World number one Rory McIlroy has added his voice to the chorus of players opposed to the idea of playing this year's Ryder Cup without spectators.
With the global golf season in chaos due to the coronavirus pandemic, the game's administrators are running through a range of possible scenarios as they attempt to plot a path back to competition.
For organizers of the Ryder Cup, which is due to take place at Whistling Straits, Wisconsin from September 25-27, that has included studying whether the tournament could be played without fans.
PGA chief executive Seth Waugh revealed earlier this week that officials had looked at the possibility of creating a "virtual fan experience" for the fiercely competitive team clash between Europe and the United States.
Waugh however acknowledged that a Ryder Cup without spectators was "hard to imagine," noting they were an integral part of the raucous and often febrile golfing spectacle.
McIlroy, speaking during an Instagram live event for sponsors ...

McIlroy against fan-less Ryder Cup

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The Dutch football federation (KNVB) has announced that its intention to call an end to the season, subject to discussions with UEFA, following the government's decision to extend a ban on large gatherings until September due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The professional football committee intends to not continue playing the 2019/20 competition. The KNVB will consult UEFA, after which a decision will be taken," the federation said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The KNVB has not yet definitively cancelled competitions because of financial difficulties in the football industry due to the coronavirus crisis."
Clubs and other stakeholders will meet Friday to discuss the consequences of the decision.
There are eight rounds of matches left in the Eredivisie, with defending champions Ajax ahead of AZ Alkmaar on goal difference. The Dutch Cup final had been scheduled for April 19.
According to the KNVB, matches behind closed doors will not be possible as they are considered events which require 

Dutch top flight likely over after government extends ban

US oil prices surged Wednesday after falling below zero for the first time at the start of the week as markets drown in crude due to a virus-triggered collapse in demand.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery was up almost 10 percent at $12.68 a barrel, paring gains of around 20 percent at the open in Asia.
WTI for May delivery on Monday collapsed to an unprecedented low of minus $40.32 as traders scrambled to sell it before the contract expired Tuesday, but could find few buyers with storage capacity fast filling up.
The negative prices meant that traders were forced to pay to have the crude taken off their hands.
European benchmark Brent crude for June delivery bounced more than two percent at the open, but then reversed gains and was trading around three percent lower, with a barrel changing hands for $18.73.
It had tumbled to an 18-year low the previous day.
Stephen Innes, chief market strategist from AxiCorp, said traders were buying at bargain prices, and ...

US oil prices jump after massive rout

US President Donald Trump has insisted that Harvard, the world's wealthiest university, pay back millions it received under a massive government stimulus package meant to cushion the economy from the coronavirus pandemic.
"Harvard, you pay that money back. I want Harvard to pay the money back, ok? And if they don't do that, then we'll do something else," Trump said at his daily briefing on the pandemic on Tuesday.
"I don't like it at all. This is meant for workers. This isn't meant for one of the richest institutions ... in the world," the billionaire president continued.
Shortly after Trump spoke, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based university tweeted that it was allocated USD 8.6 million as part of the historic USD 2.2 trillion package passed last month to stimulate the collapsing US economy.
It said 100 per cent of the funds would be given to students "facing urgent financial needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic", and stressed that the money did not fall under the Paycheck Protection .

Trump sees crimson as Harvard receives millions in virus aid, wants it back

US President Donald Trump wished North Korea's Kim Jong Un "well" but stopped short of directly commenting on the reclusive leader's health amid reports he underwent serious surgery.
"I wish him well," Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, noting the "good relationship" he shares with the North Korean leader.
"If he is in the kind of condition that the reports say, that the news is saying, it's a very serious condition," he said.

I wish him well: Trump on N Korean leader Kim Jong Un

President Donald Trump has suspended immigration for green-card seekers for 60 days, arguing the controversial move would protect US jobs.
Trump offered the first details about a vague announcement he made on Monday night, addressing an issue key to his conservative base as the country is ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 43,000 people dead.
"By pausing immigration, it will help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs as America reopens," Trump said at his daily pandemic briefing on Tuesday.
"This pause will be in effect for 60 days" he said, adding that he would decide on any extension or changes "based on economic conditions at the time".

Trump says immigration suspension to last 60 days

Hundreds of Amazon warehouse employees in the US have gone on strike against what they say are unsafe working conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic, organisers said.
"More than 350 workers have now pledged" to strike, the Athena coalition, a group of workers' rights organisations, said in a statement, adding that the stoppage would be effective "starting today (Tuesday)."
However, according to Amazon, unions "grossly exaggerated" the level of participation in the protests.
"More than 250,000 people have come to work today, even more than last week to serve their communities," spokeswoman Lisa Levandowski said.
"We encourage anyone to compare the health and safety measures Amazon has taken, and the speed of their implementation, during this crisis with other retailers," she added.
Two weeks ago, Amazon announced it was distributing millions of masks to employees and implementing temperature checks at all of its US and European sites.
But, according to Athena, the application of ...

