The ICC has advised its member nations to exercise caution while resuming cricket activities, fearing a spurt in local transmission with many countries still struggling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
As member nations ease restrictions imposed to contain the pandemic, the International Cricket Council on Friday issued comprehensive guidelines aimed at getting the sport up and running around the world while at the same time maintaining the highest safety protocols.
'Safety first' is one of the primary considerations of the ICC's back-to-cricket guidelines and involving the governments at all stages is a must.
"The resumption of cricket activities should begin only if there is no perceived or known risk that doing so might result in an increase in the local transmission rate," the ICC said in its guidelines.
While England remains one of the most affected countries, major cricket-playing nations such as India and Pakistan have seen a spike in the number of coronavirus positive cases ..

Resume cricket but only if there is no risk of spurt in local transmission: ICC

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A US Navy warship has successfully tested a new high-energy laser weapon that can destroy aircraft mid-flight, the Navy's Pacific Fleet has announced.
Images and videos provided by the Navy show the amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland executing "the first system-level implementation of a high-energy class solid-state laser" to disable an aerial drone aircraft, the Navy said in a statement on Friday.
It did not give a specific location of the laser weapons system demonstrator (LWSD) test, saying only that it occurred in the Pacific on May 16.
Navy ships face an increasing number of threats in conducting their missions, including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, armed small boats, and adversary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
The US Navy has been developing directed-energy weapons (DEWs), to include lasers, since the 1960s.
DEWs are defined as electromagnetic systems capable of converting chemical or electrical energy to radiated energy and focusing it on a ...

US Navy successfully tests a laser weapon that can destroy aircraft mid-flight

One of Britain's senior-most Indian-origin woman police officers, who took legal action against Scotland Yard over allegations of racial and gender discrimination, has struck a confidential settlement with the UK's largest police force.
Parm Sandhu, a Chief Superintendent with the Metropolitan Police, had claimed that she was denied promotions and opportunities at work due to her race and gender.
The 55-year-old said she had agreed to a confidential settlement after she left the Metropolitan Police last year having been cleared of gross misconduct.
I have settled my claims with the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service). The terms of the settlement are confidential. I have no further comment to make, she told the Daily Mirror.
She is likely to have received a six-figure sum in pounds and signed a non-disclosure agreement, which means the details of the case cannot be aired in public.
Worked with some fabulous people. Had some good times and painful experiences but I know I made a ...

Indian-origin woman police officer settles Scotland Yard racism case

The PIA plane was flying very "smoothly" but while attempting to land, it "jolted" thrice and then the pilot "adroitly lifted" the aircraft off the ground, only to crash moments later, recounts Muhammad Zubair, one of just two passengers who miraculously survived the fiery crash.
Zubair was among 99 passengers on board the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Airbus A-320 aircraft that plunged into a densely populated residential area near the airport here on Friday, killing 97 people, including nine children.
Flight PK-8303 from Lahore crashed at the Jinnah Garden area near Model Colony in Malir on Friday afternoon, minutes before its landing in Karachi's Jinnah International Airport. Eleven people on the ground were injured.
"The plane was coming very smoothly, 8303 of PIA. My seat was 8F. When it was reaching Jinnah International Airport, the pilot announced that 'we are landing, fasten your seat belts'. We fastened seat belts. While landing, the plane jolted three times. Then it .

Pak plane 'jolted' thrice before crash: Survivor

New coronavirus cases dropped to zero in China for the first time Saturday but overwhelmed hospitals across Latin America  both in countries lax about lockdowns and those lauded for firm, early confinement.
The virus hit a reopened church in Germany and possibly a restaurant, too.
The pandemic's persistence stymied authorities struggling to keep people safe and revive their economies at the same time, disrupting the Memorial Day weekend in the United States and collective celebrations around the Muslim world marking the end of the holy month of Ramzan.
In countries with weak health care systems, impoverished populations and not enough clean water, fighting the virus is increasingly difficult.  I'm a mother, if I don't go out and sell, my children won't have food to eat. I am obliged to go out and come here to sell the products despite the danger that we are in, said Nagnouma Kante, a market vendor in the capital of Guinea.
Turkey imposed its toughest lockdown measures yet starting ...

