Steppe

Welcome !

The Tour de France is considering the option of going ahead without fans, says France’s sports minister. The race is due to run from 27 June to 19 July but is in doubt, with most major sports events off because of the coronavirus pandemic. "We have [imposed spectator bans] for other competitions before," said Roxana Maracineanu. "But there's a time for everything. We have a more urgent fight, it's still too early to decide [to go ahead]." She added: "Let's put all our effort into climbing that mountain before tackling the next one." Maracineanu said one thing in favour of running the race 'behind closed doors' was that "it won't have the same [financial] impact because the business model of the Tour doesn't depend on ticket sales like football or rugby". "In this period of confinement, everyone is aware and responsible," she added to France Bleu. "Everyone understands the benefits of staying at home and therefore favouring the television show rather than the live show." The Giro d'Italia - set for 9-31 May - has been postponed, while a decision is still to be made on the final Grand Tour of the year, the Vuelta a Espana, which is due to start on 14 August. The 2020 Olympic Games and football's Euro 2020 are among the major events already postponed.

The Italian region worst hit by coronavirus has seen a steep decline in the number of deaths and infections but fears are growing that the country's south could become the next hotspot. Recent numbers from the northern region of Lombardy suggested the epidemic might be slowing at its epicentre. But poorer southern parts are seeing a sharp rise in deaths, raising fears the health service could be overwhelmed. Italy has reported 7,503 deaths from coronavirus and 74,386 confirmed cases. The rise of 7.5% in new infections on Wednesday was the lowest since the start of the outbreak in the country, the worst-affected in Europe and where almost everything has been closed for over two weeks and people told to stay at home. Hans Kluge, Europe's regional director at the World Health Organization, said the numbers were "encouraging signs" but cautioned that it was too early to say whether the worst had passed. What is happening in Italy's south? Contagion and deaths are far less widespread there, but worrying signs are coming from regions such as Campania around Naples and Rome's Lazio where the health system is considered much less equipped than in the rich north. So far there have been 74 deaths in Campania and 95 in Lazio. In an open letter to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, Vincenzo De Luca, president of the Campania region, complained that the central government had not provided promised ventilators and other life-saving equipment. "At this point there is the real prospect that Lombardy's tragedy is about to become the south's tragedy," he said. "We are on the eve of a major expansion of infections which may not be sustainable." On Thursday, Mr Conte told the Italian Senate that all of Europe would be hit by a "hard, severe" recession following the coronavirus emergency, and that "extraordinary and exceptional measures" were needed to face the shock. With analysts predicting that the strict measures will result in Italy sliding into its deepest recession in a generation, Mr Conte promised a second stimulus package worth at least €25bn (£23bn; $27bn).

V1 Text & Effect.

V1 text,effect

Welcome

v1 just text

Welcome

Welcome

Uefa could authorise one-legged knockout matches for some Champions League and Europa League ties after postponing the finals of all this season's major competitions. With European football suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, there was no possibility of the competitions reaching their scheduled conclusion at the end of May. It is still hoped to play the respective finals on 27 June and 24 June, potentially at the end of mini tournaments to be played in Istanbul and Gdansk. The Women's Champions League final - originally scheduled for 24 May - has also been postponed. There is no guarantee of these matches taking place though and work is now being undertaken to try to work out a formula that would allow the competitions to reach a conclusion. One obvious difficulty is that matches in the men's competitions are at different stages and countries may be allowed to restart professional football at different times. In the Champions League, four last-16 ties have been concluded, while the second legs of the other four are still to take place. In the Europa League, six first-leg ties have been played but two remain outstanding. While it is hard to see Uefa ruling out the second legs of ties that have already started, they may be willing to let the ones that have not - both involving Spanish sides playing Italian ones - be decided by a single game, with the venue to be decided by the toss of a coin. Quarter-finals and semi-finals could also be played over a single game. It has already been agreed that European club matches could be played on a weekend and it is also understood there is no longer any imperative for the Champions League to be the last club game of the season, raising the possibility of the qualifying rounds for the 2020-21 tournament beginning before the major leagues have concluded.

The lockdown in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the global coronavirus outbreak began, will be partially lifted on 8 April, officials say. Travel restrictions in the rest of Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, will be lifted from midnight on Tuesday - for residents who are healthy. A single new case of the virus was reported in Wuhan on Tuesday following almost a week of no new cases. Countries around the world have gone into lockdown or imposed severe curbs. The UK is getting to grips with sweeping new measures to tackle the spread of coronavirus, including a ban on public gatherings of more than two people and the immediate closure of shops selling non-essential goods.

v1 text,blur

v2 blur,effect

Welcome