England paceman Liam Plunkett has said the outbreak of the coronavirus has made his abrupt exit from international duty "irrelevant".
The 35-year-old Surrey quick helped England lift the World Cup last year, taking three wickets in a thrilling final against New Zealand at Lord's.
That remains his last international appearance, however, with Plunkett disappointed at not being offered an England limited-overs central contract for the 2020 season.
But with Britain currently in lockdown in a bid to combat the pandemic, with the start of the season delayed until May 28 at the earliest and the possibility of further postponements likely, Plunkett was philosophical about his England career.
"Cricket doesn't look so big now," Plunkett told the Sunday Times.
"All the stuff about me not being picked for England, it's irrelevant.
"I was disappointed, but I've got no need to speak about that now. Like everyone, I want my family and friends to be safe, and that's all I'm worried about."
Plunkett, .

Coronavirus puts England axe into context for Plunkett

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Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish thanked fans for their support on Sunday after leaving hospital following a positive test for the coronavirus.
Dalglish, 69, found he had the virus after being admitted to hospital on Wednesday for treatment for a separate infection which required intravenous antibiotics.  He was discharged on Saturday night.
"Thank you for all of your well wishes over the last few days," said Dalglish in a Liverpool statement issued Sunday.
"I'm delighted to be back home with the family after receiving brilliant care from the NHS (Britain's National Health Service), which we appreciate now more than ever.
"Marina (Dalglish's wife) and I would like to express our immense gratitude to the medical staff who cared for me and who continue to treat countless others throughout the country during an incredibly challenging period."
Dalglish confirmed the couple would be in "full lockdown for the recommended amount of time in order to protect the lives of others".
There are ...

Out of hospital Dalglish thanks fans after positive coronavirus test

Billions around the world celebrated Easter Sunday from lockdown at home as the pope urged solidarity to fight the coronavirus pandemic and the European death toll from the virus topped 75,000.
Unprecedented scenes of empty churches emerged from Italy to Panama and the Philippines, as religious leaders found creative ways to address parishioners marking the holiday weekend from the confines of their homes.
More than half the world -- over four billion people -- are in lockdown worldwide as governments scramble to halt the pandemic's deadly march across the globe.
The death toll from the virus soared past 109,000 this weekend, with more than 1.7 million reported infections globally.
Europe is by far the hardest-hit continent and on Sunday marked a grave milestone with more than 75,000 dead, according to an AFP tally.
The United States was quickly emerging as a hotspot as well, and on Saturday marked its own grim landmark: more than 20,000 dead, out of around half a million ...

Virus mutes Easter celebrations as Europe's death toll tops 75,000

The world's top oil-producing countries will meet via video conference at 1600 GMT Sunday, a source close to OPEC said, as they try to address plummeting crude prices due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Saudi-led OPEC group and their allies agreed early Friday that major oil producers -- except Mexico -- would cut output by 10 million barrels per day between May and June in a bid to support falling prices.  The United States then reached a deal with lone holdout Mexico to reduce its output by 100,000 bpd.

Iran says $1.6 bn claimed by US released in Luxembourg

Taiwan swung into a new baseball season on Sunday -- with one team planning to place robot mannequins in their crowdless stands -- as the island bucked the global trend for scrapping sports events during the coronavirus.
Despite its proximity and trade links with China, Taiwan has so far managed to keep a lid on the pandemic now sweeping the globe.
It enacted travel bans soon after the virus emerged publicly and rolled out comprehensive testing, contact tracing and quarantining.
Some 100 hundred days into the crisis it has fewer than 400 confirmed Covid-19 cases and just six deaths with schools, offices, restaurants and bars largely open.
Large gatherings like religious festivals have been scrapped.
But on Sunday the island's 31st baseball season got underway with Chinatrust Brothers taking on the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in Taichung.
The games are being played to empty stadiums with fans being told to stay away.  But players are still travelling across the island for fixtures ...

Taiwan bucks virus sports cancellations with new baseball season

Pope Francis offered a prayer for coronavirus victims in an unprecedented livestream Easter Sunday message delivered from a hauntingly empty Vatican to a world under lockdown.
The 83-year-old pontiff spoke softly at a solemn ceremony attended by just a handful of priests and a small choir that was spaced out across Saint Paul's Cathedral's expansive marble floor.
The pandemic raging outsides the Vatican's locked gates has killed more than 109,000 people and left billions confined to their homes.
The pope's message was livestreamed for the first time -- a bow to technology in the face of a new illness that has changed the shape of society and altered the way religion is observed.
"For many, this is an Easter of solitude lived amid the sorrow and hardship that the pandemic is causing, from physical suffering to economic difficulties," he said.
A handful of priests and a few faithful also gathered at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City -- locked down like the Vatican 