Virus cases drop to zero in China but surge in Latin America

Steven Soderberg may have aptly shown it how a pandemic could start and quickly grip the world within a few months through his film "Contagion" but the director says the human response to the outbreak in reality is something that baffles him.
The 2011 movie, about the spread of a highly contagious and deadly virus, has come back in public consciousness as the world grapples with the coronavirus. The film, predictably, is enjoying a spike in popularity.
In an interview with theLos Angeles Times, Soderbergh said after making "Contagion", which he directed from a screenplay byScott Z. Burns, he wasn't surprised by how the coronavirus crisis played out in the real world.
"Everybody we talked to when we were preparing that film, every expert, when we asked them how will the next one start, to a person, they said, wet market, Asia, there's probably going to be a bat involved.
"Literally all of them. Ten years ago, 11 years ago. So it's not a surprise," Soderbergh said.
However, the ...

Human behaviour during COVID-19 pandemic 'deeply irrational', says 'Contagion' director

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to sack his top aide after reports that he breached the coronavirus stay-at-home lockdown rules by travelling to his parents' home.
Dominic Cummings, who is Johnson's Chief Strategy Adviser at No. 10 Downing Street, had developed coronavirus symptoms around the same time the UK prime minister tested positive for the deadly virus at the end of March.
According to UK media reports, he and his wife travelled from London over 260 miles to his parents' home in Durham, north-east England, during that time.
In a statement, Downing Street on Saturday said Cummings believed he "behaved reasonably and legally" and that his actions were in line with the coronavirus guidelines.
The government's strict social distancing rules in place at the time called on people not to travel as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. And, the advice for anyone with coronavirus symptoms remains to self-isolate at home and not leave  even for ...

UK PM under pressure to sack top aide for coronavirus lockdown breach

A powerful Muslim body in South Africa has cautioned the community members about Eid turning into a "super-spreader" of the deadly coronavirus, urging them to forego the traditional ways of celebrating the festival.
The Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa (MJCSA) issued a statement on Friday, calling on Muslims to not to engage in the traditional ceremonies and prayers associated with Eid.
The community members will have to forego their usual practice of meeting for communal prayers at open spaces or visits to cemeteries, friends and family on the festival due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
"Eid can potentially become a super-spreading event, which results in many more people dying, especially if people disobey lockdown regulations and start visiting family (as) it will lose its effect if people start visiting each other at home.
Please avoid physically getting together as it puts yourself and your family at risk, the statement said.
The country has been under a nationwide lockdown 

Eid has potential of becoming a 'super-spreader' of COVID-19: S African Muslim body

Revealing a little too much, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany committed a gaffe by disclosing President Donald Trump's bank information while displaying a cheque donating his quarterly salary to the Department of Health and Human Services.
As McEnany held the cheque to show it to the reporters on Friday, it not only had the USD 100,000 amount to be given to the HHS but also displayed the president's private bank account and routing numbers, The New York Times reported.
The donation was as per the quarterly tradition of Trump to forgo his USD 400,000 salary and donate it.
In the past, Trump has donated to the Small Business Administration initiative to help veteran entrepreneurs, to the Office of the Surgeon General to fight the opioid epidemic, and to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, among other places.
According to the nbcnews.com, the donation to HHS is being made to develop new therapies for treating and preventing coronavirus.
"Here is the ...

White House press secretary reveals Trump's bank details

Its wings sliced through rooftops, sending flames and plumes of dark smoke into the air before the Pakistan International Airlines plane with 99 people on board came crashing down with a deafening explosion onto a street here, according to some eyewitnesses and rescue workers.
Flight PK8303 crashed among houses in the Model Colony residential area on Friday as it approached Karachi airport, killing 97 people, including nine children.
The first Edhi ambulance reached the site of the crash within 10 minutes.
The narrow streets were a maze of parked cars, plane debris and rubble from damaged houses. Only one car could pass through at a time, recounts Faisal Edhi, head of the Edhi Foundation.
Edhi said that since the street was littered with burning wreckage from the aircraft, most of the rescue work happened from the rooftops of adjoining houses.
He said the people who witnessed the crash told him that the plane had hit a water tank before it came crashing down on a 20-foot street which .

