Italy's daily coronavirus death toll shot up to 636 on Monday, just one day after dropping to its lowest level in over two weeks, the civil protection service said.
The number of fatalities had fallen to 525 on Sunday, the lowest since March 19. Italy's total number of deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 rose to 16,523, more than in any other country.

Italy's virus deaths rise to 636 after big drop

PTI Automatic

FIFA on Monday urged clubs and players to reach agreement on wage reductions to protect clubs suffering financial damage due to the coronavirus crisis, sources said.
The call from world football's governing body comes as Premier League clubs are locked in talks with players and their representatives about taking pay cuts after government ministers called on players to "play their part".
Italian top-flight football clubs on Monday agreed to cut the salaries of players, coaches and staff. Clubs in other countries, including Barcelona, have also cut player wages.
FIFA is also recommending that players' contracts be extended until the end of the interrupted football seasons and that the transfer window does not open until that time.
The source said the health crisis had had "a major impact" on clubs' revenues and that, like other sectors of the economy, football had to find "fair and equitable solutions" to protect jobs.
Therefore FIFA "strongly encourages clubs and players to work ...

FIFA urges clubs and players to reach agreement over wages: sources

The likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could be set to face each other online after the cancelled Madrid Open tennis tournament announced it will run a virtual competition later this month.
Professional players will compete on the Tennis World Tour videogame to raise money for those struggling in the sport and people affected by coronavirus.
La Liga also organised a FIFA football tournament online last month, which raised more than a million euros and was won by Real Madrid's Marco Asensio, after every club picked a player to represent them.
The Madrid Open said on Monday it would run an online competition over four days, from April 27 to 30, and the "organisation will soon announce the list of participants".
Each male and female winner will decide how much of a 150,000-euro purse to donate to "tennis players currently suffering economically".
An additional 50,000 euros "will all go towards reducing the social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic".
There will be 16 singles players in 

Tennis stars to do battle online in virtual Madrid Open

Three US-based major golf championships announced rescheduled 2020 dates Monday in the wake of the British Open being called off until 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The PGA Championship is now scheduled to be played August 6-9 at Harding Park in San Francisco. It was postponed from May.
The US Open was rescheduled from June to September 17-20 with the Ryder Cup to be contested one week later at Whistling Straits as scheduled.
The Masters, which was to have been played this week at Augusta National, has been rescheduled for November 12-15.
In a joint statement by golf's major tournaments, tours and sanctioning bodies, officials stressed that competitions would be conducted only if conditions were safe enough to do so without a health threat.
"This is a difficult and challenging time for everyone coping with the effects of this pandemic," the statement said.
"We remain very mindful of the obstacles ahead, and each organization will continue to follow the guidance of the .

Golf majors reset: PGA in Aug., US Open Sept., Masters Nov.

The United States on Monday warned China not to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to exert itself in the South China Sea after Vietnam said Beijing sank a trawler.
Amid the global focus on fighting COVID-19, China has ramped up self-described research stations and landed special military aircraft in the dispute-rife sea, according to the State Department.
"We call on the PRC to remain focused on supporting international efforts to combat the global pandemic, and to stop exploiting the distraction or vulnerability of other states to expand its unlawful claims in the South China Sea," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
Vietnam said last week that it lodged a protest with Beijing after the Chinese Coast Guard "hindered, rammed and sunk" a Vietnamese boat with eight fishermen on board near the Paracel Islands.
Vietnam -- which, like China and Taiwan, claims sovereignty over the Paracel Islands -- called in a foreign ministry statement for Beijing to .

US warns China not to 'exploit' virus for sea disputes

German car giant Volkswagen faces the threat of a hefty "dieselgate" payout in Britain after a court Monday ruled in favour of more than 90,000 VW drivers whose vehicles cheated emissions tests.
Following adverse rulings and compensation payouts elsewhere, the High Court in London ruled that the German auto giant was liable also in Britain.
The ruling adds pressure on Volkswagen just after the carmaker said last month it was preparing to shutter most of its European plants, joining a slew of other carmakers as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts supply chains and sends demand plummeting.
The British judgement concerned "defeat devices" installed in about 1.2 million Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda diesel vehicles in Britain, which artificially lowered emissions.
The court found the devices were a "fundamental subversion" of European Union tests designed to limit noxious pollutants, and will rule later on compensation to the owners.
VW admitted in 2015 to fitting 11 million vehicles ...