Pope marks 'Easter of solitude' in virus lockdown

South Africa's police service said it had arrested four of its members for allegedly taking part in illegal liquor trade, undermining a lockdown ban on the sale of alcohol and cigarettes.
Several shuttered liquor outlets have been looted since President Cyril Ramaphosa imposed a nation-wide lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus.
Police minister Bheki Cele on Sunday said there had been at 16 reports of raids on liquor stores in South Africa's Western Cape province, home to the southern city of Cape Town, since the lockdown started on March 27.  Cele also "noted with concern the alleged involvement of police members in some of the liquor related crimes".
Two warrant officers were arrested on Thursday after police received a tip-off and "pounced on the suspects inside the store", Cele said in a statement.
They were caught "buying liquor that was allegedly going to be resold illegally elsewhere," he added.
Another two members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) were arrested ..

S.African policemen arrested for illegal liquor deals during lockdown

Spain, one of Europe's top sunshine destinations, said Sunday it will maintain social distancing rules to curb the spread of the coronavirus once a nationwide lockdown ends, even on the beaches.
The government on March 14 imposed a strict nationwide lockdown to fight the pandemic, and two days later it closed its land borders, with only Spanish citizens and residents able to enter the country.
In an interview published Sunday in top-selling daily newspaper El Pais, Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto said the government did not know when the borders would be reopened, saying it will depend on how "the health crisis evolves".
"It is very important that we continue to follow health recommendations, we must keep up what we are doing now, washing our hands, keeping social distance...even on the beach," she added when asked if access to beaches would be limited once the lockdown ends.
"Until there is a vaccine nothing will be the way it was before. Gatherings will have to have limitations to ...

Spain to keep social distancing on beaches to fight virus

Israel's president on Sunday rejected parliament speaker Benny Gantz's request for more time to form a government, as talks persist on a possible alliance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"President Reuven Rivlin informed ... Benny Gantz that in the current circumstances no extension would be possible to the period allocated to him for forming a government," a presidency statement said.
Gantz has until the end of Monday to form an administration.

Israel president denies Gantz's request for more time to form govt

Israel's Benny Gantz requested on Saturday more time to try join forces with erstwhile rival Benjamin Netanyahu, as the former general's mandate to form a government was nearing expiration.
Gantz had nearly four weeks ago received the mandate from President Reuven Rivlin to try to build a coalition following the March 2 general election, Israel's third in less than one year.
With no clear path to the necessary parliamentary majority among the anti-Netanyahu bloc, the former chief of Israeli military had on March 26 facilitated his election to parliament speaker and called for an emergency unity government in a clear indication of an alliance with the incumbent premier.
Negotiations between the sides, however, have failed thus far to yield an agreement, with Gantz's ultimatum set to expire just before midnight on Monday.
A statement from Gantz's Blue and White said he had "requested a two week extension from Rivlin" to form a government with Netanyahu, noting Israel's "health and ...

Israel's Gantz requests more time to form government with Netanyahu

The United Arab Emirates has launched an online marriage service that allows couples to wed amid restrictions on movement and interaction imposed to counter the deadly coronavirus.
The UAE has taken strict measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory disease, which has claimed the lives of well over 100,000 people worldwide.
The justice ministry said on Sunday that citizens and residents can set a date for an online wedding ceremony conducted via video link with a cleric after their paperwork is submitted and approved -- also online, according to the UAE's official news agency WAM.
The procedure will see a cleric confirm the identity of the couple and witnesses, before a marriage certificate is relayed to a specialised court for validation.
The couple will receive confirmation of their marriage certificate via text message.
The service was launched "to maintain the health of the public and that of people working in courts and to limit the presence of employees", WAM ...

UAE launches online weddings amid coronavirus controls

Widely regarded as the greatest driver never to win the Formula One drivers' world championship, Briton Stirling Moss who died on Sunday aged 90 was synonymous with the dangers and dramas of all forms of motor racing in the 1950's and early 1960's.
A naturally gifted driver, with a great flair for speed and an instinctive feel for racing, it was his misfortune that the best years of his career coincided with those of the great Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio, who won the title five times.
But the affection and respect in which he was held by his sport was unmatched and even in his later years he remained revered.
It was an enduring British joke that when a policeman stopped a speeding driver on a road, his first words would be: "Who do you think you are - Stirling Moss?" Moss was much more than a Grand Prix racing star.
He competed successfully in sports cars, touring cars and rallying, as well as the top levels of single-seaters. He took part in Formula One from 1951 to 1961 before ...

