Lab says none of three bat viruses match Covid-19; new witnesses cast doubt on UK advisor’s lockdown claims; WHO says pandemic ‘taking different pathway’ in Africa.

In the UK, a former English Football Association chief executive has warned that clubs could face “insolvency” amid the pandemic.

Former English Football Association chief executive Mark Palios has warned the cost of the coronavirus to lower-league clubs could be even larger than the £200 million forecast by officials.

Rick Parry, the chairman of the English Football League, which governs the three divisions below the Premier League, estimated the cost of lockdown earlier this month.

I personally believe we haven’t seen the worst of it yet, and during the course of the summer you’ll see a lot more financial stress on the clubs as we move onwards and continue to pay wages?

Palios said the impact of the coronavirus meant EFL rules that hit insolvent clubs with points penalties should be relaxed.

Although points deductions can be appealed on the grounds of ‘Force Majeure’ events, Palios also called for a clarification of rules regarding clubs which entered administration.

“This is a consequence of a pandemic, so I think they need to be considering that clubs may need to go to the protection of administration,” he said.

We don’t yet know, but our UK coronavirus blog will keep you firmly up to date as this story continues to pan out.

The United States should stop wasting time in its fight against the coronavirus and work with China to combat it, rather than spreading lies and attacking the country, the Chinese government’s top diplomat Wang Yi says

Sino-US ties have nosedived since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, with the administrations of president Donald Trump and president Xi Jinping repeatedly trading barbs over issues related to the pandemic, reports Reuters, especially US accusations of cover-ups and lack of transparency

State councillor Wang, speaking at his annual press conference on the sidelines of China’s parliament, expressed his deep sympathies to the United States for the pandemic, where the death toll is expected to surpass 100,000 in the coming days, the highest number of any country

“Regretfully, in addition to the raging coronavirus, a political virus is also spreading in the United States

“What China and the United States need to do the most is to first learn from each other and share their experience in fighting against the epidemic, and help each country fight it.”

A British man has been detained in an Indian prison after being accused of breaching the country’s strict coronavirus lockdown rules, reports Nazia Parveen

Hughes’ sister, Aatika, said he was forced to take refuge in a mosque in Bhopal after being caught out by the swiftly implemented lockdown laws requiring people to stay off the streets

Meanwhile, in Spain, preparations are afoot for the next phase of lockdown loosening – but there are significant differences in vision between Madrid and Barcelona when it comes to bringing back the national staple of sitting on a terraza for food and drink