The Dutch, Spanish and Monaco Formula One Grand Prix races were on Thursday postponed due to the global spread of coronavirus, officials announced.
The triple postponements follow the cancellation of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last week, and the postponement of the Chinese, Bahrain and Vietnam Grand Prix races.
The Dutch GP, due to return to the calendar for the first time since 1985, was set to be held at Zandvoort on May 1-3, with the Spanish race following a week later, and the Monaco Grand Prix on May 21-24.
"Due to the ongoing and fluid nature of the COVID-19 situation globally, the FIA, Formula One and the three promoters have taken these decisions in order to ensure the health and safety of the travelling staff, championship participants and fans, which remains our primary concern," a joint statement from F1 and the FIA read.
All parties said they would study the viability of finding alternative dates to run the races later in the year, and the statement added ...

Dutch, Spanish and Monaco Formula 1 GPs postponed

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US congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard dropped out of the Democratic presidential nomination race on Thursday and immediately endorsed rival Joe Biden as flag bearer heading into the November election against President Donald Trump.
"Today, I'm suspending my presidential campaign and offering my full support to vice president Joe Biden in his quest to bring our country together," the lawmaker from Hawaii said in an online video message.
"Although I may not agree with the vice president on every issue, I know that he has a good heart, and he is motivated by his love for our country and the American people."
Her move leaves frontrunner Biden and leftist Senator Bernie Sanders as the final two candidates in the Democratic race.
Gabbard's endorsement comes as somewhat of a surprise, given that she was a fierce supporter of Sanders in 2016 and supports his Medicare for All plan for a government health system to cover every American.
But Sanders is under mounting pressure to drop out after ...

Tulsi Gabbard quits US presidential race, endorses Biden

Russia reported its first death connected to the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, initially saying an elderly woman died of pneumonia before changing the cause of death to a blood clot.
The Moscow health department said the 79-year-old, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died in a Moscow hospital.
Svetlana Krasnova, head doctor at Moscow's hospital No. 2 for infectious diseases, said in a statement that the woman had been admitted with "a host of chronic diseases", including type 2 diabetes and heart problems.
Officials said she had been treated in an intensive care unit and that people she had contact with had been isolated.
The statement said she died from pneumonia and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Twitter: "Unfortunately, we have the first loss from the coronavirus infection." But health officials later put out another statement saying an autopsy confirmed she had died of a blood clot.
A subsequent official tally of the number of official coronavirus cases in Russia ...

Russia clarifies cause of first virus-linked death

The United States on Thursday slapped sanctions on five companies based in the United Arab Emirates for allegedly shipping oil from Iran in defiance of President Donald Trump's unilateral sanctions.
The Treasury Department said that the five companies bought hundreds of thousands of metric tons' worth of oil last year from Iran's state oil company, declaring it to be from Iraq or otherwise disguising its origin.
The sanctions mark a rare US action against firms in the UAE, a close ally of Washington in its campaign against Tehran but also a major trading hub with a significant Iranian expatriate community.
"The Iranian regime uses revenues from petroleum and petrochemical sales to fund its terrorist proxies, like the IRGC-QF, instead of the health and well-being of the Iranian people," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
He was referring to the Revolutionary Guards' elite Qods force, whose commander, Qassem Soleimani, was killed in a US drone strike in January at ...

US targets UAE-based firms for shipping Iranian oil

Former Aston Villa and Cardiff midfielder Peter Whittingham died on Thursday at the age of 35 following an accidental fall.
Whittingham had been in hospital since suffering head injuries at a pub in the seaside town of Barry on March 7.
He reportedly fell down a flight of stairs after watching England play Wales in the Six Nations tournament.
In a statement on their website, Cardiff said: "It is with an immeasurable amount of sorrow that we must inform supporters that Peter Whittingham has passed away at the age of 35. We are heartbroken.
"The news of Peter's sudden and untimely passing has shaken us to our very foundation." Whittingham, a former England Under-21 international, started his career at Villa and won the FA Youth Cup with them in 2002.
He played 66 games for Villa and had loan spells at Burnley and Derby before joining Cardiff in 2007.
Whittingham helped Cardiff reach the 2008 FA Cup final, which they lost 1-0 to Portsmouth, and the 2012 League Cup final, where they were .

