19 social distancing

Police in Haiti are investigating allegations that the president of the national football federation raped teenage girls, the defendant said as he denied any wrongdoing.
"The only way to stop this scandal of all-out falsehoods," the football boss, Yves Jean-Bart, told AFP on Friday, "is precisely to look into it and bring out the truth."
The Guardian newspaper in Britain reported last week that teenage girls living at a soccer training facility outside Port-au-Prince were raped or sexually assaulted over the course of the past five years.
At least two minors underwent abortions after being raped by Jean-Bart, according to colleagues who said they too had been sexually assaulted and were pressured to keep quiet about it, the newspaper said.
Two women's advocacy groups, SOFA and Kay Fanm, issued a statement in support of the alleged victims.
"These girls are exposed to sexual predators and have no protection from the state or other officials," they said.
In one video that is ...

Haiti football federation boss probed for alleged rape of girls

France defender Samuel Umtiti has picked up a calf injury in just the second session since Barcelona returned to training from the coronavirus quarantine, the Spanish champions announced on Saturday.
Barca said that Umtiti picked up an injury to his right calf during Saturday's individual training session at the club's Joan Gamper facility, but did not specify how long the 26-year-old would be out for.
Spanish media report that he will be unavailable for two or three weeks, so will likely be back in time for a potential June 20 restart for football in Spain as the country attempts to loosen coronavirus restrictions.
The 26-year-old Umtiti joined Barca from Lyon in 2016 after he helped France to the final of Euro 2016. He had further success with France in their successful 2018 World Cup campaign.
He played 16 times for the Catalan giants this season before play was suspended in March, and was twice injured earlier in the campaign, causing him to miss 10 matches between September and ..

Umtiti suffers calf knock in second Barca training session

Six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has said he feels "fresher than ever" following an unexpected break from Formula One.
The start of the 2020 Grand Prix season has been delayed until July by the coronavirus, with 10 races out of what should have been a record 22-event championship either cancelled or postponed.
Hamilton, however, is trying to make the most of the downtime ahead of his bid for a record-equalling seventh world title.
"There have been times in the past five years that I thought a rest would be good for body and mind," he said in a video released by his Mercedes team on Saturday.
"For an athlete in their prime, it's never a good thing to step away for a year but we have been handed a part-sabbatical, which I am enjoying." The 35-year-old British driver added: "I feel fresher and healthier than ever."
Hamilton explained his enforced absence from the track was "almost a blessing on one side because it gives you even more appreciation for the things you love and do" and 

Hamilton grateful for Grand Prix 'sabbatical'

The Vuelta a Espana organisers said on Saturday that a race already rescheduled and shortened would also now cut its foray into neighbouring Portugal from the 2020 itinerary.
Postponed until October 20, the race had already lost three stages in the Netherlands where it had been slated to embark August 14 and reduced to just 18 stages instead of 21.
Now the scheduled two-day swing into Portugal for parts of two stages has also been binned, organisers announced with regret Saturday.
"In a situation as exceptional as the one we are currently living, we have to be flexible and understand these kinds of decisions and changes" declared Javier Guillen, Director of La Vuelta.
"It's a shame not to be able to visit Portugal in 2020, but we don't want this flame to be put out: we will keep this relationship alive, we will maintain and develop the links we have formed, so that we may return to this country that has treated us to well," he added.
The changes mean that stage 15, with its ...

Cycling's Vuelta a Espana cuts Portugal from itinerary

European equestrianism on Saturday became the latest sport to adjust its calendar because of the postponement of the Olympics with the announcement that it had cancelled its 2021 eventing championships.
With the Tokyo Games put back to next summer, other sports that had planned major championships for 2021 have been forced to react.
The European equestrian championships were scheduled for Haras du Pin in Normandy from 11 to 15 August, which meant they were  due to start just three days after the rearranged Olympics ends.
The French equestrian federation, which announced the cancellation in a press release, said a postponement had been considered but rejected and, instead, Haras du Pin was "positioning itself for the organisation of the European Eventing Championship in 2023."
Eventing sees a single rider and mount compete at show-jumping, dressage and cross-country.

