Pep Guardiola's 82-year-old mother has died after contracting coronavirus, Manchester City announced on Monday.
"The Manchester City family are devastated to report the death today of Pep's mother Dolors Sala Carrio in Manresa, Barcelona, after contracting coronavirus," the Premier League club said in a statement.
"Everyone associated with the club sends their most heartfelt sympathy at this most distressing time to Pep, his family and all their friends." Guardiola, 49, last month donated one million euros ($1 million) to buy medical supplies for the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in his native Spain.
He also issued a video as part of the club's Cityzens At Home initiative urging fans to stay at home.
Spain declared Monday a fourth consecutive drop in the number of coronavirus-related deaths, with 637 over the past 24 hours, the lowest number in nearly two weeks.
Fatalities, which were sharply down on the record 950 on Thursday, brought the total deaths in the country to ...

Guardiola's mother dies after contracting virus

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Pakistan on Monday opened Torkham and Chaman border crossings with Afghanistan for four days to allow the exit of Afghan nationals stranded in the country, officials said.
The Foreign Office said in a statement that the step has been taken on a special request of the Afghan government based on humanitarian considerations and to facilitate the Afghan nationals.
Hundreds of Afghans were stuck up on the Pakistani side due to closure of the border as a precautionary measure to contain the deadly coronavirus from spreading.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government Spokesman Ajmal Wazir told a media briefing that all facilities would be provided to Afghan nationals in their return to their country in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
He said that the number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 405 in the province after 33 new cases were reported on Monday. So far, 16 people have died due to the virus in the province.

Pakistan opens two border crossings with Afghanistan for four days

The Supreme Court is declining to take the case of a 1960s black militant formerly known as H. Rap Brown who is in prison for killing a Georgia sheriff's deputy in 2000.
As is usual, the justices didn't comment Monday in turning away Brown's case. Brown had argued his constitutional rights were violated at trial.
Brown converted to Islam and now goes by the name Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin. He gained prominence more than 50 years ago as a Black Panthers leader and was at one point the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
In 2002, Al-Amin was convicted of murder in the death of Fulton County sheriff's Deputy Ricky Kinchen and the wounding of Kinchen's partner, Deputy Aldranon English. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Al-Amin had argued that a prosecutor violated his right not to testify by directly questioning him during closing arguments in a sort of mock cross-examination.

High Court declines case of 60s black militant H. Rap Brown

Temperatures last month were among the hottest on record for March, the European Union's satellite monitoring service said on Monday, with particularly extreme warm weather over Russia, home to much of Earth's permafrost.
The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said March 2020 was 0.68 degrees Celsius warmer than the average March from 1981 to 2010, and on par with March 2017 and 2019 -- currently the second hottest on record after March 2016.
Temperatures across Europe were almost two degrees Celsius hotter than the historical average, it said.
Global temperatures have risen more than one degree Celsius since the industrial era as manmade greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels grow ever larger despite dire warnings from scientists.
The last five years are the five hottest on record, and 2019 was the hottest year in history bar 2016, in which temperatures were boosted by a particularly strong El Nino weather event.
The permafrost in Russian and Canadian forests ...

March 2020 among hottest on record: EU

Wall Street opened higher on Monday as traders took heart from news of falling coronavirus death rates in hard-hit countries even as US cases were poised to spike.
The IMF noted early signs of a recovery in the world's second-largest economy China, including rising pollution levels, but news that a meeting of top oil producers had been delayed sent oil prices slumping.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 5 per cent, a gain of o 22,113.97 about 45 minutes into the trading session.
The broad-based S&P 500 climbed 4.8 per cent to 2,607.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq also gained, opening up 4.7 percent to 7,717.70.
US authorities warned over the weekend that the coming days would be tough for already hard-pressed American healthcare providers, but early signs have emerged that the virus may be slowing in New York, the current US epicenter.
Italy over the weekend reported its lowest death toll in two weeks and France its fewest dead in a week, while Spain recorded lower fatalities ...

