bbc--2020-03-23--Stuart Hogg: 'I was Six Nations player of the year in 2016 & 2017 and in horrendous shape'

It would n't constitute live sport as such , but had the cameras been trained on Stuart Hogg as he struggled manfully to piece together his kids ' trampoline last week then it would have been wildly entertaining none the less .
The way he tells it , putting France in their place at Murrayfield was a whole lot easier than putting springs in the right spots in his garden .
`` I 'm not a man for building stuff , '' he says , self-mockingly .
To illustrate that point he says there 's a toolbox in his garage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it 's pink is because it belongs to his wife Gill as she 's the one who gets stuff done in the Hogg household .
`` She does everything , but I was determined to put this trampoline together , '' he says .
`` I lost my head a few times , I 'm not going to lie .
Took me more than three hours .
It got quite tense out there .
I got it done just before the kids came home from nursery .
I said to them , ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ having the first jump ' .
You can get some serious height on this thing . ''
Like most of us , Hogg is staying at home and getting on with his work as best he can .
His garage is being turned into a gym - `` a place to train and a place to hide '' - as he waits for news of what 's to become of the rugby season .
The rest of the Premiership with Exeter ?
The summer tour with Scotland ?
The game against Wales ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , '' he says .
`` We 'll do whatever the experts tell us to do . ''
• The A-Z of Scotland 's Six Nations 'Finn will play for Scotland soon' These past months have been eventful , to put it mildly .
Firstly , there was the unwelcome turbulence of Finngate - a split between a player he counts as a great friend and a coach he describes as world class .
As the new captain of Scotland , he could have done without it .
`` I was gutted with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Finn and I are very close and it was great to hear that himself and Gregor are in a much better place now .
Long may that continue .
`` Finn will play for Scotland soon .
There might have to be some dark conversations but we 'll get there .
He 'll realise that things have happened and ca n't quite happen like that again .
He 's old enough and ugly enough to know that .
There 's no doubt whatsoever that he 'll be back .
He 's very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incredible player and I think he 'll be even better when he comes back because Adam ( Hastings ) and himself will push each other all the way . ''
Then , there was the mishap in Ireland , the dropped ball with the Irish line at his mercy in their opening match of the Six Nations .
We could see the angst on his face and hear the disappointment in his voice , but none of us understood what damage it did to him .
`` It was devastating because it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says .
`` I 'm my own worst critic , I know when I 've made a mistake , I do n't need people to tell me .
The problem is me being the person I am is that I listen to what people have to say .
I could get 99 brilliant comments and one person will abuse me and that will be the one that I focus on .
I can take the stick , but when it becomes repetitive and poisonous that 's when a line is crossed . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the year he 's been fighting the urge to engage on social media .
He used to do it all the time .
First thing he 'd do after a game was reach for his phone and search his name on Twitter , just to see the comments .
No good ever comes of that .
He branches out now into a wider point about the potentially corrosive impact of these platforms on sports folk .
`` I had a conversation with a few people about this the other day .
I just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because of the potential dog 's abuse they might get on social media if they try something risky and it does n't come off , '' he says .
`` Are they restricting themselves because they know what the backlash will be like ?
`` I 've been through it .
I 've made mistakes on a pitch and I 'm thinking , 'What am I going to to do later on when I click on social media and I 'm getting attacked ' .
And I 'm thinking about that during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it 's the way I am .
Or was .
I know there a lot of people who 'll go in the changing room after a match and search for their name on social media .
I was really bad for that .
`` I 've read all sorts of things about me being past my best and it hurts .
I 've been off the boil the last couple of years but what do I put that down to ?
Is it injury , because I 've had a few .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ what people have to say and then I 'm scared to try things on the field ?
`` The best thing I 've done is hand my Twitter over to my agency .
I 've no access to it .
I used to enjoy having chats with people but there was a problem because I kept replying to stuff that I should n't have been replying to and then other people would say , 'Well , it 's your own fault for getting involved ' .
`` It was refreshing when I gave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the turn of the year I did it .
I was terrible for searching my name .
I did it many , many times .
Practically after every single game I played .
I stay away now .
I do n't need the negativity . ''
A few weeks after his faux pas against Ireland , he played for Exeter against Gloucester and says he was nervous before that game .
He 'd butchered a try in Dublin and had `` lacked aggression '' in dealing with a wickedly bouncing ball against England @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game-defining try .
He was anxious and was playing cautiously that night against Gloucester .
The away fans were giving him some welly and he was trying to get through it without making an error .
The mindset was all wrong .
`` Everything changed in the last 20 minutes , '' he reveals .
`` I came out of myself and scored a really good try and hung on for dear life as I grounded the ball , which was just a bit of fun .
`` It was the first time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the line to score .
The other tries I 'd got were just me chasing kick-throughs , ones that I had very little influence on .
So that try against Gloucester meant a huge amount to me and I went home that night and said to Gill , ' I think I 'm going to score another one like that very soon ' .
I just had a feeling . ''
And he did - in Rome .
It was the score that set Scotland on their way to victory and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed it up with one of the most complete performances in all of his 76 caps when France 's Slam chase was halted at Murrayfield .
Hogg was immense that day .
These are bright times for him .
The move to Exeter is going well , the switch to captaincy with Scotland has made him a better player when the fear was that the pressure would diminish him .
It 's done the opposite .
`` Grabbed it by the nuts and got on with it , '' he asserts .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him .
The pace is back with a vengeance , as Italy found out to their cost .
For club and country , he looks like himself again .
He laughs at the mention of the weight issue .
`` When I got Six Nations player of year in 2016 and 2017 I was 101 kilos and my skinfold ( body fat percentage ) was ridiculous .
Horrendous .
I was in heinous shape .
Well , maybe not heinous , but I was n't in great condition .
It was only when @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 that I realised what it was all about .
`` I looked at some of those boys who could play in my position and they had abs sitting on abs and I was like , 'Holy heck , I 'm in bad nick compared to this lot ' .
Jonathan Joseph , Anthony Watson , Elliot Daly , Liam Williams - all in much better condition .
I had a tee-shirt on one day and Owen Farrell asked me if it was a thermal top because it was that tight .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to change here ' .
Before that , I 'd got it into my head that I should put on weight to see if I could run over the top of people but all I was doing was getting battered and then coming off after 60 minutes because I was too heavy and I was cramping .
You 're always learning in this game . ''
The abrupt end to the Six Nations was understandable and frustrating .
Normally with a game to go , the squad is tired and cranky and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but it was different this time .
`` We were enjoying it , '' says Hogg .
`` We believed we could win in Cardiff .
`` We 'll just have to pick it up again whenever we can , but we 're a close-knit group and I think we 've made progress .
I look at the way Adam has stepped up in place of Finn , I look at Rory Sutherland , who I think was our best player across the four games after years of tough times with injury .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ experienced or inexperienced , working incredibly hard to try to make things better .
I see how much it means to them .
`` It 's an honour to captain these guys .
We 'd have liked another game , but that could n't be helped .
The summer tour may or not happen , but whenever we come back we 'll be hungry for it , I can promise you that . ''
In the meantime , he wo n't be found arguing with people on Twitter or opening up the toolbox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gym preparing for the next challenge , whenever it comes .

