simona halep chooses not to play this month's us open.wo puts health first, over coronavirus fears in the country. and after victory in the world championship for ronnie o'sullivan, could the 44—year—old inspire younger players to follow in his footsteps? still to come on sportsday... crisis at the camp nou. questions over the future of lionel messi, as barcelona look for a fresh start following that 8—2 champions league hammering. and the woman turning heads with her hijab. we meet the uk's first female muslim referee. you female muslim referee. say things like, this is a m game, you say things like, this is a man's game, i'm like, no, it is a man's game, i'm like, no, it is a man's game and a woman's game. hello and welcome along to sportsday. thanks forjoining us. we will get the latest from the cricket any moment. but first two headaches perhaps for organisers at the us open tennis. world number two simona halep is the latest big name to choose not to play in the us open — over health concerns due to coronavius. the grand slam, taking

simona halep has become the latest big name to pull out of this month's us open because of the coronavirus pandemic. halep is the current world number two, and says she's decided not to play in new york because of what she calls the exceptional circumstances we're living in at the moment, adding that her health is at the heart of the decision. the current wimbledon champion is the sixth top ten player to opt out of the grand slam, which is being played behind closed doors from 31st august. let's bring you some football lines now. joe hart is expected to join tottenham on a two—year deal. he's a free agent after leaving burnley at the end ofjune, and will compete with paulo gazzaniga to be hugo lloris' deputy at spurs. and hart's former manchester city team mate vincent kompany has retired from playing. he's 3a and spent last season as player—coach of the belgian side anderlecht. he'll now focus full time on management. ronnie 0'sullivan says a seventh world snooker title would be fantastic after his latest

simona halep is the latest big name in tennis to pull out of this month's us open because of the coronavirusandemic. halep is the current world number two, and says she's decided not to play in new york because of what she calls the "exceptional circumstances" we're living in at the moment, adding that her health is at the heart of the decision. the current wimbledon champion is the sixth top ten player to opt out of the grand slam, which is being played behind closed doors from 31 august. england and pakistan played out a draw in the second test at the ageas bowl in southampton. the result was all but confirmed with bad weather decimating the test. more rain prevented play starting until 3.20pm in the afternoon, after which england reached 110 for four in reply to pakistan's 236 before the captains agreed to a draw. only 135.3 overs, a day—and—a—half‘s play, were possible in the match, the shortest test in england since 1987. the hosts will take a 1—0 lead into the third and final test at the same venue, which begins on friday.

simona halep is the latest big name in tennis, to pull out of this month's us open because of the coronavirus halep is the current world number two, and says she's decided not to play in new york because of what she calls the "exceptional circumstances" we're living in at the moment, adding that her health is at the heart of the decision. the current wimbledon champion is the sixth top 10 player to opt out of the grand slam, which is being played behind closed doors from the 31st august. england and pakistan played out a draw in the second test at the ageas bowl in southampton. the result was all but confirmed with bad weather decimating the test. more rain prevented play starting until 20 past three in the afternoon after which england reached 110 for 4 in reply to pakistan's 236 before the captains agreed to a draw. only 135 point 3 overs — a day and a half's play — were possible in the match, the shortest test in england since 1987. the hosts will take a 1—nil lead into the third and final test at the same venue which begins on friday. after a stunning demolition of kyren wilson, in the wo

women's world number 2 tennis star simona halep has said she won't take part in this year's u.s. open because of the coronavirus pandemic the romanian said she had put her health at the heart of her decision and instead would stay in europe to train. joins reigning women's champion bianca andre school of canada and last year's men's champion rafael nadal in skipping the tournament at flushing meadows. now several moto g.p. drivers are lucky to be alive after a high speed crash in austria 7 time world champion bout and tino rossi and spanish rival maverick vin jada's came within a whisker being hit by 2 cartwheeling bikes. a high speed collision between franco moretti delhi and you'll hunt sako resulted in the terrifying scenes remarkably all 4 riders were left relatively unscathed later morbidity queues sark 0 being quote almost a murderer what he said was aggressive broad. you're watching news to get you know get all the latest news information around the clock on our website at safety w dot com i'm terry marchin to find me on twitter if you want to reach me at t.m. give strict

coming up on sportsday on bbc news, wimbledon champion simona halep chooses not to play in the upcomingrts of the country particularly hard. now research by the institute for fiscal studies suggests that, in england, it's widened the education gap between the richest and poorest primary school children. it shows that, during the pandemic, the richest 20% of pupils were spending over six hours a week more on educational activities compared to the poorest 20%. 0ne headteacher told the bbc it will take nearly two years to close the gap. the government says it's vital for children's education that all pupils return to the classroom by next month, as our special correspondent ed thomas reports. educating through coronavirus. in the most deprived parts of the country. children with hope and ambition. my dreams are to become a dancer and a singer. i'm determined to do the best in high school that i can. the last day of term inside st mary and st thomas primary in st helens. an outstanding school, where almost half of the 220 pupils have a special need. in a deprived area, there is already a ga

