The International Cricket Council (ICC) is not in a hurry to take a decision whether the T20 World Cup should be postponed in the wake of COVID-19 or staged as scheduled, saying it is "exploring all options" as part of its comprehensive contingency planning for all its events. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Australia from October 18 to November 15 but with all sporting events either postponed or cancelled due to the global health crisis, the fate of the tournament remains uncertain.

With Australia sealing its borders and putting restrictions on travel to contain the dreaded disease, there have been speculations that the T20 World Cup could be postponed to next year or held inside closed doors. "We are continuing with our planning for ICC events as they are, but given the rapidly evolving situation as a prudent and responsible measure we are also undertaking a comprehensive contingency planning exercise," an ICC spokesperson was quoted as saying by SkySport. "This includes exploring all options available to us based on a range of scenarios connected to the pandemic."

The T20 World Cup is still six months away and ICC said it will take a decision after consulting all stakeholders, including the Australian government. "We will continue to take advice from experts and authorities, including the Australian government and will take decisions at the appropriate time," the spokesperson said. "We will utilise all the data available to us to ensure we can take well-informed, responsible decisions that are in the best interests of our sport."

Former captain Allan Border and star all-rounder Glenn Maxwell have already given a thumbs down to the prospect of the tournament happening without spectators, while former batsman Simon Katich and wicket-keeper batsman Alex Carey feel delaying the event remains an option.

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Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is a "bit" surprised that Cricket Australia is struggling financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic but said players will work together with the governing body to overcome the crisis. With the coronavirus outbreak halting all cricketing action, Cricket Australia (CA) has laid off 80 per cent of its staff for the rest of the financial year which ends on June 30. Reports suggest that CA will run out of cash by August. "I was a bit surprised there but there has to be some impact, no doubt," Hazlewood was quoted as saying by 'Sydney Morning Herald'. Hazlewood said the financial crisis will hit cricketers too and they are ready for a reduced salary.

"We are no different from any other sport. It just depends how long it hangs around as to how much it is going to affect us, I guess. If it leads into next summer, it will be quite serious," Hazlewood said. "We're obviously partners in the game and we've always said that. We have ridden the highs and now its probably time to ride the lows, a little bit." CA and Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) had an ugly pay dispute in 2017 but Hazlewood said relations have improved since and hoped this crisis will be handled better this time. "I think the relationship is a lot better now, between the ACA and CA. It's developed a long way in the last 18 months to two years, probably," he said. "... so that will go a long way towards having this episode (handled) a lot better than last time. It's all positive from our end and I think, from both ends. "Hopefully it's a lot better communication this time and I think you will see that in the coming weeks and the coming months. As long as they show a lot of transparency on all the numbers, all the players will be pretty happy with that."

According to the MOU signed in 2017, CA has to provide ACA with revenue estimates and a national contract list for the upcoming summer by April 30 and Hazlewood expects the deadline to be met so that players can be better prepared for the financial fallout. "April 30 is what the players want and it's in the MOU but I guess these are strange times. Anything can happen," Hazlewood said. "The ideal (situation) is that they're put out before April 30 and obviously then we will know, financially, what we can get ready for and how much of a percentage is lost and how much of our contracts are affected. "The sooner we know that, the more we can plan for the next 12 months." The global health crisis, which has killed more than 1.6 lakh worldwide, has put this year's T20 World Cup and India's tour of Australia under threat.

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Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who will turn 47 on Friday, will not celebrate his birthday due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country.

A source close to Tendulkar revealed cricketer's decision to ANI.

The whole country is currently dealing with the COVID-19 crisis which has claimed more than 600 deaths so far in India. In an attempt to contain coronavirus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14 extended the nationwide lockdown until May 3.

Several sports personalities have come forward to contribute to PM-CARES Fund to help the country combat coronavirus.