Stuart Hogg enjoyed captaining Scotland during the Six Nations despite a sticky start
It wouldn't constitute live sport as such, but had the cameras been trained on Stuart Hogg as he struggled manfully to piece together his kids' trampoline last week then it would have been wildly entertaining none the less.
The way he tells it, putting France in their place at Murrayfield was a whole lot easier than putting springs in the right spots in his garden.
"I'm not a man for building stuff," he says, self-mockingly. To illustrate that point he says there's a toolbox in his garage and it's pink and the reason it's pink is because it belongs to his wife Gill as she's the one who gets stuff done in the Hogg household.
"She does everything, but I was determined to put this trampoline together," he says. "I lost my head a few times, I'm not going to lie. Took me more than three hours. It got quite tense out there. I got it done just before the kids came home from nursery. I said to them, 'I built it, so I'm having the first jump'. You can get some serious height on this thing."
Like most of us, Hogg is staying at home and getting on with his work as best he can. His garage is being turned into a gym - "a place to train and a place to hide" - as he waits for news of what's to become of the rugby season.
The rest of the Premiership with Exeter? The summer tour with Scotland? The game against Wales? "What will be, will be," he says. "We'll do whatever the experts tell us to do."
'Finn will play for Scotland soon'
These past months have been eventful, to put it mildly. Firstly, there was the unwelcome turbulence of Finngate - a split between a player he counts as a great friend and a coach he describes as world class. As the new captain of Scotland, he could have done without it.
"I was gutted with what happened," he says. "Finn and I are very close and it was great to hear that himself and Gregor are in a much better place now. Long may that continue.
"Finn will play for Scotland soon. There might have to be some dark conversations but we'll get there. He'll realise that things have happened and can't quite happen like that again. He's old enough and ugly enough to know that. There's no doubt whatsoever that he'll be back. He's very, very popular and he's an incredible player and I think he'll be even better when he comes back because Adam (Hastings) and himself will push each other all the way."
Then, there was the mishap in Ireland, the dropped ball with the Irish line at his mercy in their opening match of the Six Nations. We could see the angst on his face and hear the disappointment in his voice, but none of us understood what damage it did to him. "It was devastating because it was a moment of stupidity," he says.
"I'm my own worst critic, I know when I've made a mistake, I don't need people to tell me. The problem is me being the person I am is that I listen to what people have to say. I could get 99 brilliant comments and one person will abuse me and that will be the one that I focus on. I can take the stick, but when it becomes repetitive and poisonous that's when a line is crossed."
Giving up on social media 'refreshing'
He says that since the turn of the year he's been fighting the urge to engage on social media. He used to do it all the time. First thing he'd do after a game was reach for his phone and search his name on Twitter, just to see the comments. No good ever comes of that.
He branches out now into a wider point about the potentially corrosive impact of these platforms on sports folk. "I had a conversation with a few people about this the other day. I just wonder are players playing within themselves sometimes because of the potential dog's abuse they might get on social media if they try something risky and it doesn't come off," he says. "Are they restricting themselves because they know what the backlash will be like?
"I've been through it. I've made mistakes on a pitch and I'm thinking, 'What am I going to to do later on when I click on social media and I'm getting attacked'. And I'm thinking about that during the game. That's completely wrong, but it's the way I am. Or was. I know there a lot of people who'll go in the changing room after a match and search for their name on social media. I was really bad for that.
"I've read all sorts of things about me being past my best and it hurts. I've been off the boil the last couple of years but what do I put that down to? Is it injury, because I've had a few. Or am I concentrating too much on what people have to say and then I'm scared to try things on the field?
"The best thing I've done is hand my Twitter over to my agency. I've no access to it. I used to enjoy having chats with people but there was a problem because I kept replying to stuff that I shouldn't have been replying to and then other people would say, 'Well, it's your own fault for getting involved'.
"It was refreshing when I gave it up. It was only at the turn of the year I did it. I was terrible for searching my name. I did it many, many times. Practically after every single game I played. I stay away now. I don't need the negativity."
A few weeks after his faux pas against Ireland, he played for Exeter against Gloucester and says he was nervous before that game. He'd butchered a try in Dublin and had "lacked aggression" in dealing with a wickedly bouncing ball against England that led to a scrum and the game-defining try.
He was anxious and was playing cautiously that night against Gloucester. The away fans were giving him some welly and he was trying to get through it without making an error. The mindset was all wrong. "Everything changed in the last 20 minutes," he reveals. "I came out of myself and scored a really good try and hung on for dear life as I grounded the ball, which was just a bit of fun.
"It was the first time in two years that I'd run over the line to score. The other tries I'd got were just me chasing kick-throughs, ones that I had very little influence on. So that try against Gloucester meant a huge amount to me and I went home that night and said to Gill, 'I think I'm going to score another one like that very soon'. I just had a feeling."
And he did - in Rome. It was the score that set Scotland on their way to victory and the 20th of his Test career. He followed it up with one of the most complete performances in all of his 76 caps when France's Slam chase was halted at Murrayfield. Hogg was immense that day.
These are bright times for him. The move to Exeter is going well, the switch to captaincy with Scotland has made him a better player when the fear was that the pressure would diminish him. It's done the opposite. "Grabbed it by the nuts and got on with it," he asserts.
Wake-up call on Lions tour
He's lost some weight and it suits him. The pace is back with a vengeance, as Italy found out to their cost. For club and country, he looks like himself again.
He laughs at the mention of the weight issue. "When I got Six Nations player of year in 2016 and 2017 I was 101 kilos and my skinfold (body fat percentage) was ridiculous. Horrendous. I was in heinous shape. Well, maybe not heinous, but I wasn't in great condition. It was only when I went on the Lions tour in 2017 that I realised what it was all about.
"I looked at some of those boys who could play in my position and they had abs sitting on abs and I was like, 'Holy heck, I'm in bad nick compared to this lot'. Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson, Elliot Daly, Liam Williams - all in much better condition. I had a tee-shirt on one day and Owen Farrell asked me if it was a thermal top because it was that tight. I thought, 'Right, something's got to change here'. Before that, I'd got it into my head that I should put on weight to see if I could run over the top of people but all I was doing was getting battered and then coming off after 60 minutes because I was too heavy and I was cramping. You're always learning in this game."
The abrupt end to the Six Nations was understandable and frustrating. Normally with a game to go, the squad is tired and cranky and a bit fed-up looking at each other, but it was different this time. "We were enjoying it," says Hogg. "We believed we could win in Cardiff.
"We'll just have to pick it up again whenever we can, but we're a close-knit group and I think we've made progress. I look at the way Adam has stepped up in place of Finn, I look at Rory Sutherland, who I think was our best player across the four games after years of tough times with injury. I look at all the boys, experienced or inexperienced, working incredibly hard to try to make things better. I see how much it means to them.
"It's an honour to captain these guys. We'd have liked another game, but that couldn't be helped. The summer tour may or not happen, but whenever we come back we'll be hungry for it, I can promise you that."
In the meantime, he won't be found arguing with people on Twitter or opening up the toolbox. He'll be in his new gym preparing for the next challenge, whenever it comes.


bbc--2020-03-24--Coronavirus: Life in Rome under lockdown

Italy has introduced strict measures in a bid to tackle the coronavirus crisis gripping the country , including in the capital Rome .
But what is life in lockdown like ?
Rome in the springtime .
One of the world 's most romantic settings .
Normally the departure gate at London 's Heathrow airport for a flight to the Italian capital would be a mix of human emotions : couples heading for a romantic break , families returning to see loved ones and business people anxiously waiting to board so work can be done .
Not so on the morning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ board my flight to cover the Italian coronavirus outbreak .
It would be my first time in the Italian capital and the mood on the sparsely filled flight was tense , anxious and fearful .
This was no Roman holiday .
A girl with dark hair who was sitting near me on the plane said she was `` rushing home to be with her family before Italy shut down completely and she was stuck in the UK '' .
When I stepped off the plane into the warm Roman sunshine I was hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I noticed people were reluctant to make eye contact and almost everyone was wearing a mask .
The airport staff spoke loudly , sounding muffled through their masks but making it clear that we were not to stand too close to one another .
They were firm .
Rome is a city where ancient history and religion fuse together with international tourism .
Yet some of the world 's most famous tourist attractions - the Roman Colosseum , St Peter 's Square , the Pantheon - normally packed with thronging crowds were deserted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was haunting .
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte 's measures preventing people from moving around freely without good reasons were in full force .
There was no escape from the silence apart from the hourly ringing of church bells around the city .
As we were filming in the fashion district , where opulent designer shops lined the streets , something extraordinary happened .
People suddenly came out onto their balconies overlooking the shops and started clapping .
Their applause broke the silence , as they shouted down to me : `` This is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with what is being done , to stay inside , because this is what we need to do to beat the virus . ''
Further north in Lombardy , it was more of a desperate picture .
Hospitals were struggling to cope with the crisis and the escalating death toll that had come with it .
They were running out of essential kit and specialist help .
The president of the region warned if people did n't stay indoors , hospitals may end up having to turn patients away because of a lack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation , with one doctor telling me `` it was like a war zone '' in emergency rooms .
Back in Rome , police were on patrol .
Officers warned those who did venture out and dispersed the few people of the city 's 4.5 million residents who did gather in crowds .
Social distancing is visible everywhere and is no longer a novelty .
One morning as we were filming outside a supermarket , an elderly woman screamed at my producer Hannah and I , telling us we were not far enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reality of Rome .
Be responsible , she exclaimed , as she walked off in a strop .
The food shops and chemists stayed open and the was no panic buying or hoarding , as least as far as we could see .
The churches - ornate in their spectacular Roman Catholicism - were open , but no services took place .
While the Pope , in the Vatican at the heart of Rome , stayed indoors .
A teacher from Germany spoke to us outside one church and emphasised the importance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis .
`` It 's vital churches are around to give people a place for solace and reflection , '' she said .
One woman in her 50s told us she had never seen Rome like this and that her heart was aching .
`` I 'm hurting and nobody knows when it will all end so we can go back to normal .
That 's the worry , when will it stop ? ''
Another resident who owned a restaurant conveyed her burning desire to help others by providing a take-away service @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its people was never in short supply .
My cameraman and producer - Pol and Hannah - were experts in the field , gathering testimony and finding fascinating stories to tell .
But two weeks of constant broadcasting on such a harrowing story meant it was time to exit for all of us .
Our hotel was closing after the prime minister said all non-essential businesses must shut .
Most airports were n't operating either and only terminal three at the city 's Fiumicino airport was open for us to catch a flight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arriving , was a sobering experience .
It was hard not to think of the city 's many historical ordeals - from Julius Caesar and the fall of the Roman Empire through the rise of fascism and the bombing the city endured at the end of World War Two .
But has there been an ordeal as all encompassing , frightening and devastating as the Italy faces from coronavirus ?
We can only feel compassion , sympathy and love for the city and it 's people and wish them luck with what lies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can I do ?
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
• MAPS AND CHARTS : Visual guide to the outbreak • LOCKDOWN : What happens when everyday life changes ?

One woman in her 50s told us she had never seen Rome like this and that her heart was aching. "I'm hurting and nobody knows when it will all end so we can go back to normal. That's the worry, when will it stop?"


bbc--2020-03-23--Even more coronavirus myths to ignore

Even more coronavirus myths to ignore

What exactly is social distancing ?
Governments are advising people to socially distance to reduce the pressure on health services @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 .

