Roma players and coach Paulo Fonseca have agreed to go without pay for the rest of the season to help the club's finances during the coronavirus pandemic, the Serie A outfit said on Sunday.
The deal means the players, Fonseca and his coaching staff will give up their salaries for March, April, May and June, although Roma said that should the current campaign end up being completed "an incentive plan to be paid subject to the achievement of certain sporting objectives" had been agreed.
They had also agreed to "collectively pay the difference" to ensure that employees who have been placed on a partial unemployment scheme will receive their regular salary, the club added.
"(Captain) Edin Dzeko, all the players and Paulo have demonstrated they understand what this club stands for and we also thank them all for their superb gesture towards the employees at this club," said CEO Guido Fienga.
Italy has suffered more than  23,000 coronavirus deaths, second only to the United States, and all ..

Roma players, coach to forgo remainder of season's pay

PTI Automatic

Iran on Sunday announced 87 new deaths from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, raising the official toll to 5,118, as it takes steps to reopen the economy.
It is the sixth consecutive day that Iran has announced a death toll under 100, though Sunday's toll was 14 higher than the day before.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said 1,343 new infections had been confirmed, taking the total to 82,211.
Of those admitted to hospital, 57,023 have recovered and been discharged, while 3,456 remain in critical condition.
The Islamic republic has struggled to contain what is the Middle East's deadliest COVID-19 outbreak since reporting its first cases on February 19.
Some officials and health experts in Iran and abroad have said the country's casualty figures may be higher than those declared.
On Saturday, Iran allowed some "low-risk" businesses in the capital Tehran to reopen, after approving similar measures in other provinces last week.
"Medium-risk" businesses could reopen 

Iran says virus deaths rise by 87 to 5,118

The number of people in Britain who have died in hospital from the coronavirus has risen by 596 to 16,060, according to daily health ministry figures on Sunday.
As of 5 pm on 18 April, of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 16,060 have sadly died," said the ministry, up from 15,464 earlier.

UK virus death toll rises by 596 to 16,060: ministry

A court session was held on Sunday in the trial of Fariba Adelkhah, an academic detained in Iran, her lawyer told AFP, the second since her trial began.
Adelkhah, a specialist in Shiite Islam and a research director at Sciences Po university in Paris, was arrested in June 2019.
She is a citizen of Iran and France, but Tehran does not recognise dual nationality.
Adelkhah is accused of "propaganda against the system" and "colluding to commit acts against national security". Her trial started on March 3.
Sunday's session was held at branch 15 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court, lawyer Said Dehghan told AFP by telephone, and lasted for about two hours.
He describe it as "satisfactory" and raised hopes for Adelkhah's freedom, adding that he expected the court's decision within a week.
Adelkhah's French colleague and partner Roland Marchal, who was also detained in June 2019 while visiting her, was released in March in an apparent prisoner swap with France.
Dehghan said Adelkhah had been in ...

Iran court holds session in trial of academic

The emirate of Abu Dhabi said on Sunday it had sold $7 billion of bonds in the third major sale this month by Gulf sovereigns seeking to counter slumping oil prices.
OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia last week raised $7 billion in a bond sale, while gas-rich Qatar sold bonds worth $10 billion two weeks ago.
Abu Dhabi, which has the biggest sovereign wealth fund in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said that its offering was oversubscribed by more than six times.
The transaction contained three tranches -- a $2 billion five-year tranche, a $2 billion 10-year segment, and a third tranche of $3 billion maturing after 30 years -- the Abu Dhabi department of finance said in a statement.
The richest of seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi sits on the bulk of the federation's oil wealth.
Saudi Arabia's finance ministry said its international bond issuance attracted bids worth $54 billion, more than seven times the value of its offering.
Qatar's finance ministry said ...

Abu Dhabi borrows $7bln as low oil price bite

Mali was voting Sunday in the final round of a legislative election that aims to revive public faith in the country's embattled institutions despite a bloody jihadist conflict and looming viral pandemic.
The election has been repeatedly delayed, and the first round on March 29 was disrupted by jihadist attacks and intimidation, including the kidnapping of opposition leader Soumaila Cisse.
"I voted. It is important despite the economic situation. We need new MPs to consolidate our democracy," Moussa Diakite, a 23-year-old student, told AFP after polls opened.  Voters in the West African nation of 19 million people are casting their ballots in the runoff for 147 seats in the National Assembly.
The country is struggling with an Islamist revolt that has claimed thousands of lives and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Polling stations opened at 0800 GMT in the capital Bamako and also in other provinces hard hit by the insurgency, and will go on until 1800 GMT.
The first ...

