Elon Musk's SpaceX will send astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time in May, NASA said, announcing the first crewed launch from the United States to the platform since 2011.
The tech entrepreneur's company will launch a Falcon 9 rocket to transport NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in a first for the space agency as it looks to cut costs.
"NASA and SpaceX are currently targeting no earlier than mid-to-late May for launch," the US space agency said in a statement Wednesday.
In March, Musk's Crew Dragon capsule made a round trip to the ISS, which is in orbit more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, with a mannequin on board, before returning to the Atlantic after six days in space.
Since the last US space shuttle mission in 2011, after 30 years of service, only the Russians have been going back and forth to the ISS.
SpaceX has made the trip 15 times since 2012, but only to refuel the station.  It is not the only private company servicing NASA: 

SpaceX plans first manned flight to space station in May

PTI Automatic

A state visit to Britain this spring by Japan's emperor has been cancelled because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
The decision was taken following consultations between the British and Japanese governments, with the visit now set to be held at "a later date", the palace said in a statement.
"Her Majesty The Queen has agreed that, in the current circumstances, the planned State Visit to the United Kingdom in Spring 2020 by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan should be postponed," it added.
The postponement comes as Britain ramps up measures to try to contain the spread of the COVID-19 disease, which has killed 104 people inside the country.
The government announced on Wednesday it would be closing schools in the coming days and placing 20,000 troops on standby.
Japanese Emperor Naruhito, who became the head of the world's oldest monarchy last April after his father Akihito's historic abdication, had been due to visit Britain in the ..

Japanese emperor's UK state visit postponed over virus

Lockdown measures taken in Italy over the coronavirus pandemic will be extended beyond their original deadlines, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday.
Imposed nationally on March 12, the shutdown of most businesses and a ban on public gatherings in Italy, the European country worst hit by the pandemic, are due to expire on March 25.
School closures and other measures, such as a ban fan attendance at sporting events, are due to run on until April 3.
"The measures we have taken... must be extended beyond their original deadline," Conte told Thursday's edition of the Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Conte referred to the closures of many businesses, "individual activities" and the shutdown of schools.
"We have avoided the collapse of the system, the restrictive measures function," Conte said.
He expressed hope that the country will hit a peak in a few days and see a decline in infection rates.  But he warned "we will not be able to return immediately to life as it was before" ...

Italy to extend lockdown measures over virus: Conte

Russia registered the first death of a patient infected with the coronavirus on Thursday, an elderly woman who had been hospitalised in Moscow, health officials said.
The 79-year-old, who had tested positive, was hospitalised on March 13 and had several other conditions including diabetes and heart problems, Moscow's coronavirus response headquarters said on social media.

Russia registers first coronavirus death

A state visit by Japan's emperor to Britain this spring has been cancelled because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
"After consultation with Her Majesty's government and the government of Japan, Her Majesty the Queen has agreed that, in the current circumstances, the planned state visit to the United Kingdom in spring 2020 by Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan should be postponed," it said in a statement.
"The state visit will be rescheduled at a later date.

Japanese emperor's UK state visit postponed over virus: Buckingham Palace

Thai hospitals are deploying "ninja robots" to measure fevers and protect the health of overburdened medical workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus outbreak.
First built to monitor recovering stroke patients, the machines have been quickly repurposed to help fight the disease, which has so far killed nearly 9,000 people around the world.
They have helped staff at four hospitals in and around Bangkok to reduce their risk of infection by allowing doctors and nurses to speak to patients over a video link.
"They can stand outside the room and communicate with patients inside through the robot," said Viboon Sangveraphunsiri of Chulalongkorn University.
Later models will be designed to bring food and medicine to patients, and could also eventually be used to disinfect hospital wards, Viboon told AFP.
His engineering team is racing to build more "ninjas" -- known as such because of their matte black exterior -- for another 10 hospitals around the country.
Thailand has more than 200 ...

Thai hospitals deploy 'ninja robots' to aid virus battle

The Olympics going ahead in Tokyo this year is "highly unlikely", the boss of Asian golf told AFP, and proceeding as planned could cost players the chance to qualify.
The International Olympic Committee said this week it was "fully committed" to holding the Games from July 24 despite the coronavirus pandemic, but acknowledged there was no "ideal" solution as pressure mounted for a postponement.
Asian Tour Commissioner and CEO Cho Minn Thant confirmed that all tournaments across the continent had been suspended until at least the end of May, in line with the US PGA and European Tours.
"I think everyone right now is more in a state of shock, just trying to figure out what they do with themselves," said Cho, speaking by telephone from Asian Tour headquarters in Singapore.
With the prospect of scarcely any competitive golf before the Olympic rankings qualifying cut-off on June 22, Cho said it would be harsh on players from unheralded golf nations.
"Our plan initially was to have about 16 .

