The Tokyo Olympics will begin on July 23 next year, organisers said on Monday, after the coronavirus forced the historic decision to postpone the Games until 2021.
The announcement comes less than a week after the organisers were forced to delay the Games under heavy pressure from athletes and sports federations as the global outbreak worsened.
“The Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021. The Paralympics will be held from August 24 to September 5,” Tokyo 2020 chief Yoshiro Mori told reporters at a hastily arranged evening news conference.
Only hours earlier, Mori had said he …
Joe Diffie, a Grammy award-winning country music singer who had several chart-topping hits in the 1990s, has died of coronavirus. He was 61.
Diffie’s death was announced on his Facebook page, which said he died on Sunday “from complications of coronavirus.”
His death came just two days after he had announced that he had tested positive for the virus and was receiving medical care.
“My family and I are asking for privacy at this time,” he said. “We want to remind the public and all my fans to be vigilant, cautious and careful during this pandemic.”
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Florida’s governor said Monday that he does not want passengers suspected of suffering from coronavirus on the cruise ship Zaandam to be “dumped” in his southern US state.
The Holland America Line vessel passed through the Panama Canal overnight as the company searched for a port that will allow the Zaandam passengers to disembark.
“We view this as a big, big problem and we do not want to see people dumped in southern Florida right now,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told Fox News. “I’m in contact with the White House on this.”
DeSantis later said he would like to have …
Italy on Monday extended an economically crippling lockdown until “at least” mid-April to stem coronavirus infections that have claimed a world-leading 11,591 lives.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said any easing of containment measures would be done incrementally to ensure Italy does not give up gains it has made against the extraordinary disease.
The near three-week shutdown “had been very tough economically,” Conte told Spain’s El Pais newspaper.
“It cannot last very long,” he said. “We can study ways (of lifting restrictions). But it will have to be done gradually.”
Health Minister Roberto Speranza later announced that “all containment measures would …
President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed plunging oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic Monday, as Trump said Moscow is pressing for an end to US sanctions.
The two “expressed serious concern regarding the scope of the spread of the coronavirus” and “discussed closer cooperation,” according to a Kremlin statement on what it described as the “lengthy” phone call.
The White House said in a separate statement Trump and Putin had “agreed to work closely together through the G20” against the virus and the economic shock resulting from travel bans and social distancing.
Both statements reported that …
Spain’s Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma has become the first royal in the world to die from coronavirus, according to a statement from her brother, Prince Sixto Enrique.
The Saudi-UAE coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen carried out more than a dozen air strikes on the capital Sanaa, the first such attacks on the city in months.
According to Houthi-run Al Masirah TV, the coalition launched 19 air raids on Monday. No casualties were reported so far.
The attacks on Sanaa came after Saudi Arabia intercepted two ballistic missiles the Houthis said they had launched on Saturday towards Riyadh and southern parts of the kingdom near the Yemeni border.
The Houthi attack coincided with the fifth anniversary of Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen’s civil war.
Al Jazeera’s
The number of cases is expected to continue to rapidly rise as more people are tested for COVID-19.
Read Also: Coronavirus Strikes 151 Dead In New York In 24 Hours
So far, Washington and New York have been hit the hardest by the virus. At least 144 have died in Washington and 776 in New York.
Responding to the virus, several states have declared states of emergency and ordered the closures
The Prince of Wales is now out of self-isolation, following his diagnosis of coronavirus.
Prince Charles, 71, spent seven days self-isolating in Scotland after testing positive and displaying mild symptoms.
The Duchess of Cornwall, 72, was tested and did not have the virus, but will self-isolate until the end of the week.
A Palace official said the prince was in good health and was following the government’s restrictions.
“Clarence House has confirmed today that, having consulted with his doctor, the Prince of Wales is now out of self-isolation,” a spokesman said.
Prince Charles, who is known as the Duke of …
The growth in coronavirus cases in hard-hit Spain appears to be slowing, the country’s foreign minister has told the BBC.
Another 6,400 cases were confirmed on Monday, the lowest increase in new cases for a week. The total of deaths reached 7,340 after 812 new fatalities.
It comes as a national lockdown expanded to instruct non-essential workers to stay home for two weeks.
Meanwhile, the doctor leading the country’s response has tested positive.
Spain’s latest national figures show that the virus’ upwards curve appears to be flattening out, Foreign Minister Arancha González says.
Officials are hoping that the peak of …
Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi is a graduate of Development Studies from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. She holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations with a specialisation in Gender Studies from Swansea University, United Kingdom. She tells her story, in a series of tweets, of how she survived the deadly coronavirus infection.
She shares:
…Life finds ways of throwing LEMON at me. I’ve struggled with coming forward, but I want to inspire hope.
I returned to Nigeria from the UK post-Commonwealth event (I totally enjoyed) & fell ill. As a responsible person, I self-isolated.
Days after, I TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