Mali holds election runoff, despite virus and jihadist threats

Iran will extend leave for prisoners for one more month, President Hassan Rouhani announced Sunday, after the country temporarily released 100,000 detainees to combat the spread of coronavirus.
"Prisoners' leave was supposed to continue until the end of Farvardin (April 19) ... it will be extended until the end of Ordibehesht (May 20)," Rouhani said during a televised meeting of the government's coronavirus taskforce, referring to two Iranian months.
However, he said the judiciary would be the main authority on the matter.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili did not directly confirm Rouhani's remarks but further leniency was anticipated.
"By utilising the full extent of the leniency the law allows, we expect a significant number of prisoners on leave not to go back, and even for many of those currently detained to be released," Esmaili was quoted as saying by judiciary's news agency Mizan Online.
A final decision will be made on April 29, he added.
Iran's judiciary began ...

Iranian president says prisoner leave to be extended

Italians debated Sunday their first cautious steps out of a coronavirus lockdown that has left an estimated half of the working population seeking government support.
The Mediterranean country has been filled with rumours and speculation about when people will finally be allowed to walk the streets freely for the first time since early March.
The balmy weather is not helping government efforts to keep everyone inside in the face of a disease that has officially killed 23,227 in Italy -- second only to the United States.
The number of daily fines for illegal outdoor activity is rising and police are setting up barricades along roads leading to the beaches on the western outskirts of Rome.
The growing sense that weeks of confinement were ending forced an unnamed source in Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's office to tell media that "nothing will change".
But some officials seem to think that extending the strictest lockdown measures beyond their May 3 deadline might simply not work.
The ...

Fearful but impatient, Italy edges toward end of lockdown

Wayne Rooney may be Manchester United and England's record goalscorer but he still believes he should have found the back of the net more often during his career, even though he was not a natural finisher.
Rooney, a teenage sensation at Everton, joined United in 2004 and went on to score 253 goals in 559 appearances during a 13-year spell for the Old Trafford club that saw the Red Devils pile up the trophies.
Rooney surpassed 1966 World Cup-winner Bobby Charlton as United's all-time leading scorer, just as he did for England with a tally of 53 goals from 120 caps.
Despite those figures Rooney, writing in his Sunday Times column, insisted: "I'm going to be honest -- and this might surprise you -- but I'm not a natural goalscorer."
The 34-year-old, now a player-coach at second-tier Derby County, added: "I was never a Gary Lineker or a Ruud van Nistelrooy; I never looked at myself that way.
"I hold the goal records for Manchester United and England and am very proud about that -- yet ...

'I should have scored more goals' - Rooney

A fire ripped through one of Greece's largest migrant camps leaving widespread damage and many people homeless after the death of an Iraqi woman sparked unrest, officials said on Sunday.
The blaze late Saturday at Vial camp on Chios island destroyed the facilities of the European asylum service, a camp canteen, warehouse tents and many housing containers, Migration Ministry Secretary Manos Logothetis told AFP.
"A large part of the camp's administrative services was destroyed," said Logothetis, adding that no injuries were reported.
The UN refugee agency's spokesperson in Athens Boris Cheshirkov said the damage is still being evaluated but that many camp residents have likely been left homeless.
"Authorities are still assessing the damages but a few hundred people are likely affected because their shelters have burned down. We have donated tents to the authorities which can quickly be put into use and we will assist in replacing the warehouse tents," he told AFP.
At least three ...

