Some of Rome's Catholic churches reopened Friday after Pope Francis voiced displeasure with the Italian authorities' push to shut them because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The rare standoff between the 83-year-old pontiff and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government came as Italy's death toll topped 1,000.
Italy has suffered more than half the COVID-19 deaths reported outside China to date and the death toll has been increasing by hundreds each day.
Conte has responded by shuttering most shops and all restaurants and other public places in the hope of stemming contagion and easing the burden on overstretched hospitals.
Italians have been told to avoid going outside without a good reason and machine-gun toting soldiers now patrol city streets.
But churches have stayed opened in the overwhelmingly Catholic country throughout what many now see as Italy's biggest crisis since World War II.
That changed when the vicar of Rome said Thursday he could no longer withstand government pressure 

Some Rome churches reopen after angry pope steps in

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Queen Elizabeth II and heir to the throne Prince Charles both postponed upcoming engagements in Britain and abroad on Friday because of the coronavirus outbreak, the royal household said.
The 93-year-old monarch had been due to visit Cheshire in northwest England, and Camden, in north London, from next week, while her son, 71, was set to tour Bosnia, Cyprus and Jordan.
Buckingham Palace said the queen's diary commitments had been changed "as a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances".
"In consultation with the Medical Household and Government, Her Majesty's forthcoming visits to Cheshire and Camden will be rescheduled," it said in a statement.
"Audiences will continue as usual. Other events will be reviewed on an ongoing basis in line with the appropriate advice."
The queen -- Britain's longest-serving monarch -- turns 94 on April 21. She also has a second birthday party in June, which is marked with a public parade.
The announcement came as the ...

Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles trips hit by virus outbreak

Formula One's season was thrown into turmoil Friday with the Australian Grand Prix cancelled just hours before cars were due to hit the track, and races in Vietnam and Bahrain subsequently called off as well as the coronavirus pandemic takes its toll.
The decisions follow the postponement last month of April's Chinese Grand Prix, leaving motorsport chiefs scrambling to revise the calendar and proposing the end of May as a potential start date for the season.
"The global situation regarding COVID-19 is fluid and very difficult to predict and it's right we take time to assess the situation and make the right decisions," F1 chief Chase Carey said in a statement.
"We are taking this decision with the FIA and our promoters to ensure the safety of everyone involved in Formula 1 and our fans."
Formula One and the FIA, world motorsport's governing body, said they "expect to begin the Championship in Europe at the end of May but given the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in Europe in recent ...

Formula One in turmoil as three races scrapped on eve of season

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Friday he had tested negative for the new coronavirus, after a scare over a trip on which at least one infected member of his staff rubbed shoulders with Donald Trump.
"The Armed Forces Hospital and (diagnostic laboratory) Sabin have returned a negative test result for COVID-19 for the President of the Republic Jair Bolsonaro," said a post on the far-right leader's Facebook page.
It was accompanied by a picture of Bolsonaro flashing an obscene arm gesture at the press.
"Don't believe in the fake news media!" he wrote.
Media reports said earlier that Bolsonaro had tested positive for coronavirus and was awaiting the results of a second test to confirm.
Bolsonaro, who had previously called coronavirus fears "overblown," was left in a delicate position Thursday by news that his communications chief, Fabio Wajngarten, had tested positive for COVID-19.
The test result came after a trip to the United States during which both Bolsonaro and Wajngarten ..

Brazil's Bolsonaro tests negative for coronavirus

A 2020 Tokyo Olympic football North American qualifying tournament that was scheduled to begin next Friday in Mexico has been postponed by organizers due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced it was delaying the event and all other competitions for 30 days.  The eight-team Olympic qualifier had been set for March 20-April 1 at Guadalajara, Mexico.
It features the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic in Group A with Honduras, Canada, El Salvador and Haiti in Group B.
The two top teams in each group will advance to the semifinals, with the winners of those games qualifying for Tokyo.
"The CONCACAF Council took these decisions with the welfare of everyone involved in mind and in light of developing travel restrictions and public health guidance," a statement from the regional governing body said.
CONCACAF Champions League playoff matches and 2021 Gold Cup qualifying ...