Stirling Moss - gifted driver and British sporting icon

Iran on Sunday announced 117 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the overall official toll to 4,474, even as it eased some restrictions that had been imposed to slow the spread of the illness.
Health ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour also told a news conference that 1,657 new infections had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 71,686.
Iran has carried out 263,388 tests for the virus so far, he added.  Of those confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 and admitted to hospitals, 43,894 have recovered and been discharged, while 3,930 are in a critical condition.
Iran announced its first coronavirus cases on February 19 and has so far become the worst-hit country in the Middle East.
The new tolls come as Iran has started a gradual reopening of its sanctions-hit economy.
On Saturday, it allowed small businesses to reopen outside the capital and this will be extended to the capital Tehran on April 18.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also announced in a ...

Iran reports 117 new virus deaths, raising total to 4,474

Pope Francis called Sunday for an "immediate" ceasefire in global conflict and urged European nations to show "solidarity" in the face of a coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 109,000 lives worldwide.
"May Christ our peace enlighten all who have responsibility in conflicts, that they may have the courage to support the appeal for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world," the pope said in a livestreamed Easter message.
Francis added that it was time for Europe, which he described as his "beloved continent", to "rise again, thanks to a concrete spirit of solidarity" similar to that shown after World War II.

Pope calls for 'immediate' ceasefire in global conflicts

Motorsport great Stirling Moss has died aged 90 following a long illness, the British driver's wife announced Sunday.
"It was one lap too many," Susie Moss told Britain's Press Association.
"He just closed his eyes."
Although Moss never won the Formula One title, he finished runner-up four times.
And in an era where it was common for drivers to race in different disciplines, a 14-year career that started in 1948 saw Moss win 212 of the 529 races he entered including the 1955 Mille Miglia, which took place on public roads in Italy.

Motorsport great Moss dies aged 90

Pope Francis on Sunday called for the reduction or forgiveness of the debt of poor nations suffering in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
"May all nations be put in a position to meet the greatest needs of the moment through the reduction, if not the forgiveness, of the debt burdening the balance sheets of the poorest nations," the pope said in a livestreamed Easter message from an empty Saint Peter's Basilica.

Pope calls for reduction or forgiveness of poor nations' debt

Pope Francis offered a Easter Sunday prayer for those killed and suffering from a novel coronavirus that has killed more than 100,000 people worldwide.
"Today my thoughts turn in the first place to the many who have been directly affected by the coronavirus: the sick, those who have died and family members who mourn the loss of their loved ones, to whom, in some cases, they were unable even to bid a final farewell," the pope said in a livestreamed message from an empty Saint Peter's Basilica.

Pope offers Easter prayer for coronavirus sick

More than 75,000 people have died from the coronavirus in Europe, with 80 percent of the fatalities occurring in Italy, Spain, France and Britain, according to an AFP tally at 0945 GMT Sunday compiled from official sources.
With a total of 75,011 deaths from 909,673 infections, Europe is the hardest-hit continent in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed at least 109,133 people worldwide.
Europe's most affected country is Italy with 19,468 deaths, followed by Spain with 16,972, France with 13,832 and Britain with 9,875.

Coronavirus death toll passes 75,000 in Europe: AFP tally

Myanmar's New Year festival of Thingyan is the country's biggest public holiday -- normally a week of nation-wide celebration and water-fights, with soaked revellers partying late into the night.
But this year, in an echo of cancelled Easter celebrations elsewhere in the world, the country's commercial hub Yangon is locked down, with residents confined indoors because of the coronavirus.
Food delivery bicycles and rickshaws have commandeered the city's usually traffic-choked streets after the government ordered people to stay home unless for essential food and healthcare needs.
By Sunday Myanmar officially had just 38 confirmed cases -- including three deaths -- but many fear the low number of tests mean the real figures are likely many times higher.
Images from last year's holiday show a different city, hoses drenching cheering crowds dancing to deafening techno beats pumped out from mammoth loudspeakers.
This year the silence is broken only by the cawing of crows and cooing of ...

Silent streets for water festival in Myanmar lockdown

Although China is claiming success in its battle against the coronavirus, millions have lost their jobs in the economic fallout, throwing into jeopardy an ambitious target to eradicate poverty this year.
Beijing has been working to fire up the economy again after bringing it to a near standstill to curb the spread of COVID-19, but many firms have had a bumpy restart and workers are bearing the brunt of the pain.
Despite being a country of skyscrapers and high-tech innovations, China still has millions of people on meagre incomes.
About 5.5 million rural Chinese live in poverty, defined by the government as surviving on less than 2,300 yuan ($326) a year.
A slowing economy puts pressure on a key Communist Party goal to become a "moderately prosperous society" by the end of 2020, an ambition in place long before the virus emerged.
It also threatens a long-held tacit agreement between people and party that freedoms can be sacrificed in return for economic progress, an understanding that .

AFP

AFP

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