Death sparks unrest at major migrant camp in Greece

Football leagues across Europe have been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic which has claimed over 100,000 lives throughout the continent.
Lockdown restrictions are in effect worldwide although some countries are cautiously beginning to ease stay-at-home orders.
AFP Sport looks at what we know about possible restart plans for Europe's top leagues: ENGLAND
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The Premier League said that wrapping up the remaining 92 fixtures remains their goal, but the ongoing COVID-19 crisis means no fixed schedule can be drawn up yet.
With most clubs having nine games left, it was reported that Friday's meeting of the 20 clubs discussed finishing the season in a 40-day window.
There have been claims that clubs were told domestic seasons must end by July 31 and the 2020-21 campaign must start by the first week of September at the latest.
The UK's lockdown is in place until May 7 at the earliest.
There is a general acceptance among clubs that matches will be played behind ...

League-by-league guide to European football's coronavirus shutdown

Electronics' retail giant Fnac Darty announced on Sunday it had secured a 500 million euro loan guaranteed by the French state "to secure cash flow" and prepare for recovery after the coronavirus crisis.
Finance Minister Bruno Lemaire said the guaranteed $544 million facility was "the first that the French state has granted to a major French company" to help it over the crisis.
The group reported "very strong growth in e-commerce, in all countries, during the lockdown" but in the first quarter of the year revenue plunged 7.9 percent on a reported basis to 1.49 billion euros.
With stores closed sales fell 30 percent in March, a statement said.
However e-commerce doubled over the last half of March and the first days of April.
The group had warned in mid-March it would not meet its minor growth targets and on Sunday withdrew proposed dividends for 2019 -- in line with government demands.
"With more than 20 billion euros in loans given to 150,000 companies, the deployment of the state ...

French retailer Fnac Darty gets 500 million euro state loan

More than 260 million Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter Sunday, with church leaders urging worshippers to stay at home to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus.
While many watched services online or on television, some sidestepped virus fears to attend churches on the most important date in the Orthodox calendar.
In Georgia, several hundred took part in a midnight mass at Tbilisi's Holy Trinity Cathedral after the government allowed public attendance despite a nightly curfew aimed at curbing the virus.
"I could have stayed at home and watched the service on television but only here in this holy church can I find true comfort," one worshipper, 58-year-old Lamara Zhvania told AFP.
Orthodox Christians, the world's third largest group of Christian believers, this year celebrate Easter a week after Catholics and Protestants because they follow a different calendar.
Last week's Easter celebrations took place in empty churches while Pope Francis live-streamed his traditional message from 

Orthodox Easter services hit by virus as many stay home

More than 160,000 people have died from the new coronavirus around the world, almost two thirds of them in Europe, according to an AFP tally on Sunday based on official sources.
A total of 160,502 fatalities have been registered out of 2,331,318 cases. These include 101,398 deaths and 1,151,820 infections in Europe, the continent hardest hit by the virus.
The United States is the country with the most reported deaths at 39,090, followed by Italy with 23,227, Spain 20,453, France 19,323 and Britain 15,464.

Global coronavirus death toll tops 160,000

Spain registered Sunday a sharp drop in the daily death toll from coronavirus, with the number falling to 410 from 565.
The total fatalities in Spain, the third hardest-hit country in the world after the US and Italy, have reached 20,453, the health ministry said. Infections rose to 195,344, with 4,218 new cases in the past 24 hours.

Spain sees sharp drop in daily virus death toll

Bayern Munich captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer told German media Sunday he has become "irritated" with negotiations to extend his contract, which have reportedly stalled in recent weeks.
"All talks I have had since I have been here have been confidential... nothing has ever leaked," the 34-year-old told Germany's most popular daily Bild.
"But now, details about the current talks are constantly appearing in the media, and are often untrue. That irritates me. It's not something I am used to at Bayern."
The veteran goalkeeper's unusually candid comments come amid widespread reports that his current contract negotiations have hit the rocks.
If the talks fail, club captain Neuer could be free to leave Bayern in June and attract the interest of the Premier League clubs.
According to Bild, Neuer and his agent Frank Kroth are demanding a five-year deal, with a salary of 20 million euros ($22 million) per season.
In Sunday's interview, Kroth denied such details and said he was not ...