Olympic qualifying tournament in Mexico postponed by virus

The EU executive on Friday unveiled a raft of measures to protect the European economy from the coronavirus outbreak, and promised it would do whatever it takes for hardest-hit Italy.
The assurances by EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen came a day after ECB head Christine Lagarde stoked fury in Rome by implying that shoring up Italy's precarious financial situation was not her job.
The answer by Brussels was made ever more urgent as the EU predicted that a recession, maybe even a very deep one, was very likely for all of Europe this year.
Von der Leyen said the commission, the EU's powerful bureaucracy, would try to provide Italy with whatever it needs to overcome the challenge of the coronavirus.
"Whatever is necessary, we support. Whatever they will need, we will answer," von der Leyen, a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, told reporters.
The commission's firepower to save Rome and others is limited and would mainly involve reallocating unused EU spending, as well .

EU battles virus and promises Italy whatever it needs

New Zealand all-rounder Sophie Devine will captain Birmingham Phoenix women's team in the inaugural edition of English cricket's The Hundred, it was announced Friday.
Devine, one of the outstanding female cricketers of her generation, recently led the White Ferns at the Women's T20 World Cup in Australia.
"It's hugely exciting for me to be able to lead Birmingham Phoenix," said Devine.
"Birmingham is a place that's close to my heart having had a couple of years with Warwickshire."
"It's going to be an exciting new challenge and I can't wait to get started." The 30-year-old is currently ranked the number one all-rounder in the ICC T20 International rankings.
Devine was also named player of the tournament in the 2019-20 edition of Australia's Women's Big Bash League, a Twenty20 event, after scoring 769 runs and taking 19 wickets for the Adelaide Strikers.
Ben Sawyer, Birmingham Phoenix women's coach, said: "Sophie was the first international player we selected for Birmingham Phoenix and 

New Zealand captain Devine to skipper Birmingham in The Hundred

The Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled for March 22 was postponed by Formula One officials on Friday due to the coronavirus outbreak, becoming the third race in less than 24 hours to be called off after Australia and Vietnam.
"Formula 1 and the FIA continue to work closely with the race promoters in Bahrain and Vietnam and the local authorities to monitor the situation and take the appropriate amount of time to study the viability of potential alternative dates for each Grand Prix later in the year should the situation improve," F1 officials said in a statement.
It is the fourth Grand Prix to be called off in total. The Chinese Grand Prix was postponed by motorsport's governing body in February because of the spread of the coronavirus.
The death toll from COVID-19 jumped to more than 5,000 on Friday as the number of cases around the world topped 134,000, according to an AFP tally.

Bahrain Grand Prix third race in a day scrapped over coronavirus

The 124th Boston Marathon, scheduled for April 20, has been postponed to September 14 due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced on Friday.
The historic race, first contested in 1897, is the world's oldest annual marathon and typically takes place on the Patriots Day holiday celebrated in Boston and the entire state of Massachusetts.
After Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh decided the race could not proceed as scheduled in April and the BAA said in a statement it "understands the city's decision."
"On matters of public health and safety we take our guidance from the officials entrusted with protecting the public in this area," said association chief executive Tom Grilk.
"We understand our role, along with our partners, in ensuring a safe environment for all participants, volunteers, spectators, and supporters that meets the standards set by those officials."
BAA ...

Boston Marathon postponed from April 20 to September 14

The German football league (DFL) has announced it will propose on Monday suspending the top two divisions until at least April 2 over the coronavirus pandemic.
"The president of the DFL will propose at the general assembly on Monday to interrupt matches in the two leagues from Tuesday until the end of the international window," read a statement on Friday.
This weekend's Bundesliga games will go ahead behind closed doors. German health minister Jens Spahn has called for all events with more than 1,000 people to be cancelled "until further notice".
But the decision to close stadium doors rests ultimately with regional authorities and is made on a case-by-case basis.
"The DFL and the clubs are in constant contact with the federal health department and the local authorities... the rule is the orders from these authorities must be applied," the league's statement added.
"The goal is still to get to the end of the season before the summer, for sporting reasons, but also because a permanent .