Former Villa and Cardiff midfielder Whittingham dies aged 35

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has returned to working from home the club confirmed on Thursday after testing positive for coronavirus last week.
As a result of the Spaniard's diagnosis, the Arsenal squad were sent into self-isolation for 14 days.
"We're pleased to say that Mikel is feeling much better," Arsenal said in a statement.
"He's in good spirits, doing detailed planning with the coaches and speaking to the players regularly."
The Gunners do not know when they will return to action on the pitch with football in England suspended until at least April 30 due to strict measures on mass gatherings to control the virus.

Arteta in 'good spirits' after coronavirus case

The novel coronavirus proved deadly in 1.4 per cent of all people infected in the Chinese outbreak city of Wuhan, far lower than global estimates of the killer pandemic, researchers said Thursday.
COVID-19 cases are soaring, with more than 200,000 confirmed since cases emerged in Wuhan late last year.
The World Health Organization said this month that COVID-19 proves deadly in 3.4 percent of confirmed cases.
But with limited testing capacity and confirmed cases likely to be towards the severe end of the spectrum, several experts have suggested the true mortality rate may be significantly lower.
A team of researchers in China has now reviewed eight separate public and private data sources on COVID-19 in Wuhan, and believe they have come up with a more accurate mortality estimate.
These include: data on confirmed cases with no contact with the market where the outbreak originated; confirmed air passenger cases; age distribution of confirmed cases and deaths; and time between onset and ..

COVID-19 mortality was 1.4% in outbreak epicentre: study

The British government apologised Thursday for its treatment of Britons of Caribbean origin who were wrongly detained or deported for being illegal immigrants, after the publication of a devastating official report.
The inquiry found that successive governments trying to show they were tough on illegal immigration displayed a "complete disregard" for the "Windrush" generation who moved to Britain legally in the 1950s and 1960s.
Their status was regularised in 1971 but few were given any official documentation, nor were records kept.
As a result, hundreds and potentially thousands were caught up in successive immigration clampdowns, with 164 people who arrived in Britain before 1973 either detained or deported since 2002.
The inquiry found the Home Office interior ministry had shown "an institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness towards the issue of race and the history" of those involved.
It said the scandal, which broke in 2018 and prompted the resignation of the then home ...

UK apologises for Windrush scandal after damning report

NATO expects its members to keep up defence spending despite the economic turmoil caused by coronavirus, the alliance chief said Thursday, insisting they must maintain the ability to defend themselves.
The global pandemic has forced NATO to curtail or cancel some military exercises but Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said its capacity to ensure security in Europe and North America was not affected.
While acknowledging the "severe economic consequences" of COVID-19, Stoltenberg insisted governments must stick to their defence spending plans.
"When NATO allies decided to invest more in defence, they did so because we live in a more uncertain, more unpredictable world," Stoltenberg said.
"This has not changed. So I expect the allies to stay committed to investing more in our security." Most NATO countries have struggled to hit their own agreed target of spending two percent of GDP on defence by 2024 -- infuriating US President Donald Trump, who accuses them of freeloading on ...

NATO expects allies to maintain defence spending despite virus

Gulf stock markets have plunged to multi-year lows despite massive stimulus spending as the region has suffered the double blow of plummeting oil prices and sweeping coronavirus shutdowns.
Since early March, all seven bourses in the Gulf region have suffered some of their most tumultuous performances, with UAE markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as in Kuwait shedding over a third of their value.
The Saudi Tadawul market -- the biggest bourse in the region and among the world's top ten -- has slumped about 18 per cent since the start of the month.
Saudi energy giant Aramco, the largest listed company in the world, has dipped 12 per cent since March 1 and its market value has dropped to USD 1.57 trillion.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman have announced stimulus measures worth some $85 billion in total to support their economies, with some of the cash targeted to shore up sagging stock markets.
Moody's ratings agency said the $27.2 billion stimulus by the ...

Gulf markets hammered by oil price plunge, virus shutdowns

Russia announced Thursday new measures to prop up the ruble and its oil producers, both of which have been suffering from sinking oil prices and the global panic over the coronavirus.
"The government and the central bank will continue to take the necessary actions to ensure financial stability," Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.
He announced that the central bank would increase sales of foreign currency reserves, which helps support the value of the ruble, after the Russian currency exceeded the symbolic barrier of 80 rubles per dollar on Wednesday evening, a rate not seen since early 2016 during Russia's last economic crisis.
Mishustin said the central bank would also compensate oil producers the difference when the market price for Urals crude falls below $25 per barrel. On Wednesday, it was selling for $24.65 per barrel.
This new mechanism will remain in place until the end of September.
The prime minister on Monday announced that the government would unlock reserves of 300 ...