US Amazon workers strike for better conditions in pandemic

The US Senate has approved a bipartisan, USD 480 billion emergency package that replenishes a depleted program to help devastated small businesses, funds hospitals and ramps up nationwide testing during the coronavirus crisis.
The measure, which passed by unanimous consent after more than a week of negotiations between Democrats, Republicans and the White House, now heads to the House of Representatives where a vote could occur as early as Thursday.
The effort is the government's latest massive cash injection to prop up a collapsing economy amid struggles to contain a pandemic that has killed 43,000 Americans and left some 22 million people jobless.

US Senate approves new USD 480 bn pandemic relief plan

Canadian police on Tuesday raised the death toll from a weekend mass shooting in Nova Scotia province from 18 to 23, saying remains were discovered in burnt out homes and vehicles.
"We believe there to be 23 victims, including a 17-year-old. All other victims are adults, both men and women, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.
"We have recovered remains from some of the locations of the fires," it said, noting that at least five homes and buildings, as well as vehicles had been lit on fire by the gunman.

Death toll from Canada mass shooting rises to 23: RCMP

A message of condolence from Queen Elizabeth II and musical tributes for the victims of the worst mass shooting in Canadian history poured in on Tuesday as the death toll continued to rise.
According to public broadcaster CBC, police uncovered in the rubble of a home burned to the ground by the suspect the remains of a couple reported missing, bringing the total number of victims to 20.
The gunman, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, had begun his rampage late Saturday in the seaside village of Portapique, Nova Scotia, dying 14 hours later in a hail of police gunfire outside Halifax, 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.
Queen Elizabeth II said she and Prince Philip "have been deeply saddened by the appalling events in Nova Scotia." Canada's head of state also paid tribute to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers -- one of whom died, and another wounded -- and others who "selflessly responded to these devastating attacks." Across Canada, flags flew at half-mast, while Prime Minister ...

From Queen to rock bands: tributes pour in for Canada mass shooting victims

A bride in a long white gown poses by Wuhan's East Lake with her groom, face masks off momentarily as a photographer snaps pre-wedding photos.
At a nearby park in the central Chinese city, a grandfather swings his tiny grandson in a hammock strung between trees while families with tents and picnic mats make the most of a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Signs of life unimaginable during the recently ended lockdown at the coronavirus pandemic's ground zero have appeared in recent days, as Wuhan returns to work and play days after lifting a 76-day quarantine on April 8.
Onlookers join a man singing and dancing near a bridge by the Yangtze river, while swimmers dive into the water elsewhere along the bank, even as public spaces around the world fall silent under the shadow of the pandemic.
Wuhan's malls and convenience stores reopened in late March, initially requiring visitors to submit to strict temperature checks and show a code on a special app that assigns each person a colour-based rating ..

Flickers of joy in China's virus ground zero mask deep fears

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte prepared Italians for a longer lockdown Tuesday despite a second successive drop in the number of registered coronavirus cases.
Italy is approaching a fateful decision on whether to lift stay-at-home orders and reopen businesses for the first time in nearly two months on May 4.
Its virus death total of 24,648 is still Europe's highest and second globally after the United States.
Conte is being pushed into erring on the side of caution by leading doctors -- and to think more about the economic toll by big business leaders and some regional chiefs.
Governments across the world fear that premature lockdown exits could set off a second pandemic wave that requires another economically devastating closure.
Waiting for another few weeks or even months could potentially avert that cost.
But many businesses warn that they will not be able stand idle much longer and Italy's push for a comprehensive economic rescue from the European Union is running into resistance .

Italy's Conte signals longer lockdown

Cameroon admitted on Tuesday that militants acting with three soldiers killed 13 civilians including 10 children in an anglophone region in the west of the country in February.
The government had previously denied any role in the massacre in the region, where English-speaking separatists have been fighting government forces for the past two years.
According to the United Nations, the death toll in the massacre on the night of February 13 left 23 civilians dead including 15 children in the village of Ntumbo.
It said nine of the children were under age five and that two of the victims were pregnant women.
In a statement read over state radio on Tuesday, the president's office said three soldiers and a vigilante group stormed a separatist base, killing five, before "discovering that three women and 10 children were killed" in the firefight.
"Overcome with panic, the three soldiers helped by some members of the self-defence group tried to hide the incident by setting fires," the statement 

Cameroon admits army role in February killing of 13 civilians

US lawmakers and the White House have reached agreement on a $480 billion emergency package that replenishes a depleted program to help small businesses devastated by the coronavirus crisis, the Senate's top Republican said Tuesday.
"I welcome this bipartisan agreement and hope the Senate will quickly pass it once members have reviewed the final text," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.
The deal, which pumps $320 billion into the Paycheck Protection Program, $75 billion for hospitals, $25 billion for coronavirus testing and $60 billion for "economic injury disaster loans," could pass the Senate on Tuesday before heading to the House of Representatives.

