La conférence de financement du Fonds mondial pour la lutte contre le VIH, la tuberculose et le paludisme, qui se tient les 9 et 10 octobre à Lyon en présence du président français Emmanuel Macron, devrait annoncer avoir réuni 14 milliards de dollars pour lutter contre ces trois maladies. Le paludisme (qu’on appelle aussi malaria) est connu depuis de très nombreuses années, mais la maladie continue de faire des centaines de milliers de morts chaque année dans le monde, notamment en Afrique.Qu’est ce que le paludisme ?Le paludisme est une maladie provoquée par des parasites du genre Plasmodium. Le parasite est transmis à l’homme par la piqûre de moustiques infectés. Ces moustiques, “vecteurs” du paludisme,  appartiennent tous au genre Anophèle. Le paludisme est transmis à l’homme par la piqûre d’Anophèle femelle, elle-même infectée après avoir piqué un homme impaludé : la femelle, en prenant le repas de sang nécessaire à sa ponte, injecte le parasite à son hôte. Les mâles ne piquent pas.”Chez un sujet non immunisé, les symptômes apparaissent généralement au bout de 10 à 15 jours après la piqûre de moustique infectante. Les premiers symptômes – fièvre, maux de tête et des frissons – peuvent être modérés et difficiles à attribuer au paludisme. S’il n’est pas traité dans les 24 heures, le paludisme à Plasmodium falciparum peut évoluer vers une affection sévère souvent mortelle“, précise l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS).Les chiffres du paludisme

Dans le monde, quelque  216 millions de personnes sont atteintes de paludisme. Il a tué 435 000 personnes dont 93% en Afrique, estime l’OMS pour 2017. Environ 40% de la population mondiale est exposée à la maladie et 500 millions de cas cliniques sont observés chaque année.”Depuis 2000, les taux de mortalité liés au paludisme ont chuté de 60% à l’échelle mondiale et de nouveaux pays sont déclarés exempts de la maladie chaque année. Néanmoins, après des années de recul constant, le nombre de cas de paludisme repart à la hausse – les dix pays les plus touchés d’Afrique ont ainsi fait état d’une augmentation en 2017“, précise le Global Fund.Les enfants de moins de cinq ans sont les principales victimes du paludisme. Ils représentent 61% des décès, selon l’OMSla carte du paludisme

La transmission du paludisme touche 91 pays et territoires à travers le monde, faisant peser un très lourd fardeau sur les pays de l’Afrique subsaharienne. En 2017, près de la moitié des cas dans le monde ont été enregistrés dans cinq pays : le Nigeria (25%), la République démocratique du Congo (11%), le Mozambique (5%), l’Inde (4%) et l’Ouganda (4%), selon les données de l’OMS.La lutte contre le paludisme

Pour l’OMS, la lutte contre le paludisme passe avant tout par la lutte contre le moustique porteur de la maladie. “Deux formes de lutte antivectorielle sont efficaces dans beaucoup de situations : les moustiquaires imprégnées d’insecticide et la pulvérisation d’insecticide à effet rémanent à l’intérieur des habitations“, précise l’OMS. En 2017, environ la moitié de la population exposée au risque de paludisme en Afrique était protégée par des moustiquaires imprégnées, contre 29% en 2010. Néanmoins, “près de 300 millions de personnes en Afrique subsaharienne n’ont toujours pas accès à des moustiquaires imprégnées d’insecticide et au moins 15 millions de femmes enceintes ne reçoivent pas le traitement préventif dont elles ont besoin pour rester en bonne santé et protéger leur enfant à naître“, selon le Partenariat RBM. La maladie peut être prévenue au moyen d’antipaludiques.  Il existe aussi désormais un vaccin (Le RTS,S/AS01) conférant une protection partielle pour le jeune enfant. Il est actif contre Plasmodium falciparum, le parasite du paludisme le plus meurtrier au niveau mondial qui est aussi le plus courant en Afrique. Son utilisation – lors d’essais cliniques à grande échelle chez des enfants avec l’administration de quatre doses – a permis d’éviter environ quatre cas sur dix sur une période de quatre ans. Ce vaccin est testé dans trois pays, le Ghana, le Malawi et désormais le Kenya.Le danger de la résistance aux insecticides et aux antipaludiquesLa lutte contre les moustiques est “menacée par l’émergence d’une résistance de l’Anophèle aux insecticides. Selon le dernier Rapport sur le paludisme dans le monde, 68 pays ont signalé une résistance à au moins une des cinq classes d’insecticides généralement utilisées entre 2010 et 2017, et 57 une résistance à deux classes ou plus“, avertit l’OMS.L’autre menace qui pèse sur le combat contre la maladie est la résisance de Plasmodium aux produits antipaludiques.Aujourd’hui les ambitions de l’OMS sont de :-Eliminer le paludisme dans au moins 10 pays d’ici à 2030.
-Empêcher la réapparition du paludisme dans tous les pays exempts.”Click Here: ADELAIDE CROWS 2019 MEN’S HOME GUERNSEY