Volkswagen loses 'damning' dieselgate UK class lawsuit

France on Monday opened a hotline aimed at curtailing domestic abuse in families confined together during the coronavirus lockdown -- but the number is reserved for perpetrators, not victims.
The number will be open seven days a week from 09:00 am to 07:00 pm, France's Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa said on Twitter.
"Protect your family from violence: seek help at 08 019 019 11," she tweeted.  "Confinement affects the family and personal lives of everyone. This situation can sometimes create anxiety -- there are fewer outlets and, in certain families, homeschooling can exacerbate tensions," Schiappa said.
"There is no shame in calling," she added.
The hotline will be staffed by psychologists and other experts dealing with domestic violence.
The goal "is to allow people on the verge of committing violence, or already doing so, to find a sympathetic ear and to begin to work" on getting help, said Alain Legrand of the Fnacav association, which seeks to help abusers end their ...

France hotline urges lockdown abusers to 'call before you strike'

Norway's government said Monday it considered the coronavirus outbreak to be "under control" in the country.
It said the reproduction rate of the disease - the number of new people infected by each patient with the virus -- had fallen to 0.7.
That was down from 2.5 when containment measures such as closing public spaces and banning sports and cultural events were introduced in mid-March.
"This means that we have brought the coronavirus infection under control," Health Minister Bent Hoie told reporters.

Norway says it has virus outbreak 'under control'

The global recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic will be worse than in 2009, but early signs of a recovery are appearing in China, including renewed pollution, IMF economists said Monday.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the world into a recession. For 2020 it will be worse than the global financial crisis," the authors, including International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath, said in a blog post.
"The economic damage is mounting across all countries, tracking the sharp rise in new infections and containment measures put in place by governments." China, where the virus appeared in mid-December, was the first hit by the full force of the economic impact as authorities locked down whole regions to try to contain the spread.
The world's second largest economy, China saw a modest recovery in a key manufacturing index in March, and satellite images show increasing concentrations of nitrogen dioxide last month, indicating a pickup in industrial activity and ...

Pollution data shows early signs of China recovery: IMF

Former McLaren supremo Ron Dennis has created a scheme to supply a million free meals to workers in Britain's National Health Service during the coronavirus outbreak.
Dennis said Monday his foundation would provide a budget of 1.5 million pounds (USD 1.8 million, 1.7 million euros) after linking up with other organisations with the aim of supplying 1,000 meals a day to health workers.
"I wanted a big solution to a big problem," Dennis told the BBC.
"It is an amazing effort, which I think is reflective of my reputation. If I say I'm going to do something I do it."
The 72-year-old was inspired to act after a meeting with his family.
His daughter, Dr Charlotte Hall, added: "We were talking about how, we as a charity, could help everyone in the current coronavirus crisis.
"We can't help medically but we could perhaps make the situation just a bit more bearable -- being in the hospital, taking away the stress of getting food, having something hot and nutritious to eat or having something ..

Ex McLaren boss Dennis sets up free meals for health workers scheme

Former Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas on Monday suggested organising a "vintage Clasico" with past Real Madrid and Barcelona stars to raise funds for charity once the coronavirus pandemic is over.
"When this whole nightmare is finished, we should get all the emblematic players of the past years together and play a vintage Clasico," Casillas, who played more than 500 games for Real, tweeted.
"And the funds will go to people in need."
The proposal from Casillas, a World Cup winner and two-time European champion with Spain, was quickly met with enthusiasm from Barcelona great Andres Iniesta, who replied: "Start preparing the invites... and you can count on me!"
Casillas, 38, announced he would run for the presidency of the Spanish Football Federation in February.
Spain has been one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus outbreak, with 13,055 recorded deaths, second only to Italy, and over 135,000 cases of infection.
However, the country declared Monday a fourth consecutive drop .