Bundesliga mulling postponement until start of April

Italian leaders expressed their "disgust" Friday with comments from European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde that saw the Milan exchange suffer a historic collapse.
The ECB surprised markets on Thursday by refusing to lower its main interest rate in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Lagarde appeared to make matters worse by noting that the institution was "not here to close spreads" between the borrowing costs of member states.
Her words contributed to a record 17 percent drop on the Milan exchange and a spike in the yields of Italian bonds.
"Let me express my disgust, horror and shame for what is happening in Europe," Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini said.
"The only help from Europe was to bring down the stock market and drive the spreads crazy. Yesterday, the Italians lost 68 billion euros in savings," he claimed.
"We will consider the possibility of asking for economic compensation." The Milan stock exchange followed global markets higher on Friday and was back up ..

Italy fumes at ECB's Lagarde after Milan market plunge

Pakistan's interior ministry said Friday it will close the country's border with Iran and Afghanistan in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The closure of the porous frontier will begin March 16 "for an initial period of two weeks... in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in the best interest of all three brotherly countries", the ministry said, using the scientific name for the highly communicable disease.

Pakistan says to close border with Iran, Afghanistan over coronavirus

A cruise liner with a sick passenger on board is sailing to Malta, a Cypriot official announced Friday, after Cyprus said it could anchor offshore but passengers could not disembark.
Cypriot Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos told state broadcaster CyBC on Friday that a passenger was complaining of symptoms similar to those of the novel coronavirus.
"The ship's owner had requested a stopover at Limassol port", the minister said, adding that there were approximately 1,000 people on board, including passengers and crew.
He said the Bahamas-flagged Marco Polo was told it could anchor off the southern port and the sick person would be treated, but that passengers would not be allowed to disembark.
"The ship's owner then decided the cruise ship would continue on its journey towards the next destination, which is Malta," he said.  Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades "gave clear instructions that the cruise ship remain in the port's anchorage and that the necessary treatment be provided to 

Cyprus says ship with suspected virus case sailing to Malta

The family of a leading Bangladesh photojournalist and newspaper editor said Friday they believe he has been abducted.
Shafiqul Islam Kazal went missing on Tuesday, a day after defamation charges were lodged against him by an influential ruling party lawmaker.
Kazal, who worked as a senior photographer for several top dailies and edited his own small newspaper, disappeared after leaving his Dhaka home for work.
"We don't think my father went missing on his own. We suspect he may have been abducted," Kazal's son Monorom Polok told AFP at a family press briefing.
"We are extremely worried about his safety. We have searched the emergency wards in hospitals, but there is no trace of him," Polok said.
Awami League lawmaker Saifuzzaman Shikor, a former aide to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, lodged a case on Monday against Kazal and 31 others he accuses of defaming him by linking him to a couple who ran a Dhaka escort service.
According to a copy of the preliminary charges seen by AFP, ...

Fears for Bangladesh journalist missing after defamation charges

Vietnam postponed its debut Formula One Grand Prix on Friday, as fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus decimated the start of the track season.
Scheduled for April 5, the Grand Prix in Hanoi was set to be the third race of the season and the first-ever to be held by the communist country.
Instead it has become the third event of the 2020 championship to be nixed as the virus throws global sport into disarray.
China has already postponed its Grand Prix to an unspecified date, while Australia on Friday cancelled the Melbourne race hours before practice sessions were due to begin.
The Bahrain race was initially due to be held behind closed doors, but it was also shelved soon after the announcement from Vietnam.
Forumla One, the most prestigious competition in motorsport faces unprecedented disruption as fears over the virus cause rip through the global sporting calendar.
"The organiser of Formula 1 ... Vietnam Grand Prix 2020 officially announces the delay of F1 Hanoi race due .

