F1 boss Chase Carey insisted Friday it was too soon to say whether other races will be cancelled this season over rising coronavirus fears as McLaren said 15 team members were now in quarantine.
The pin was pulled at the last minute on the opening Grand Prix of the year in Australia as concerns spiked following a McLaren staff member testing positive.
It saw the team withdraw from the Melbourne race and McLaren said another 14 personnel were now in quarantine at the team hotel for two weeks, in accordance with local health authority directives.
They were all in close contact with the person who tested positive.
"Any other team members who show symptoms will be tested immediately and self-isolate, in line with our protocol," McLaren said.
With so many staff out of action, McLaren's participation in the next race at Bahrain this month, that organisers already said will be run without fans, is in doubt.
Carey refused to be drawn on whether Bahrain and the third Grand Prix in Hanoi would .

F1 boss Carey says too soon to cancel more races

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Chelsea's players and coaching staff were ordered into isolation as Callum Hudson-Odoi became the first Premier League player confirmed to have the new coronavirus late on Thursday.
The news casts the viability of this weekend's games further into doubt after Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta tested positive, also throwing their team into lockdown.
"Chelsea men's team player Callum Hudson-Odoi had a positive test result for coronavirus returned this evening," a club statement said.
"Chelsea personnel who had recent close contact with the player in the men's team building will now self-isolate in line with government health guidelines.
"These will include initially the full men's team squad, coaching staff and a number of backroom staff." Chelsea said they would discuss their upcoming games, starting with Sunday's trip to Aston Villa, with Premier League officials on Friday.
Two Arsenal fixtures -- Wednesday's game at Manchester City, and away to Brighton on Saturday -- have already been ...

Chelsea's Hudson-Odoi becomes first Premier League player with coronavirus

The Premier League was thrown into chaos on Thursday as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi both contracted the new coronavirus, leaving at least one game postponed and other fixtures in doubt.
Arsenal's match at Brighton was put on hold after Arteta's diagnosis sent the London club into lockdown, while Chelsea's players and coaching staff were also ordered into isolation.
Chelsea said they would discuss their upcoming games, starting with Sunday's trip to Aston Villa, with Premier League officials.
The league will hold emergency talks on Friday "regarding future fixtures" in light of the pandemic, which has shut down football and other sports around the world.
Hudson-Odoi, 19, is the first Premier League player confirmed to have the virus. He displayed cold symptoms on Monday morning and has stayed away from the club since then.
"Chelsea personnel who had recent close contact with the player in the men's team building will now self-isolate in line with .

Premier League in doubt as Arteta, Hudson-Odoi get coronavirus

Nepal on Friday suspended permits to climb Everest because of the coronavirus pandemic, closing off the world's biggest mountain a day after China halted access from its side.
Nepal has suspended climbing on all mountains in the country and stopped issuing tourist visas, Yogesh Bhattarai, Minister for Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation told AFP.
"The government has decided to suspend all spring expeditions and scrap permits for the time being. The decision can be reviewed after analysing the global scenario over the coming month," Bhattarai said.

Everest shut down after Nepal suspends permits over virus

The LPGA is postponing it next three tournaments amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including the first major on the 2020 golf calendar, the ANA Inspiration.
The LPGA said in a statement that the March 19-22 Founders Cup in Phoenix, Arizona, the March 26-29 Kia Classic in Carlsbad, California, and the April 2-5 ANA Inspiration at Rancho Mirage, California, would be postponed.
"The plan is to reschedule these events for later dates in the 2020 season," the statement said.
"This is a difficult situation and as we navigate these uncertain times, we appreciate the support of all those involved with the LPGA," commissioner Mike Whan said.
"I am fully committed to rescheduling these important events on our 2020 schedule, especially our first major, the ANA Inspiration."
The LPGA schedule had already been hard-hit by concerns over the novel coronavirus that emerged in China in December.
The tour's lucrative early season Asian swing was wiped out, with the HSBC Women's World Championship in ...