How to wash your hands - in 20 seconds. Video, 00:00:23How to wash your hands - in 20 seconds


bbc--2020-03-24--Coronavirus spreading in New York like 'a bullet train'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has pleaded for medical supplies , warning Covid-19 is spreading in his state faster than `` a bullet train '' .
`` The apex is higher than we thought and the apex is sooner than we thought , '' Mr Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday .
He said the federal government was not sending anywhere near enough lifesaving equipment to confront the crisis .
New York now has over 25,000 confirmed virus cases and at least 210 deaths .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) said on Tuesday the US has the potential to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic .
The warnings come as President Donald Trump said he hoped the US would reopen for business next month .
What did Governor Cuomo say ?
`` We need federal help and we need the federal help now , '' Mr Cuomo , a Democrat , said .
`` New York is the canary in the coal mine , New York is happening first , what is happening to New York will happen to California and Illinois , it is just a matter of time . ''
• America is humbled - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • Why Trump wants US open for business despite pandemic • US man dies after taking drug he thought stopped virus The governor blasted the 400 ventilators sent to New York from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency .
He said : `` You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators . ''
New York currently has 7,000 ventilators , but needs 30,000 , the governor said .
Mr Cuomo continued : `` The [ infection ] forecaster said to me , 'We were looking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country . '
`` 'We 're now looking at a bullet train . '
'' The state is also looking into creating more healthcare areas , possibly by turning college dormitories and hotels into makeshift hospitals .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
• STRESS : How to protect your mental health With 25,665 cases in New York , the state accounts for more than half of all US infections .
The number of new cases in the state is doubling every three days , the governor said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Mr Cuomo said the rate of infections could overwhelm the healthcare system .
New York may need up to 140,000 hospital beds in a worst-case scenario , he said .
The governor also said he would not `` put a dollar amount on human life '' , in what was seen as an implicit criticism of Mr Trump 's concerns that measures to contain the virus could wreck the US economy .
`` My mother is not expendable and your mother is not expendable , '' said Mr Cuomo .
On Tuesday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ verdant White House grounds for a Fox News `` virtual town hall '' and said he hoped to get US businesses reopened by Easter , in just over two weeks .
A few hours earlier , Governor Cuomo held a much more sombre press conference at the Javits Center in Manhattan .
The building , which three years ago hosted Hillary Clinton 's ill-fated election-night party , is now a makeshift field hospital .
The president and the governor - two New Yorkers with a long history - clashed over the state 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serious cases .
Mr Trump blamed Mr Cuomo for not purchasing more in 2015 , citing a conspiracy-mongering website .
Mr Cuomo said the administration should use its emergency powers to order more machines manufactured .
When it comes to easing the recent shelter-in-place orders , governors like Mr Cuomo , not the president , will have the final say .
If there 's disagreement , however , the American public could be left wondering what to believe .
What did President Trump say ?
On Tuesday , President Trump told Fox News @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to normal by Easter , which is 19 days away .
Mr Trump , a Republican , said : `` We 're going to be opening relatively soon ...
I would love to have the country opened up and just rearing to go by Easter . ''
He added : `` Easter is a very special day for me ... and you 'll have packed churches all over our country . ''
Mr Trump also warned that otherwise the country could suffer `` a massive recession or depression '' .
The president said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
You 're going to have suicides by the thousands .
You 're going to have all sorts of things happen .
`` You 're going to have instability .
You ca n't just come in and say , 'Let 's close up the United States of America , the most successful country in the world by far . '
'' Speaking at a White House briefing later , Mr Trump said `` our decision will be based on hard facts and data as to the opening [ of our country ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poll , his approval rating has risen five points this month to 49 % , the best of his presidency .
What is the current US situation ?
There are over 52,000 confirmed cases and nearly 680 deaths attributed to Covid-19 in the US .
Dr Deborah Birx , of the White House coronavirus taskforce , said the New York City metro area was the source of 56 % of all cases and 60 % of all new cases in the country .
She advised anyone leaving the region to self-quarantine for two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Delaware , Massachusetts , New Mexico , West Virginia and Indiana were introducing stay-at-home orders , bringing the total number of US states under such lockdowns to 17 .
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have been debating the details of an economic stimulus package that could total over $ 2 trillion ( £1.7 trillion ) .
Democrats and the White House indicated negotiations could conclude on Tuesday , with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin saying `` the president wants us to get this done today '' .
• A New Jersey man has been charged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coughed on an employee of a Wegmans supermarket during an argument on Monday , and then claimed to have coronavirus .
Governor Phil Murphy described the suspect as a `` knucklehead '' • A 26-year-old in Missouri was arrested on Monday and charged with making a terrorist threat after he posted a video earlier this month of himself licking deodorants at a Walmart store while asking : `` Who 's scared of the coronavirus ? ''
• An individual in Kentucky tested positive after attending a `` coronavirus party '' , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : `` Do n't be so callous as to intentionally go to something and expose yourself to something that can kill other people '' • A 31-year-old Mexican national detained by US immigration officials in New Jersey became the first individual to test positive for Covid-19 while in the agency 's custody

The governor also said he would not "put a dollar amount on human life", in what was seen as an implicit criticism of Mr Trump's concerns that measures to contain the virus could wreck the US economy.


bbc--2020-03-24--Coronavirus: India enter 'total lockdown' after spike in cases

India 's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has imposed a nationwide lockdown in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus .
The restrictions came into force at midnight local time ( 18:30 GMT ) and will be enforced for 21 days .
`` There will be a total ban on venturing out of your homes , '' Mr Modi said in a televised address .
He appealed for people not to panic - but queues quickly formed outside stores in the capital , Delhi .
Correspondents say it is not clear how - or even if - people will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and other essentials .
• Why do you lock down 1.3bn people ?
The new measures follow a sharp increase in cases in recent days .
There have been 519 confirmed cases across India and 10 reported deaths .
India - which has a population of 1.3bn - joins a growing list of countries that have imposed similar measures .
Nearly 400,000 people have tested positive for the virus worldwide , and around 17,000 have died .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
• STRESS : How to protect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Visual guide to the outbreak '' The entire country will be in lockdown , total lockdown , '' Mr Modi said on Tuesday .
He added : `` To save India , to save its every citizen , you , your family ... every street , every neighbourhood is being put under lockdown . ''
Mr Modi warned that if India does not `` handle these 21 days well , then our country ... will go backwards by 21 years . ''
`` This is a curfew , '' he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic cost of this but [ it ] is the responsibility of everyone . ''
Mr Modi later took to Twitter to warn that panic-buying would only spread the disease .
He said the government would ensure supplies .
But in Delhi , people fearing shortages quickly thronged shops and pharmacies .
`` I have never witnessed such a chaos in my life , '' the owner of one store in the Shakarpur district said , quoted by the Press Trust of India .
`` All our stocks , including rice , flour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , have been sold out . ''
So far 30 cases of coronavirus have been reported in Delhi , including two deaths .
Under the new measures , all non-essential businesses will be closed but hospitals and other medical facilities will continue to function as normal .
Schools and universities will remain shut and almost all public gatherings will be banned .
In his address , Prime Minister Modi also : • Stressed that the 21-day lockdown was `` very necessary to break the chain of coronavirus '' • Emphasised the seriousness of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries had faced problems in combating it • Said that `` social distancing was the only way to stop '' the virus spreading • Announced that nearly $ 2bn ( £1.8bn ) would be made available to boost the country 's health infrastructure • Called on people not to `` spread rumours '' and to follow instructions His announcement came after several Indian states introduced measures of their own , such as travel restrictions and the closure of non-essential services .
India has already issued a ban on international arrivals and grounded domestic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has also suspended most passenger services .
Many parts of India , including cities such as Delhi and Mumbai , are already under tight restrictions .
But this move extends those provisions to every corner of the country .
An earlier one-day curfew , which was seen as a trial , was flouted by many .
Mr Modi called on Indians to clap and cheer the emergency services from their balconies on Sunday .
But many misunderstood the call and congregated in the streets as they danced and chanted .
`` It 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may have to pay if such irresponsible behaviour continues , '' Mr Modi warned at the time .
`` Social distancing is the only option to combat coronavirus . ''
The implications of a total lockdown in India are huge , not just economically , but socially .
This is a nation where community is everything .
Going to worship at a temple , mosque or church is an essential part of daily life for so many .
This is a seismic cultural shift but - like the rest of the world facing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ What 's the latest from around Asia ?
• Neighbouring Pakistan has almost twice as many confirmed cases - 878 as of Monday evening .
Sweeping restrictions are in place although the government has stopped short of imposing a nationwide lockdown .
However , several provinces have announced them independently .
The army is being brought in to help enforce the restrictions • Bangladesh , which has reported 33 cases and three deaths , is also deploying its armed forces to help maintain social distancing and boost Covid-19 preventive measures .
The soldiers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returnees .
Across South Asia , there are concerns that the actual number of cases could be much higher than is being reported .
• Indonesia , which has 49 confirmed Covid-19 deaths - the highest in South-East Asia - has converted an athlete 's village built for the 2018 Asian Games into a makeshift hospital for coronavirus patients .
A state of emergency was declared in Jakarta on Monday • Thailand , a month-long state of emergency which will include curfews and checkpoints will begin on Thursday .
The government has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so far .
Four people have died and nearly 900 tested positive • Talks between the Japanese PM and the International Olympic Committee are expected this evening • The most populous country that was without a case until now - Myanmar - has announced two cases And what about the rest of the world ?
• Elsewhere , governments are continuing to work to stem the spread of the virus which has now affected more than 190 countries worldwide • More than 2.6 billion people are in lockdown now India has introduced its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the AFP news agency • Europe remains at the epicentre of the pandemic .
On Tuesday , the death toll jumped by 514 in a single day in Spain and other European countries also reported sharp increases • Italy is the worst affected country in the world in terms of deaths .
The virus has killed almost 7,000 people there over the past month • The UK , meanwhile , is spending its first day under tight new restrictions .
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced unprecedented measures on Monday and ordered the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ • And in the US , New York 's governor has said the federal government is not sending enough equipment to combat the crisis .
The state has been hit especially hard by the virus • The World Health Organization ( WHO ) has warned that the US has the potential to become the new epicentre of the pandemic • In other developments , Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the International Olympic Committee has agreed that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics should be postponed by a year