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Before becoming India cricket's most famous fan, Sudhir Kumar Gautam came to be known as Sachin Tendulkar's biggest supporter by painting his body in the tri-colour and blowing his conch shell every time Tendulkar took guard.

There hasn't been a year when the crazy fan has failed to meet Tendulkar, 47, on his birthday since November 2003, when Sudhir, 39, first met the Indian batting legend. Today will be different due to the nationwide lockdown. "I am sad that I won't be able to meet and wish Sachin sir this time. However, I will call to wish him. Sachin sir too has decided not to celebrate his birthday this time [due to the worldwide health crisis]," Sudhir told mid-day on Thursday from New Delhi where he is put up at his friend's home. He lives in Muzzafarpur, Bihar.

"For the last three years, I have gifted him something on his birthday. Once it was a Lord Ganesha painting made by me. On other occasions, a collage of his old pictures put together by me. I will share my special gift for him on Instagram tomorrow," he said.

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The usage of artificial substances to polish the cricket ball, which effectively means ball tampering, could be considered for legalisation when the game resumes after the COVID-19 pandemic that has made bowlers wary of applying saliva on the red cherry. 'ESPNCricinfo' reported that administrators are "open to the option of allowing for the use of an agreed artificial substance to polish the ball under the supervision of the umpires", which amounts to ball-tampering as per the current rules governing the sport.

However, an ICC CEC member, who PTI spoke with, refused to say whether such a discussion will happen and only revealed that "saliva on the ball is something they will consider but at a later date when it looks like we will have a return to cricket." The matter of saliva being unsafe was raised by the ICC's medical committee and it would be addressed before cricket resumes. All sports activities have come to a halt after the coronavirus outbreak. Shining the ball is an integral part of Test cricket as it helps the bowlers swing the ball, both conventional and reverse.

If the move gets the go ahead, it would be quite ironic for the game's administrators after the 2018 ball-tampering controversy which led to one-year bans on Steve Smith and David Warner for conspiring to use sandpaper to alter the ball. Following the chief executives meeting of the ICC on Thursday, its medical committee, headed by Peter Harcourt, had issued an update.

"Our next step is to create a roadmap for the resumption of international cricket which will include a criteria for decision making and a checklist for what needs to happen. "This will consider everything from player preparation to government restrictions and advisories and bio-bubbles. The scale and complexity of getting cricket started again cannot be underestimated particularly with respect to a global event," Harcourt said. Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood recently said that Test cricket will become harder if the bowlers did not have enough means to move the ball.

"I think the white ball would be fine, (but) Test cricket would be very hard. Bowlers rely on any sort of sideways movement in the air," said Hazlewood. "If you didn't maintain the ball at all for 80 overs it would be quite easy to bat after that initial shine has gone. Whether you use saliva or sweat, maybe one person can do it.

Former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad supports the idea of not using saliva on the ball. "When the action resumes, they should use only sweat for some time as safety of the players is paramount," former pacer Prasad, who played 33 Tests and 161 ODIs for India, told PTI. However, he reckons it will be tough for the bowlers to stop all of a sudden.

"When you are in the thick of things, you tend to forget it. You have to get the upper hand over the batsmen as you can't use anything else besides sweat and saliva. "The question is what do you do when the batsman is pulping you? You need to swing the ball and what helps swing the ball is the aerodynamics," the 50-year-old explained.

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Michael Holding feels legalising ball tampering in the post COVID-19 world is a bit "self contradictory" while Proteas great Allan Donald is completely on the opposite end of the spectrum on a subject that has divided opinions. The International Cricket Council (ICC), during its recent CEC meeting, considered the use of artificial substances on the ball instead of saliva.

"I have read that ICC is contemplating preventing people from using saliva on the ball due to COVID-19 and allowing them to use foreign substances on the ball to keep the shine on but in front of the umpire. I don't understand the logic behind that," Holding told ESPNCricinfo. The West Indies great also questioned the ICC for shifting its stand on the issue by allowing foreign substance instead of saliva or sweat. "Before they got to that point they said if they restart cricket it has to be played in a bio-secure environment.