LPGA postpones three events, including major ANA Inspiration

Manchester City have revealed one of their players is self-isolating after a family member had tests for the coronavirus.
The unnamed City star was reported to be France defender Benjamin Mendy by the British media, but the Premier League club have yet to confirm that.
The player is taking the self-isolating precaution after the relative fell ill with symptoms of a respiratory illness at his Cheshire home.
The family member is being treated in hospital and has undergone tests for the coronavirus, which can cause shortness of breath.
"The club is aware that a family member of a senior men's team player is in hospital with symptoms of a respiratory illness," a City spokesperson said on Thursday.
"He has undergone tests at hospital one of which is for Covid-19. Until the results are known, the player in question is self-isolating as a precaution."
City's Champions League last 16 second leg against Real Madrid, due to be played next Tuesday, has already been postponed due to an outbreak ..

Man City player self-isolating over coronavirus fear

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting the Gunners' Premier League match at Brighton on Saturday to be postponed.
Arsenal have closed their training ground as a result of Arteta's positive test, with Gunners players and club staff who had recent contact with the Spaniard now forced to self-isolate.
"This is really disappointing but I took the test after feeling poorly," Arteta said in a statement on Arsenal's website.
"I will be at work as soon as I'm allowed." Arsenal confirmed the shock news just minutes after the Premier League had said all fixtures would go ahead this weekend despite the spread of the global pandemic.
Arsenal said it was "clear we will not be able to play some fixtures on their currently scheduled dates" and Brighton quickly confirmed their clash at the Amex Stadium had been called off.
"First and foremost our thoughts are with Mikel Arteta and we wish him a speedy recovery," Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said.
"It's 

Arsenal manager Arteta tests positive for coronavirus

The season-opening Australian Grand Prix was cancelled just hours before the action was due to start on Friday over fears about the spread of coronavirus after a McLaren team member tested positive.
The decision follows April's Chinese Grand Prix being postponed and with the second race of the year in Bahrain due to be held without spectators, leaving huge question marks over the rest of the calendar.
The race was thrown into doubt on Thursday when McLaren pulled out after one of its team members tested positive for the virus and world champion Lewis Hamilton said he was stunned it was still going ahead.
The employee was among eight Formula One personnel who went into isolation after showing flu-like symptoms typical of the disease this week in Melbourne.
The other seven -- including four from the Haas team -- all returned negative results, organisers said.
It sparked a crisis meeting between the race organisers, the FIA, teams and Formula One promoters late Thursday to discuss ...

Season-opening Australian Grand Prix cancelled over virus fears

Global stock markets suffered historic falls as panic spread on Friday over the spiralling coronavirus crisis that has killed nearly 5,000 and infected sport, schools and society across the planet.
The virus has affected all areas of life, sealing off entire countries, sparking draconian government measures not seen in peacetime, and forcing the cancellation of global sporting and cultural events from Broadway to basketball.
Japan's stock market fell more than 10 percent on Friday, following the worst day on Wall Street since the crash of 1987 as traders scrambled to sell everything on fears the virus will catapult the world into a deep recession.
Markets shrugged off emergency big-bang measures by central banks in the United States and eurozone, and government fiscal stimulus packages, with fears escalating over the tightening noose on the global economy.
"In mere weeks, the market has shifted gears from a transitory health scare to a full-blown global recession," said Stephen Innes, 

Coronavirus sparks historic market rout, global shutdown

Australia's one-day series against New Zealand beginning in Sydney on Friday will be played without fans and a women's tour to South Africa has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cricket Australia said.
"We believe this is the right decision to minimise the risk of public exposure to the coronavirus," CA chief Kevin Roberts said.
Justin Langer's team are due to get the three-game series against the Black Caps underway at the Sydney Cricket Ground later Friday, with another match at the same venue on Sunday then a final fixture in Hobart next Friday.
CA said spectators who had bought tickets to the event would be eligible for a full refund.
Media would be allowed in, but "a precautionary perimeter" would be set up to distance them from players during press conferences.
CA said the fate of Australia's three-match Twenty20 series in New Zealand later this month was still being considered.
However, a tour by Australia's women's cricketers to South Africa due to begin on March 

Fans barred from Australia-New Zealand cricket series over virus fears

Justin Trudeau's wife has tested positive for novel coronavirus, his office has said, while assuring the public that the Canadian prime minister is fine.
Canada's leader and his 44-year-old wife announced on Thursday that they were self-isolating while she was tested for coronavirus after a public event.
"Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau was tested for COVID-19 today. The test came back positive," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement late Thursday, adding she would remain in isolation and her symptoms were mild.
"The Prime Minister is in good health with no symptoms," the statement said, noting he would also be in isolation for two weeks and -- on the advice of his doctors -- will not be tested for the virus.
It follows several provinces in Canada -- which so far has reported nearly 150 cases in six states, and one death -- unveiling stricter measures to combat the spread of the virus while sporting events and entertainment galas were cancelled.
The PM would continue his duties, his 