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bbc--2020-03-24--Coronavirus: Texas says abortions 'non-essential' amid pandemic

As US states ramp up restrictions to contain the coronavirus , Texas has joined Ohio in deeming nearly all abortions as non-essential procedures that must be delayed .
The order against elective procedures is meant to keep valuable medical resources for those treating Covid-19 only .
In Texas , providers can be fined or jailed for violating the order .
They say abortion should be considered an essential service .
It comes as states across the country grapple with shortages of critical medical necessities , including masks , hospital space and ventilators .
Medical professionals have pleaded for more supplies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to quarantine themselves after exposure .
• LIVE - latest on the virus from around the world Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday issued the clarification of Governor Greg Abbot 's earlier mandate on non-essential medical procedures .
A statement from Mr Paxton 's office said `` no one is exempt from the governor 's executive order on medically unnecessary surgeries and procedures , including abortion providers '' , according to the Texas Tribune .
It noted any providers in violation of the order - which expires 21 April - could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jailed for a maximum of 180 days .
The Texas Freedom Network , an advocacy group , condemned the order , accusing the attorney general of trying to `` push his ideological agenda '' and highlighting the state 's already restrictive policies regarding abortion .
Abortions are banned after 20 weeks post-fertilisation in Texas and women must receive counselling about non-abortion options before obtaining the procedure .
Ohio is similarly restrictive and last year passed a bill banning abortion after six weeks , though the ban has been blocked in the courts .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ban .
Last week , US gynecology groups , including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists , issued a joint statement calling for abortions to be protected during the crisis .
`` It is also a time-sensitive service for which a delay of several weeks , or in some cases days , may increase the risks or potentially make it completely inaccessible , '' the statement said .
`` The consequences of being unable to obtain an abortion profoundly impact a person 's life , health , and well-being . ''
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care is not delivered in hospital settings .
• What 's going on with US abortion rights ?
Over the weekend , Ohio 's Attorney General Dave Yost wrote to inform abortion clinics that they should stop all abortion services that require the use of medical protective equipment .
`` If you or your facility do not immediately stop performing non-essential or elective surgical abortions in compliance with the order , the Department of Health will take all appropriate measures , '' a letter viewed by CBS News stated .
In response , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said it would comply with the order regarding personal protective gear , but would still be able to provide `` essential procedures , including surgical abortion '' .
According to the New York Times , the letters from Ohio 's government followed complaints to the health department from at least one anti-abortion group .

It comes as states across the country grapple with shortages of critical medical necessities, including masks, hospital space and ventilators. Medical professionals have pleaded for more supplies as many are falling ill or having to quarantine themselves after exposure.


bbc--2020-03-24--Terrence McNally: Playwright dies of coronavirus complications

Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally has died in Florida of complications from coronavirus , according to his husband Tom Kirdahy .
The four-time Tony winner , 81 , was known for his thoughtful chronicles of gay life , homophobia , love and AIDS .
McNally was a lung cancer survivor and had lived with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder .
One of America 's great playwrights , he wrote more than three dozen plays in his nearly 60-year career .
Beginning on Broadway in 1963 , McNally still had his name up in lights until last year 's revival of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ de Lune , starring Audra McDonald .
`` I like to work with people who are a lot more talented and smarter than me , who make fewer mistakes than I do , and who can call me out when I do something lazy , '' he told the LA Stage Times in 2013 .
`` A lot of people stop learning in life , and that 's their tragedy . ''
Broadway and New York theatres - the institutions where McNally made his mark - have been closed for more than a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Born in St Petersburg , Florida , McNally grew up in Texas before attending Columbia University in New York .
He died in hospital in Sarasota , Florida , on Tuesday , his representative told US media .
He leaves behind his husband .
The pair were joined in a civil union in 2003 in Vermont and married in 2010 in Washington , DC .
McNally 's career - often tackling themes and subjects widely seen as controversial - was not without its stumbles .
His first Broadway play And Things That Go @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was just 24 , was panned - Newsday called it `` ugly , perverted , tasteless '' - and closed in less than three weeks .
Speaking to Vogue magazine in 1995 , McNally said he would `` win , hands down , the contest for worst first-place reviews - or any-play reviews '' .
But McNally preserved , going on to write dozens of plays , almost a dozen musicals and multiple operas .
He received a lifetime achievement award at the 2019 Tony Awards .
Standing before the crowd , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he joked that the accolade came `` not a moment too soon '' .
`` Theatre changes hearts , that secret place where we all truly live , '' he said at the ceremony .
`` The world needs artists more than ever to remind us what truth and beauty and kindness really are . ''

"I like to work with people who are a lot more talented and smarter than me, who make fewer mistakes than I do, and who can call me out when I do something lazy," he told the LA Stage Times in 2013.


bbc--2020-03-24--Tokyo 2020: Olympic and Paralympic Games postponed because of coronavirus

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed until next year because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic .
The event , due to begin on 24 July , will now take place `` no later than summer 2021 '' .
`` I proposed to postpone for a year and [ IOC ] president Thomas Bach responded with 100 % agreement , '' said Shinzo Abe , Japan 's Prime Minister .
The event will still be called Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021 .
In a joint statement , the organisers of Tokyo 2020 and the IOC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating .
`` On Monday , the director general of the World Health Organization , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus , said that the Covid-19 pandemic is 'accelerating ' .
`` There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country , and their number is growing by the hour .
`` In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today [ Tuesday ] , the IOC president and the prime minister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021 , to safeguard the health of the athletes , everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community . ''
• 'Tokyo Olympics will be a carnival unleashed that no-one will take for granted ever again' • 'Heartbreaking ' but a 'relief ' - how athletes reacted to Olympic delay • 'This is about protecting lives ' - IOC chief says costs of Tokyo 2020 delay not discussed While the Games is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the pandemic , there has been a huge impact on a host of other major tournaments and sports : • In rugby union , the end of this year 's Six Nations was postponed , with four outstanding fixtures to be rearranged in the men 's tournament .
• In football , Euro 2020 was postponed and will be played in the summer of 2021 , while the sport is suspended in the UK until 30 April at the earliest .
• The first eight grands prix of the Formula 1 season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Grand Prix cancelled .
• County cricket in England and Wales will not be played before 28 May , while England 's three-Test series against West Indies , due to start at The Oval on 4 June , is in doubt .
• All forms of professional tennis have been postponed until 7 June , ruling out the clay-court season , while the French Open - the year 's second Grand Slam , has been rescheduled for September .
• Golf 's Masters and PGA Championship have both been postponed , with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's Ryder Cup .
• The London Marathon has been moved from 26 April to 4 October .
The IOC had given itself a deadline of four weeks to consider delaying the Games but there had been mounting pressure from a host of Olympic committees and athletes demanding a quicker decision .
Canada became the first major country to withdraw from both events on Sunday , while USA Track and Field , athletics ' US governing body , had also called for a postponement .
The Paralympics were due to start on 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Parsons said the postponement was `` the only logical option '' .
He added : `` The health and wellbeing of human life must always be our number-one priority and staging a sporting event of any kind during this pandemic is simply not possible .
`` Sport is not the most important thing right now , preserving human life is .
It is essential , therefore , that all steps are taken to try to limit the spread of this disease .
`` By taking this decision now , everyone involved in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can fully focus on their own health and wellbeing and staying safe during this unprecedented and difficult time . ''
World Athletics president Lord Coe said : `` The athletes have been under intolerable conditions , many of them are unable to train and many have been going through real emotional turmoil .
`` The integrity of competition would have been seriously compromised if we had tried to force the Games into the remaining part of this year . ''
Coe , who was chairman of the London 2012 organising committee , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2021 World Championships in Eugene , Oregon , to 2022 .
The Olympics have never been delayed in their 124-year modern history , though they were cancelled altogether in 1916 , 1940 and 1944 during World War One and World War Two .
Major Cold War boycotts disrupted the Moscow and Los Angeles summer Games in 1980 and 1984 .
The Tokyo 2020-IOC statement continued : `` The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present .
`` Therefore , it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan .
It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 . ''
British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Anson said : `` It would have been unthinkable for us to continue to prepare for an Olympic Games at a time the nation and the world no less is enduring great hardship .
A postponement is the right @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executive Mike Sharrock said : `` Stemming this global public health crisis and doing everything possible to safeguard the health and wellbeing of people should clearly take priority in these unprecedented times .
`` We welcome the clarity this now gives Paralympic athletes throughout the world who have had their training and qualification plans severely disrupted . ''
On 22 January , Olympic qualifying events in boxing and women 's football that were due to be held in Wuhan , China - the centre of the coronavirus outbreak - became the first to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now been almost 400,000 recorded cases of the virus worldwide , with the number of deaths approaching 17,000 .
• How coronavirus has impacted sporting events around the world • The latest news on the coronavirus crisis 'The Olympics has never had a challenge like this ' - analysis This is arguably the biggest decision sport has seen in peacetime .
It has looked inevitable for weeks , and many will ask why it has taken until now .
With athletes unable to train safely , and the calendar of Olympic and Paralympic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lockdowns , a postponement or cancellation emerged as the only viable options .
Faced with the unenviable task of reorganising a sprawling mega-event that has already cost at least £10bn in preparations , the IOC and Japan had hoped to buy themselves some time to consider their next step .
But with Olympic committees and athletes increasingly frustrated and confused at what some saw as delaying tactics , the decision was effectively taken out of the organisers ' hands , and just 48 hours after the IOC said it was giving itself four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now know the Games can not go on as planned .
The ramifications will be significant .
It 's a huge blow to Japan , and the country will now have to spend yet more money .
Commercial contracts will have to be unpicked and the availability of venues revisited .
A crowded sporting calendar will have to be flexible .
And the IOC , sports federations , broadcasters , sponsors and a myriad of other related businesses will have to wait an additional year for the financial bonanza that the event generates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with many challenges over the years , from terrorism and boycotts to war and doping .
But nothing quite like this .
Alistair Brownlee , double Olympic triathlon champion : `` Evidently a very tough decision for the IOC and other stakeholders to make but in my opinion the right one .
Both , for the message it sends to people around the world battling with the virus and to give clarity to athletes attempting to prepare . ''
Jazmin Sawyers , long jumper : `` The right choice .
For now we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and everyone else .
Look after each other , sport will be here when this is over , and we will be ready to give you all the greatest show on earth . ''
Callum Skinner , retired cycling team sprint Olympic champion , who fronts competitor-led movement Global Athlete : `` The right decision has been made .
Tokyo 2021 presents an amazing opportunity to host a full Games celebrating the world ( hopefully ) entering the `` post-pandemic '' phase . ''
Sophie McKinna , British shot putter : `` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to # Tokyo2021 Ali Jawad , silver medal-winning powerlifter : `` The right call in unprecedented circumstances .
Welcome to # Tokyo2021 '' Kadeena Cox , cycling and athletics champion : `` The right choice .
Health before everything .
Let 's all stick together through these tough times and when the time is right we can enjoy the Games and its legacy . ''
Cyclist Lora Fachie : `` On a personal level I am devastated .
Tokyo 2020 has been my target for the past four years .
I 've lived @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me focus and drive .
But it is also without doubt the right decision to have made .
Back to the drawing board we go . ''
Dan Greaves , discus thrower : `` Absolutely the right decision to postpone both the Olympics & Paralympics by a year .
Health comes first .