European 2021 equestrian championships cancelled

Iran warned Saturday that coronavirus infections were rising in the southwest despite falls in other regions, as it announced more than 1,500 new confirmed cases.
"All provinces are showing a gradual drop in new infections... except for Khuzestan, where the situation is still concerning," health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said in televised remarks.  The health ministry stopped publishing provincial figures for the coronavirus last month.
It has instead opted for a colour-coded system of white for low-risk parts of the country, yellow for medium-risk and red for high-risk areas.
Latest reports have shown  Khuzestan red along with a few other provinces, including the capital Tehran and the Shiite clerical centre of Qom, where Iran reported its first cases in February.
Early last week, Iran's official daily caseload hit its lowest level since March 10, but it has since climbed again steadily.
Jahanpour said 1,529 new cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the ...

Iran reports more than 1,500 new virus cases

Australia's Daniel Ricciardo anticipates "chaos", "rust" and "adrenaline" should the 2020 Formula One season start at last.
The global spread of the coronavirus has already led to 10 races, of what was to have been a record 22-event championship, being either cancelled or postponed.  Officials at the FIA, motorsport's world governing body, are hoping to launch the season behind closed doors in Austria on July 5.
"(It will be) some form of chaos, hopefully in a controlled manner," the Renault driver told BBC Radio Five Live.
"I am not really referencing cars everywhere. But there is going to be so much rust, a combination of emotion, excitement, eagerness."
Ricciardo, waiting out the crisis on his farm near Perth, Western Australia, believes a dramatic season-opener is in prospect at the Red Bull Ring.
"Everyone is going to be ready to go," he said. "You are going to get some guys who perform on that level of adrenaline and others who might not.
"So you're going to get some bold ...

Ricciardo braced for 'chaos' when Formula One starts

Australia's Super Rugby competition is planning for an early July return, a spokesman said Saturday, after the coronavirus outbreak derailed the season and sparked turmoil within the sport's cash-strapped governing body.
Rugby Australia's board suffered another tumultuous week with new director Peter Wiggs -- who had been tipped to take over the chairman's role -- quitting after just five weeks in the job.
His departure followed the resignation last month of chief executive Raelene Castle after pressure from the board and a simmering financial crisis.  Clubs are set to begin training in the coming days under strict health regulations aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 among players, a spokesman said on Saturday.
"We do not have a confirmed date for the resumption of Super Rugby in Australia, however early July presents a best case scenario," he added.
This year's Super Rugby competition saw seven rounds played before the pandemic forced a stop to the season in March.
The ...

Aussie Super Rugby eyes early July return

When Eliud Kipchoge made history by beating the two-hour mark for the marathon, the Kenyan was wearing a pair of controversial Nike running shoes that has sent rival companies scrambling to play catch-up in a business worth billions of dollars.
The likes of Adidas, Asics, Brooks, Hoka, New Balance and Saucony have recently released or are about to unveil their own carbon-fibre versions of running shoes.
Critics claim the new shoes are the equivalent of mechanical doping, while supporters hail them as a revolutionary technical advance in footwear after decades of stagnation.
Nike said its Vaporfly range, unveiled in 2016, was an "example of how product design can capture the fascination of an entire sporting community and, more broadly, inspire new benchmarks of athletic potential", boasting an improvement in times by up to four percent.
Elite athletes wearing versions of the Vaporfly, the carbon plates of which lend a propulsive sensation to every stride, have set a rash of personal ..

Nike's rivals play catch-up in marathon shoe wars

Diego Maradona has lent a hand in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his hometown by autographing an Argentina national team jersey for a raffle.
The sale raised money for an underprivileged area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires affected by quarantine rules.
"We're going to get through it," Maradona wrote on the jersey, a replica of the one he wore when he led his country to victory in the 1986 World Cup.
The jersey was first offered at auction, but is being raffled to those who have given donations in an initiative that has collected hygiene products, masks and around 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of food for charity.
"Diego can't even imagine what he has done for us, it's priceless. I'll be grateful to him until the day I die," said local resident Marta Gutierrez.
In addition to the pandemic, Argentina is facing a serious economic crisis and is in laborious negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors.

AFP

AFP

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