It was all 'fire and smoke': eyewitnesses recount Pak plane crash

A parish leader says that several members of a congregation have tested positive for the coronavirus after a church service in Frankfurt.
News agency dpa reported Saturday that Wladimir Pritzkau, the deputy head of the Evangelical Christian Baptist congregation involved, as saying the service took place on May 10.
He did not say how many people were affected but said that most are at home and six are in hospital.
Religious services have been allowed in the region since May 1, with conditions that include a 1.5 meter (5-foot) distance between worshippers and the provision of disinfectant.
Pritzkau said rules were adhered to. The church has canceled all gatherings and is now conducting services online.
The head of the city's health office wouldn't confirm or deny the case, citing medical confidentiality.

Positive cases after church service in Frankfurt

Free parking, but no valet service. Bartenders, blackjack dealers and waiters wearing masks. Hand sanitizer everywhere.
Yes, dice will roll, cards will be dealt and slot machines will beckon. But poker rooms? Closed.
Tourists returning to Las Vegas will see changes since gambling stopped in mid-March for the first time ever to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The stakes could not be higher, said Robert Lang, executive director of the Brookings Mountain West think tank at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Las Vegas can never be known as the place where people go and get sick, he said.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has set a tentative June 4 date for reopening casinos. The Democratic governor said in a statement Friday that Nevada has continued to see decreasing cases of the coronavirus and hospitalizations of COVID-19 when some restrictions began to be eased nearly two weeks ago.
Sisolak's office said he plans to hold a news conference on Tuesday to offer more details about the next .

Disinfected dice: Las Vegas casinos getting ready to roll

Authorities say seven people appear to have been infected with the coronavirus at a restaurant in northwestern Germany, in what would be the first known such case since restaurants started reopening in the country two weeks ago.
The local government in Leer county said Friday night that the cases, reported between Tuesday and Friday, led to at least 50 people being quarantined.
Previously, no new cases had been confirmed in the area for over a week.
Germany started loosening its coronavirus restrictions on April 20 and that process has gathered pace recently. Lower Saxony state, where Leer is located, allowed restaurants to reopen May 11 with hygiene precautions.
Those currently include a 2-meter (6 -foot) distance between tables, masks for waiters and an obligation to take the name, address and phone number of guests so that possible infections can be traced.

Seven restaurant goers appear to have been infected in northwestern Germany

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to sack his top aide after reports emerged about him breaching the coronavirus stay-at-home lockdown rules by travelling to his parents' home.
Dominic Cummings, who is Johnson's Chief Strategy Adviser at No. 10 Downing Street, had developed coronavirus symptoms around the same time the UK Prime Minister tested positive for the deadly virus at the end of March.
According to UK media reports, he and his wife travelled from London over 260 miles to his parents' home in Durham, north-east England, during that time.
The government's strict social distancing rules in place at the time called on people not to travel as part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. And, the advice for anyone with coronavirus symptoms remains to self-isolate at home and not leave  even for essential supplies  for seven days.
A member of the public is understood to have seen Cummings and made a complaint to the local Durham police, a joint ...

UK PM under pressure to sack top aide for lockdown breach

Australia's limited over captain Aaron Finch believes cricket boards across the world will have to compromise and make "one big effort" to get the sport back on track following the coronavirus hiatus.
There are speculations that the 13th IPL, which was suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, might be conducted in October-November at the expense of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Finch, who is on the board of Australian players' union, said it is not only about the IPL and all stakeholders have to make compromises to get cricket to thrive again.
"It will get to a point, not just for IPL but for all cricket, there'll be a compromise from a lot of different stakeholders  organisations, countries, players, the ICC  to get cricket back and countries thriving again," Finch was quoted as saying by 'Sydney Morning Herald'.
"I think the ICC are meeting next week to start discussing the FTP (Future Tours Program) again. The next couple of weeks we'll have more idea what that looks .

