IFC unveils impact investing principles to provide ‘common standard’
Amundi, AXA Investment Managers and BNP Paribas Asset Management are among 60 investors that have backed a set of principles intended to provide a clear market standard for impact investing.The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the emerging markets-focused private sector arm of the World Bank Group, led the development of the ‘Operating Principles for Impact Management’.The IFC said the principles “bring greater transparency, credibility, and discipline to the impact investing market”, addressing concerns about “impact washing”.“Impact washing” refers to a perceived inappropriate labelling of investment strategies or products as “impact”. The term has gained currency as impact investing has gained attention in mainstream institutional investment. The IFC has estimated that appetite for impact investing could be as much as $26trn (€23trn), while the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) has sized the market at $502bn. “Trends in the asset management industry have made it increasingly attractive for managers to use the ‘impact’ brand while marketing their funds to asset owners,” said the IFC.“Given that until now there have not been standards regarding what it means to manage for impact, asset owners will have difficulty assessing which… funds are truly managed for impact, and which are not.”The Operating Principles for Impact Management#*#*Show Fullscreen*#*# Source: IFC, ‘Creating Impact: The Promise of Impact Investing’According to the IFC, the principles were intended to answer demand from asset owners and asset managers for a market standard for impact investing.They were developed in collaboration with financial institutions with expertise in managing for impact, and the IFC said they built on and complemented the range of existing standards, tools and frameworks in the impact investing and broader responsible investment field.The IFC also worked with the GIIN and the Impact Management Framework, two influential organisations in the impact investing field, in developing the principles. The GIIN recently set out what it identified as the four “core characteristics of impact investing”, a move that also sought to bring clarity and establish standards for credible impact investing practice. ‘Extremely important’The principles integrate impact into the key stages of the investment process: strategy, origination and structuring, portfolio management, exit and independent verification.The IFC stated: “Crucially, they call for annual disclosure as to how signatories implement the principles, and independent verification of impact management systems, which will provide credibility to the implementation of the principles.”It added that asset owners adopting the principles would “exert a powerful influence on asset managers to adopt them too”.BNP Paribas Asset Management said the principles represented “a significant step towards creating a consistent framework for impact investment”.Adopting the strategies was “another milestone in our commitment to sustainability, and in particular impact measurement”, it added.MicroVest, a specialist impact fund manager and another early signatory, said the principles were “an extremely important initiative”.Actis, an asset manager that was spun out of UK development finance institution CDC, recently developed an impact measurement framework. It said today that it had put this into the public domain, with real examples of its application.“Unverified, opaque and incompatible industry approaches to measurement must be replaced if impact investing is to achieve its potential,” said Shami Nissan, head of responsible investing at Actis. “Effective measurement and verification will expose ‘impact washing’ – a significant threat to investor trust.”Actis is a founding signatory of the new principles.IPE will publish a special report on impact investing in May
VILLAR MANILA – Sen. Cynthia Villar apologized over comments she made on the inclusion of middle-class sector in the government’s cash assistance program during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Villar said in a statement on Wednesday that she was just clarifying reports about middle-income earners who are receiving emergency subsidies from the social amelioration program (SAP).“My statements during the hearing yesterday [Tuesday] were not in any manner meant to be an affront to the hardworking middle class of the country,” Villar said. “I am aware that the middle class is the backbone of the economy.”“I might have framed my questions and statements in such a manner that made it seem I was insensitive to the plight of the middle income sector. I am not. I am concerned and I look out for the welfare of the middle income workers,” she added.“If I have offended anyone with my statements, I humbly apologize,” the senator further said.Villar, during the Senate Committee of the Whole hearing on Tuesday, said that the middle class should not be included as beneficiaries of the SAP, which is intended for the poor and unemployedAccording to Villar, the 18 million target beneficiaries of the emergency subsidy program represent 82 percent of the estimated 22 million Filipino families in the Philippines, which she said is too huge.