"They were saying cricketers for instance would have to isolate themselves for two weeks to make sure that everything was fine for when they got to the venue before the match started. And everyone involved (with the match) will have to do the same thing," he said. What Holding can't fathom is that if people quarantine themselves and then start playing, why saliva can't be used then.

"Now, if you are saying everyone is in the bio-secure environment, you are staying in the same hotel, you are not moving for the length of time you are playing the matches, if that is the case why are you worried about someone's saliva? "That person according to what you are doing should be free of Covid-19. If the ICC thinks that the two-week period to prove that you are free of Covid-19 is not foolproof, then that means you are putting everyone in that environment in jeopardy?

"Why would you want to play cricket under those circumstances? It's either safe or it's not. No guessing, please," one of the most respected voices in world cricket said. Pakistan legend Waqar Younis made it clear that use of saliva is a must and can't be done away with when competitive cricket resumes. "As a fast bowler, I reject this because this (using saliva and sweat) is a natural process. A ball exchanges hands all day, you run in, huffing and puffing, you sweat and using saliva is natural rather than on intent. It's a habit and you just can't control this aspect," Waqar said.

He felt that all these kind of ideas show desperation to start proceedings. "I don't know how this discussion came up but I feel people who want the game to be played are frustrated with the lockdown. They are overthinking about it. I doubt this new idea of using (artificial) substance instead of saliva is a solution.

"You can make a bowler use a predefined substance on the ball, but at the same time practically it's not possible to prevent a bowler using his sweat or saliva," Pakistan's current bowling coach said. Donald, however, is open to the idea. "I absolutely agree with legalising ball-tampering. I said so in an article sometime in the 2000s. It happens anyway, we see guys throwing the ball on the ground and umpires say to throw it up and it's pretty obvious what they are doing. It could work if it is well-monitored."

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The Hong Kong airport is using several latest disinfection technologies including a full-body disinfection channel and cleaning robots to reduce the risk of the COVID-19 spread.

The disinfection channel is an enclosed facility similar to a telephone booth in size where users can complete disinfection and sanitizing procedures in 40 seconds, the city's Airport Authority (AA) said in a statement on Sunday.

The interior surface of the facility is equipped with antimicrobial coating which can remotely kill virus and bacteria on human bodies and clothing by using the technologies of photocatalyst and "nano needles" Xinhua news agency quoted the AA as saying, noting that the Hong Kong International Airport is the world's first to use the facility.

Currently, the disinfection channel is used by public health staff who bear quarantine duties at the airport.

Autonomous cleaning robots have also been used to ensure thorough disinfection of public areas and passenger facilities at the airport.

The cylindrical robots, equipped with ultra violet light sterilizer and air sterilizer, operate round-the-clock in public toilets and key operating areas in the terminal building, the AA said.

The robots can move around autonomously and sterilize up to 99.99 per cent of bacteria in its vicinity, including both the air and object surfaces, in just 10 minutes.

Besides, the AA is also conducting a pilot test of applying antimicrobial coating at all passenger facilities, including check-in counters, baggage trolleys and elevator buttons, among others.

After completion of the trial in May, the AA will consider implementing it as a long term disinfection measure. Hong Kong has reported 1,037 coronavirus cases with four deaths.

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A shooting in Louisiana's capital city of Baton Rouge has left one police officer dead and a wounded colleague fighting for life Sunday, authorities said, adding a suspect was in custody after an hours-long standoff at a home. Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul told The Advocate the officers were shot in the northern part of the city, and one of the officers later died.

Police said the officers were responding to a call about reports of gunfire when they were shot. At a news conference Sunday evening, the police chief said the slain officer was a 21-year law enforcement veteran and that the wounded colleague had seven years of police work, according to WBRZ-TV. The chief did not identify the officers. The second wounded officer was hospitalized and ¿fighting for his life," Paul said, adding both officers were rushed earlier to a leading Baton Rouge hospital. Paul said a suspect was taken into custody after the standoff.