Le dernier discours du général major, Gaïd Salah (texte intégral), est plus virulent que ses précédents. A l’approche des élections du 12 décembre, l’homme fort d’Algérie s’en prend violemment aux manifestants qui continuent de rejeter toute idée de se rendre aux urnes sans le démantèlement du “système”…(…) Des entités inconnues ayant des objectifs malveillants consacrent de l’argent sale afin d’amplifier le nombre de ces manifestations, en ramenant les citoyens des autres wilayas en dehors de la capitaleAhmed Gaïd Salah, chef d’état-majorLe chef d’état-major n’a pas précisé qui il visait, ni d’où venait cet “argent sale”. PurgeLe général a pris la tête d’une croisade anticorruption depuis la démission, le 2 avril, du président Abdelaziz Bouteflika sous la pression du Hirak, le mouvement inédit de contestationdu régime qui agite l’Algérie depuis le 22 février. Selon certains observateurs, les enquêtes, qui ont conduit en prison de nombreux anciens obligés de M. Bouteflika – ministres, hauts fonctionnaires et riches hommes d’affaires –, ont permis une purge au sein du pouvoir, tout en limogeant des hauts responsables pour satisfaire certaines demandes du Hirak.La contestation ne faiblit pasLa contestation a repris de la vigueur depuis la fin de l’été et une foule massive s’oppose ces dernières semaines, chaque vendredi, à la tenue de la présidentielle du 12 décembre, démentant les affirmations du général Gaïd Salah qui assure que le scrutin est réclamé par le “peuple”. Mais pour le Hirak, le scrutin vise à assurer la survie d’un “système” en place depuis l’indépendance du pays en 1962, dont ils réclament désormais le démantèlement total au profit d’institutions de transition. MenacesAncien soutien indéfectible d’Abdelaziz Bouteflika, le général Gaïd Salah menace ceux qui tentent “d’entraver” la tenue de l’élection, mais également désormais ceux qui voudraient dissuader la population de se rendre aux urnes. “La loi sera appliquée avec toute la rigueur requise, à l’encontre de toute personne qui tente d’entraver ce processus électoral décisif ou d’influencer (…) la conscience du peuple algérien et son empressement à participer massivement” à la présidentielle le 12 décembre, a-t-il averti.  La Toile s’amuse De nombreux internautes s’amusent des accusations du chef de l’état-major.

Je suis très fâché ils m’ont eu
gaid a dit que il y a ceux qui payent des gens pour participer au hirak, j’ai fait 34 vendredis sans toucher aucun sou ! Je m’adresse à qui pour réclamer mon argent ? — Kamal Cherif (@kdjdz) October 15, 2019

Gaïd Salah a raison. À l’intérieur du 7irak il y a des gens qui paient. Ils paient très cher leur rêve d’être libre. Quant à l’argent sale on te le laisse à toi et à tes enfants. Mais tu ne perds rien pour attendre, idji enhar win tkhellass enta tani.— Abdallah BENADOUDA (@abenadouda) October 15, 2019

Bientôt, les barrages des forces de sécurité seront munis de détecteurs pour filtrer les manifestants amplifiés par de “l’argent sale” !#Algerie #Hirak #Yetna7aw_Ga3 #تسقط_انتخابات_العصابات — kameldjebara (@djebarak) October 16, 2019