The Olympic Games were due to run from 24 July to 9 August
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed until next year because of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
The event, due to begin on 24 July, will now take place "no later than summer 2021".
"I proposed to postpone for a year and [IOC] president Thomas Bach responded with 100% agreement," said Shinzo Abe, Japan's Prime Minister.
The event will still be called Tokyo 2020 despite taking place in 2021.
In a joint statement, the organisers of Tokyo 2020 and the IOC said: "The unprecedented and unpredictable spread of the outbreak has seen the situation in the rest of the world deteriorating.
"On Monday, the director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the Covid-19 pandemic is 'accelerating'.
"There are more than 375,000 cases now recorded worldwide and in nearly every country, and their number is growing by the hour.
"In the present circumstances and based on the information provided by the WHO today [Tuesday], the IOC president and the prime minister of Japan have concluded that the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Tokyo must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community."
While the Games is the biggest sporting event to be affected by the pandemic, there has been a huge impact on a host of other major tournaments and sports:
In rugby union, the end of this year's Six Nations was postponed, with four outstanding fixtures to be rearranged in the men's tournament.
In football, Euro 2020 was postponed and will be played in the summer of 2021, while the sport is suspended in the UK until 30 April at the earliest.
The first eight grands prix of the Formula 1 season have been delayed, with the Monaco Grand Prix cancelled.
County cricket in England and Wales will not be played before 28 May, while England's three-Test series against West Indies, due to start at The Oval on 4 June, is in doubt.
All forms of professional tennis have been postponed until 7 June, ruling out the clay-court season, while the French Open - the year's second Grand Slam, has been rescheduled for September.
Golf's Masters and PGA Championship have both been postponed, with a decision yet to be made about September's Ryder Cup.
The London Marathon has been moved from 26 April to 4 October.
The IOC had given itself a deadline of four weeks to consider delaying the Games but there had been mounting pressure from a host of Olympic committees and athletes demanding a quicker decision.
Canada became the first major country to withdraw from both events on Sunday, while USA Track and Field, athletics' US governing body, had also called for a postponement.
The Paralympics were due to start on 25 August but International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said the postponement was "the only logical option".
He added: "The health and wellbeing of human life must always be our number-one priority and staging a sporting event of any kind during this pandemic is simply not possible.
"Sport is not the most important thing right now, preserving human life is. It is essential, therefore, that all steps are taken to try to limit the spread of this disease.
"By taking this decision now, everyone involved in the Paralympic movement, including all Para-athletes, can fully focus on their own health and wellbeing and staying safe during this unprecedented and difficult time."
World Athletics president Lord Coe said: "The athletes have been under intolerable conditions, many of them are unable to train and many have been going through real emotional turmoil.
"The integrity of competition would have been seriously compromised if we had tried to force the Games into the remaining part of this year."
Coe, who was chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, said World Athletics was looking at moving the 2021 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, to 2022.
The Olympics have never been delayed in their 124-year modern history, though they were cancelled altogether in 1916, 1940 and 1944 during World War One and World War Two.
Major Cold War boycotts disrupted the Moscow and Los Angeles summer Games in 1980 and 1984.
The Tokyo 2020-IOC statement continued: "The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present.
"Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020."
British Olympic Association chief executive Andy Anson said: "It would have been unthinkable for us to continue to prepare for an Olympic Games at a time the nation and the world no less is enduring great hardship. A postponement is the right decision."
British Paralympics Association chief executive Mike Sharrock said: "Stemming this global public health crisis and doing everything possible to safeguard the health and wellbeing of people should clearly take priority in these unprecedented times.
"We welcome the clarity this now gives Paralympic athletes throughout the world who have had their training and qualification plans severely disrupted."
On 22 January, Olympic qualifying events in boxing and women's football that were due to be held in Wuhan, China - the centre of the coronavirus outbreak - became the first to be moved or postponed.
There have now been almost 400,000 recorded cases of the virus worldwide, with the number of deaths approaching 17,000.
'The Olympics has never had a challenge like this' - analysis
Dan Roan, BBC sports editor
This is arguably the biggest decision sport has seen in peacetime.
It has looked inevitable for weeks, and many will ask why it has taken until now.
With athletes unable to train safely, and the calendar of Olympic and Paralympic qualification events decimated amid travel restrictions and lockdowns, a postponement or cancellation emerged as the only viable options.
Faced with the unenviable task of reorganising a sprawling mega-event that has already cost at least £10bn in preparations, the IOC and Japan had hoped to buy themselves some time to consider their next step.
But with Olympic committees and athletes increasingly frustrated and confused at what some saw as delaying tactics, the decision was effectively taken out of the organisers' hands, and just 48 hours after the IOC said it was giving itself four weeks to mull it over, we now know the Games cannot go on as planned.
The ramifications will be significant. It's a huge blow to Japan, and the country will now have to spend yet more money. Commercial contracts will have to be unpicked and the availability of venues revisited. A crowded sporting calendar will have to be flexible. And the IOC, sports federations, broadcasters, sponsors and a myriad of other related businesses will have to wait an additional year for the financial bonanza that the event generates.
The Games has had to deal with many challenges over the years, from terrorism and boycotts to war and doping. But nothing quite like this.
How athletes reacted
Olympians
Alistair Brownlee, double Olympic triathlon champion: "Evidently a very tough decision for the IOC and other stakeholders to make but in my opinion the right one. Both, for the message it sends to people around the world battling with the virus and to give clarity to athletes attempting to prepare."
Jazmin Sawyers, long jumper: "The right choice. For now we have to stay home to protect ourselves and everyone else. Look after each other, sport will be here when this is over, and we will be ready to give you all the greatest show on earth."
Callum Skinner, retired cycling team sprint Olympic champion, who fronts competitor-led movement Global Athlete: "The right decision has been made. Tokyo 2021 presents an amazing opportunity to host a full Games celebrating the world (hopefully) entering the "post-pandemic" phase."
Sophie McKinna, British shot putter: "The right call in unprecedented circumstances. Welcome to #Tokyo2021
Olympics postponement a 'release' for athletes - Peaty
Paralympians
Ali Jawad, silver medal-winning powerlifter: "The right call in unprecedented circumstances. Welcome to #Tokyo2021"
Kadeena Cox, cycling and athletics champion: "The right choice. Health before everything. Let's all stick together through these tough times and when the time is right we can enjoy the Games and its legacy."
Cyclist Lora Fachie: "On a personal level I am devastated. Tokyo 2020 has been my target for the past four years. I've lived, slept and breathed it, giving me focus and drive. But it is also without doubt the right decision to have made. Back to the drawing board we go."
Dan Greaves, discus thrower: "Absolutely the right decision to postpone both the Olympics & Paralympics by a year. Health comes first.