Wall Street opens higher on global recovery signs

The Pentagon says the number of COVID-19 cases in the active duty force topped 1,000 over the weekend.
There are a total of 1,132 confirmed cases as of Monday morning. The total was 978 on Friday.
There also have been 303 cases among members of the National Guard.
Among the military services, the Navy has the most cases, with 431. That includes more than 150 among the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Pentagon: Active duty infections topped 1,000

The US embassy in Germany on Monday denied a claim that a Berlin-bound shipment of protective masks had been "confiscated" by the United States, calling it disinformation designed to stoke division.
"The United States Government did not take any action to divert any... supplies that were destined to Germany nor did we have any knowledge of such a shipment," an embassy spokesman told AFP.
"We remain concerned about pervasive attempts to divide international efforts through unsourced, unattributed disinformation campaigns," he added.
Berlin's regional minister of the interior Andreas Geisel on Friday said 200,000 highly sought-after FFP2 masks, made by an American firm in China and destined for use by Berlin police, were "confiscated" in Bangkok.
He accused the US of using "methods from the Wild West" and of carrying out an "act of modern-day piracy".
Geisel doubled down on the accusations on Monday morning, insisting that the masks had been redirected to the US.
"The fact is that we ...

US denies 'Wild West' swoop on Berlin-bound masks

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday imposed a three-week ban on movement in and out of four main coronavirus "infected areas", including the capital Nairobi, ahead of the usually busy Easter weekend.
Kenyatta stopped short of a full lockdown within these areas, but warned "we must be ready to go even further if necessary" in a televised address to the nation.
He ordered "cessation of all movement by road, rail or air in and out of" Nairobi, and the coastal towns of Kilifi and Kwale and the country's second largest city of Mombasa for 21 days, starting from Monday at 7pm (1600 GMT).
"The movement of food supplies and other cargo will continue as normal during the declared containment period through road, railway and air," he said.
Kenya currently counts 158 cases and six deaths from the virus, most of them in the capital, with a few cases also along the coast.
It is the second worst-hit nation in eastern Africa after Mauritius which has 227 cases.
Kenya country has already ...

Kenya cordons off capital, virus-hit cities for 21 days

The Nepal government on Monday appointed Maha Prasad Adhikari as the governor of its central bank.
India-educated Adhikari along with Keshav Prasad Bhattarai and Chintamani Siwakoti were chosen as candidates for the position of the Nepal Rastra Bank governor by the recommendation committee coordinated by Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada.
Monday's Cabinet meeting decided to appoint Adhikari, 57, for the top position that remained vacant for the past three weeks following the retirement of incumbent governor Chiranjibi Nepal.
Former Chief Executive Officer of Nepal Investment Board, Adhikari is a certified Chartered Accountant from Institute of Chartered Accounts of India.

Maha Prasad Adhikari appointed governor of Nepal central bank

Emergency teams in Ukraine on Monday continued battling a forest fire in the contaminated area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that has raised radiation fears.
Police said they tracked down a person suspected of starting the blaze by setting dry grass on fire in the area. The 27-year-old man said he burned grass for fun and then failed to extinguish the fire when the wind caused it to expand quickly.
Two blazes erupted Saturday in the zone around Chernobyl that was sealed after the 1986 explosion at the plant.
Firefighters said they have managed to localize one of the fires in an area of about five hectares (12 acres), but the second one continued burning, covering about 20 hectares (50 acres). They said they were using aircraft to extinguish the blaze.
The authorities said that radiation levels in the area engulfed by fires substantially exceeded normal levels, but the emergencies service said radiation levels in the capital, Kyiv, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south, were 

Ukraine continues to battle forest fire near Chernobyl

The virtual Grand National raised 2.6 million pounds (USD 3.2 million) for Britain's National Health Service from the profit on betting on Saturday's computer-generated race donated by bookmakers.
The animated event proved a popular replacement to the real thing with the world's most famous steeplechase a casualty of racing's shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We are overwhelmed with the public support for the Virtual Grand National and the support shown" for the NHS, said Michael Dugher, chairman of the Betting and Gaming Council.
Shown live on television an audience of almost five million, more than double the figure that tuned in to see last year's Epsom Derby, watched Potters Corner take the virtual Aintree spoils at 18-1, with hat-trick seeker and favourite Tiger Roll in fourth.
Coral spokesman David Stevens told The Racing Post: "We had no idea how popular the Virtual Grand National would be as it was a completely unique situation but throughout Saturday it became ...

