Head of Tokyo Olympics committee refuses to rule out cancelling games


Robert Tollast
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The head of the organising committee for the Tokyo Olympics has refused to rule out a complete cancellation of the event, which is due to start in just three days' time.

On Monday, authorities organising the games said that 71 cases of Covid-19 had been linked to the event, which has faced numerous delays and cost overruns, problems exacerbated by the pandemic.

Thirty-one of the cases were visitors from abroad and the total cases announced were tallied up to July 2. People testing positive at the games are required to isolate for 14 days.

Speaking at a press conference, the head of the organising committee Toshiro Muto said that the number of infections was being closely watched.

“We can’t predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases. So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases,” he said, after a journalist asked if the event could be cancelled.

While the organisers are taking unprecedented measures to ensure the games go ahead safely — and the case numbers so far are tiny compared with the number of people already on site, Tokyo has seen a spike in Covid cases.

About 11,000 athletes will be participating in the games.

But the rise in cases in Tokyo has led the government to declare an emergency in the city. The seven-day average for cases almost doubled this week, from 830 to 1,387.


Compounding the risk of a major outbreak, athletes do not have to have received a vaccination before attending, although Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee’s president, has said that 85 per cent of athletes will have been jabbed and almost everyone working at the event will be vaccinated.

A survey of Japanese public opinion carried out by broadcaster JNN on July 3-4 found 35 per cent of respondents were in favour of a spectator-less Olympics, while 26 per cent wanted to allow some fans, and 34 per cent wanted to cancel the games or postpone them again.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore  offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.

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BRIEF SCORES

England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)  
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)

Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1

RESULTS

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Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)

2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout

3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi

3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne

4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi

4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

Score

New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs 

New Zealand win by 47 runs

New Zealand lead three-match ODI series 1-0

Next match: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi, Friday

India squads

T20: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur

Test: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant

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Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
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What can victims do?

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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Updated: July 20, 2021, 1:03 PM`