bbc--2020-03-24--UK workers urged again not to commute

UK workers urged again not to commute

People can go to work if they can not do their work at home , the health secretary has said , amid confusion over the new coronavirus restrictions .
It comes after calls for clarity , including from construction workers , about Monday 's wider shutdown measures .
Matt Hancock also said Tube services should be running `` in full '' , after being asked about packed trains during Tuesday 's morning commute .
The number of UK deaths rose to 422 on Tuesday , a rise of 87 in one day .
As it continues to ramp up its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ positive for the disease , the government is opening a new makeshift hospital at the ExCel exhibition centre in London .
The temporary Nightingale Hospital has been set up with help from the military and will have capacity for 4,000 patients .
Mr Hancock also appealed for 250,000 volunteers to help the NHS , and said more than 11,000 former medics had answered the government 's call to return to the NHS .
More than 24,000 final-year student nurses and medics will also join the health service .
Mr Hancock led Tuesday 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reporters asking questions over video-link - after complaints that part of the government 's strict new rules were confusing for workers .
The new measures , in place for at least three weeks , tell Britons to only leave home to go to work `` where this is absolutely necessary and can not be done from home '' .
Mr Hancock later said those who can not work from home should go to work `` to keep the country running '' .
• What are the new restrictions ?
• What we do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pictures : The quiet streets of the UK On Tuesday , pictures showed workers in London crowding into Tube carriages - despite warnings that , even when out in public , people should keep two metres ( 6ft ) away from others .
Unions and workers in the construction industry have called for protection , saying their work is not essential and puts people 's health at risk .
And Piers Morgan highlighted the issue on ITV 's Good Morning Britain when he showed images of construction workers working at London 's Heathrow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a moral question : what are you doing ?
Do the right thing .
Do you have to be out there ?
Can this work wait ?
You need to get your priorities right . ''
He then interviewed London 's mayor Sadiq Khan who said that , in his view , construction workers should not be going to work and that he had made that point `` quite forcefully '' to Boris Johnson .
Asked about the issue at the briefing , Mr Hancock said people whose jobs has not already been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ date should continue to work but should only be travelling to a workplace `` where that work ca n't be done at home '' .
He said construction workers - many of whom work outdoors - could and should continue to go to work as long as they are able to remain two metres apart at all times .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
• NEW GUIDANCE : What must I do ?
• NEW RESTRICTIONS : What are they ?
• MAPS AND CHARTS : Visual guide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : `` The judgment we have made is that in work , in many instances , the 2m rule can be applied .
`` Where possible , people should work from home and employers have a duty to ensure that people are more than 2m apart .
Unlike the UK government , Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said building sites should close - unless it involves an essential building such as a hospital .
She said it was not possible to provide a `` bespoke guidance '' for each occupation - but she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ principles .
Construction workers are still being told to come to work , according to Andrew Lee Davis , 36 , a civil engineer based in Newport , south Wales .
`` We ca n't just go home because we wo n't be paid , '' he told the BBC .
Self-employed workers may have to rely on the benefits system as things stand .
However , benefits may not come through on time , or be enough to pay the bills , Mr Davis said .
`` Morally , I know I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'm absolutely tied here .
Until the government pay the self-employed , I 've got to come into work . ''
If he were to stay home , Mr Davis , who helps support his wife and three children , would have to rely on his savings .
Those would not last for the duration of the crisis , he said .
`` There 's a lot of worried boys here on site , '' he said .
Many of them are on minimum wage , self-employed and without savings , which puts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Some big contractors are telling subcontractors to continue working , which Mr Davis says could put extra strain on the NHS in a time of crisis .
He would like major contractors to shut non-essential sites , even though this could cost him valuable work .
Labour 's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth called for `` clear and unambiguous advice around which workers can and ca n't go out '' .
He said he believed just key workers - those whose jobs are considered essential and included on a government list - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also said Transport for London `` should have the tube running in full so that people travelling on the tube are spaced out and can be further apart '' .
`` And there is no good reason in the information that I 've seen that the current levels of tube provision should be as low as they are , '' he said .
According to the latest Department of Health figures , there are now more than 8,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK .
The latest people to have died include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Antrim .
Her family said it was heartbreaking not being able to kiss her goodbye because of how contagious the disease is , adding they did not want her simply to be remembered as a statistic .
Earlier , Mr Hancock told MPs the government was `` ramping up testing as fast as we can '' and it was buying `` millions of tests '' which it would `` make available as quickly as possible '' .
He also said the government was working to ensure victims of domestic violence who are forced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Police chiefs said phone lines were inundated with calls after the prime minister 's statement , as people rang to ask what they were still allowed to do .
The British Transport Police said it was deploying 500 officers to patrol stations across the country and remind people to follow government advice .
The PM 's official spokesman said the overwhelming majority of people `` can be expected to follow the rules without any need for enforcement action '' .
But the punishment in England for not complying would be a fixed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people breaking the rule of no public gatherings of three people or more .
`` We will keep this under review and can increase it significantly if it is necessary to ensure public compliance , '' the spokesman added .
Meanwhile , Police Scotland will not hesitate to enforce the new measures , the force 's chief constable said .
• Four things stats say about coronavirus in London Ken Marsh , chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation , said enforcing the new restrictions would be `` a real , real challenge '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ amounts of sickness '' among officers across London .
Meanwhile , opposition parties and unions have called on the government to do more to protect self-employed people , who will not be covered by the government 's promise to pay 80 % of salaries of employees unable to work .
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced increased benefits for the self-employed , but did not guarantee their wages .
Freelance workers - who would face a loss of income if forced to stop working due to sickness or quarantine - have told the BBC they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 'How is £94 a week going to pay anyone ’ s bills ?
’ Labour 's Rachel Reeves said there was `` a worrying gap '' in the government 's strategy when it came to self-employed workers .
Speaking in the House of Commons , Mr Sunak said work is going on in Whitehall to come up with a `` deliverable and fair '' support package .
`` There are genuine practical and principled reasons why it is incredibly complicated to design an analogous scheme to the one that we have for employed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said he was `` determined to find a way to support them '' .
• The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games - due to begin on 24 July - have been postponed until next year • Prisoners in some jails in England and Wales will be given secure phones - without internet access - to speak to pre-authorised contacts , the Ministry of Justice says , as part of plans to maintain family contact during the outbreak • For the first time , all the UK 's mobile networks sent out a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ customer with details of the new measures .
• Sports Direct has confirmed it will not open its stores to the public following a U-turn by the sportswear retailer • Prisoners in England and Wales will be confined to their cells for 23 hours a day and allowed out only to shower and use pay-phones , with all visits cancelled , the BBC understands .
• Most of Ryanair 's flights are expected to be grounded from Tuesday - with no further flights likely in April or May • Chemicals giant Ineos is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Middlesbrough within 10 days to produce one million bottles a month • Emergency legislation introducing measures to respond to the virus will go before the House of Lords later after it passed through the Commons on Monday evening • 514 more people die in Spain , the worst day yet in the country How will you be affected by these measures ?
Email haveyoursay @ bbc.co.uk .
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist .
You can also contact us in the following ways : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and privacy policy

The new measures, in place for at least three weeks, tell Britons to only leave home to go to work "where this is absolutely necessary and cannot be done from home". Mr Hancock later said those who cannot work from home should go to work "to keep the country running".


bbc--2020-03-24--Spain's coronavirus death toll jumps 514 in 24 hours

The coronavirus death toll in Spain has jumped by 514 in a single day , as the situation in the country quickly worsens .
Official figures show that 2,696 people have now died in the country and close to 40,000 are infected .
About 5,400 health care workers are among those confirmed cases .
Spain is the worst affected country in Europe after Italy , which has recorded more than 6,000 deaths so far .
While cases have been mostly concentrated in Madrid , Catalonia and the Basque Country , infection numbers are growing in other regions .
Castilia-La Mancha @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the capital , have seen a big jump in cases .
Both regions have large elderly populations .
The police criticised `` irresponsible people '' on Tuesday , including some who have left hospitals without being formally discharged .
In the capital Madrid , meanwhile , the municipal funeral home has stopped collecting Covid-19 victims because of a lack of protective equipment .
The city is to use a major ice rink , the Palacio de Hielo ( Ice Palace ) , as a temporary mortuary where bodies will be stored until funeral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Spanish media .
The images are sobering - hearses bringing coffins of the dead to a large municipal ice rink in Madrid .
Mortuaries , as well as hospitals , are overwhelmed .
Though the daily tally of dead has worsened remorselessly , there might be one crumb of comfort -- the rate of rise has slowed for the last three days consecutively .
The military is helping transport patients , to ease the burden on hospitals where doctors and nurses are worked to exhaustion .
But the number of cases continues to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spread of the disease countrywide .
Spain 's latest figures come after soldiers helping to combat the outbreak found retirement home patients abandoned and even dead in their beds on Monday .
The defence ministry said that staff at some care homes had left after the coronavirus was detected .
Prosecutors have launched an official investigation .
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he will ask parliament to approve a further extension of lockdown measures until 11 April amid the worsening crisis .
`` I know that it is very uncomfortable to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is affecting everyone .
But experts agree that it is an effective measure in the fight against the coronavirus , '' he told a meeting of regional leaders .
What about elsewhere ?
Coronavirus has been spreading rapidly across the globe , affecting more than 160 countries and claiming more than 16,000 lives .
Italy is currently the worst affected nation , with more than 6,000 reported dead .
The rate of infection has seemingly slowed there in the last few days , although this is by no means a sign that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Borrelli , Italy 's civil protection chief , told newspaper La Repubblica on Tuesday it was `` credible '' to estimate the numbers of infected are 10 times higher in reality .
`` In the next few hours… we will see if the growth curve is really flattening , '' he told the paper .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) has warned that the coronavirus disease pandemic is `` accelerating '' , although Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was still possible to `` change the trajectory '' .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and contact-tracing strategies .