Asian golfers could lose out if Olympics go ahead: Tour chief

Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday lifted a state of emergency declared last month over the new coronavirus, saying it sees signs of the outbreak tapering off.
The governor of Hokkaido prefecture announced the emergency measure on February 28, as infections in the region grew.
The call urged residents to avoid unnecessary outings, though it did not come with aggressive enforcement measures of the sort being implemented now in parts of Europe.
Nearly 20 days after the declaration, there were signs the spread of the coronavirus is abating, governor Naomichi Suzuki said late Wednesday.
"We were able to avoid the situation that we initially worried about, an explosive spread of the infection leading to collapse in the medical system and a failure to save lives," Suzuki said at a meeting of the Hokkaido government.
"We will lift (the state of emergency) on March 19 as scheduled," he said.
"We've carried out powerful measures on refraining from going out, but from now .

Japan's northern Hokkaido lifts state of emergency over virus

Two US lawmakers including a Florida representative on Wednesday became the first members of Congress to announce they have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart's office said in a statement that "just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19." The Republican who represents part of Miami follows that city's Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus last week.
They are following CDC-specified self-isolation guidelines at their homes.
Diaz-Balart's diagnosis prompted a member of congressional leadership, the number two Republican Steve Scalise, to immediately self-quarantine as he had an extended meeting with his colleague last week.
"Fortunately, I am not experiencing any symptoms, and will continue working remotely on Congress's Coronavirus response" and remain in close contact with Trump administration officials to ensure that swift action to address the crisis continues, ...

Two US members of Congress test positive for coronavirus

Asian equities took another beating Thursday while the dollar surged as a European Central Bank plan to spend more than USD 800 billion to buy bonds failed to instil optimism in traders that the world is heading for a virus-fuelled economic catastrophe.
In what one analyst said could be a "game changer" for the coronavirus-wracked eurozone, the ECB's so-called Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme aims to give financial markets some much-needed liquidity as investors pull the plug on markets.
It said the 750-billion-euro (USD 820-billion) programme was temporary and will be halted when the coronavirus crisis is judged to be over "but in any case not before the end of the year".
After announcing the move, ECB boss Christine Lagarde tweeted that "extraordinary times require extraordinary action. There are no limits to our commitment to the euro." Those comments echoed the words of her predecessor Mario Draghi, whose pledge to do "whatever it takes" to preserve the eurozone was seen as a 

Asia stocks dive, dollar soars as ECB bazooka fails to ease fears

Big-hitting Australian batsman Matthew Wade Thursday abandoned plans to play with English county side Somerset after being advised to rest an injured knee.
The 32-year-old had been scheduled to pad-up for the first half of the English summer, but said Cricket Australia had told to him to recuperate.
"It's a big blow," said Wade, who is a regular in the Australian Test team.
"I was looking forward to the challenge of playing county cricket... but after discussions with the Cricket Australia medical team, regrettably, it became clear that I wouldn't be in a position to join Somerset."
The county season is due to start on April 12, but the coronavirus epidemic may force it to be postponed.
The BBC said the England and Wales Cricket Board were due to meet on Thursday to discuss the situation.

Injury forces Aussie Wade to pull pin on Somerset

The Australian rules season will begin on Thursday as scheduled after administrators joined the National Rugby League in refusing to cancel games because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Australian Football League (AFL) said matches would be played without crowds and the number of regular season rounds cut from 23 to 17, with the playing time of games also reduced slightly.
"The reality is that this season will not look like any other... but footy is resilient and footy will find a way," AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan told reporters late Wednesday of the hugely popular sport.
The NRL is also pressing ahead with its season after clubs and the players' association unanimously backed the move.
"All 16 clubs have reaffirmed their support for the NRL's decision to continuing playing matches behind closed doors during the global coronavirus pandemic," official website nrl.com reported.
Other major sporting codes in Australia have cancelled or suspended their activities because of the .

Australian rules, NRL to play on despite virus threat

Italian football federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina expressed his hope Serie A would resume on May 2 with a possible finish in July at the latest.
All Italian sport has been suspended until April 3 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed 2,978 people in the country and forced the postponement of Euro 2020.
"I don't even want to think that we won't start again, it would be a hiatus, it would worry me for our country," Gravina told Italian radio.
"We're working on the hypothesis of starting again on May 2 and completing the championships possibly going into July if we don't achieve it by June 30.
"In the event that it's impossible to use all the windows as planned, we will resort to a change in the format of the competitions."
The FIGC president welcomed the postponement of the European Championship until 2021, stating as far as they were concerned "national championships have priority".
"We don't want to penalise anyone, but just as we evaluate format changes 

Italian FA chief looking at May return for Serie A

Hearts have asked their players and staff to accept their pay being cut by half in order to stave off troubles brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Premiership club said.
Owner Ann Budge has taken the drastic cost-cutting measure amid financial fears that football will be out of action for months due to the pandemic.
Currently sitting bottom of the Premiership, Hearts are the first British top-flight club to decide on wage cuts in a bid to stay afloat.
"We have asked all full-time employees, managers, coaches, players and player back-room staff, with effect from the beginning of April, to accept a 50% cut in their monthly salary," Budge told Hearts' website on Wednesday.
"Staff and players alike, who feel unable or unwilling to accept this revision to their contracts, will, of course, be offered the option of contract termination." Budge stated earlier this week her club would lose ?1 million ($1.16 million) in income from postponed games over the coming weeks.
Four ...

