Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish has been discharged from hospital after testing positive for coronavirus and hailed medical staff as "absolutely brilliant."
Dalglish, 69, found he had the virus after being admitted to hospital on Wednesday for treatment for a separate infection which required intravenous antibiotics.
"They (the hospital staff) were absolutely brilliant," Dalglish told the Sunday Post on Saturday after being discharged.
"As a nation, we are all very fortunate to have them and I wish them all well as they work tirelessly to help the country through this pandemic."
He added: "People may think my name got me the best of care but every patient in the National Health Service gets the best of care." On Friday, Dalglish's family said that he had tested positive for COVID-19 despite having previously displayed no symptoms of the illness.
Earlier Saturday, Dalglish's son thanked the world of football for the "truly humbling" messages of support.
Paul Dalglish, also a former ...

Dalglish hails 'brilliant staff' after positive coronavirus test

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Manchester United star Paul Pogba said he is eager to return from a lengthy spell on the sidelines when football resumes following the coronavirus pandemic.
The World Cup winner has been limited to just eight appearances for United this season after battling a nagging ankle injury.
"I'm already training and touching the ball," Pogba, who hasn't played since December 26, told the United Podcast.
"I've been frustrated, a long time ago. Now I'm almost there, so I'm just thinking about getting back and training fully with the team and everything."
"You think bad but I've never had something like this in my career, so I always take it in a good way. It makes me more hungry to come back and do well. And, yeah, it just shows me as well how much I love football."
Pogba's agent Mino Raiola has hinted the 27-year-old could leave Old Trafford if he is unhappy at the end of the season.
However, the Premier League has been put on hold indefinitely due to the spread of the deadly virus.
"You have ..

Pogba 'hungry to come back' from injury

Real Sociedad said they were cutting players' wages by up to 20 per cent in an attempt to stabilise the club's budget during the coronavirus crisis.
"An agreement has been reached with the first team for the reduction of their wages by 20% in case the league does not resume this season, and by 5% in case the season can start again," said a club statement on Saturday.
"This decision, taken with all of the parties concerned, helps us avoid traumatic measures for the rest of our employees and helps to balance the club's economic objectives in the face of a drop in income suffered after the suspension of competition."
Real Sociedad also announced a 20% refund on season tickets for its supporters.  At the time of the La Liga suspension last month, Real Sociedad were in fourth place in the championship.
They had also qualified for the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao in Seville on a date still to be decided.
Real Madrid had already announced wage cuts, estimated by Spanish media ..

Real Sociedad cut player salaries by 20 per cent

The Montreal WTA tournament, one of the key build-up events ahead of the US Open, has been axed and will not be played until 2021, officials said.
The event, scheduled for August 7-16, had been in jeopardy after Quebec Province requested that all sporting and cultural events be cancelled through August 31 as a means of slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
"As a result of the measures imposed by the Quebec government prohibiting holding events until August 31, the Rogers Cup in Montreal will postpone their event to 2021," said a WTA statement on Saturday.
"The WTA reiterates that health and safety will always be the top priority. We understand this was a difficult decision and we look forward to being back in Montreal in 2021."
Tournament director Eugene Lapierre said the decision was made for them.  "At the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis we were hoping that the situation would be resolved in time to be able to host our tournament as initially planned on the calendar.
"It is thus ..

Montreal WTA tournament put off until 2021

Premier League side Sheffield United has said that they were furloughing some permanent and casual staff but will continue to pay them in full during their enforced leave.
Employees affected are those who are unable to perform their regular duties due to the coronavirus shutdown.
However, the club insisted it will not resort to using public money under the British government's job retention scheme to finance the measures.
"Sheffield United Football Club has informed its staff of the decision to furlough some employees who are unable to perform their regular day-to-day duties at this time," said a club statement on Saturday.
"The club confirms that permanent and casual staff will continue to be paid in full, despite the challenges of dealing with the impact of Covid-19."
The Blades, who were pushing for a Champions League place before coronavirus halted the footballing calendar a month ago, have not ruled out using the job retention scheme in the future.

