United's Rashford raises funds to help children in need

MANCHESTER: Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has raised over $124,410 to ensure vulnerable children who rely on free school meals every day are still fed now schools are closed due to the coronavirus lockdown. His initial goal that would serve 400,000 children was quickly surpassed after people responded positively to the 22-year-old’s appeals on his social media channels.

Sydney

OZ rugby league shutdown but sex scandal news pours in

Australian rugby league may be shut down due to Covid-19 but that didn’t spare the scandal-plagued sport more bad news as two Canterbury Bulldogs players were sacked over an escapade with “young females”. New Zealand Test forward Corey Harawira-Naera, 24, and winger Jayden Okunbor, 23, were suspended in early March after taking the women back to their team hotel on a pre-season trip. Australian media said they met the women, described by the club as “young females of a consensual age”, while visiting a school in the New South Wales beachside town of Port Macquarie.

Rome

Athletes banned from training as Italy extends lockdown

Italian footballers and athletes will not be allowed to train together as Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the extension of the country’s lockdown until April 13. All sport in Italy had been suspended from early March until April 3 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed 13,115 people in the country. Conte said in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday that the lockdown would be extended and would now also include training sessions.

Paris

Boateng fined for leaving Munich without permission

Bayern Munich have fined defender Jerome Boateng for leaving the city “without permission”, an act in breach of the strict rules of confinement imposed due to the coronavirus outbreak. According to TVO television, the 31-year-old had left the city in order to visit his son who suffered minor injuries in a road traffic accident on Tuesday. “Bayern defender Jerome Boateng left Munich yesterday without permission from the club,” said the German champions in a statement.

London

McLaren drivers take pay cut amid cost-cutting measures

McLaren drivers Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris have taken voluntary pay cuts as part of a raft of cost-cutting measures to help the team survive the coronavirus crisis with Formula One in lockdown. “I fully understand these tough decisions and I have obviously decided to take a pay cut. We are all in this together,” Sainz tweeted. The British-based team will also use the UK government’s furlough scheme to guarantee 80 percent of salary for staff up to a maximum of ^2,500 ($3,000) a month. agencies