"I know that it is very uncomfortable to be confined until 11 April, and that it is affecting everyone. But experts agree that it is an effective measure in the fight against the coronavirus," he told a meeting of regional leaders.


bbc--2020-03-24--Coronavirus: US man dies after taking drug he thought stopped virus

An Arizona man has died and his wife is in a critical condition after both ingested a form of chloroquine in an apparent effort to guard against Covid-19 .
The drug has been touted by President Donald Trump as a possible treatment for the virus .
It is also an additive commonly used to clean fish tanks .
Shortly after ingestion , the couple fell ill , said Arizona-based hospital system Banner Health .
The couple were both in their 60s .
The woman told NBC News she had seen a televised briefing in which Mr Trump discussed the potential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The drug has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) for treating malaria , lupus and rheumatoid arthritis but is unproven for use against the novel coronavirus .
• Why is Trump so keen on malaria drug to treat coronavirus ?
`` We saw his press conference .
It was on a lot , actually , '' she said .
`` Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure . ''
`` We were afraid of getting sick , '' she told NBC .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the virus throughout the US , with at least 592 deaths .
The couple had used chloroquine previously as a treatment for their koi fish and still had some remaining in their home .
This additive is formulated differently than the drug used to treat malaria .
They mixed a small amount of the substance with liquid to drink .
Within 20 minutes , both fell ill. '' I started vomiting , '' she said .
`` My husband started developing respiratory problems . ''
• How staying at home can stop coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ business despite pandemic Her husband could not be revived in hospital and she remains in critical care .
`` Banner Health experts emphasise that chloroquine , a malaria medication , should not be ingested to treat or prevent [ Covid-19 ] , '' the health group said in a statement .
Given the uncertainty around Covid-19 , we understand that people are trying to find new ways to prevent or treat this virus , but self-medicating is not the way to do so . ''
Last week , Mr Trump trumpeted the drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter that it had `` a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine , '' when taken with the antibiotic azithromycin .
`` We 're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately , '' he said last week at a White House coronavirus press briefing .
`` And that 's where the FDA has been so great .
They 've gone through the approval process - it 's been approved . ''
The FDA soon clarified that chloroquine had not been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ therapeutics or drugs approved by the body to `` treat , cure or prevent Covid-19 '' .
On Sunday , Dr Anthony Fauci - the nation 's top infectious disease expert - said on CBS News that the president had heard about the two drugs from anecdotal reports .
• A SIMPLE GUIDE : What are the symptoms ?
• STRESS : How to protect your mental health '' I… have said I 'm not disagreeing with the fact anecdotally they might work , but my job is to prove definitively from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he said .
Mr Fauci , who serves on the White House coronavirus task force , is widely seen as the face of the US response .
Last week , Nigerian health officials also issued a warning regarding the drug 's misuse after hospitals in Lagos , the nation 's capital , began reporting patients suspected of chloroquine poisoning .
• Six things the US can learn from Asia At least three people are believed to be hospitalised and reports have spread of high demand of chloroquine leading to pharmacy shortages , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The World Health Organisation `` has NOT approved the use of chloroquine for # Covid19 management , '' the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control said in a statement on Friday .
`` Please DO NOT engage in self-medication .
This will cause harm and can lead to death . ''

Given the uncertainty around Covid-19, we understand that people are trying to find new ways to prevent or treat this virus, but self-medicating is not the way to do so."


bbc--2020-03-24--Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian in war of words over leaked call

Taylor Swift says she feels `` vindicated '' after footage of her contentious 2016 phone call with Kanye West emerged online .
The tape shows that , although West sought Swift 's permission to use her name in one of his songs , he failed to say he 'd refer to her as `` that bitch '' .
Swift has always maintained she would not have approved the lyric .
But West 's wife , Kim Kardashian , called the star `` self-serving '' for drawing attention to the leak .
Kardashian intensified the feud in 2016 by posting excerpts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ show that Swift had spoken to West and been enthusiastic about the song .
The resulting backlash saw Swift 's social media accounts flooded with snake emojis from people accusing her of lying and being duplicitous .
After the tape of the full conversation made its way online , Swift posted a statement on Instagram asking fans to donate to the charity Feeding America instead of asking her how she felt about the leak .
However , she added that the footage proved `` that I was telling the truth the whole time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know , the one that was illegally recorded , that somebody edited and manipulated to frame me and put me , my family and my fans through hell for four years . ''
Kardashian responded with a furious volley of tweets accusing Swift of `` lying '' .
She conceded that her husband did not inform Swift of the offensive lyric , but argued that was never at the centre of their dispute .
`` To be clear , the only issue I ever had around the situation was that Taylor lied through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called to ask for permission ... ' They clearly spoke , '' she said .
`` At the time when they spoke the song had not been fully written yet , but as everyone can see in the video , she manipulated the truth of their actual conversation in her statement when her team said she 'declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message . '
'' `` Kanye has documented the making of all of his albums for his personal archive , '' she continued .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ released any of it for public consumption and the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied and forced me to defend him .
`` The lie was never about the word bitch , '' Kardashian concluded .
`` It was always whether there was a call or not and the tone of the conversation . ''
But the war of words did n't end there - as Swift 's publicist Tree Paine intervened , claiming Kardashian had misquoted her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sides felt compelled to keep the feud going , they conceded there were more important things going on in the world right now .
Swift urged fans to donate to charity , while Kardashian acknowledged the circular triviality of the whole affair .
`` This will be the last time I speak on this because honestly , nobody cares , '' she wrote .
`` Sorry to bore you all with this .
I know you are all dealing with more serious and important matters . ''
Follow us on Facebook , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a story suggestion email entertainment.news @ bbc.co.uk .

"Kanye has documented the making of all of his albums for his personal archive," she continued. "However [he] has never released any of it for public consumption and the call between the two of them would have remained private or would have gone in the trash had she not lied and forced me to defend him.


bbc--2020-03-24--Lorry in Mozambique found with 64 dead stowaways

Mozambican immigration officers have found 64 dead bodies in a shipping container on the back of a lorry that had crossed into Mozambique from Malawi , officials say .
It is suspected that the dead , thought to be Ethiopian , suffocated , the authorities told the BBC .
Two people , including the vehicle 's driver , have been detained in connection with the deaths .
The migrants were on a well-known trafficking route to South Africa .
When officials inspected the vehicle , 14 people were found alive .
The immigration service had stopped the container truck in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tete provincial director of health , Carla Mosse .
She said investigations were ongoing to discover how the occupants died , but said asphyxiation was the likely cause of death .
Amélia Direito , spokesperson for the National Migration Service in Tete , said the driver had not wanted to stop the vehicle when asked .
She explained that her colleagues had heard noises from the lorry and suspected that migrants might be inside .
Referring to the trafficking of migrants she said : `` This is a worrying situation .
We are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ border . ''
Some of the 14 survivors were hitting the container and screaming , reports the Portuguese newspaper Observador .
Danilson Goncalves , head of public health in Tete , said a team of medical examiners would carry-out autopsies to determine the exact cause of death .

She said investigations were ongoing to discover how the occupants died, but said asphyxiation was the likely cause of death.


bbc--2020-03-24--Woody Allen memoir finally published after being pulped

Woody Allen ’ s controversial memoir has been released , weeks after it was pulped by its original publisher .
Apropos of Nothing was printed by Arcade Publishing in the US .
The previous publisher , Hachette , scrapped plans to release the book after protests from its staff and his children Ronan and Dylan Farrow .
Dylan has accused Allen of sexually abusing her in 1992 when she was seven years old .
He denies the claim , calling it a `` total fabrication '' in his book .
`` I never laid a finger on Dylan , never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even misconstrued as abusing her ; it was a total fabrication from start to finish , '' he writes .
Describing a visit to his partner Mia Farrow 's house , where he allegedly molested Dylan , he acknowledges briefly placing his head on his seven-year-old daughter 's lap , but adds : `` I certainly did n't do anything improper to her .
I was in a room full of people watching TV mid-afternoon . ''
Arcade said it had decided to publish the autobiography as a matter of free speech .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than one side of a story and more importantly , not to squelch the writer 's right to be heard , '' said Arcade 's co-founder Jeannette Seaver in a statement .
`` When speakers are shouted down or even assaulted on campuses for simply having a different point of view , journalists are banned from press conferences and truth is too often dismissed as 'fake news ' , we as publishers prefer to give voice to a respected writer and filmmaker , rather than bow down to the politically correct pressures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokesperson for the director said Allen had `` told his story comprehensively in his book '' .
Dylan and her brother Ronan Farrow both criticised Hachette 's original decision to publish the book .
Dylan called the memoir `` deeply upsetting '' , while Ronan , a journalist who also recently released a book with the company , accused the publisher of concealing Allen 's autobiography from him and its staff .
Hachette employees staged a walkout in New York and Boston to protest against the publication , and the company pulled the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hachette at the time called the decision `` a difficult one '' .
Allen is an Oscar-winning director who has written and directed cult classics including Annie Hall and Manhattan .
The 84-year-old lost a four-film deal with Amazon last November following comments he made about the # MeToo movement .