makes us makes us feel safe not all players are as keen to travel at this time wimbledon champion simona halep decided not to make the trip to poland and world number one ashley barty made an early decision to pull out of the u.s. open the year's 2nd grand slam tournament is due to start at the end of this month behind closed doors hokum patrick nick curiosus also withdrawn from the event due to health concerns and even those who are committed to playing in new york except the risks are involved. i was thinking maybe of maybe trying to travel somewhere or . weather training but then it's like then you're increasing your risk of potentially. you know catching a virus which then means. she can train or travel for a couple. it doesn't. like playing a grand slam and. the global nature of the tennis calendar and its players has traditionally been a strength right now it looks to be sweetness and the richardson al-jazeera. time for a quick check of the headlines here on al-jazeera u.s. president donald trump has publicly rebuked the leader of the white house coronavirus task force is dr deborah book

simona halep has become the latest big name to pull out of this month's us open because of the coronavirusthe current world number two, and says she's decided not to play in new york because of what she calls the exceptional circumstances we're living in at the moment, adding that her health is at the heart of the decision. manchester united boss 0le gunnar solskjaer says the club needs to strengthen its squad, after they were knocked out of the europa league. they were beaten 2—1 by sevilla in the semi—finals in cologne. united actually took the lead thanks to a bruno fernandes penalty. but sevilla equalised, and despite loads of chances for united, it was the spanish side that found a winner. cue frustration for the manchester united players and their manager, who have now gone three seasons without a trophy. couple of other line of football news this afternoon, and joe hart is expected to join tottenham on a two—year deal. he's a free agent after leaving burnley at the end ofjune, and will compete with paulo gazzaniga to be hugo lloris' deputy at spurs. and hart's former manchester city

number of top players are missing — there's no rafa nadal or roger federer, no ashleigh barty or simona halep slam that they've ever played in. no fans, of course, a bio—secure bubble, and regular testing for covid—19. plus, we've had the first player to pull out after testing positive — 17th seed benoit paire. hopefully nobody else as positive as well, that is the most important thing. after benoit gets healthy very soon again, that's it. i mean, as i said, there's a possibility somebody‘s positive with all these people around, it was pretty high, so we just have to it's not too many and benoit‘s healthy very soon again. best wishes to benoit. number one seed karolina pliskova gets things underway on the arthur ashe show court. then it's former finalist kevin anderson against number five seed alexander zverev. and in the evening the men's top seed novak djokovic starts his quest for a fourth title. naomi osaka, winner in 2018, will play next as long as she recovers from the hamstring injury that led to her pulling out of the final of the wta event on saturday. no fans on arthur ashe court, t

makes us makes us feel safe not all players are as keen to travel at this time wimbledon champion simona halep decided not to make the trip to poland and world number one ashley barty made an early decision to pull out of the u.s. open the year's 2nd grand slam tournament is due to start at the end of this month behind closed doors. her compare treatment curiosus also withdrawn from the event due to health concerns and even those who are committed to playing in new york except the risks are involved. i was thinking maybe of maybe trying to travel somewhere before i'm to get. weather training but then it's like then you're increasing your risk of potentially you know catching a virus which then means. essentially can't train or travel for a couple of weeks it doesn't. like playing a grand slam and. the global nature of the tennis calendar and its players has traditionally been a strength right now it looks to be sweetness and the richardson al-jazeera lawyers representing football's governing body 1st say the criminal investigation into the president john infant you know is unfair and grotesque

we should know later on monday whether or not simona halep will play at this year's us open. new york because of concerns about coronavirus and also the reigning men's champion rafael nadal. halep claimed her second tour title of the year with victory at the prague open on sunday. the world number two from romania beat belgium's elise mertens in straight sets — 6—2, 7—5 — injust over an hour and a half in herfirst event since february. meanwhile japan's kei nishikori has tested positive for covid—19, and pulled out of this week's cincinnati masters, which is actually being played at flushing meadows in new york. nishikori — who's currently ranked 31 in the world — says he's "feeling well" and will now self—isolate, before another test on friday. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. the world's oldest giant captive panda bear has celebrated her 37th birthday day. ——38 birthday. she received a kick of bamboo shoots and watermelons are more than 100 fans were there at the birthday party as a zoo. to wish you all the very best. hello there

and in sport after a 6 month wait simona halep wins a 2nd straight tennis like peta will have known that it's possible. the head of the u.s. postal service has been summoned to testify at a congressional committee later this month listed joy he was appointed postmaster general by president donald trump and now facing accusations of trying to sabotage the mail network ahead of november's election by withholding funding and limiting its operations on saturday the postal service when millions of mail in ballots might not arrive in time to be counted on election day or let's across to my county he's following this story now and so it looks as though the pressure is increasing on the joy with now this call for an emergency oversight committee hearing what do the democrats hope to achieve from this. but they want clarity this is an emergency meeting he's been summoned to appear before the house oversight committee a month from tomorrow along with him the chairman of the board of governors of the postal service has also been summoned now the postmaster general is actually appointed by the board

