Former NATO secretary-general Javier Solana is being treated at a Madrid hospital for coronavirus, a source close to the Spanish politician said Saturday.

"He tested positive and is evolving favourably," the source told AFP, confirming a report in conservative newspaper ABC which said he had been hospitalised for the disease in the Spanish capital on Wednesday.

In a tweet sent to a well wisher, the former Spanish foreign minister said he was "getting better".

Solana, 77, served as NATO secretary-general from 1995 to 1999, then as the European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2009.

Spain confirmed more than 1,500 new cases of coronavirus between Friday and Saturday raising its total to 5,753 cases, the second-highest number in Europe after Italy.

All bars and restaurants have been closed in the Madrid region, where the bulk of the cases have been recorded, in an effort to stop the spread of the disease.

Among those who have been infected are two members of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's cabinet as well as the leader of far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal.

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Pentagon cuts US participation in Europe war games; Norway does same
Washington (AFP) March 11, 2020
The US Defense Department said Wednesday it was slashing participation in what was planned as the largest joint US-Europe war games in 25 years due to the threat of coronavirus transmission. "After careful review of the ongoing Defender-Europe 20 exercise activities and in light of the current Coronavirus outbreak, we will modify the exercise by reducing the number of US participants," the US European Command said in a statement. While the highest priority elements of the exercises in May and Ju ... read more