Sheffield United furlough staff on full pay

Pope Francis will break with centuries of tradition and livestream Easter Sunday mass to allow the world's 1.3 billion Catholics celebrate their holiest holiday under a coronavirus lockdown.
Fear and confusion in the face of a disease whose official death toll has soared past 100,000 - but whose real one is feared to be higher still -- are reshaping society and transforming the way religion is observed.
Even such hallowed traditions as the pope's messages to the faithful on Saint Peter's Square have been replaced by prayers that Francis reads into a camera from the seclusion of his private library.
His only audience is the camera and the 83-year-old Argentine has admitted that the entire experience makes him feel "caged".
Francis cut a lonely but striking figure when he slowly entered a dark and starkly empty Vatican square in his white robe for a torch-lit Good Friday procession.
It had taken place around the Roman Colosseum in the presence of at least 20,000 faithful for more than ..

Pope to livestream Easter mass to locked down world

More than 100 Australians and New Zealanders landed in Melbourne on Sunday after two weeks stranded aboard a virus-infected cruise ship off Uruguay, officials said.
An unmarked charter plane arrived in the morning at Melbourne's Tullamarine carrying roughly 110 passengers from the Greg Mortimer liner, an AFP photographer saw.
A small group of New Zealanders immediately transferred to a separate charter plane bound for Auckland.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne confirmed the flight had landed safely, tweeting: "Thanks to all involved, a very complex undertaking."
Of the 217 mostly elderly tourists aboard, 128 had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and the ship had been blocked from docking in Montevideo before the Uruguayan and Australian governments reached an agreement to bring them home.
The Australian and New Zealand tourists on the flight included people who tested negative and others confirmed ill with the virus.
The Victoria state health department said unwell ...

Passengers from virus-stricken ship land in Australia

Canada's lower house of parliament passed a wage subsidy programme Saturday heralded as the largest economic measure in the country since World War II, to help businesses and their employees get through the coronavirus crisis.
The House of Commons is suspended  but held an exceptional session in the middle of Easter weekend to adopt the Can$73 billion (US$52 billion) programme, which aims to pay companies 75 percent of their employees' salaries to avoid massive layoffs.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the session. He had been in isolation in his home for a month after his wife contracted the virus.
Apart from leaders of the main parties, only about 30 MPs out of 338 sat in order to comply with social distancing orders.
The text still has to be passed by the Senate, in a vote expected later Saturday, to come into force.
Trudeau, referring to Canada's sacrifices in both world wars, stressed that the fight against the virus "is not a war," but "that doesn't make this fight any ...

Canada MPs pass vast pandemic economic aid programme

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange fathered two children with one of his lawyers while holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London for much of the past decade, a report on Sunday said.
The 48-year-old Australian is allegedly the dad of two boys -- aged two and one -- born to South African-born lawyer Stella Morris, the Mail on Sunday reported.
The newspaper published the report alongside photographs of Assange with the toddlers and an interview with Morris who said they "fell in love" and were planning to marry.
The couple have been engaged since 2017, according to the paper, which said it learned about the revelations in court papers seen last week.
Assange is being held in London's high security Belmarsh prison as he fights an extradition request by the United States to stand trial there on espionage charges.
The Mail on Sunday said Morris chose to reveal their relationship and the existence of their sons because "she fears Assange's life is at serious risk if he remains in Belmarsh", due 

Assange fathered two kids with lawyer in Ecuador embassy: report

Elderly people may have to be kept isolated until the end of the year to protect them from the coronavirus, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in comments published Sunday.
"Without a vaccine, we have to limit as much as possible contact with the elderly," she told the Germany daily Bild.
"I know it's difficult and that isolation is a burden, but it is a question of life or death, we have to remain disciplined and patient," she added.
"Children and young people will enjoy more freedom of movement earlier than elderly people and those with pre-existing medical conditions," she said.
She said she hoped that a European laboratory will develop a vaccine towards the end of the year.
To ensure that people can be quickly vaccinated, authorities are already in talks with producers on gearing up for world production, she added.

Social isolation for elderly may last longer: EU chief

A Mexican journalist who disappeared over a week ago in the southern state of Guerrero was found dead close to where his family last saw him, the local prosecutor said Saturday.
Forensic tests on human remains in the seaside resort of Acapulco were identified as belonging to Victor Fernando Alvarez, who disappeared on April 2.
He is thus confirmed as the second journalist to be murdered in Mexico this year following Maria Elena Ferral, who was shot dead by two assailants on motorbikes when getting into her car in the eastern state of Veracruz last month.
The Guerrero human rights commission called on authorities to investigate Alvarez's murder and to bring those responsible to justice.
Mexico is notoriously dangerous for the press with more than 100 reporters murdered since 2000.
Last year, 10 journalists were murdered in Mexico, according to the Reporters Without Borders NGO.