“‘Yung 18 million is 82 percent. Bakit bibigyan ‘yung middle eh may trabaho sila, kahit lockdown nagsusweldo sila sa gobyerno kung employed by the government. Kung employed naman ng mga private, nagsusweldo rin sila,” Villar said.“Kaya nga nahihirapan ang mga companies kasi they have to pay the salaries even if there is no business,” she added. “Hindi ko ma-accept ang figures na ‘yun. Masyadong mataas. Nade-deprive ang mahihirap dahil binibigyan pati ang middle class.”Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua explained to Villar that the 22 million families being cited by the senator were based on data from 2015 and it has to be updated to meet the actual needs in the present.“Of the 22 million families, around 15 million are deemed to be low-income or working in the informal sector. However, to be accurate we had to do a projection from 2015 to 2020. Otherwise, kulang kasi may population growth,” Chua said.“The 2020 estimates now [is] 24 million [families] of which 18 million are considered low-income, basically working in the informal sector, no work no pay. That is the basis for the 18 million,” he added.Around 23 million families received help through the SAP during the first tranche of distribution. Under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, the national government has allotted P200-billion-worth of aid for those most affected by the pandemic./PN
Liverpool star Fabinho’s home was burgled while he celebrated his side’s Premier League title win. The Brazilian midfielder’s house in Formby was targeted while it was empty between 3 pm on Wednesday afternoon and 4 am Thursday morning. Burglars are believed to have entered his home while he would have been at Anfield celebrating Liverpool’s momentous trophy win. Jewelry as well as a grey Audi RS6 – which was later found abandoned in the Wigan area – were taken in the raid, police said. The player discovered his house had been broken to when he returned to the property. A Merseyside police spokesman said: “Detectives in Sefton are appealing for information following a burglary in Formby.Advertisement “Police were called to an address in the early hours of this morning when the occupants entered their house to find it had been burgled.” The Premier League trophy was presented to Jurgen Klopp’s men after they thumped Chelsea in a 5-3 thriller in their final home game of the season. read also:Fabinho confirms part of Sadio Mane’s claim about Liverpool training sessions Supporters watched at home or partied outside Anfield because of the coronavirus pandemic. But Liverpool’s stars were keeping them entertained as they sprayed champagne and danced around the dressing room Fabinho is the latest Liverpool player whose home has been robbed over the years while he has been playing in a match. FacebookTwitterWhatsAppEmail分享 Loading… 
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VINTON, Iowa – Developments during the 40th annual Yankee Dirt Track Classic at Farley Speedway have led IMCA to state its official position regarding Late Model shock absorber rules“We do not have a rule that specifically prohibits air shocks in the Late Model division,” noted IMCA President Brett Root. “The nature in which air is introduced into the shock complicates this issue from a tech inspection standpoint.”“This is a new technology being introduced,” he continued. “We do not feel they are good for the division or for IMCA but until we are 100 percent confident we can write and enforce a rule prohibiting this type of shock, they will remain legal.”Two Late Model events remain on the 2017 schedule, Thursday night during the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s at Boone Speedway and Sept. 22 and 23 at West Liberty Raceway.“The confusion that resulted at the Yankee was unintentional and not the fault of Farley Speedway officials,” Root said. “Our executive committee, in conjunction with Late Model promoters, will review the shock absorber rules before any clarifications are announced for future seasons.”
After talking with groups of seniors from Batesville, Jac-Cen-Del and South Ripley and listening to other coaches describe their senior athletes, I am even more certain now that our future leadership is in good hands. When you listen to these young athletes describe what they have accomplished in high school and what they hope to do in the future, your faith in the younger generation is restored.There are always those gloom and doom people who tell you how bad our schools are. When I interview these young people, I do not get the same idea. They do the normal education things that all of us expect, but the extras that they do in and outside the schools are amazing. One quick example is the future business group from OA (3 senior basketball players) who recently competed in a business contest at Ball State University. They were going for a large monetary prize to benefit their school.Even those who were not planning to attend 4-year colleges have definite ideas of what they plan to do and are as articulate as the college bound. Examples would be those going to the military and trade schools which fits their needs better than the 4-year college.