The police chief did not elaborate on any possible charges. Many details of events leading up to the shooting remained sketchy, and the chief said only that police continue to investigate. Later Sunday, dozens of officers gathered outside the hospital where the wounded officer was being treated, awaiting updates amid their impromptu vigil. A coroner's van was seen during the afternoon being escorted away by dozens of law enforcement vehicles as it left the hospital, according to media reports.

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has fired his special aide on I&B and replaced her with a powerful former military spokesman as he revamped his media team for the second time since coming to power amid mounting criticism for failing to address key issues including the COVID-19 outbreak.

Former Army spokesman Lt Gen (retied) Asim Saleem Bajwa, who is also the chairman of the newly created China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority, has replaced Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan as the Special Assistant to the PM for information and broadcasting (I&B).

PM Khan also appointed Senator Shibli Faraz as the new information minister. Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry announced the new appointments. The changes were made to blunt the perception that the government's media handling was not good and its work was not being properly highlighted amid the health crisis.

"The way these changes have been made will not give a good impression and help the cause of the government," analyst Ayaz Amir told Dunya TV. Pakistan has 14,079 COVID-19 cases so far.

301
No. of COVID-19 deaths in Pakistan

Now, Beijing to shut COVID-19 hospital

Authorities in Beijing are set to close a COVID-19 special hospital, Xiaotangshan Hospital, after clearing all the cases even as China reported six new infections and 40 fresh asymptomatic cases on Tuesday. The move comes days after Wuhan closed 16 temporary hospitals and discharged its last patient on Sunday.

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In a touching gesture, a bride ensured her grandmother staying in an assisted home gets to be a part of her wedding by visiting her on her big day amid the Coronavirus scare. Shauna Varner from Minnesota stopped at nothing to involve her grandmother Janis Krueger in her wedding, even if it was from behind the glass door.

Varner and her fiancé Travis Scepaniak had planned a big wedding but had to call it off and smaller ceremony with a small number of guests due to the Coronavirus pandemic. As it was impossible to get Krueger out of the assisted home, Varner came up with an idea to get the administration there involved to help her.

The assisted home shared the heartfelt moment of  Varner making her bridal debut in front of Janice on their Facebook page, with the caption that read, “COVID-19 cannot stop true love.” The post, which concluded with the home conveying their wishes to the couple, also read that love radiated between the grandmother-granddaughter duo as soon as the bride got out of her car.

The post shared last week garnered more than 105680 views on Facebook with over 2,600 likes and was shared 531 times. Users commenting the video praised the bride’s gesture and conveyed their best wishes to the couple.

A user said, “This is so sweet that they would come to visit Grama and make her part of their special day! Congratulations to the happy couple and your families! Your dress is beautiful and the groom looks pretty good too!” Another user said, “How beautiful grandma could still participate ! Love has no boundaries ! Wonderful that the facility help make a dream come true!” One user said, “Wow!!! Goosebumps and tears! How very special!”

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India has approved amendments to its double tax agreement with Qatar.

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body has formally endorsed the Appellate Body's decision to reverse a previous panel ruling that a tax break provided by Washington State to Boeing is a prohibited subsidy.

The EU General Court has dismissed an appeal brought against the European Commission's decision that a tax ruling granted by Luxembourg to Fiat Chrysler Finance Europe was unlawful.