Russia props up ruble, oil producers

Germany is calling up tens of thousands of reservists to help in the country's battle against the coronavirus pandemic, Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Thursday.
The army began mobilising its first batches of reserve troops over the weekend, said the minister, adding that it will next standby "other reservist troops in through very targeted calls, and through a general call".
Europe's biggest economy has a pool of 75,000 reservists for whom the army has updated contact details, the minister said.
Some 2,300 reservists responded to the weekend mobilisation call, including more than 900 who can be deployed to health services, said Kramp-Karrenbauer.  Describing the fight against COVID-19 a marathon, the minister said soldiers can step in when the capacity of civil forces is exhausted.
"We can and will deliver what is needed from us," she said.
The German government is accelerating efforts to ramp up capacity to treat patients, as official data show the number of ...

Germany calls up reservists in coronavirus battle

Playboy is ending its US print edition after 66 years with the coronavirus forcing the men's lifestyle publisher to accelerate its move to digital.
The magazine known for glossy nudes and promoting the 1960s sexual revolution said the spring edition arriving on newsstands this week would be the last in print, although some special editions may be printed.
"As the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic to content production and the supply chain became clearer and clearer, we were forced to accelerate a conversation we've been having internally: the question of how to transform our US print product to better suit what consumers want today, and how to utilize our industry-leading content production capabilities to engage in a cultural conversation each and every day, rather than just every three months," said a Medium post Wednesday by Playboy Enterprises chief executive Ben Kohn.
"In 2021, alongside our digital content offerings and new consumer product launches, we will bring back ...

Coronavirus forces end of Playboy US print edition

Birmingham manager Pep Clotet admits he is struggling to do his job properly as he deals with the stress of being separated from his family due to the coronavirus.
Clotet sent his wife Vanessa, three-year-old son Max and one-year-old daughter Helena, back home to Spain last week in a bid to keep them safe from the deadly pandemic.
But, within a day of arriving in Igualada, their town was in lockdown because of the virus.
Clotet's father Ramon, 71, and mother Maria, 68 are also in the area near Barcelona and the Birmingham manager is finding it almost impossible to focus fully on his football duties while his family are so far away.
"It is incredibly worrying. I am caught between two worlds. I feel I cannot do my job properly. I keep thinking, 'Maybe I should go back?' But I cannot go back because I am working," Clotet told the Daily Mirror.
"I am so worried. At the moment, everything is OK with the family. We are all still alive.
"In Spain we have been more aware than people were in ..

Birmingham boss Clotet reveals stress at being apart from family

The shutdown of English football was extended until at least April 30 on Thursday after the Premier League and English Football League (EFL) held crisis meetings.
"We've collectively agreed that the professional game in England will be further postponed until no earlier than Thursday 30 April," said a joint statement by the English Football Association, Premier League, EFL, players and managers' bodies.
UEFA's decision to postpone Euro 2020 for 12 months earlier this week could allow games to be completed over the summer if strict restrictions on travelling and mass gatherings to halt the spread of COVID-19 are lifted in time.
The leagues still hope to finish the season once play can be restarted rather than accepting the current standings as final or declaring the campaign null and void.
"We're united in our commitment to finding ways of resuming the 2019-20 football season and ensuring all domestic and European club league and cup matches are played as soon as it is safe and ...

English football extends shutdown till April 30

World stock markets faltered again on Thursday as massive central bank action to fight the coronavirus's economic fallout failed to calm investors' nerves, even as the ECB fired its most impressive monetary salvo yet.
Bond markets however, where governments and big companies finance themselves, got a shot in the arm from the European Central Bank's enormous liquidity promise, which also undermined the euro against the dollar.
The greenback, a safe haven investment, was in demand also against other currencies as people scrambled for cash.
"Markets are in risk-averse mode," said Christopher Dembik, head of economic research at Saxo Banque in Paris.
Investors were now expecting a global recession "of a singular size", he told AFP, adding that solace was nowhere to be found "even if enormous means are being deployed".
The pound was stuck around its lowest levels since the mid-1980s.
Falls in equity markets were, meanwhile, less severe than in previous sessions, with the DJIA in New York ..