Neuer 'irritated' as Bayern contract talks stall

One of Greece's largest migrant camps has been extensively damaged in a fire, hours after the death of an Iraqi woman living there sparked unrest, officials said Sunday.
The fire late Saturday at Vial camp on Chios island destroyed the facilities of the European asylum service, a camp canteen, tents and many housing containers, Migration Ministry Secretary Manos Logothetis told AFP.
"A large part of the camp's administrative services was destroyed," said Logothetis, adding that no injuries were reported.
A local police source said three persons had been detained in relation to the unrest, which erupted after a 47-year-old asylum seeker from Iraq died in the camp on Saturday.
"We managed to restore order at around 1am... There were many people who took part in the incidents," the officer said.
The Iraqi woman had been taken with a fever to a local hospital earlier this week. At the time, a test for coronavirus had returned negative, state news agency ANA reported Saturday.
Migrant ...

Extensive damage at Greek migrant camp after fire, protests

Havana is a ghost town. The American convertibles swooned over by tourists are back in the garage, while most restaurants and cafes are closed.
Cuba's private sector has been suffering since the island nation closed its borders over the coronavirus pandemic.
In the charming old building where the 1993 comedy "Strawberry and Chocolate" was filmed, a spiral staircase leads to the deserted La Guarida, the most famous privately-owned restaurant, or "paladar", in Cuba.
"We decided to close the restaurant from March 15," nine days before Cuba's authorities imposed their first virus-linked restrictions, said owner Enrique Nunez.
By Saturday, the country of 11.2 million people had close to 1,000 coronavirus cases and 32 deaths.
"I have friends with restaurants in Spain, they told me what was happening, about the danger, the difficulty of continuing to serve customers in these conditions," Nunez told AFP.
His restaurant usually serves 200 people for each sitting.
Omnipresent in tourist guides, 

Cuba's private sector suffering from a lack of tourists

The global coronavirus epidemic is stalking the quiet halls of Europe's care homes for the elderly, a silent threat with sadness and isolation in its wake.
Separated from relatives for fear of their spreading infection -- and from neighbours who have already fallen to the outbreak -- some retirees fear death from loneliness.
And the slow tragedy is also taking a toll on carers, like Shirley Doyen, head nurse at the Residence Christalain, just outside Brussels.
"If the lockdown goes on for a few more months, we could could lose more residents to solitude than to COVID," she says, referring to the infection spread by the novel coronavirus.
The Christalain has already seen 13 deaths among only 120 residents since Belgium declared a national lockdown in mid-March -- more than the two to three in a typical month.
Not all the fatalities have been directly ascribed to the epidemic, since testing is limited. Of Belgium's 5,453 official coronavirus deaths, 2,772 have been in retirement ...

Belgium's lonely elderly face solitude even if they escape virus

Around 1,700 illegal migrants heading to the United States are being held in a jungle camp by Panama authorities after several cases of the new coronavirus were detected among them, an official source said.
They are being kept in La Penita, close to the Colombian border, in facilities designed to accommodate around 200 people.
"Seventeen migrants have been infected with the new coronavirus," the official source said on condition of anonymity.
The infected people have already been removed from the camp.
Red Cross personnel had to leave the area to be put in quarantine after being in contact with a local police officer who died from the coronavirus, said Walter Cotte, regional director of the International Federation of Red Cross for the Americas.
In Panama, which has 4,273 coronavirus infections and 120 deaths, migrants are treated at three temporary border posts where the government, UNICEF and the Red Cross provide them with water, food and medical care.
Despite the dangers, the ...

Panama holds 1,700 migrants in jungle due to coronavirus

Vanessa Bryant celebrated the 19th anniversary of her wedding to her late husband Kobe Bryant on Saturday with a touching Instagram post.
"My king, my heart, my best friend. Happy 19th wedding anniversary. I miss you so much. I wish you were here to hold me in your arms. I love you," she wrote, posting a picture of the couple.
Five-time NBA champion Bryant and the couple's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles on January 26.
Gianna, along with her basketball teammates Payton Chester and Alyssa Altobelli, who also died in the crash, were honored at Friday's WNBA draft as honorary selections.
Vanessa Bryant recorded an emotional message for the draft broadcast, saying being drafted into the women's league "would have been a dream come true" for Gianna.
After the conclusion of the draft on Friday night, the WNBA announced the creation of the Kobe & Gigi Bryant WNBA Advocacy Award, given to "an individual or group who has made ...

AFP

AFP

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