Stakeholders will have to compromise, make one big effort to rebuild cricket: Finch

Mauricio Pochettino says returning to the Premier League is his "priority", stating he is eager to manage again six months after being sacked by Tottenham.
The 48-year-old transformed Spurs' fortunes during his five-and-a-half-year reign but failed to win a trophy and was sacked less than a year after leading them to the Champions League final.
The Argentine has now ended his six-month "gardening leave", meaning he is free to join another club.
He has been heavily linked with Newcastle if their proposed Saudi Arabia-backed takeover goes through, while speculation over the Manchester United job has never gone away.
"After six months, our tanks are completely full," Pochettino told various British media outlets.
"I have tried with my coaching staff to review everything that we did in the last seven years (including Southampton) because we never had a break until now."
Pochettino, who still lives in London, said he "loved" England and the Premier League.
"I am not going change (my ...

Pochettino wants Premier League return

Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden have put forward a counterproposal for a European coronavirus recovery fund with a two-year time limit and a concentration on loans.
The Austria Press Agency reported that the countries issued their position paper on Saturday. It follows a French-German proposal for a fund of 500 billion euros ($550 billion) that would make outright grants to help countries and endorses common borrowing.
The agency states that the four countries must not agree to instruments or measures that lead to a mutualisation of debt or significant increases" in the European Union's budget.
The proposal didn't put a figure on the aid that should be given, but APA reported that the Austrian chancellery said the money must be used for the rebuilding and resilience of the health sector and the economy. Research, innovation and climate-related investments could be backed.
The EU's executive commission is expected to unveil its own proposal for a recovery fund next week, ..

4 countries table counterproposal recovery fund

Leaders Porto will travel to Famalicao as the Portugese top-flight returns to action on June 3 after more than two months on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Primeira Liga said.
The league announced late Friday the schedule for the remaining nine rounds of the season but not for July 21's final matchday.
Porto host seventh-placed Famalicao, who were promoted last term, late on the Wednesday after struggling Portimonense welcome mid-table Gil Vicente earlier in the day.
The Portuguese government said in April the closing 10 rounds of the campaign, which was suspended on March 12, would have to be played according to strict medical protocols.
Players will have to pass virus tests twice a week and matches will be played "in the fewest number of stadiums possible".
The venues for the remaining fixtures were not divulged by the league but according to local press reports they will be held in their usual locations.
Elsewhere, champions Benfica, whose midfielder David Tavares had ...

Top of table Porto main event in Primeira Liga restart

France is allowing religious services to resume starting Saturday after a legal challenge to the government's ban on such gatherings.
Religious leaders welcomed the decision but said it will take time to put the necessary safety measures in place.
To prevent further spread of the virus, visitors to French places of worship must wear masks, wash their hands upon entering, and keep a distance of at least one meter (three feet) from other people.
The French government had banned religious services until June 2 even though stores and other businesses started reopening last week. The Council of State, the country's highest administrative body, struck down the ban, and the government published a decree Saturday allowing services to resume.
The French Bishops Conference said it would work with church leaders to prepare for reopening, notably for Pentecost Sunday services May 31.
The rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris said that it will not be ready to reopen for services Sunday marking Eid ..

France allowing religious services to resume

Authorities say seven people appear to have been infected with the coronavirus at a restaurant in northwestern Germany, in what would be the first known such case since restaurants started reopening in the country two weeks ago.
The local government in Leer county said Friday night that the cases, reported between Tuesday and Friday, led to at least 50 people being quarantined.
Previously, no new cases had been confirmed in the area for over a week.
Germany started loosening its coronavirus restrictions on April 20 and that process has gathered pace recently.
Lower Saxony state, where Leer is located, allowed restaurants to reopen May 11 with hygiene precautions.
Those currently include a 2-meter (6 -foot) distance between tables, masks for waiters and an obligation to take the name, address and phone number of guests so that possible infections can be traced.

Seven restaurant-goers suspected with coronavirus in Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is defending her country's coronavirus restrictions and calling on her compatriots to keep respecting social distancing rules.
Germany started loosening its lockdown restrictions on April 20 and since then has at least partly reopened many sectors. At the same time, the country has seen frequent protests against lockdown measures.
Merkel said in her weekly video message Saturday that the measures were necessary, and that officials must continue to justify why some restrictions can't be lifted while ensuring that they are proportionate.
Merkel said that Germany has "succeeded so far in achieving the aim of preventing our health system being overwhelmed.

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