Deal reached to fund virus-hit US small businesses: top Republican

A day after its historic slide into negative territory amid a supply glut, US oil futures finished in positive territory Tuesday although the market remained under heavy pressure.
Futures of US benchmark contract West Texas Intermediate for delivery in May ended at $10.01 a barrel after finishing Monday's session at -$37.63 a barrel.
But WTI futures for delivery in June plunged 43 percent to $11.57 a barrel, the lowest ever since the contract was established in 1983.

US oil futures end in positive territory at $10.01/barrel

A shadowy Islamist group that has terrorised northern Mozambique killed 52 villagers on April 7 after locals refused to be recruited to their ranks, according to police cited by local media Tuesday.
"Recently, the criminals tried to recruit young people to join their ranks, but there was resistance on the part of the youths. This provoked the anger of the criminals, who indiscriminately killed -- cruelly and diabolically -- 52 young people," police spokesman Orlando Mudumane told the state-owned broadcasting service.
The killing took place in the village of Xitaxi, in of Muidumbe district.

Fifty-two villagers killed by jihadists in northern Mozambique

Eight crew members of a Singapore-owned container ship are missing and thought to have been kidnapped after it was stormed by pirates off Benin, the ship's German management firm said Tuesday.
Shipping firm Transeste said that the vessel, the Tommi Ritscher, had been boarded on Sunday while at anchor off the port of Cotonou.
It added that an operation to recover the ship found 11 crew members safely aboard, but "regrettably, eight crew members remain missing and are now believed to have been kidnapped by the pirates".
"The Benin Navy led an operation assisted by a Nigerian Special Taskforce to board the vessel early today confirming the safety of the 11 crew members and the absence of the pirates and eight seafarers." "Our thoughts are with the families of the missing seafarers during this difficult time and we are updating them regularly on the situation." Benin lies at the heart of the Gulf of Guinea, which which stretches some 5,700 kilometres (3,500 miles) from Senegal to ...

Container ship crew 'kidnapped by pirates' off Benin

Russia's opposition has called for an online protest next week to press the Kremlin for financial aid for people struggling under the coronavirus lockdown.
During an online Youtube rally next Tuesday, Moscow councillors Yulia Galyamina, Ilya Azar and their allies also plan to seek an amnesty for prisoners and oppose President Vladimir Putin's plan to change the constitution in a move that could allow him to stay in power until 2036.
Putin has been forced to defer a key vote on the proposed amendment.
"We demand that the president and the Russian government adopt emergency measures to save people during the crisis," the organisers said in a manifesto posted on Galyamina's Facebook page.
The organisers invited supporters to send them "virtual" placards that will be shown live during the protest.
The coronavirus outbreak and a fall in oil prices have hit the Russian economy, and many have been left without jobs.
Putin has urged Russians to stay home and told their employers to continue ..

Russian opposition plans online lockdown protest

A Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled to take place in the Rwandan capital Kigali in June has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the organisation said on Tuesday.
A new date for the event, which takes place every two years, would be announced in due course, the body's London-based secretariat said in a statement.

Commonwealth postpones heads of government meeting due to virus

IBM shares slipped Tuesday as the market reacted to the business computing veteran reporting a decline in quarterly revenue and pulled its forecast for the year due to the pandemic tumult.
IBM shares were down 3.7 percent in mid-day trading, despite the company stressing its strengths in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and long-time relationships with businesses relying increasingly on those technologies.
"IBM remains focused on helping our clients adapt to the immediate challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, while we continue to enable them to shift their mission-critical workloads to hybrid cloud and expand their use of AI," chief executive Arvind Krishna said in an earnings release.
IBM reported net income of $1.2 billion on revenue of $17.6 billion in the first three months of this year compared with a profit of $1.6 billion on $18.2 billion in revenue during the same period last year.
Revenue from IBM's cloud computing operations jumped 19 percent to $5.4 billion in the ..

IBM shares slip as revenue down and forecast pulled

United Nations rights experts accused Iran of violating international law on Tuesday for executing a prisoner who was just 17 years old when he committed a crime.
Shayan Saeedpour, alleged to have committed murder in August 2015, was hanged on Tuesday, United Nations special rapporteurs Javaid Rehman and Agnes Callamard in a statement.
He was convicted and sentenced to death in October 2018, the Supreme Court confirming the sentence in February 2019.
"We are shocked that the Iranian authorities have once again defied their international obligations by executing a child offender," the UN experts said.
"We have repeatedly reminded the Iranian government and judiciary that international human rights law is clear: the application of the death penalty to child offenders is strictly prohibited and its practice is an egregious violation of the right to life."
Rehman is the special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, while Callamard is the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or ...

AFP

AFP

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