Virtual Grand National raises 2.6 million pounds for NHS

New car sales in Britain dived 44 percent last month as the country's lockdown triggered by the coronavirus outbreak shut show rooms, industry data showed Monday.
It comes as UK-based research group, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), estimated that Britain's lockdown was costing its economy more that GBP 2.4 billion (USD 2.9 billion, 2.7 billion euros) per day in lost output across all main sectors.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders meanwhile said that UK car sales suffered the worst March since the late 1990s.
"In the important plate change month, 203,370 fewer cars were registered than in March 2019, as showrooms closed in line with government advice to contain the spread of the coronavirus," the SMMT said in a statement.
"The performance represented a steeper fall than during the 2009 financial crisis," it added.
Sales are normally boosted by the twice-a-year number plate change that occurs in March and September.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes ...

UK car sales dive 44% in virus downturn

Wall Street opened higher on Monday as traders took heart from news of falling coronavirus death rates in hard-hit countries even as US cases were poised to spike and a meeting of top oil producers was delayed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 3.8 percent at 21,850.61 shortly after the open, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 3.6 percent to 2,579.03.
The tech-rich Nasdaq also gained, opening up 3.5 percent at 7,629.72.

US stocks open with gains, Dow +3.8%, S&P 500 +3.6%

China stepped up border control measures on Monday as the number of imported coronavirus cases rose sharply to 951 while the asymptomatic cases also surged, raising fears of a second wave of the COVID-19 infections, mainly from Chinese returning home from abroad despite drastic containment efforts.
A health official in Beijing warned that the Chinese capital, Beijing, will probably remain under long-term coronavirus epidemic control.
Mi Feng, a spokesperson for the National Health Commission (NHC) told the media on Monday that 951 imported cases have been reported till Sunday as China airlifted more of its nationals from different countries currently struggling to cope up with Covid-19 spread.
Mi said the pressure brought by imported cases on China continues to increase, especially those from neighbouring countries.
His remarks followed reports of 20 imported infection cases in Suifenhe, a Chinese port city -- with a population of 70,000  bordering China and Russia, on Monday, the ...

China faces new wave of coronavirus infections as number of imported cases rise sharply

President Donald Trump is confronting the most dangerous crisis a US leader has faced this century as the coronavirus spreads and a once-vibrant economy falters.
As the turmoil deepens, the choices he makes in the critical weeks ahead will shape his reelection prospects, his legacy and the character of the nation.
The early fallout is sobering. In the White House's best-case scenario, more than 100,000 Americans will die and millions more will be sickened.
At least 10 million have already lost their jobs, and some economists warn it could be years before they find work again.
The S&P 500 index has plunged more than 20%, and the US surgeon general predicted on Sunday that this week will be "our Pearl Harbour moment" as the death toll climbs.
Those grim realities are testing Trump's leadership and political survival skills unlike any challenge he has faced in office, including the special counsel investigation and the impeachment probe that imperiled his presidency.
Trump appears ...

Trump sees limits of presidency in avoiding blame for virus

The coronavirus threatened Americans with their hardest week in living memory on Monday and put Britain's prime minister in hospital, despite early signs that some of Europe's hardest-hit countries may be turning a corner.
More than 70,000 people have now died worldwide in the epidemic -- some 50,000 of them in Europe -- and, as the human tragedy continues to escalate, the global economy is plunging into what leaders warn will be a historic recession.
Japan announced an imminent state of emergency and a trillion-dollar stimulus package, while the US surgeon general compared the likely impact of the epidemic in the week ahead to 9/11 or Pearl Harbour and France warned of the worst economic slump since World War II.
In London, Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained in hospital Monday but was in "good spirits" after being admitted for tests for "persistent" coronavirus symptoms.
"The prime minister had a comfortable night in St Thomas' Hospital in London and is in good spirits," Johnson's 