Benteke, who scored 23 times for the midlands outfit in all competitions last season, is without a goal in his last 10 Villa appearances and has been under considerable scrutiny in recent weeks. A few days ago pundit Jamie Redknapp said the striker was “playing like a pussycat” and it seems a subsequent translation of that quote by the media in Benteke’s native Belgium may have given a cruder impression, with the word “cat” being dropped. “The league is too powerful for players to go in there not at 100 per cent. “I think the (hip) injury was his first ever injury in football, so how he handled it, with it being his first, I’m not so sure. “It is not that he is not trying, not at all. I’ve never known a footballer go out there and not try. But you might get them lacking a wee bit of confidence when things are not going their way. “Because he set himself such a high standard last season, I think the little knocks that at the moment he is probably carrying are not helping him. My job is to try to rectify that. “I just think it is a bit of a confidence thing. “He is still a big, imposing guy when you stand next to him. He has definitely not shrunk, that’s for sure! “But the confidence thing is major. I think – ask any footballer – that if you are confident, you will do things off the cuff and will not think about it. “He is maybe thinking about things too much. He is trying to impress and trying to give it back. But I know the injury situation is hurting him a wee bit.” Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is sure Christian Benteke will be feeling determined to respond to criticism of his form by “ramming it back down the throats” of his detractors. Lambert said on Thursday: “If he (Benteke) has read it, or has heard of it – which I’m pretty sure he would have with it being his native country – I’m pretty sure he would have thought ‘I’m going to ram that back down your throat’. “He is going through quite a hard time, the kid, but he’ll come back from it.” Lambert was speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Stoke, and it remains to be seen whether or not Benteke will be given the chance to end his scoring drought against the Potters. The 23-year-old suffered a hip injury in September that sidelined him for two league games and then a knee problem in November while on international duty. Lambert says that, with Benteke having been “carrying a few knocks”, the frontman’s confidence has been affected. And he has indicated he may opt to drop the player at least out of the first XI on Saturday, as he did for the 3-2 win at Southampton on December 4. Asked about possibly taking Benteke out of the firing line, Lambert said: “I might have to look at that. I need to get him at 100 per cent. “He always wants to play and he is not in pain as in ‘I can’t do this’ or anything like that. But it is just little things hindering him from having the movement that he had. Press Association
Madrid: Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca said in a statement that it is planning to reach out to other professional players in the WTA and ATP circuit amid the coronavirus pandemic that has frozen tennis action around the world.Several players and coaches have expressed worries about how most players ranked before the top 100 or even the top 50 of the world rankings will be able to sustain their careers with no matches or tournaments.“Right now tennis takes back seat and the most important thing is everyone’s health, but if in the coming months the Academy can be used to help other professional players, I’d be delighted if they could come to train and also to compete,” said Nadal in the academy’s release. “Although we have no upcoming tournaments, I think competing among ourselves would help us maintain our game when the tour restarts.”The proposal would see the academy “possibly become a campus where elite players can reside, train and compete between themselves in matches that will be televised so that fans around the world can enjoy them.”Nadal had earlier said that he is not worried about the resumption of the tour and does not expect it to restart any time soon.“Tennis is not like football, our sport involves more travelling. Until there is a cure, the situation will be really complicated. We need to be responsible. I cannot see an official tournament at short or medium-term,” he said. IANSAlso Read: Roger Federer brings out funny side with Rafael Nadal remark to a fanAlso Watch: War against COVID-19: Assam Health Department signs 22 MoUs with private hospitals in Silchar