While marketing and promotional activity is not an immediate priority for advertisers struggling to re-build their own businesses, revenues will remain subdued through the middle of 2021

With most auto-stocks down by nearly 40-70% since February 2020, the post-COVID-19 scenario might see consumers move away from all forms of shared mobility to more personal forms of transport

Coronavirus impact: IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta told the employees that they are left with no option but to implement pay-cuts. The airline had earlier rolled back its decision to cut pay

Franklin Templeton: The fund house has not given any clear indication about the possible timeline within which it will liquidate all its investments and return investors' money

Highlights: Staying indoors during COVID-19 lockdown can wreak havoc on your child's mental health Keeping

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi is ready to offer the French authorities, millions of doses of Plaquenil containing hydroxychloroquine, to treat

The Korean Government has announced that the 2019 Tax Revision Bill was enacted on January 6, 2020, with a number of new measures added to the existing proposals.

On January 8, 2020, a bill was introduced in the Senate of the US state of Maryland that would impose a tax on revenues associated with digital advertising derived in the state.

A delegation from the European Parliament's PANA Committee will travel to Switzerland to discuss the efforts being taken to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax offences.

On January 8, 2020, a bill was introduced in the Senate of the US state of Maryland that would impose a tax on revenues associated with digital advertising derived in the state.

The Australian Government is to simplify taxpayers' compliance with rules designed to prevent shareholders from using private company profits without paying tax at their marginal rates.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) has given a guarded welcome to the New Zealand Government's response to the recommendations of the Tax Working Group.

The Irish Revenue has published guidance on the tax compliance obligations that arise from mergers and divisions.

Officials from the Abu Dhabi Global Market, a free zone in the United Arab Emirates, and the Abu Dhabi Exchange recently visited Shanghai, China, to meet with representatives of key Chinese financial authorities and institutions.

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Oral health has been separated from routine healthcare and health policy for too long, despite the fact that oral diseases constitutes a major global

17th January 2014 – Colombo, Sri Lanka – His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, has officially launched a new, hi-tech information system that promises to enhance water management in the South Asian country. Download the full media release

According to Karen Villholth, a principal researcher focusing on groundwater for the International Water Management Institute, poorer rural communities in South Africa similarly struggle with groundwater issues — a problem exacerbated by the recent drought that has stricken the country.

Furthermore, the paper says, wastewater volumes are increasing quickly, with a projected rise of roughly 24% by 2030, 51% by 2050.

The energy embedded in wastewater, meanwhile, could provide electricity to 158 million households – roughly the number of households in the USA and Mexico combined.

The energy embedded in wastewater, meanwhile, could provide electricity to 158 million households – roughly the number of households in the USA and Mexico combined.

Current wastewater nutrient recovery technologies have made significant progress. In the case of phosphorous, recovery rates range from 25% to 90%.

Wastewater volumes are increasing quickly, with a projected rise of roughly 24 percent by 2030 and 51 percent by 2050.

Take a look at the satellite map below. That vast swathe of orange and red across northwestern India and Pakistan depicts crops that have ripened in the last couple of weeks.

Achieving food and nutrition security, reducing inequality, and preserving terrestrial ecosystems.

A study across 15 cities in South Asia, Africa and South America shows that water is inaccessible and unaffordable.

Liver cancer is rising around the world, despite preventive measures, according to the study published online in iCANCER/i, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Disinfection tunnel used to sanitise people for just Rs 10,000 been developed by Indian Railways. A railway ministry official said that the loco

Current wastewater nutrient recovery technologies have made significant progress. In the case of phosphorous, recovery rates range from 25% to 90%.

Wastewater volumes are increasing quickly, with a projected rise of roughly 24 percent by 2030 and 51 percent by 2050.

Take a look at the satellite map below. That vast swathe of orange and red across northwestern India and Pakistan depicts crops that have ripened in the last couple of weeks.

CRISPR-Cas9 protein was found to help increase the targeting accuracy in the genome editing process, revealed a team of researchers from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Karolinska Institutet.

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Alcohol-based hand disinfectants are effective against the novel coronavirus, according to the study published in the journal iEmerging Infectious Diseases/i.

Guidelines to carry out disinfection in the quarantine facilities where people who have contracted coronavirus are housed is have been issued. "Due