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Il est grièvement atteint. Un homme qui distribuait des tracts appelant à manifester à Hong Kong a été grièvement blessé, samedi 19 octobre, par un assaillant qui l’a poignardé au cou et à l’abdomen, a annoncé la police de l’ancienne colonie britannique. Le jeune homme de 19 ans, qui portait une tenue noire et un masque noir sur le visage, a été, d’après la police, poignardé près d’un des “Murs Lennon”. Ces “murs” ont proliféré à Hong Kong dans le cadre des manifestations exigeant des réformes démocratiques, et dénonçant les ingérences de Pékin.L’assaillant a été arrêtéL’agression a été commise dans le nord-est de Hong Kong. Les medias hongkongais ont diffusé des images de l’homme grièvement blessé à l’abdomen. Des vidéos postées sur les réseaux sociaux montraient également l’assaillant, tenant un couteau après l’attaque et criant “Hong Kong fait partie de la Chine” et “Vous avez semé la pagaille à Hong Kong”. Ce dernier, âgé de 22 ans, a été arrêté. L’homme s’est soudain précipité sur mon ami et l’a poignardé au cou. Puis mon ami s’est enfui en courant. Après quoi, il est tombé et à été frappé à l’abdomen avec un couteau.un témoin de l’agressionaux médias locauxMercredi, Jimmy Sahm, un des leaders du mouvement de contestation, a été hospitalisé après avoir été violemment attaqué à coups de marteau par des inconnus. De nombreux militants appelant à des réformes démocratiques ont été attaqués par des partisans du pouvoir de Pékin ces derniers mois. Jimmy Sham avait été déjà agressé en août.Click Here: Golf Equipment Online

L’alliance potentielle entre PSA et Fiat-Chrysler divise les salariés du groupe français. “Ça va faire un très grand groupe. Ça va délocaliser pas mal, je pense, c’est ça qui nous inquiète le plus”, estime un salarié. Les deux groupes ont confirmé mercredi 30 octobre que des discussions étaient en cours. Ensemble, ils pèseraient 45 milliards d’euros.Des doublons en vue qui préoccupent la CGTUn tel rapprochement est synonyme d’intérêts communs : pour PSA, une implantation aux États-Unis où Fiat-Chrysler possède des parts de marché importantes ; pour Fiat-Chrysler, des partenaires en Europe et en Asie où PSA est présent. Les économies d’échelle potentielles inquiètent la CGT. C’est une opportunité néanmoins en vue d’investir dans les technologies d’avenir, selon certains experts. Fiat-Chrysler avait déjà essayé de s’allier au groupe Renault, en vain. Le ministère de l’Économie a déclaré qu’il serait très vigilant sur le plan de l’emploi.Le JT

• Le JT de 23h de franceinfo du mercredi 30 octobre 2019 L’intégrale

Les autres sujets du JT

1

Un mois après l’incendie de l’usine Lubrizol, Emmanuel Macron s’est rendu à Rouen

2

Pour “Valeurs actuelles”, Macron parle islam et immigration, mais pas laïcité

3

Laïcité : Emmanuel Macron “refuse d’affronter le problème”

4

Eurozapping : les pompiers de Londres pointés du doigt ; le Jura suisse contre la 5G

5

Irak : le gouvernement ne tient plus qu’à un fil après un mois de manifestations et 240 morts

6

Christophe Ono-dit-Biot convoque les Grecs et les Romains de l’Antiquité pour “nous faire réfléchir” sur notre époque

7

Les règles, tabou brisé dans “We Demain”

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Commission appoints Croatia envoy

Croatia’s former ambassador to the EU will head the EU’s new representation in Croatia.

The European Commission has appointed Branko Baričević as the first head of the Commission’s new representation office in Croatia.

Baričević was Croatia’s ambassador to the EU between 2005 and March 2012, when he was replaced by Vladimir Drobnjak.

A career diplomat and trained doctor, Baričević had previously served in the United States, Cyprus and Portugal.

He will take up his new position on 1 July, when Croatia joins the Union as its 28th member.

The Commission’s representation office will replace the current EU delegation in Zagreb, headed by Paul Vandoren, a Belgian national, and have 19 staff members – around one-quarter of the size of the current delegation. The delegation will be located in the ‘Europe House’ in downtown Zagreb that also hosts the European Parliament’s office.

The Commission has representation offices in all member states, overseen by Viviane Reding, the European commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship.

Hungary taken to task

Commission challenges three Hungarian laws; Barroso and Orbán to meet next week.

The European Commission launched a legal challenge against three Hungarian laws on Tuesday (17 January) in a bid to force the government to bring the legislation into line with EU rules.

Speaking after a meeting of commissioners in Strasbourg, José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, said that the Commission had opened infringement proceedings against laws on the central bank, the retirement age of judges and the data protection supervisor.

The Commission is using a fast-track procedure, which gives the Hungarian government one month to explain how it will amend the laws so that they comply with the EU’s rules. If the government fails to convince the Commission, the government can be referred to the European Court of Justice. The court can impose fines on governments that fail to bring national legislation into line with EU law.