Missing journalist found murdered in Mexico's south

Forty-three people were detained by police in the Belgian capital on Saturday when rioting broke out following a fatal accident between a police vehicle and a young man on a scooter, authorities said.
The unrest began on Friday night when a police patrol in Anderlecht, a district of Brussels, attempted to stop a 19-year-old driving on a scooter.
The police gave chase, but the scooter collided head on with a second police vehicle killing the scooter driver on the spot.
After several incidents on Friday, riot police spent several hours on Saturday dispersing young protesters who had gathered following a call on social media.
Anderlecht mayor Fabrice Cumps told AFP that two police officers were lightly injured in Saturday's incidents, one hit by a projectile and another a victim of a malaise.
Several protesters were also lightly injured, he said.
Cumps said the situation was "clearly under control" but that police remained mobilised and expected more incidents later in the night or on ...

Dozens detained as rioting hits locked-down Brussels

The mayor of an Italian town famous for its bonfire celebrations on Good Friday was forced to apologise after locals turned up to pray with the priest in defiance of a coronavirus lockdown.
The southeastern town of San Marco in Lamis holds an annual ritual that sees huge trunks of hollowed out trees thrown onto waggons and set alight.
The event was cancelled this year because of the lockdown aimed at stemming an outbreak that has officially claimed the lives of more than 19,000 people in Italy since late February.
The local priest intended to broadcast a video of his silent prayer in front of the town's main church -- similar to the livestream prayers now being recorded by Pope Francis in the Vatican.
But mayor Michele Merla said families with children and the elderly showed up and began to pray alongside the town priest.
"I made a mistake. I know," the mayor said in a video posted on Facebook.
"When these people arrived and began to pray on their knees before the Virgin Mary, it was .

Good Friday prayer gets out of hand in locked down Italy

A court run by Yemen's Huthi rebels sentenced four journalists to death on Saturday for "treason" and espionage, a judicial official said.
The court in Huthi-held capital Sanaa "sentenced four journalists to death on charges of treason and spying for foreign states", the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Yemen's internationally recognised government slammed the ruling.
"We strongly condemn the illegal death sentences" in a trial lacking "min. standard of justice & integrity", information minister Moammar Al-Eryani wrote on Twitter.
He named the journalists as Abdelkhaleq Omran, Akram Al Walidi, Harith Hamid, and Tawfiq Al Mansouri.
The Iran-backed Huthis seized Sanaa from government forces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year.
The ensuing war has killed tens of thousands and plunged the Arab world's poorest country into what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian disaster globally.
Amnesty International says the Huthis have ...

Yemen rebels sentence four journalists to death

Rangers have demanded SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster be suspended over the controversial vote about how to end the season amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Scottish Professional Football League on Wednesday submitted a resolution that said the three lower leagues would finish in the positions they stood at when play was halted because of the pandemic in March.
A decision on the Scottish Premiership would be taken at a later date if the first proposal was passed.
The Premiership and clubs in League One and Two have backed the plan with the required 75 per cent of the vote but it now rests on one Championship club, with seven having voted for it and two against.
However, Rangers, second in the Premiership behind leaders Celtic, say a whistleblower has provided them with allegations that the vote on how to end the Scottish Championship, League One and League Two was not carried out fairly.
"We have been presented with evidence via a whistleblower that raises serious concerns ...

Rangers want SPFL chief banned over controversial vote

When Africa's first case of coronavirus was detected in Egypt in February, the rest of the continent prepared for the brunt of a pandemic that has engulfed Europe and spread to the United States, infecting more than 1.6 million worldwide.
Health experts warned of the devastation the deadly virus could cause in Africa, where most hospitals are desperately short of equipment and trained staff.
Coronavirus has since spread to 52 African countries, but despite a steady rise in the number of confirmed cases, the continent continues to lag behind the global curve for infections and deaths.
Still, the World Health Organization last month warned Africa faced a dramatic evolution of the pandemic even as governments imposed restrictions to help curb the spread. The continent appears poorly equipt to manage a major health crisis and is struggling to test enough to monitor virus cases.
To date the novel respiratory disease has infected more than 12,800 people on the continent and killed at least .

