Covid-19 has hastened the arrival of hybrid diplomacy, a blend of the physical and digital

With dealmaking at a frantic pace, speed matters

The damage is already visible from space

Reserves have been depleted, and many Turks now save in dollars

A clear understanding of its economic effects has been a long time coming

Turkey records 394 Covid-linked deaths in the last 24 hours; Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine approved for pregnant women in South Africa

• Grief and anger as Covid victims overwhelm Delhi’s crematoriums
• Is Russia’s Covid vaccine anything more than a political weapon?
• How continental Europe is emerging from Covid lockdown
• Rapid spread of India variant in UK is ‘worrying’, say scientists

7.04pm BST

Health officials in the Pakistani province of Sindh said they have detected two coronavirus variants first identified in Brazil and South Africa.
Reuters reports:

The highly contagious variants were discovered at a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, which has also reported the most deaths in any city, accounting for 3,903 of the country’s 17,811 deaths.

6.50pm BST

Here is a quick recap of all the main Covid updates from around the world:

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• Premier League updates from the 8pm BST kick-off at St Mary’s
• Suzanne Wrack: why I’m joining the social media boycott
  
• And feel free to email [email protected]
  

7.03pm BST

Southampton: McCarthy, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Vestergaard, Stephens, Tella, Armstrong, Ward-Prowse, Minamino, Adams, Redmond.
Subs: Djenepo, Salisu, Diallo, Ramsay, Walcott, N’Lundulu, Forster, Ferry, Jankewitz.

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Fofana, Evans, Soyuncu, Castagne, Ndidi, Tielemans, Thomas, Maddison, Iheanacho, Vardy.
Subs: Albrighton, Ward, Perez, Amartey, Under, Choudhury, Ricardo Pereira, Mendy, Praet.

4.53pm BST

It’s fair to say Leicester City have enjoyed the upper hand over Southampton recently. There’s the FA Cup semi-final of a fortnight ago, a run-of-the-mill 2-0 victory at the King Power back in January, and the small matter of that 9-0 last season, the goals raining and pouring on a trippy, slippy, head-flippy Friday night in October 2019.

If that wasn’t enough, Leicester also emerged victorious from their two previous visits to St Mary’s, 2-1 in August 2018, 4-1 in December 2017. We’re beginning to go back a ways, with players such as Harry Maguire and Riyad Mahrez in royal blue, but a three-match 15-2 aggregate scoreline is a three-match 15-2 aggregate scoreline, whichever way you spin it.

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• Murphy wins last two frames of day to reduce deficit to 10-6
• Selby finds scoring touch to take 9-7 lead over Bingham

Shaun Murphy won the last two frames of the day to give himself a glimmer of hope in his quest to reach his first World Snooker Championship final in six years.

Murphy had looked set to leave himself an insurmountable challenge heading into Saturday’s concluding sessions after opponent Kyren Wilson turned a 6-2 overnight advantage into a 10-4 lead.

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A petition, signed by more than 54,000 people, calls on Biden to return the garden to its ‘former glory’ as Jacqueline Kennedy designed

Efforts to erase the Trump family legacy have reached the White House potting sheds and nurseries with first lady Jill Biden being urged to restore the mansion’s garden to a state that predates ex-First Lady Melania Trump’s 2019 makeover.

An online petition calling on professor Biden to return the Rose Garden to its “former glory” has been signed by more than 54,000 people. The petition says Biden’s predecessor “had the cherry trees, a gift from Japan, removed as well as the rest of the foliage and replaced with a boring tribute to herself”.

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• Officials say nearly 40% of adults have protection from Covid-19
• Biden agrees with Republican senator that US not a racist country
• We no longer fear the tweet: Biden brings US back to world stage

6.53pm BST

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos of Illinois announced her retirement today:

Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), House Democrats’ former campaign chief, announced Friday she would retire from Congress after this term.

“As I turn every corner on each decade of life, I take time to reflect and evaluate what my next chapter might bring,” she said in a statement. “That’s how, 10 years ago, I decided to run for Congress. And it’s why, today, I am announcing I will not seek reelection after completing this term.”

6.29pm BST

More on the breaking cat mews.

NBC asked how the Bidens thought things would go with Major, the first ever White House dog to come from a rescue shelter, who has been exiled to the family home in Delaware lately for training after having trouble adjusting to the busy White House and being involved in some biting incidents.

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KL Rahul's unbeaten 91 from 57 balls helped Punjab Kings to a comfortable 34-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.

Lewis Hamilton heads Max Verstappen by 0.143 seconds to lead the way in second practice at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Kent and Glamorgan were the only sides in Group Three without a win, and it took just two days for Glamorgan to triumph in emphatic style

6.55pm BST

Kent and Glamorgan went into their game in Cardiff as the only sides in Group Three without a win, and it took just two days for Glamorgan to end their troubled run in emphatic style and for Kent to be condemned to a third successive heavy defeat.

The day had started with Darren Stevens completing a five-fer on his 45th birthday as Glamorgan were bowled out for 197, a lead of 59 runs on first innings. But in their second knock the 18 runs put on by Kent’s opening pair turned out to be their (joint) biggest partnership, Stevens’s birthday was further soured by a three-ball duck, and it was Michael Hogan whose five‑fer proved more decisive as the visitors were bowled out for just 74. Glamorgan scored the 16 runs they needed in three overs, with David Lloyd finishing it with a six.

6.34pm BST

Right, I’m going to go. My round-up will plop here shortly. Bye!

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A crush at an Orthodox Jewish festival kills 45 people in one of the country's worst disasters.

Zoë Roth, 21, will use the money from the sale of a 2005 image of her to pay her student loan.

Charles Hills’s colt lacks experience but stormed clear of a small field in a lightning-fast time at the Craven meeting

Aidan O’Brien has a record 10 wins in the 2,000 Guineas to his name already and has enough confidence in a three-strong team for this year’s Newmarket Classic to keep St Mark’s Basilica, the Dewhurst winner, at Ballydoyle while he waits for the French equivalent.

That feels ominous for the home team but while Battleground, Wembley and Van Gogh all have solid claims, there is no sense of a standout colt in the O’Brien squad, or in the race as a whole for that matter.

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Academy says it was in ‘impossible’ situation but it faces questions over delays in offering safeguarding to alleged victims

• Noel Clarke accused of groping, harassment and bullying by 20 women

When Bafta announced its plan to give Noel Clarke the award for outstanding British contribution to cinema on 29 March 2021, the academy’s film committee chair, Marc Samuelson, described him as an “inspiration … [we] cannot think of a more deserving recipient for this year’s award”.

Others in Britain’s film industry disagreed. Within hours, Bafta was contacted jointly by three industry figures alerting it to the existence of several allegations of verbal abuse, bullying and sexual harassment against Clarke.

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