 

The Commission is also sending the Hungarian government letters requesting more information about the independence of the judiciary.

Barroso said: “We hoped the authorities would make the changes necessary to guarantee the respect of European law. This has not been the case so far; therefore we have decided to begin infringement proceedings.”

He said that the Commission’s decisions were a “reflection of our determination to make sure that European Union law, both in letter and in spirit, is fully respected and that a stable legal environment exists in all of our member states”.

Barroso will meet Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, in Brussels on 24 January to discuss the issue.

Fact File

Treaty articles

Article 7 of the Lisbon treaty sets out the procedure for establishing whether a member state has committed, or runs a “clear risk” of committing, a “serious breach” of the EU’s fundamental democratic principles. These principles are defined in Article 6 of the treaty as the “rights, freedoms and principles set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union”. 

One-third of EU member states, the European Parliament or the European Commission can make a proposal to the Council of Ministers, asking it to determine whether there is a “clear risk of a serious breach” of the EU’s democratic principles by a member state.

The Council can, with the backing of four-fifths of its the member states and with the approval of the European Parliament, decide whether there is a risk of a serious breach of fundamental rights, and make recommendations for corrective action to the member state.

The Council has an obligation to listen to the member state and may call on independentexperts to draw up a report. EU governments, meeting at leaders’ level, can decide by unanimity (not taking into account the member state under examination), acting on a proposal by one-third of member states, or by the Commission and with the backing of the Parliament, that a serious breach has occurred.  

The Council, acting by weighted majority, can decide to suspend some of the rights of the member state concerned, including the loss of voting rights. The Council can revoke the measures with a weighted majority vote.Approval of the Parliament for triggering Article 7 and deciding that a serious breach of rights has occurred requires a two-thirds majority of votes cast.The Article 7 procedure was introduced under the Nice treaty, which was agreed in December 2000.

It was a response to a decision by Wolfgang Schüssel, the leader of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), to form a coalition in January 2000 with the far-right Freedom Party, led by Jörg Haider. The EU imposed a freeze on appointing Austrians to international posts in protest. The measures were lifted in September that year after a group of independent experts warned that they were increasing anti-EU sentiment in Austria.

As part of the negotiations on the Nice treaty, member states wanted to create a mechanism that would warn a member state at risk of committing a serious breach of the EU’s core democratic values and threaten sanctions.

Under the Amsterdam treaty, which applied before Nice, agreement that a member state has committed a serious breach needed the unanimous support of all member states, giving the country under scrutiny a veto. The procedure for deciding whether a member state is at risk of a breach of fundamental principles and on sanctions was carried over into the Lisbon treaty. 

ECB

Under Articles 127 and 282 of the Lisbon treaty, national authorities are required to consult the European Central Bank on legislation that affects the ECB’s competences. The ECB gave its opinion on a first draft of the legislation concerning Hungary’s central bank on 14 December.

The Hungarian authorities asked the ECB for an opinion on a revised version of the law on 13 December. The ECB said that it had not been asked to give its opinion on part of the constitution that proposes merging the national bank with the Hungarian financial markets supervisory authority. It added that this was a breach of the Hungarian authorities’ obligation to consult the ECB. 

On 22 December, the ECB gave an opinion on the independence of Hungary’s central bank, saying it had concerns that provisions in a draft law could undermine the bank’s independence. It highlighted concerns over plans to appoint a president of the central bank with authority over the bank’s governor.

Time for dialogue

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The Hungarian government said that the Commission’s decision to examine whether the laws complied with EU legislation was an “an opportunity to engage in a technical dialogue based on verifiable facts with the competent authority, the European Commission, acting as the guardian of the treaties”.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Hungarian government said it considered the independence of the central bank, the judiciary and the data protection authority to be as “indispensable and important as does the Commission”.

There was “no disagreement” with the EU institutions  on the importance of “basic principles, common European values and achievements,” the statement said.

The government said it would give “satisfactory and comprehensive answers to the questions raised, and find a solution for the problematic issues as soon as possible, preferably without going through the full infringement procedure”.

Orbán’s government has faced international criticism for passing a new constitution and a package of laws that, critics argue, would give the ruling Fidesz party excessive power over Hungary’s political and judicial institutions and the central bank.

Is Hungary’s new constitution really so outlandish?

‘Offending’ provisions are hardly novel or exceptional in a European context.