Thursday’s games are the first to feature the top seeds in No. 4 Florida State, No. 10 Duke, No. 15 Louisville and No. 17 Virginia.The NCAA announced that only family and essential personnel would attend the “March Madness” tournament games that begin next week around the country, including in Greensboro. After the NCAA’s announcement, the Big 12 and Big Ten — which were opening play in their league tournaments Wednesday — made similar calls to keep out fans with Thursday’s games.—Reporting by Aaron Beard.___7:10 p.m. The seventh-ranked Cardinal were expected to be picked as a host for the tournament that starts March 20. The top 16 teams are picked as hosts of the opening two rounds.The NCAA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.— Reporting by Josh Dubow___1:20 p.m. 2:35 p.m.An exhibition baseball game in San Francisco between the Giants and Oakland Athletics has been canceled because of the virus outbreak. The Bay Area teams were set to play at Oracle Park on March 24. That was two days before the start of the regular season in Major League Baseball. The announcement came Wednesday after the San Francisco mayor banned gatherings of 1,000 or more people.___ 1 p.m.The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told a congressional committee Wednesday that he would recommend the NBA not allow fans at games in response to the coronavirus.That answer by Dr. Anthony Fauci came hours before NBA owners are scheduled to meet to discuss the next steps in responding to the growing concern about the virus.Fauci was responding to a question from Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Wisconsin Republican, during a meeting of the House Oversight Committee. Grothman asked, “Is the NBA underreacting or is the Ivy League overreacting?” He was referencing how the Ivy League recently canceled its basketball tournaments, instead of having them played without fans in attendance or keeping the status quo.“We would recommend that there not be large crowds,” Fauci said. “If that means not having any people in the audience when the NBA plays, so be it. But as a public health official, anything that has crowds is something that would give a risk to spread.” The Columbus Blue Jackets are the first National Hockey League team to say they’ll hold home games without fans in the stands.The Blue Jackets announced their game Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins would be limited “to home and visiting club personnel, credentialed media and broadcast partners, essential club and arena staff and NHL officials. The games will be closed to the public.”The decision comes in response to Ohio Gov. DeWine’s announcement that he is issuing an order regarding “mass gatherings,” include a ban on spectators at sports events.The Blue Jackets said the new restrictions for home games will be in effect for as long as the state of Ohio’s mandate on large gatherings.— Reporting by Mitch Stacy. Seattle had been scheduled to open the season at Safeco Field with a four-game series against Texas from March 26-29, then host Minnesota in a three-game series from March 30 through April 1.The Mariners say they are working with the commissioner’s office on alternative plans.Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday announced a ban on all large gatherings in the three counties of the Seattle metro area through at least the end of March.That decision affects the Seattle Mariners’ first seven games of the season, when they host the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins. It also applies to home games for the MLS Seattle Sounders, XFL Seattle Dragons and a pair of junior hockey teams in the area.The restrictions do not include Spokane, where NCAA Tournament games are scheduled to take place next week. The men’s first and second rounds are being played at the Spokane Arena, while early rounds of the women’s tournament could end up being played on campus at Gonzaga. The Latest: Big 12 crowd boos statement on no fans for games 3:45 p.m.Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he will be issuing an order regarding “mass gatherings” due to the coronavirus that will affect NCAA Tournament games in Cleveland and Dayton.DeWine says the order will include banning spectators from games and that he’ll be asking people to make “informed decisions.”During a news conference Wednesday, DeWine said he will issue an order in the next 24 to 36 hours. Dayton will host the NCAA’s First Four next week at Dayton Arena, and first- and second-round games will be held in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.“The order will be that there cannot be spectators there,” DeWine said. “There certainly will be people — there will be TV people, there can be radio people there, there can be sports writers, certainly can be the media there. But we’re not going to have the large crowd.” The Big 12 and Big Ten basketball tournaments will proceed without fans beginning with Thursday’s games, following the lead of the NCAA Tournament in barring anybody but family and essential personnel. Each conference started Wednesday’s tournament games with fans in attendance.Going forward, Big 12 teams will be allowed 125 tickets on a game-by-game basis beginning with Thursday’s quarterfinals at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The arena will be cleared after each game. The tickets will go to guests of student-athletes and staff members, but pep bands, cheerleaders and dance teams won’t be allowed.At the Big Ten tourney in Indianapolis, attendance starting Thursday will be limited to student-athletes, coaches, event staff, essential team and conference staff, TV network partners, credentialed media and immediate family members of the participating teams.The Big 12 policy also will be in place for its women’s tournament, which begins Thursday night in Kansas City.