"When speakers are shouted down or even assaulted on campuses for simply having a different point of view, journalists are banned from press conferences and truth is too often dismissed as 'fake news', we as publishers prefer to give voice to a respected writer and filmmaker, rather than bow down to the politically correct pressures of the modern world."


bbc--2020-03-24--Tokyo 2020: 'The right decision, made just in time'

There is a moment at an Olympic Games , some point after the opening ceremony and around the time where everything around you is drama and smashed records and new heroes , when you look around and think : there is no other square mile or so of the planet that has as many people staring at it as this .
That 's what the summer Games do .
They make you feel like you 're at the centre of the world .
And it 's why it took the International Olympic Committee so long to realise that Tokyo 2020 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there could be no other decision .
The IOC has the history , the power and the self-regard to pull off something as complicated , expensive and vainglorious as an Olympics .
Those same characteristics can also leave it out of touch with wider forces at play around it .
It is used to nations wooing it and coming in supplication , not the other way round • How coronavirus has impacted sporting events around the world • The latest news on the coronavirus crisis Olympics and Paralympics have taken place in financial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ governments in meltdown .
They have been able to march on regardless because of the corporate money behind them but also the enduring purity of their central appeal : that they will bring the young people of the world together , and they will bring their families and friends and compatriots along with them for the ride .
Only when it became clear that there could be no gathering of the brightest and the best did the Olympic machine creak to a halt .
When half the globe is under curfew in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assembly of athletes and spectators no longer makes any sense .
The world has changed and so must the Olympics too .
You ca n't wait another four weeks to see where the coronavirus pandemic is , because every day matters to the athletes at this stage .
A pole-vaulter can not prepare for an Olympics with star-jumps in the back garden .
A rowing eight can not train independently in their garages .
Boxers need sparring partners , tennis players need opponents .
All of them need coaches , and medical staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tracks , and gyms , and velodromes .
They need swimming pools , open roads and changing rooms .
They need Olympic selection races , and bouts , and contests .
They need to be watched by judges and dope-tested by officials .
There must be a crowd to watch so all the effort and strain and practice makes some sort of sense , and there must be broadcasters and writers and cameraman and press officers so any else can hear about it all .
It is not a cheap decision to push @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year .
Olympic and Paralympic Games bring something special to every host city but they come at an eye-watering price .
Those costs escalate rapidly when finished stadiums are operating but empty , when contracts to make transport work and security function and logistics take place have to be extended months after they were designed to end .
It has a seismic effect on the athletes who have spent almost four years building to one three-week period in midsummer .
Not all will be able to peak again next year .
Some will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lives are structured around Olympic years .
Families are put on hold .
Babies are delayed .
Weddings and engagements are forced to wait for the autumn or the empty winter beyond .
And they dictate how you pay the bills .
Even in the UK National Lottery funding only touches a select group .
When you exist on prize money and appearance fees , the obliteration of your year 's competition schedule is about more than just racing .
When you supplement that with speaking engagements and school visits , the greatest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the part-closure of the education system has a direct effect on your ability to compete .
This is not an existential crisis like the African boycott of 1976 , the US-led boycott of Moscow in 1980 or the tit-for-tat Eastern Bloc boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics four years later .
The Olympics as an idea retains its allure .
There are no breakaways or rival circuits coming .
Japan has the finances to keep this vast operation going for another 12 months in a way that would have been beyond the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Greek government in 2004 and its aftermath .
It may even , perversely , be the making of the Tokyo Games .
• 'Heartbreaking ' but a 'relief ' - how athletes reacted to Olympic delay • 'This is about protecting lives ' - IOC chief says costs of Tokyo 2020 delay not discussed Olympics have been beset by scandal for as long as they 've been going on - bribery here , doping there , venues left empty and rotting .
For all that you leave a summer Games uplifted by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you also wonder at what cost it has all come .
What really has been the legacy of those profligate three weeks , when the sponsors are mainly fast-food and soft drinks companies and most of those watching will disengage as soon as they are done , let alone ever contemplate taking up those sports themselves ?
Tokyo , when it happens , will be the first global celebration in the aftermath of the pandemic .
After months when we have lived apart , when we have done nothing as part of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event , and a narrative , that pulls each nation with it .
You sit in the main Olympic stadium and look around at the flags of almost 200 competing nations hanging from the roof and only then do you truly appreciate the truly collective nature of what is happening on the track and field below .
You see thousands of athletes pouring in to the closing ceremony , some winners , most losers , and you see the smiles and the dancing and feel the culmination of so many discrete journeys .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the final night and see all the myriad body shapes and sizes and play 'guess the sport ' , and you see a small , skinny distance runner chatting up a volleyball player twice their size , or a Bulgarian weightlifter swapping pin badges with a Paraguayan modern pentathlete , and you ca n't imagine all this happening any other way .
Tokyo will be all that and more .
The world emerging from its darkest period in 70 years .
A celebration of all we still have in common , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ granted ever again .

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were due to start on 24 July
There is a moment at an Olympic Games, some point after the opening ceremony and around the time where everything around you is drama and smashed records and new heroes, when you look around and think: there is no other square mile or so of the planet that has as many people staring at it as this.
That's what the summer Games do. They make you feel like you're at the centre of the world. And it's why it took the International Olympic Committee so long to realise that Tokyo 2020 had to be postponed, and why there could be no other decision.
The IOC has the history, the power and the self-regard to pull off something as complicated, expensive and vainglorious as an Olympics. Those same characteristics can also leave it out of touch with wider forces at play around it. It is used to nations wooing it and coming in supplication, not the other way round
Olympics and Paralympics have taken place in financial crises, after terrorist atrocities, with governments in meltdown. They have been able to march on regardless because of the corporate money behind them but also the enduring purity of their central appeal: that they will bring the young people of the world together, and they will bring their families and friends and compatriots along with them for the ride.
Only when it became clear that there could be no gathering of the brightest and the best did the Olympic machine creak to a halt. When half the globe is under curfew in their own homes the idea of a vast assembly of athletes and spectators no longer makes any sense. The world has changed and so must the Olympics too.
You can't wait another four weeks to see where the coronavirus pandemic is, because every day matters to the athletes at this stage. A pole-vaulter cannot prepare for an Olympics with star-jumps in the back garden. A rowing eight cannot train independently in their garages. Boxers need sparring partners, tennis players need opponents.
All of them need coaches, and medical staff, and proper nutrition. They need tracks, and gyms, and velodromes. They need swimming pools, open roads and changing rooms.
They need Olympic selection races, and bouts, and contests. They need to be watched by judges and dope-tested by officials. There must be a crowd to watch so all the effort and strain and practice makes some sort of sense, and there must be broadcasters and writers and cameraman and press officers so any else can hear about it all.
It is not a cheap decision to push the biggest gathering in sport back a year. Olympic and Paralympic Games bring something special to every host city but they come at an eye-watering price. Those costs escalate rapidly when finished stadiums are operating but empty, when contracts to make transport work and security function and logistics take place have to be extended months after they were designed to end.
It has a seismic effect on the athletes who have spent almost four years building to one three-week period in midsummer. Not all will be able to peak again next year. Some will be too old, others injured.
Lives are structured around Olympic years. Families are put on hold. Babies are delayed. Weddings and engagements are forced to wait for the autumn or the empty winter beyond.
And they dictate how you pay the bills. Even in the UK National Lottery funding only touches a select group.
When you exist on prize money and appearance fees, the obliteration of your year's competition schedule is about more than just racing. When you supplement that with speaking engagements and school visits, the greatest squeeze on private finances in a generation and the part-closure of the education system has a direct effect on your ability to compete.
This is not an existential crisis like the African boycott of 1976, the US-led boycott of Moscow in 1980 or the tit-for-tat Eastern Bloc boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics four years later.
The Olympics as an idea retains its allure. There are no breakaways or rival circuits coming. Japan has the finances to keep this vast operation going for another 12 months in a way that would have been beyond the Brazilian government four years ago and certainly the Greek government in 2004 and its aftermath.
It may even, perversely, be the making of the Tokyo Games.
Olympics have been beset by scandal for as long as they've been going on - bribery here, doping there, venues left empty and rotting.
For all that you leave a summer Games uplifted by much of what you have witnessed, you also wonder at what cost it has all come. What really has been the legacy of those profligate three weeks, when the sponsors are mainly fast-food and soft drinks companies and most of those watching will disengage as soon as they are done, let alone ever contemplate taking up those sports themselves?
Tokyo, when it happens, will be the first global celebration in the aftermath of the pandemic. After months when we have lived apart, when we have done nothing as part of a larger group, there will be an event, and a narrative, that pulls each nation with it.
You sit in the main Olympic stadium and look around at the flags of almost 200 competing nations hanging from the roof and only then do you truly appreciate the truly collective nature of what is happening on the track and field below.
You see thousands of athletes pouring in to the closing ceremony, some winners, most losers, and you see the smiles and the dancing and feel the culmination of so many discrete journeys.
You go out in the host city on the final night and see all the myriad body shapes and sizes and play 'guess the sport', and you see a small, skinny distance runner chatting up a volleyball player twice their size, or a Bulgarian weightlifter swapping pin badges with a Paraguayan modern pentathlete, and you can't imagine all this happening any other way.
Tokyo will be all that and more. The world emerging from its darkest period in 70 years. A celebration of all we still have in common, a carnival unleashed that no-one will take for granted ever again.