Casillas proposes 'vintage' Clasico to raise charity funds

Europe must develop "self-sufficiency" in producing masks "as something that we learn out of this pandemic" of COVID-19, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.
"Regardless of the fact that this market is presently installed in Asia... we need a certain self-sufficiency, or at least a pillar of our own manufacturing" in Germany or elsewhere in the European Union, Merkel told reporters in Berlin.

Europe needs 'self-sufficiency' in mask production: Merkel

Italian top-flight football clubs have unanimously reached agreement to cut the salaries of players, coaches and staff as a result of the coronavirus crisis, the Lega Serie A announced on Monday.
All football in Italy has been suspended since March 9 as a result of the pandemic which has killed nearly 16,000 people in the country.
Players salaries will be reduced by a third of their gross annual earnings if the season should be cancelled, and a sixth if it resumes.
Individual agreements must still be signed between the clubs and players, who will waive between two and four months salary.
The decision was reached unanimously by Serie A clubs, with the exception of Juventus, which had already reached an agreement with its own players, said Lega Serie A.
League leaders Juventus had explained that the salary cuts accepted by its players and coach Maurizio Sarri over the period from March to June would have "a positive impact of 90 million euros on the 2019/2020 financial year".
The Lega ..

Italian top-flight clubs agree players' pay cuts

The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest test that the European Union has faced in its history, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday, stressing that Germany is "ready to contribute" to boosting the bloc.
"In my view... the European Union stands before the biggest test since its founding," Merkel told journalists ahead of a key eurozone finance ministers' conference to draw up an economic rescue plan for the bloc.

Virus crisis is EU's biggest test since its founding: Merkel

Berlin will guarantee 100 per cent of loans made by banks to small- and medium-sized firms, ministers said Monday, in an extension to the 1.1-trillion-euro coronavirus crisis package in Europe's top economy.
"These speedy loans should make sure that middle-sized companies have liquidity quickly, without taxpayers losing too much money," Finance Minister Olaf Scholz told reporters in the German capital.
The federal government will stand fully behind 500,000 euros (USD 540,000) of lending to companies with up to 50 employees and 800,000 euros for larger ones up to 250 workers.
Monday's moves ups the guarantee level from a previous 80 percent for large firms or 90 percent for smaller ones, levels that were still causing banks to think twice about granting loans.
Companies this size "typically have credit needs in small amounts, but that have to be paid very quickly," Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said.  The government is "very sure that there's little likelihood of companies failing to 

Germany guarantees 100% of loans to smaller firms in virus aid package

More than 80 passengers and crew aboard an Australian cruise ship off South America have tested positive for the coronavirus, the cruise company and officials in Uruguay announced on Monday.
Uruguay's public health ministry said six passengers with "life-threatening" illness had been taken off the Greg Mortimer for treatment in Montevideo, but the rest of more than 200 passengers and crew remain stranded on the vessel anchored some 15 miles off the coast.
The vessel was on a voyage to Antarctica and South Georgia with Australian tour company Aurora Expeditions, leaving the Argentine port of Ushuaia on March 15.
Aurora said 81 passengers and crew had tested positive for COVID-19 after being assessed by a team of Uruguayan infectious disease specialists who were brought aboard at the weekend.
"We know that there is a relatively high percentage of infected people but only six required to be transferred to Montevideo hospitals because they were at risk," Uruguay's Foreign Minister Ernesto 

At least 80 on Australian liner off Uruguay with coronavirus

The British Open has been cancelled for the first time since World War II due to the coronavirus.
The 149th Open was scheduled to take place at Royal St George's Golf Club in Kent in July.
But with the pandemic ripping the 2020 sporting schedule to shreds, the event has became the first of the sport's four majors to be cancelled this year.
Golf's oldest major will now be hosted at the same Sandwich venue in July 2021.
"The Open was due to be played in Kent from 12-19 July but it has been necessary to cancel the championship based on guidance from the UK Government, the health authorities, public services and the R&A's advisers," organisers R&A said in a statement on Monday.
St Andrews will still host the 150th British Open, but a year later than scheduled in 2022.
"Our absolute priority is to protect the health and safety of the fans, players, officials, volunteers and staff involved in the Open. We care deeply about this historic championship and have made this decision with ...