“The attempt is to absolutely minimize the number of people here but still find a way to conduct events and actually get the opportunity to play games,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsy said. One of college basketball’s postseason invitational tournaments has been canceled.Organizers of the College Basketball Invitational, widely known as the CBI, say they’ve decided to cancel this year’s event because of the “uncertainty about the coronavirus and the impact it is having on college campuses across the country.”The tournament is played at campus sites for teams that aren’t invited to the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.The statement issued Wednesday says officials look forward to bringing back the CBI in 2021.___ Baylor men’s basketball coach Scott Drew says it’s “sad” that college coaches and players in the NCAA Tournament won’t get to experience the excitement that a fan presence adds to the games.Drew says it also will be an adjustment for coaches who now have to prepare for an environment similar to the scrimmages they conduct during the preseason. He notes that players won’t have the excuse that they can’t hear coaches’ instructions.Drew and some players spoke after No. 5 Baylor practiced Wednesday in preparation for the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, where teams learned of NCAA President Mark Emmert’s decision to restrict attendance of the NCAA postseason events. Emmert says only essential staff and limited family members will be permitted to attend the games. The decision applies to more than just men’s and women’s basketball. All NCAA-sponsored championships including hockey’s Frozen Four will be affected.Baylor guard Devonte Bandoo says it’s “shocking” and “really unfortunate” that fans will be barred from the NCAA Tournament. He calls it a “reality check.”Drew says he suspects playing in an empty arena will adequately address public health concerns and that he’s not concerned at this point about the possibility of games being canceled. Share This StoryFacebookTwitteremailPrintLinkedinRedditThe Latest on the coronavirus outbreak’s affect on sports around the globe (all times EDT):8:57 p.m.The crowd late in the Big 12 first-round game between Iowa State and Oklahoma State booed loudly when the public address announcer read a prepared statement on the tournament being played without fans beginning with the quarterfinal round Thursday. ___6:05 p.m.Two college athletic conferences in the northeastern United States have canceled the bulk of their athletic events for the remainder of the academic year.The Ivy League says all athletic practices and events have been canceled, while the Division III New England Small College Athletic Conference says it’s canceling conference play for all spring sports.The decisions come as colleges and universities place increasing restrictions on student gatherings in hopes of limiting the spread of the coronavirus. “Given this situation, it is not feasible for practice and competition to continue,” the Ivy League said in a statement.The Princeton, New Jersey-based league says the decision by member university presidents to scrap all practices and competitions was unanimous.The Ivy League says individual institutions may still decide whether winter sports teams or athletes who’ve qualified for postseason play may continue to participate.——5:25 p.m. March 11, 2020 ___4:30 p.m.NASCAR and IndyCar plan to race as scheduled this weekend, with IndyCar continuing to move ahead with its season-opening race through the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.The three-day downtown street festival draws about 130,000 people. There will be additional hand-washing and sanitizing stations.NASCAR will race at Altanta Motor Speedway, but said officials Wednesday all driver interviews will be done with the drivers either on risers or with 6-foot buffers around them. The pre-race driver meeting will be held in open-air locations and attendance will be restricted to drivers, crew chiefs, team owners and select officials and dignitaries. 2:30 p.m.San Francisco is banning all large gatherings of more than 1,000 people for the next two weeks and the Golden State Warriors intend to play at least one home game without fans.Mayor London Breed announced the ban Wednesday. She says she understands the order “is disruptive, but it is an important step to support public health.” She says the Warriors are in support of the efforts, and the team announced it would host the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night with no fans, making it the first NBA game set to be played in an empty arena.The Warriors’ next home game after that is March 25 against Atlanta.Golden State also said all events through March 21 would be canceled or postponed. The G League Santa Cruz Warriors were set to host the Austin Spurs on Saturday, but that will be moved to Santa Cruz. ___1:35 p.m.Stanford is still willing to host the NCAA women’s basketball tournament with a strict limit on spectators if selected to do so next week.The school in Northern California said Wednesday that all sporting events on campus will be closed to the public through May 15 or until further notice in response to the spread of the new coronavirus.Only participants, coaches, working staff, officials, credentialed media and a very limited number of family members, friends and guests of the competing teams will be allowed to attend. Santa Clara County announced a ban earlier this week of gatherings of more than 1,000 people. The Oakland Athletics are working with Major League Baseball to figure out alternate plans for their season-opening series at the Coliseum after the City of Oakland imposed a ban on gatherings of 1,000 or more people through the end of March.The team hasn’t said whether it was considering a different location for the games or the idea of playing in an empty ballpark the way the Golden State Warriors plan to do across the bay in San Francisco on Thursday night.Oakland is scheduled to host the Minnesota Twins for a four-game series beginning March 26, and then the Houston Astros are set to play their first road series following the club’s sign-stealing scandal on March 30-31 at the Coliseum.The Giants earlier in the day announced they wouldn’t play a scheduled exhibition game against the A’s at Oracle Park on March 24.