simona halep has become the 6 top 10 women's fled to pull out of the u.s. open which is set to begin 2 weeks behind closed doors in new york iranians announcement came in just a day after beating 80 samaritans at 2 in the progress hallett says she doesn't want to take any risks with her health given the situation in the us which has recorded over 5000000 covert 19 cases. and i hope this kabul blackhawks that beat the vegas goldeneye is set to keep their n.f.l. playoff campaign alive tracon and matthew highmore both schools goals for the blackhawks and alex did bring added an empty netter late to seal the 31 victory in edmonton but the star of the night it was the hawks goalie protocol fred he made 48 saves a spot the last vegas lead the series 31. and that's it for me we'll have a more for you later on including the new manager of barcelona but for now i hand you back to the stars yeah very exciting news indeed thanks very much donna that is it for me for this news hour but don't go away i'll be back in just a couple of minutes with another full round of th

to time grand slam singles champion simona halep or has won a 2nd tennis title in a row but she has had to wait 6 months before between the victories because of the coronavirus related shutdown on sunday the world number 2 faced belgium's at least merton's in the final of the proud open the romanian beating merton's 6275. in ice hockey the chicago blackhawks be the vegas golden knights to keep their energy health playoff campaign alive. and matthew him or both schooled goals for the black belt and alex to bring kat added an empty netter late to seal the $31.00 victory in edmonton but the star of the night was the hold a goalie corey crawford that he made the 48 saves despite the last vegas need the series 31. and also a spot for me we'll have more for you later on but for now i'll hand you back to the stars yeah thank you so much sun and don't forget you can always find a much much more on our website you'll see that on our screen qatada 0 dot com well that's it for me for this news out laura will be here in a moment with more of the day's news if you stay with. us. oh geez there are we

so the action has started us on course with ash party and simona halep opting out of their own carlina chris culliver is top seed and she enjoyed a straight sets win over and helena cobban a year in the 1st round. once again there was no sign of you know messi is barcelona began their training for the new season fans waited to get a glimpse of the players as they arrived but when it came to their main star replica shirts was as good as it got messi has told the cop he wants to leave for free but they insist that interested teams must pay and i $133000000.00 buyout as he continues to send a clear message through you also skipped a coronavirus test on sunday. beginning a new era under ronald koeman who left his job as netherlands coach the dutch courts have been training ahead of their upcoming nations league matches against poland and italy cuts in virgil van dyke understands coleman's decision. to do almost and. i'm not disappointed in him at all i know that job was his big dream with cope at 19 we still don't know if the euros is going to happen when a chance like this comes along i u

simona halep is the latest to pull out of the tournament because of the pandemic.rom the world's top ten to pull out of the us open, which starts a week on monday. former player pam schriver says it'll still be a competitive tournament, despite the missing players. i don't think it devalues it that much because we're living through an extraordinary time where, no matter what yourjob is, it's different than what it was six months ago, or a year ago. so i feel that anybody who comes through this us open and wins seven rounds under the circumstances of living in a quarantine bubble — i think this is going to be an incredible performance by the two singles winners, the doubles winners. it's going to show a lot of resilience. england remain 1—0 up in their series with pakistan after the second test finished in a rain soaked draw. when they did play, zak crawley regularly sent the ball to the boundary and made his third 50 in seven tests. but with england 110—4 the captains agreed on a draw. bad light and rain meant there was only a day and a half's play out of a possibl

the world number two simona halep is the latest to pull out. many players will be missing. i don‘t think it devalues it that much because we‘re living through an extraordinary time where, no matter what yourjob is, it‘s different than what it was six months ago, or a year ago. so i feel that anybody who comes through this us open and wins seven rounds under the circumstances of living in a quarantine bubble — i think this is going to be an incredible performance by the two singles winners, the doubles winners. it‘s going to show a lot of resilience. england remain 1—0 up in their series with pakistan after the second test finished in a rain soaked draw. when they did play zak crawley regularly sent the ball to the boundary and made his third 50 in seven tests. but with england 110—4 the captains agreed on a draw. bad light and rain meant there was only a day—and—a—half‘s play out of a possible five in southampton, and england captain joe root says something needs to change and get more play in bad weather. you could always start earlier in this

simona halep has become the latest big name to pull out of this month's us open because of the coronavirusr deal. hart fell from favour with manchester city, after pep guardiola arrived in 2016, with loans to torino and west ham before a 2018 move to burnley. he's a free agent after leaving burnley at the end ofjune, and will compete with paulo gazzaniga to be hugo lloris' deputy at spurs. hart has won 75 caps for england over his career. and hart's former manchester city team mate vincent kompa ny has retired from playing. he's 3a and spent last season as player—coach of the belgian side anderlecht. he'll now focus full time on management. ronnie 0'sullivan says a seventh world snooker title would be fantastic after his latest triumph at the crucible. he dominated kyren wilson to win his sixth world championship title. 0'sullivan is nowjust one world title away from matching stephen hendry‘s record. whilst he's still firmly focused on his own career, 0'sullivan hasn't ruled out helping other players to develop in the future — and that could inlcude yesterday's beaten finallist. yesterday'

the us open is dealt another blow as world number two, simona halep, good evening.