Hearts ask players to accept 50 percent pay cut due to coronavirus woes

Facebook has said it would place "authoritative" coronavirus content at the top of user feeds as it scrambled to keep up with increased usage and stem the flow of misinformation on its platform and WhatsApp messaging.
The leading social network said on Wednesday it has nearly doubled server capacity to power WhatsApp as people in isolation place more voice and video calls using the popular messaging service.
Facebook also donated USD 1 million to the International Fact-Checking Network to expand the presence of local fact-checkers and curb misinformation on WhatsApp, said Facebook head of health Kang-Xing Jin.
"Teams are hard at work to make sure all the services run smoothly, because this is clearly a time when people want to stay connected," Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said while updating reporters on the company's efforts.
"We want to make sure we do our part to alleviate loneliness." As part of an effort to be a resource for reliable information about the coronavirus .

Facebook scrambles as use soars in time of isolation

China on Thursday reported no new domestic cases of the coronavirus for the first time since it started recording them in January, but recorded a spike in infections imported from abroad.
There were 34 cases that were brought in from abroad, the biggest daily increase in two weeks, according to the National Health Commission.

China reports no new domestic virus cases for first time, but 34 imported

Stocks in Asia bounced back Thursday after the European Central Bank launched an emergency plan to buy bonds in what one analyst said could be a "game changer" for the coronavirus-wracked eurozone.
Japan's Nikkei-225 led the gains, opening more than two per cent higher as the news from Europe brightened sentiment despite another black day on Wall Street.
The broader TOPIX index in Japan climbed even faster, nearly three percent up in early exchanges after the surprise announcement by the ECB of a 750-billion-euro (USD 820 billion) scheme to purchase government and corporate bonds.
The so-called Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme is temporary and will be halted when the coronavirus crisis is judged to be over "but in any case not before the end of the year", the ECB said.
"Extraordinary times require extraordinary action. There are no limits to our commitment to the euro," ECB chief Christine Lagarde tweeted.
Those comments echoed the words of her predecessor Mario Draghi, whose ...

ECB's monetary bazooka peps up Asian stocks

French President Emmanuel Macron called for further "financial solidarity" within the eurozone on Thursday, after the European Central Bank announced a 750-billion-euro bond-buying scheme to contain the economic damage from the coronavirus.
"Full support for the exceptional measures taken this evening by the ECB. It is up to us European states to be ready through budgetary interventions and greater financial solidarity within the eurozone," he said in a tweet.

Macron calls for more 'financial solidarity' in eurozone to combat virus

Oil prices rebounded strongly Thursday a day after US crude hit its lowest level for 18 years, as the European Central Bank launched a bond-buying scheme to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up almost 17 per cent at nearly USD 24 a barrel, a day after plunging 24 per cent.
International benchmark Brent crude was up 8.5 per cent at USD 27 a barrel, a day after slumping 14 per cent.
Oil markets have been hammered due to collapsing demand as the virus prompts sweeping travel restrictions and business closures, and as major producers Saudi Arabia and Russia engage in a price war.
Thursday's jump came as investors bought the commodity at bargain prices, and followed the ECB's surprise announcement of a 750-billion-euro scheme to purchase government and corporate bonds.
The so-called Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme comes just six days after the ECB unveiled a stimulus package that failed to calm nervous markets, piling pressure on the bank to ...

Oil prices rebound after ECB launches virus measures

A Florida lawmaker became the first member of the US Congress to test positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.
Representative Mario Diaz-Balart's office said in a statement that "just a short while ago, he was notified that he has tested positive for COVID-19."
The Republican, who represents part of Miami, follows Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who announced that he had tested positive for coronavirus last week.
Diaz-Balart said that he had entered into quarantine and was working from his Washington apartment.
"I want everyone to know that I am feeling much better. However, it is important that everyone take this extremely seriously and follow CDC guidelines in order to avoid getting sick and mitigate the spread of this virus," he said.
The United States so far has just over 7,300 cases and more than 110 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.

First US Congress member tests positive for coronavirus

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera declared a "state of catastrophe" Wednesday over the coronavirus outbreak, while Cuba recorded its first death and a slew of countries announced nighttime curfews as Latin America's lockdown widened.
In Brazil a minister in President Jair Bolsonaro's government tested positive for the virus, while five Venezuelan inmates died in a prison break-out after family visits were banned.
A 61-year-old Italian tourist was the first person to die in Cuba of the COVID-19 disease, the health ministry said.
The Italian arrived in Cuba on March 9. Unlike many Latin American countries, Cuba -- which relies on tourism revenue -- has not closed its borders, nor does it have quarantine obligations even for people arriving from the worst affected countries.
Earlier on Wednesday, Cuba allowed a British cruise ship carrying five infected people and more than 50 others showing flu-like symptoms to dock on the island.
It had been turned away by both the Bahamas and ...

AFP

AFP

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