Canada PM's wife positive for new coronavirus

FIFA has delayed upcoming South American World Cup qualifiers due to the coronavirus crisis, world football's governing body announced on Thursday.
"Matches originally scheduled to take place during the international window of 23-31 March 2020 are postponed to later dates," FIFA revealed.
The decision follows a request from CONMEBOL, South American football's governing body, to FIFA on Wednesday, to restage the matches at a later date.
The CONMEBOL letter said it expressed the position of its 10 members: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Many of the South American players selected for their national sides play in Europe, where the deadly disease is rapidly spreading.
FIFA's statement added that it would "continue to assess the situation in relation to COVID-19".
It said it would decide whether further changes to the schedule of South American World Cup 2022 qualifiers were required "always with the aim of protecting the health 

FIFA postpones South American World Cup qualifiers

The US PGA Tour has changed course and called off The Players Championship after just one round, the first in a string of several weeks of cancelations because of the new coronavirus pandemic.
"It is with regret that we are announcing the cancelation of The Players Championship," a Tour spokesman said in a statement on Thursday night, adding to a list of major US sporting events on hold because of the global outbreak.
The players were reportedly told via text that the event was being scrubbed due to a "rapidly changing situation."
The tour also announced it was canceling the Valspar Championship, the WGC Match-Play, the Texas Open in San Antonio and the Corales Puntacana Resort Championship in the Dominican Republic in the coming weeks.
The Valero Texas Open would have concluded on April 5, on the eve of the first practice round at Augusta National for the Masters which begins on April 8 and is still going ahead.
The tour had earlier decided to continue with the Players while barring .

PGA Tour calls off Players to begin season 'pause'

Newly elected Israeli MP Iman al-Khatib, greeting supporters in Nazareth, shook hands with women but tapped her heart with her right hand for men.
The gestures signalled the Muslim identity of the woman who is about to become Israel's first hijab-wearing MP and part of a group of Arab women poised to expand their voice in Israel's male-dominated politics.
All major parties in the Jewish state are led by men, with women making up only 25 per cent of lawmakers in the Knesset, or Parliament.
But in March 2 elections, one party managed to double its female representation, albeit from a low base.
The predominantly Arab Joint List won 15 of the Knesset's 120-seats, the alliance's best-ever performance and up from 13 during stalemate election last September.
The List also counts four women among its incoming MPs, up from two in September.
Khatib will be part of the Knesset's largest ever contingent of Arab women, including three Joint List colleagues and a Druze woman from the centrist Blue .

Four women at forefront of Israel's Arab political surge

South American football's governing body CONMEBOL on Thursday suspended the next round of Copa Libertadores fixtures due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
The Copa Libertadores is the South American equivalent of Europe's Champions League, although the 2020 edition only began in January and is still at the group stage.
"Committed to the prevention of COVID-19 and faced with the risk of its spread, and to safeguard delegates, referees, officials, press and fans, (CONMEBOL) has taken the decision to suspend the 2002 Copa Libertadores matches in the week of March 15-21," said the governing body in a statement.
Earlier on Thursday, FIFA accepted a request from CONMEBOL to postpone two upcoming rounds of South American qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Latin American countries have been stepping up measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Several countries have announced two-week isolation periods on travelers arriving from the worst affected countries, while ...

Copa Libertadores suspended over coronavirus

The International Olympic Committee will follow the World Health Organisation's recommendation on whether to cancel or postpone this year's Tokyo Olympics over the coronavirus pandemic, IOC chief Thomas Bach said Thursday.
In an interview with German television ARD, Bach said his organisation has been in regular contact with WHO experts since mid-February over the issue.
"We will follow the advice of the WHO," he said, adding that the IOC was now still working towards preparing for a "successful" Games.
With cancellations of Olympic qualifiers piling up as countries unroll drastic measures to halt the contagion, Bach acknowledged that there are "serious problems with qualification competitions".
"Here we will have to react very flexibly," he said, adding that this could be through postponing competitions or changing qualification criteria.
What is key, he said, is that athletes, particularly those from countries hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, must be offered "fair qualification ...