Why Africa's coronavirus outbreak appears slower than anticipated

Traffic was circulating and people thronged the streets in parts of Liberia's capital Monrovia on Saturday, on the first day of a lockdown introduced to curb coronavirus.
George Weah, the president of the West African state, has imposed a two-week lockdown for the city, after warning that the country faces its biggest threat since the devastating Ebola outbreak.
But despite the stay-at-home order coming into effect on Saturday, several of the capital city's suburbs were alive with activity in the morning, according to AFP journalist.
In the eastern suburb of Paynesville, police officers were instructing people to return to their homes. One driver told a police officer he thought he could be on the roads until 3:00 p.m.
Confusion about the lockdown appears to stem from Weah's speech announcing anti-virus measures on Wednesday.
After declaring the lockdown, the footballer-turned-president said that essential staff in businesses such as banks and supermarkets would be allowed to travel ..

Confusion as Liberian capital starts lockdown

Geraint Thomas hopes the Tour de France goes ahead this year as the former champion bids to make the most of his peak years.
Team Ineos rider Thomas won the Tour de France in 2018 and is confident he could earn a second yellow jersey if the race can survive the coronavirus chaos.
The Tour is set to take place between June 27 and July 19, but with sporting events all over the world impacted its chances of surviving as scheduled appear remote.
Thomas appreciates the Tour has to take its place in the greater scheme of things, but the Welshman is still crossing his fingers for the event.
"I think I'm in my prime at the moment," he told the BBC on Saturday.
"My road career started a bit later than most because I was racing on the track and in the Olympics. It feels like these are my best years. That's a bit of a shame at the moment but there's a lot of serious things which need to take precedence over that.
"It is a shame but hopefully it can go ahead. Obviously there are bigger things ...

Former champ Thomas hopes Tour de France goes ahead

Former world champion Carl Frampton fears boxing could take "months or possibly years" to recover from the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Frampton believes once boxing returns sports fans will be cautious about spending money due to the financial impact of the pandemic.
The Northern Irish fighter also expects people to be slow to return to stadiums in case there is still a risk of catching the virus.
Frampton, a former super-bantamweight and featherweight world champion, is also concerned fellow boxers in the lower levels will be forced out if prize money drops.
"It might take a long time to recover. I'm talking months and possibly years away from getting it back to what it once was," Frampton told BBC Radio Five Live on Saturday.
"In my position most of the money and the purse I received comes from TV, but there are guys fighting on non-televised shows that need bums on seats and need to sell tickets to make a living.
"If people are apprehensive about large gatherings and 

Boxing could take years to recover from virus mayhem: Frampton

Traffic fatalities were down nearly 40 percent in France from last year thanks to nationwide coronavirus lockdown measures that have kept millions of cars, pedestrians and cyclists off the roads.
France's 67 million citizens have been ordered to stay indoors since March 17, with most people only permitted to leave the house for essentials outings.
Cross-country travel is also restricted as the country seeks to halt the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 13,000 out of at least 124,000 infected.
Traffic authorities said deaths from road accidents were down 39.6 percent across the country in March compared to the same month last year.
There were 154 traffic deaths reported in March this year, down from 255 in 2019, France's interior ministry said.
The number of accidents was also down 43 percent -- from 4,298 in March 2019 to 2,443 in the same month this year.
"The drop in traffic fatalities in March 2020 took place in the context of confinement measures in place since 

France traffic deaths down 40% during virus confinement

Rifat Chadirji, known as the father of modern Iraqi architecture, died late Friday in the United Kingdom after contracting the novel coronavirus, friends and Iraqi officials have said.
The 93-year-old architect and photographer is credited with designing some of Iraq's most well-known structures, including the iconic "Freedom Monument" in the now protest hub of Baghdad's Tahrir Square its name.
"He was a giant of 20th century Iraq," said Caecilia Pieri, a scholar focusing on Baghdad's modern architecture who knew Chadirji well.
Top Iraqi officials including President Barham Saleh and caretaker premier Adel Abdel Mahdi mourned him on Saturday.
"With the death of Rifat Chadirji, architecture in Iraq and the world has lost its modern lung," Saleh wrote.
Born in Baghdad in 1926, Chadirji studied in London and returned to Iraq in the 1950s to design his magnum opus -- an elegant arch entitled "The Unknown Soldier" -- as well as the capital's post office and other public buildings.
But when 

AFP

AFP

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