British Open cancelled for first time since World War II due to virus

Volkswagen faces the threat of a hefty "dieselgate" payout in Britain after a court Monday ruled in favour of more than 90,000 drivers whose vehicles cheated emissions tests.
Following adverse rulings and compensation payouts elsewhere, the High Court in London ruled that the German auto giant was liable in Britain, too.
The ruling adds pressure on Volkswagen just after the carmaker said last month it was preparing to shutter most of its European plants, joining a slew of other carmakers as the coronavirus pandemic disrupts supply chains and sends demand plummeting.
The British judgement concerned "defeat devices" installed in about 1.2 million Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda diesel vehicles in Britain, which artificially lowered emissions.
The court found the devices were a "fundamental subversion" of European Union tests designed to limit noxious pollutants, and will rule later on compensation to the owners.
VW admitted in 2015 to fitting 11 million vehicles worldwide with software 

VW loses 'damning' dieselgate class lawsuit in UK

UAE carriers Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways have resumed limited passenger flights two weeks after authorities grounded airlines as part of wider shutdowns to combat coronavirus.
The flights are open to foreign citizens who wish to leave the United Arab Emirates, but no incoming passengers are allowed. Foreign residents of the oil-rich Gulf state are banned from re-entering until at least mid-April.
Dubai's Emirates, the largest carrier in the Middle East, said it operated a flight to London late Sunday and another to Frankfurt on Monday as part of its limited resumption.
It said in a statement that it plans to operate four flights a week to London and three weekly flights each to Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels and Zurich.
Wearing face masks and other protective gear at Dubai Airport on Monday, some 212 travellers to Frankfurt went through thermal screening before they boarded the aircraft.  Etihad said on its Twitter account that it resumed limited operation with a passenger flight .

UAE airlines resume limited passenger flights

Spanish superclub Barcelona's colossal cash turnover is under the spotlight after the soccer lockdown slashed the earnings that enabled them to pay over 600 million euros ($647M) per year to staff.
Barcelona's motto is 'More than a club', and fans around the globe tune in to thrill at the hugely succesful side spearheaded by Argentine genius Lionel Messi.
But as broadcasting rights for the lucrative Spanish domestic La Liga and the European Champions League have become compromised, the club has had some delicate economic manoeuvering to do.
Not least of these was persuading sensitive star players on huge contracts to take voluntary wage cuts.
European football administrators do not allow for wages above 70 per cent of a club's earnings, with the Catalan outfit sitting was officially around 68 percent.
The wage budget for the current season was 642 million euros with expected earnings estimated at just over 1 billion euros in the pre-season budget presented by the club last July.
"We ..

Barcelona slashes staggering wage bill to survive corona lockdown

England manager Gareth Southgate and the Football Association's top earners will take wage cuts of up to 30 per cent as the governing body deals with a potential ?150 million ($170 million) financial fall-out from the coronavirus.
The FA have been hit by the cancellation of England's scheduled friendly matches due to the pandemic.
Television money due from postponed FA Cup quarter-final ties is also reported while the domestic season is on hold.
Bullingham said the financial impact of the pandemic on the FA was forecast to be in the region of ?100 million and could rise to ?150 million depending how long football is sidelined.
FA chief executive Mark Bullingham revealed the cost-saving measures in a message to staff on Monday.
Under the plan, it is believed Southgate will sacrifice ?225,000 from his reported ?3 million-per-year contract over the next three months.
Southgate's pay cut was initially reported last week, without the details of the percentage involved.
Bullingham proposed .

AFP

AFP

Page 60 - Afp