IOC will follow WHO advice on Olympics cancellation: Bach

A Philippine diplomat in New York has tested positive for the new coronavirus in the first recorded case at United Nations headquarters in the city, diplomatic sources said.
The diplomat, who had last visited the UN on Monday, showed symptoms of flu the following day and saw a doctor.
"She got the call today that she tested positive for COVID-19," said a letter from the Philippines mission on Thursday.
"As of today, the Philippine mission is in lockdown, and all personnel are instructed to self-quarantine," said the letter obtained by AFP.
The diplomat works at the UN General Assembly's Sixth Committee, which deals with legal matters.
About 3,000 people are employed at the towering riverfront UN headquarters.
Numerous other diplomats from the 193 UN member countries come and go between their own missions in the area and the Manhattan UN complex.
The Philippines has confirmed 52 cases of COVID-19 illness. There have been more than 1,600 cases in the United States.

Philippines diplomat is first coronavirus case at UN HQ

All Catholic churches across Rome have been closed to stem the spread of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 1,000 people across Italy.
The churches will reopen when a broader Italian government crackdown on public gatherings expires on April 3, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the papal vicar for Rome, said in a statement.
Catholic faithful have been exempted from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass.
The Vatican had spent days resisting having to take the drastic measure of shuttering places of worship in the overwhelmingly Catholic country.
It closed its museums and even the Saint Peter's Basilica -- parts of its soaring dome designed by Michelangelo -- to tourists as the death toll continued to mount.
All masses, weddings and funerals across the country have also been called off.
But some church buildings in the country will stay open as long as the faithful follow government regulations and remain a metre (three feet) apart while inside.
It was not immediately clear when .

Catholic churches across Rome shut due to virus

Asian equities went into freefall on Friday, extending a global rout that saw markets experience their worst day in decades as fears of a worldwide recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic wiped trillions off valuations.
Shellshocked investors fled for the hills as governments across Europe and in the United States struggled to get a grip on the crisis that has swept across the planet and shut communities down.
Central bank moves to support financial markets have also failed to staunch the bloodletting, while Donald Trump's decision to shut the US border to European travellers added to the panic.
"Markets remain in a freefall as uncertainty persists with no reliable anchor which can create near-term stability," Ben Emons, at Medley Global Advisors in New York, said.
Tokyo fell as much as 10 per cent at one point, while Sydney and Seoul shed eight per cent. Hong Kong plunged more than six percent, as did Singapore, Wellington and Taipei.
Shanghai was the least affected by the ...

Equities in freefall after Wall St, Europe implode on virus fears

The wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tested positive for the new coronavirus, his office said late Thursday.
"Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau was tested for COVID-19 today. The test came back positive," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement.
"Following medical advice, she will remain in isolation for the time being. She is feeling well, is taking all the recommended precautions and her symptoms remain mild," it said.
"The Prime Minister is in good health with no symptoms. As a precautionary measure and following the advice of doctors, he will be in isolation for a planned period of 14 days," but will not be tested.
"The Prime Minister will continue to fully assume his duties and will address Canadians tomorrow."
Trudeau and his wife had announced earlier Thursday they were self-isolating while she underwent tests for the COVID-19 illness after returning from a speaking engagement.
Gregoire-Trudeau's symptoms, after returning from Britain, had included "a low fever .

Canada PM's wife tests positive for new coronavirus

The US military launched air strikes against a pro-Iranian group in Iraq following the deaths of two Americans and a Briton in a rocket attack, US military officials told AFP on Thursday.
"The operation is underway" and is targeting weapons facilities, one official said on condition of anonymity, without specifying where the strikes were taking place.
"US air strikes targeted Hashed al-Shaabi positions in multiple provinces across Iraq, targeting logistics nodes and UAV (drone) storage units," said a second official, adding that the Iran-backed armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah was one of those targeted.
Earlier Thursday US Defense Secretary Mark Esper warned that "all options are on the table" to respond to the death of the three soldiers in a rocket attack on the Taji air base on Wednesday.
Fourteen others were injured in the attack, including Americans, British, and Poles.
The rocket attack sparked fears of a fresh escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran.
While there 

AFP

AFP

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