—Reporting by Janie McCauley. Next week’s World Cup finals for both women and men in Cortina d’Ampezzo already had been canceled because of the virus outbreak in northern Italy.——2:45 p.m.The Fed Cup finals have been postponed indefinitely in response to concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus. The 12-team women’s tennis tournament was set to be played April 14-19 in Budapest, Hungary. The International Tennis Federation said it still hopes to stage the event in 2020, but did not announce a date. 4:10 p.m.The World Figure Skating Championships set for next week in Montreal have been canceled due to public health concerns related to the spread of the new coronavirus.Quebec Province Health Minister Danielle McCann made the announcement Wednesday.The event was scheduled to bring nearly 200 skaters from more than 50 countries to Montreal. It is the premier competition of the skating season in non-Olympic years. It is scheduled for Stockholm next year.On Saturday, the Women’s World Hockey Championships in Nova Scotia were called off. A global esports league with teams in North America, Europe and Asia is canceling all matches through March and April because of the coronavirus pandemic.The Overwatch League launched an ambitious home-and-away schedule for its 20 franchises in February but already had postponed all events in China and South Korea due to the outbreak. The league announced the latest cancellations in a statement Wednesday.The league’s players come from countries around the globe. OWL says it is “considering the various options available to esports.”Blizzard Entertainment, which operates the Overwatch and Call of Duty Leagues, said scheduling considerations also are being addressed for the latter.—— —Reporting by Dave Skretta___6:40 p.m.Italian soccer club Juventus says one of its players, defender Daniele Rugani, has tested positive for COVID-19.Rugani, who also plays for the Italian national team, is the first player in the country’s top soccer division to test positive. DeWine applauded the Mid-American Conference for closing its tournament games to the general public this week.— Reporting by Tom Withers——3:20 p.m.Skiing officials have called off the last races of the women’s Alpine skiing World Cup because of public health concerns related to the spread of the coronavirus. The promoters of the Long Beach Grand Prix, scheduled for April outside of Los Angeles, said Wednesday the race is still planned.Roger Penske, readying for his first Indianapolis 500 as owner of the race, told The Associated Press by text message he’s approaching the scheduled May 24 race “day by day” while noting the 500 is nearly 90 days away.– Reporting by Jenna Fryer——4:25 p.m. Juventus, which has won the last eight Serie A titles, announced the result on its website and social media channels.The club says Rugani and those known to have had contact with him are being isolated.Italian soccer, along with all other sports in the country, has been suspended until April 3.___6:15 p.m. ___8 p.m.The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament joined the Big 12 and Big Ten in playing without fans starting with Thursday’s quarterfinal round.The league announced the decision in a statement Wednesday evening. That came late on the second day of the five-day event, after fans had attended four full games and half of the Boston College-Notre Dame game at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.The league cited the “rapidly changing landscape regarding COVID-19,” saying games would be played only with teams, player guests, limited school administrators and credentialed media present. Associated Press The decision to call off the three-day event in Are, Sweden, hands Federica Brignone of Italy the overall title and denies Mikaela Shiffrin a return to racing this season.Brignone becomes the first Italian women’s overall champion in the 53-year history of the World Cup.Shiffrin, the defending overall champion, had announced earlier Wednesday that she would compete at the event after taking a six-week break from the sport following the death of her father.During her absence, Shiffrin lost her lead in the overall standings to Brignone, who is 153 points ahead of the American. There would have been a total of 300 points up for grabs in the last three races.The International Ski Federation announced the cancellation less than 24 hours before the first race, Thursday’s parallel giant slalom. — Reporting by Dave Skretta——-4:40 p.m.NCAA President Mark Emmert says NCAA Division I basketball tournament