Vietnam Grand Prix postponed due to coronavirus

A Nigerian court on Friday ordered the release of a revered Islamic traditional ruler from detention after he was deposed and banished in a controversial practice dating back to colonial times.
Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano, northern Nigeria's largest city, was abruptly removed from office on Monday by state governor Abdullahi Ganduje for "disrespect" and "insubordination".
Sanusi, 58, was banished under tight security to a small town in another state, in a tactic similar to that used by British imperial officials to punish rebellious leaders during the colonial period.
The move to hold him in exile sparked outcry from human rights activists and was challenged in court by Sanusi's lawyer.
At the hearing on Friday, Judge Anwuli Chikere of the federal high court in Abuja ordered that the deposed emir be released and allowed to move about freely.
"An interim order is hereby made releasing the applicant from the detention," she said.
The judge ordered the authorities to restore Sanusi's 

Nigerian court orders release of deposed traditional ruler

Greece's Olympic Committee on Friday said it was cancelling the rest of the torch relay for the Tokyo 2020 Games on Greek soil as large crowds had turned out despite coronavirus warnings.
"The rest of the torch relay on Greek soil has been cancelled," the committee said, adding that the Olympic flame would be handed over to Tokyo organisers on March 19 as scheduled, but without spectators.
It noted that crowds had ignored "repeated warnings" not to gather in force at stopovers in the torch relay.
Greece has so far declared 117 cases of the coronavirus, one of whom died on Thursday after 10 days in hospital.
The move was announced after a large crowd mobbed Hollywood actor Gerard Butler as he lit a cauldron in the city of Sparta.
Butler had starred as the ancient Spartan King Leonidas in the 2007 epic '300', and repeated his famous line from the movie -- 'This is Sparta' -- for gathered media.
The flame for the 2020 Tokyo Games was lit in ancient Olympia on Thursday amid an ...

Greek organisers scrap Olympic torch relay because of crowds

Austria on Friday tightened its coronavirus response by announcing the closure of non-essential retail businesses, locking down two western communities and suspending flights to France, Spain and Switzerland.
A day after revealing its first virus-related death, Vienna said that non-essential retail businesses must be shuttered from Monday and that cafes and restaurants would shut every day at 3 pm (1400 GMT) in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease.
"From Monday, we must cut back our social lives to a minimum," said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, adding that food stores, chemists, banks and post offices would stay open as Austria did "whatever is necessary" to limit transmission.
A 15-day lockdown, Austria's first since the start of virus scare, will apply to two communes in the western Tyrol region -- including the popular ski resort of St. Anton am Arlberg -- following a spate of infections near the Italian border.
Three days after suspending flights and trains from Italy, to ...

Austria to shut non-essential shops to fight virus

Sudan announced on Friday its first case of the novel coronavirus following the death of a 50-year-old man the night before.
The Sudanese citizen had recently been in the United Arab Emirates, the health ministry said in a statement, without providing further details.
Dozens of COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the UAE.
Sudan on Thursday announced a series of measures against the novel coronavirus.
It closed its land border with Egypt and suspended flights from China, Iran, Italy, Spain, Japan and Egypt, a government statement said.
Sudan would stop granting visas to nationals of those countries and Sudanese were advised not to travel to them.
Mass gatherings have been discouraged, and the government has asked the health ministry and military medical services to prepare quarantine centres.

Sudan announces first coronavirus death

This year's Masters tournament, the season's first major golf championship, has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley announced Friday.
"Considering the latest information and expert analysis, we have decided at this time to postpone the Masters tournament," Ridley said in a statement.
The event was delayed, not canceled, so defending champion Tiger Woods might get the chance to capture a 16th major title at the famed course at some uncertain future date.
The outbreak, which has prompted a virtual shutdown of American sport, also forced Ridley to postpone the Augusta National Women's Amateur and youth Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.
"Ultimately, the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision," Ridley said.
"We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the Masters tournament and our amateur events at some later ...

Augusta National postpones Masters golf due to coronavirus

Most schools across Germany will now be shut from Monday after North Rhine-Westphalia joined Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg and other states in announcing closures.
Twelve of Germany's 16 states have now announced school closures as part of efforts to stem the coronavirus outbreak.
"The schools are closed from Monday," said Armin Laschet, premier of Germany's most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia, on Friday.
They will stay closed at least until the end of the Easter holidays on April 19, in line with announcements by other states.
In Germany's federalised system, education falls under the remit of individual states.
Berlin, Hamburg, Thuringia, Lower Saxony are among the other states to have announced school closures with more expected to follow.
North Rhine-Westphalia, with its 18 million residents, has been hardest hit by the virus outbreak so far.
Laschet said parents with no childcare solutions could still drop off their kids at school on Monday until alternatives are found, ...

AFP

AFP

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