US braces for 'hardest' week in virus battle as British PM hospitalised

Four Indian nationals in the US have died due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Malayalee diaspora organization.
Aleyamma Kuriakose (65) died in New York due to the COVID-19 infection.
The Federation of Kerala Associations in North America (FOKANA) confirmed the deaths of three other Indian nationals due to coronavirus - Thankachan Enchenattu, 51, Abraham Samuel, 45, and Shawn Abraham, 21.
FOKANA is an umbrella organisation of Malayalee associations in North America and Canada.
The organisation and members of the community expressed profound sadness over the demise of the persons, expressing condolences to their family and friends.
The Consulate General of India in New York said that it is in touch with the families of the deceased.
New York, the epicentre of the pandemic in the US, has over 113,000 coronavirus cases in the US. New York City alone has more than 63,000 coronavirus patients, and over 2,620 deaths.
The state had also recorded the highest single increase in the .

Four Indian nationals in US die due to COVID-19

Williams became the second Formula One team to furlough some staff due to the coronavirus pandemic as drivers George Russell and Nicholas Latifi agreed to cut their wages by 20 percent on Monday.
Formula One's 2020 season has been delayed because of the pandemic and British-based Williams announced their cost-cutting moves a week after McLaren opted to take the same financial measures.
Canadian Latifi and Briton Russell, along with senior Williams executives, have taken a 20 percent pay cut from April 1, with the other staff put on an enforced leave until the end of May.
McLaren drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris took voluntary pay cuts last week.
"Due to the ongoing situation involving Covid-19, ROKiT Williams Racing is temporarily furloughing a number of employees as part of a wider range of cost-cutting measures," a Williams statement said.
"The furlough period will last until the end of May whilst senior management, and our drivers, have taken a pay cut of 20% effective from ...

F1 team Williams furlough staff as drivers take pay cut

Actor Jay Benedict, best known for his roles in film "Aliens" and TV show "Emmerdale", has passed away due to complications arising from the coronavirus. He was 68.
The actor died on April 4, a week before his 69th birthday, following a battle with the COVID-19 virus.
In a statement shared on Twitter, Benedict's management team said, "It is with profound sorrow that we must announce Jay's death on the 4th of April due to complications arising from a Covid-19 infection."
The American actor was best known for playing Russ Jordan in James Cameron's 1986 sci-fi epic "Aliens", also featuring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Paxton.
Born in California, Benedict's family left the US for Europe when he was a child.
He also starred in British soap opera "Emmerdale in 1997", in which he played businessman Doug Hamilton.
In a career spanning four decades, Benedict also appeared in "The Dark Knight Rises" and played the role of John Kieffer, the US Army officer and friend of detective Christopher Foyle .

'Aliens' star Jay Benedict dies due to COVID-19 complications

Americans are increasingly taking preventative measures, including staying away from large crowds and avoiding touching their hands to their faces, to confront the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research.
The survey found that 94 per cent of Americans say they are staying away from large groups, up from 68 per cent in mid-March, while 86 per cent say they are avoiding other people as much as possible.
Among other findings in the survey, conducted March 26-29 among American adults are:
-- Americans' worries about infection with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, have increased dramatically in the past six weeks  including across age groups, race and ethnicity and by political affiliation.
But Democrats remain more likely than Republicans to say they are strongly worried, 65 per cent to 31 per cent. Americans under age 45 are more likely than those older to say they are very worried, 54 per cent to 46 .

AP-NORC poll: Pandemic impact varies by age, income level

South Africa, one of the world's most unequal countries with a large population vulnerable to the new coronavirus, may have an advantage in the outbreak, honed during years battling HIV and tuberculosis: the know-how and infrastructure to conduct mass testing.
Health experts stress that the best way to slow the spread of the virus is through extensive testing, the quick quarantine of people who are positive, and tracking who those people came into contact with.
We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization and a former Ethiopian health minister, said recently.
South Africa has begun doing just that with mobile testing units and screening centers established in the country's most densely populated township areas, where an estimated 25% of the country's 57 million people live.
Clad in protective gear, medical workers operate a mobile testing unit in Johannesburg's poor Yeoville area. In the ...

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