games will be played without fans in the arenas because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus.Emmert said in a statement Wednesday he made the decision to conduct both the men’s and women’s tournaments, which begin next week, with only essential staff and limited family in attendance. The league made the decision shortly before tip-off of Wednesday night’s game. It had considered barring fans from the first-round games, including a nightcap between TCU and Kansas State, before deciding that such a decision made so close to the start of the games would have caused more harm than help.The quartet of games Thursday will be played with only university staff members, 125 friends and family from each team, credentialed media and essential arena employees. Pep bands, cheerleaders and dance teams will not be allowed.—Dave Skretta reporting from Kansas City.___8:47 p.m. ——4 p.m.Nebraska is the latest state to limit attendance or cancel a state high school championship tournament.The Nebraska boys’ basketball tournament will be played as scheduled Thursday through Saturday, but the only fans allowed into the venues will be participants’ immediate families.The Lincoln and Lancaster County Health Department recommended limiting spectators because of concern about the spread of coronavirus. Health officials announced this week that a Crofton High School student who attended the girls’ tournament in Lincoln last week was diagnosed with COVID-19. The Fed Cup serves as a qualifying event for the Olympics and the ITF said it “is working closely with the IOC to address any impact this may have on athlete eligibility” for the Tokyo Games. All playoff matches between lower-ranked teams, which were set to be played in eight locations around the world, were also postponed. ITF President David Haggerty said “we are extremely disappointed to have to make this decision, but we will not risk the safety and welfare of players, captains, event staff or spectators.” The Fed Cup finals features a new format this year with 12 teams competing in four groups before a knockout phase. The United States is set to play Spain and Slovakia in Group C.—— Fans will receive refunds, the team said.— Reporting by Janie McCauley——2:05 p.m.The Mariners will move home games from Seattle through end of March following the state of Washington’s decision to ban large group events in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Ohio announced that only participants’ families and media will be allowed to attend winter sports postseason tournaments.Connecticut has canceled the remainder of its winter sports seasons as well as state tournaments.Boys’ and girls’ basketball tournaments in New York and Pennsylvania have been disrupted because several schools have declined to host games, forcing them to be rescheduled.– Reporting by Eric Olson——
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s capital crackled with fireworks and blared with horns as the soccer-crazy country reached the World Cup for the first time in 28 years as rare scenes of joy took hold of city blocks celebrating a 2-1 victory over Congo.Winger Mohamed Salah scored twice, securing victory with a last-gasp penalty to put Egypt four points clear with one match left in their African group E qualifying campaign.The win clinched Egypt a long-awaited spot in Russia for the 2018 World Cup finals, where the Arab world’s most populous country will compete on football’s ultimate stage for the first time since Italy in 1990.“It’s been 28 years and we’re finally going to enter the World Cup. Today is a day of celebration for the entire country,” said 41-year-old Gaber Fathy.The raucous mood spilling out on the streets marked a respite for Egyptians after years of hardship, from IMF-backed austerity reforms that have pushed inflation to record highs to a tough law on protests that has made public gatherings exceedingly rare after two presidents were toppled since a 2011 uprising.“You can look around and see how people are happy. This is something you never witness in Egypt,” said 23-year-old Gamal Mohamed in downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the iconic centre of the country’s once-active protest movement, which has since been quashed by tough security measures.Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi congratulated the Egyptian people after the match as tireless fans draped in flags turned the streets into an impromptu parade of red, white and black.Just across the border in neighbouring Gaza, where Egypt has led a political reconciliation process, thousands of Palestinians poured into an open-air park to cheer on the second Arab country to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after Saudi Arabia.
They’ll face Kilkenny and Limerick respectively at Croke Park on Sunday week.Tipp’s 1991 Liam MacCarthy Cup winning team will also be honoured on finals day.Michael Bourke is confident the board will deal with all aspects of the county’s success. Meanwhile in football, former Mayo and Armagh player Billy Joe Padden has backed the Mayo county board’s decision not to play senior club games before the All Ireland final on September 18th.The board announced the move last night and Padden says an extra week together will benefit Stephen Rochford’s squad ahead of their clash with Kerry or Dublin.