Global stock markets on edge after central bank fireworks

The US government has "no problem issuing more debt" to stem the economic carnage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday.
As Congress and President Donald Trump negotiate over a USD 1.3 trillion stimulus package aimed at tempering what many economists expect to be a forthcoming recession, Mnuchin said passing that measure is "the most important issue."
Trump on Wednesday signed a USD 100 billion emergency aid package that ensures sick leave to American workers who fall ill from the virus, free coronavirus testing, paid family leave and a bolstering of unemployment insurance.
Lawmakers are now negotiating over another measure -- possibly among the largest federal emergency plans ever -- that reportedly would include up to USD 500 billion in direct payments to Americans, USD 300 billion in loans to small businesses and another USD 300 billion in deferred tax payments.
The virus has hit consumer spending hard as authorities order events ...

US has 'no problem issuing more debt': Mnuchin

Turkey hopes to step up coronavirus testing to reach up to 15,000 people per day, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said in an address to parliament on Thursday.
"Over 10,000 COVID-19 tests have been completed until today," he said.
"We believe the number of tests will increase even more. Our goal is to conduct at least 10-15,000 tests per day." Turkey has thus far recorded two deaths from coronavirus and a total of 191 cases.
Turkish authorities have announced a series of measures to limit the spread of the virus by temporarily shutting schools and universities as well as public spaces including cinemas.
The religious affairs authority, Diyanet, ordered the closure of around 90,000 mosques in Turkey on Friday, the day of particularly important prayers in the Muslim faith.
Mass prayers had already been suspended and the faithful were urged to pray at home.
Koca said the ministry has obtained the contact information for 372,000 people who have recently come from abroad.
"We are monitoring 

Turkey pledges to step up virus testing

British online-only supermarket Ocado on Thursday reported surging sales as buyers panicked by the coronavirus pandemic seek home deliveries and stockpile.
The supermarket, whose robotic warehouses fulfil the online orders before they are delivered by vans, said Thursday that growth in the first three weeks of March had approximately doubled compared to the three months ending March 1, or its first quarter.
"The impact of higher basket values and order demand, amid growing public concern over the coronavirus" has "picked up significantly and growth in the second quarter is so far double that of the first quarter," said Melanie Smith, head of Ocado's retail operation.
It comes as Ocado finance director Duncan Tatton-Brown said demand has been so high that the company's systems believed they were being hacked.
"Our systems thought that they were suffering a denial of service attack... when people try and close your website down by throwing so much traffic at it," he revealed after the ..

Virus-linked sales soar at UK online supermarket Ocado

Mexico has reported its first coronavirus death -- a 41-year-old man who died Wednesday in Mexico City, the health ministry said.
The man, who suffered from diabetes, first began showing symptoms of the virus on March 9, the ministry said on its Twitter account.
Local press reports said he had not previously visited any countries that have had outbreaks of the virus.
The man's wife, however, told Televisa, the Mexican television network, that her husband had attended a concert by the Swedish rock group Ghost on March 3 at the Palace of Sports in Mexico City, with a companion.
She said Mexican health authorities had not been monitoring his case, "not even by telephone."
"We were monitored by our primary physician," she said.
The health ministry report said Mexico has 118 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, and that this was the country's first death from the disease.

Mexico reports first coronavirus death

The Turkish Football Federation plans to suspend the Super Lig for one month after receiving criticism for insisting games go ahead despite the coronavirus pandemic, local media reported Thursday.
TFF chief Nihat Ozdemir would inform Sports Minister Mehmet Muharrem Kasapoglu of the TFF executive board's decision later on Thursday, Turkish sports daily Fanatik said.
The final decision is expected to be announced after their meeting, the newspaper said.
Super Lig games have been going ahead behind closed doors but the TFF U-turn comes after former Nigeria international John Obi Mikel quit Turkish football club Trabzonspor because he did not want to play in the midst of the pandemic.
Other players and coaches, including legendary manager and ex-player Fatih Terim, have called on the TFF to suspend the championship, like most other countries.
Two people have died in Turkey while 191 cases have been officially recorded, the Turkish health minister said late Wednesday.

AFP

AFP

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