Hungary’s new constitution has been the subject of intense interest in recent weeks (including “A constitutional moment for Europe”, 26 January-2 February). Despite hyperbolic claims to the contrary, the 30-odd ‘cardinal laws’ implementing the constitution’s provisions have been carefully examined and only three (relating to the structure of the central bank, the independence of the data protection authority and the retirement age of judges) have been found wanting by the European Commission.

In response, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has promised to rectify any breach of European law.

Despite this, the Liberals, Greens and Socialists declared in the European Parliament’s plenary session in January that there has been a breakdown in the rule of law and normal democratic processes in Hungary – enough to warrant the initiation of procedures to sanction the country through the suspension of EU membership rights, as provided for in Article 7 of the EU treaty.

Most of their interventions have been long on invective and very short on specifics. And parts of the constitution to which they took exception were not singled out by the European Commission, or by the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional affairs, in its report on Hungary’s constitution, which concluded that they were acceptable.

Among the aspects that so upset the Liberals and the Socialists were the references to Hungary’s Christian heritage in the preamble, the section on family law, which enshrines the traditional definition of marriage as being the union of a man with a woman, and provisions calling for the right to life to be respected from conception.

These provisions are hardly novel or exceptional in a European context. The constitutions of the vast majority of EU member states either invoke the name of God or refer to Christian heritage or to a special role for the faith or for a particular church. Marriage is restricted to the union of a man and a woman in 19 out of 27 member states. In at least three cases, such a constitutional provision has been adopted within the past five years.

Many constitutions provide protection from before birth. In some countries (such as Ireland), this is accompanied by an almost blanket restriction on abortion. In other states (such as Germany), it exists alongside law that allows for an exception to be made for abortion with limits on the age of the foetus.

So why the political outcry? Maybe they have been taken in by a conception of ‘progress’ that sees the current of political and social change in Europe flowing in only one long-term direction – from right to left, from Christianity to atheism, with a one-way valve preventing the loss of any ‘gains’ by the left. When these politicians talk of ‘European values’ being under attack, it is not the mainstream values embedded in the majority of national constitutions that they are referring to; it is, rather, to the values of a small minority that they would like to see become the majority.

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In giving Fidesz a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Hungarians gave the party the historic responsibility of drafting the country’s first post-communist constitution. The fact that this has been modelled largely on the constitutions of those EU member states that embody historic democratic values, rather than those that incorporate more radical social innovations, should come as no surprise.

This is not a country disappearing off the radar screen of democratic European norms. It is a country firmly situated within the historic mainstream of European constitutional praxis.

David Fieldsend

Manager, CARE for Europe
Honorary chairman, European Christian Political Foundation

Brussels

Muted EU reaction to Putin’s re-election

EU “takes note” of Putin’s victory, highlights reports of irregularities.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, has called on Vladimir Putin to work with the EU to advance reforms following his victory yesterday (4 March) in a presidential election marred by irregularities.

Ashton avoided congratulating Putin on his success.

There were no statements from Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, or from José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission.

The failure of the EU’s leadership to congratulate Putin on his re-election stands in contrast with Russia’s presidential election in March 2008, when Barroso and Javier Solana – Ashton’s predecessor as the EU’s foreign policy chief – both sent messages of congratulation to Dmitry Medvedev. Medvedev had been hand-picked by Putin to succeed him as president, with Putin taking over as prime minister. Putin had by that stage reached the two-term limit imposed on presidents by the Russian constitution.

“The EU looks forward to working with the incoming Russian president and the new government in full support of our shared modernisation agenda, which we see as covering both economic and political reforms,” Ashton said today.

“The EU takes note of the preliminary results of the presidential elections and the clear victory of Vladimir Putin,” the statement said. “International election observers… noted the significant civic engagement in the campaign and that authorities allowed protests to take place without undue interference, but also identified shortcomings and irregularities in the preparations and conduct of these elections and that voters’ choice was limited. The EU encourages Russia to address these shortcomings.”

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections across the continent, said that there had been widespread irregularities during the poll.

Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, will call Putin later today, according to her spokesman. He said that the shortcomings in the elections were “regrettable” but referred to Putin’s “success” in the elections.

Merkel will also offer Putin a deepening of the “strategic partnership” between the two countries, the spokesman said.

Putin gained around 64% of the vote, according to preliminary results. Gennady Zyuganov, the Communist candidate, came second with around 17%.  

Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, said today that he was “concerned that the electoral process lacked fairness, notably with regard to a limited choice of candidates and irregularities in the procedure”.

“I expect the authorities to investigate those reported irregularities quickly,” Schulz said. “I regret that candidates did not have equal access to media and state resources. Most of the media clearly favoured one candidate.”

 

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The Premier League is currently suspended but the Blues are pressing ahead with plans to tie down the highly-rated youngster

Chelsea have made progress over contract talks with Tino Anjorin but still need to tie up several small details with their academy star in the coming weeks.

The protracted discussions with the 18-year-old have proven difficult so far, with the Blues looking to convince the youngster that he can realistically become a first-team player at his boyhood club. Chelsea are looking to tie Anjorin down until 2025 with his current deal expiring in just under a year.

Their cause has been aided by Frank Lampard promoting Anjorin to his squad in recent weeks, amid an injury crisis which ultimately brought about his Premier League debut. The midfielder is understood to be delighted at making the breakthrough and is targetting more first-team appearances.

More teams

“I want to be scoring, I want to be creating,” Anjorin said in an interview with the Independent after his appearance in the 4-0 win over Everton. “In five years time, I want to be a leader in the team, helping the younger academy kids to come through, where they can look up to me too and thrive as well.”

Anjorin is currently in self-isolation like the rest of Chelsea’s squad, who are all training at their homes. Reminders of their responsibilities have been sent out amid the coronavirus outbreak after Mason Mount was pictured playing football outside despite being told to remain at home.

Chelsea are currently scheduled to end their period of self-isolation at the end of the week but players are likely to continue training from their homes to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

Meanwhile, the Blues are hoping to renew Tammy Abraham’s contract and are continuing to push through on talks with other players amid the stoppage in the football season.

Abraham has asked to be on equal terms to Callum Hudson-Odoi which would see him earn up to £180,000-a-week which includes bonuses.

Lampard’s influence on introducing homegrown and academy stars into his first-team squad have led to a host of contract renewals for the next generation of talents coming through their training base at Cobham.

Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Reece James, Fikayo Tomori, Billy Gilmour, Ian Maatsen, Armando Broja and Jamie Cumming are among recently promoted first-team stars to have renewed their contracts.

But Tariq Lamptey and Clinton Mola, the latter of whom was highly regarded despite having not made his debut, opted to leave the club for Brighton and Stuttgart respectively.

Chelsea are also interested in a host of players ahead of the summer transfer window with the likes of Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho, RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Lyon’s Moussa Dembele on their list.

In midfield, there’s interest in Lille’s Boubakary Soumaré and Birmingham City’s Jude Bellingham. There’s also focus on recruiting a left-back – with Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell and Porto’s Alex Telles topping the list – and Getafe’s on-loan Barcelona player Marc Cucurella ranking lower down.

Ajax’s Andre Onana is amongst the goalkeeping targets to replace Kepa Arrizabalaga should Lampard push to see the club-record signing leave Stamford Bridge.

Although Chelsea are pushing ahead with contract renewal talks at the moment, efforts to sign players from external clubs is expected to slow temporarily, as the coronavirus situation plays out.

Chelsea have already announced the incoming signing of Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech for £37m (€40m/$43m), with that deal completed in January.

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Threat from animal virus ‘remains low’

European Food Safety Authority tries to reassure farmers about impact of Schmallenberg Virus.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) today attempted to reassure farmers about the impact of the Schmallenberg Virus.

At a meeting organised by the European Commission, the EFSA unveiled the findings of a new report that says that even under worst-case scenario assumptions, the number of animals infected with the virus will remain low.

The report comes as scientists in the UK are investigating whether the disease is now being spread animal to animal, rather than through midges. The virus, which affects cattle, sheep and goats, causes birth defects in offspring. It has been found in eight EU member states, prompting Russia to ban all live-animal imports from the EU last month.

The EFSA said that there are still data gaps that prevent it from obtaining a complete picture of the current situation. Although all member states have submitted detailed information about confirmed cases, only two also reported on suspected cases. The authority will produce a full report on the virus’s effects on animal health, production and welfare by 31 May.

“There is currently no evidence that the Schmallenberg Virus could cause illness in humans,” the EFSA concluded.

The German agriculture ministry last week made the Schmallenberg Virus a notifiable disease, meaning that farmers and authorities must report diagnosed cases. Germany, where the disease was first discovered in the town of Schmallenberg, has the highest number of confirmed cases at 1,120 – a third of the European total.