Italy reported on Monday its fourth death from the new coronavirus, an 84-year old man in the northern Lombardy region, as the number of people contracting the virus continued to mount.
It was the third death in Lombardy, where villages have been put in lockdown and security measures enforced in a bid to stem the spread opf the disease, the region's health department said.

Italy reports fourth coronavirus death

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Seoul led a sharp drop across Asian equity markets on Monday as South Korea announced a surge in COVID-19 infections, while oil plunged and safe-haven assets rallied on growing concerns about a possible pandemic.
With the outbreak showing little sign of easing, investors are increasingly concerned it could have a much longer-term impact on the world economy, which was already stuttering, with a number of companies warning about their bottom lines.
Traders had been broadly optimistic that the virus -- which has killed nearly 2,600 and infected 80,000 -- was being contained outside China but a spurt of infections and deaths in other countries including South Korea, Italy and Iran has fanned fears of a wider outbreak.
"While the coronavirus is probably slowing in China, it is speeding up elsewhere," said Charles Gillams at RJMG Asset Management.
On Monday, South Korea reported 161 more cases, taking its total to 763 and making it the world's worst-hit country outside China, with seven ...

Seoul bears brunt as Asia markets plunge on pandemic worries

Afghanistan has detected its first novel coronavirus case, the country's health minister said on Monday, a day after Kabul announced it would suspend air and ground travel to Iran, where 12 people have died from the outbreak.
"I announce the first positive coronavirus (case) in Herat," health minister Firozuddin Feroz told a press conference, calling on citizens to avoid travel to the western province which borders Iran.

Afghanistan finds first coronavirus case: health minister

Official calls to arrest a Saudi female rapper who appeared in a music video have sparked an online backlash with many calling the move hypocritical as the kingdom invites Western women to perform.
In the video, the young rapper from Mecca, who identifies herself as Asayel Slay, praises what she describes as bold women in Islam's holiest city.
Wearing a headscarf and sunglasses, she describes the women as "sugar candy" in the song titled "Mecca Girl".
But Mecca governor Khaled al-Faisal has ordered the arrest of those behind the video, saying in a statement on Twitter that it "offends the customs and traditions" of local Saudis.
The move underscores the limits of a recent Western-style liberalisation drive in a society steeped in conservatism.
The statement sparked indignation on social media, with many tweeting their support under the hashtag "Mecca girl represents me".
"I am from Mecca & the only thing I find offensive is your racism, misogyny and your war on a young woman & ...

Saudi calls to arrest 'sugar candy' female rapper draw ire

Four more people have died of coronavirus in Iran, a spokesman for parliament said on Monday, bringing to 12 the country's overall death toll from the outbreak.
"The minister of health announced the deaths of 12 people and 47 cases of infection in the country," Assadollah Abbassi was quoted as saying by semi-official news agency ISNA after a closed session of parliament.

Iran coronavirus death toll rises by four to 12: report

Authorities in Wuhan on Monday reversed a decision that would have allowed some people to leave the quarantined city at the centre of China's deadly virus epidemic.
The city government said in a statement that the previous announcement had been made by a traffic prevention and control group "without the consent" of the local leadership, and was now "declared invalid".

Wuhan reverses quarantine relaxation: official

The deadly coronavirus epidemic spread further outside China on Monday with a surge of infections in South Korea making it the biggest hotspot abroad, while authorities in Europe and the Middle East battled worsening outbreaks.
The number of fatalities in China also continued to soar, with 150 more confirmed deaths taking the official death toll to nearly 2,600.
A rising number of new cases and deaths in other parts of the world have deepened fears about a potential pandemic, with South Korea, Italy and Iran emerging over the past week on the frontlines.
Bahrain and Kuwait also announced on Monday their first cases of the virus, as authorities in the Middle East sought to clamp down on people travelling and spreading the disease following eight deaths in Iran.
South Korea has seen a rapid surge in infections since a cluster emerged from a religious sect in the southern city of Daegu last week.
Another 161 infections and two more deaths were reported in South Korea on Monday, bringing .

South Korea on frontline as coronavirus spreads

China's women's football team has emerged as a symbol of defiance against the coronavirus after coming out of quarantine to move to the brink of a place at the Tokyo Olympics.
With sport at a standstill in China because of the outbreak, which has killed more than 2,500 people in the country, the team have become a source of national pride with their exploits.
Despite being quarantined after arriving in Australia for a qualifying tournament -- where they stretched in their hotel corridor and ran up stairs to stay fit -- the Steel Roses went unbeaten to set up a two-legged playoff with South Korea, with an Olympic berth at stake.
State media have heaped gushing praise on the team in the last few weeks, and with all domestic football halted because of the virus, their exploits have won prominent coverage.
"Steel Roses' unbeaten record in Olympic qualifiers brightens Chinese hearts amid epidemic," said Xinhua news agency, a day after a 1-1 draw with Australia put China into the ...

China's 'Steel Roses' footballers defy virus to lift spirits

South Korea's K-league on Monday postponed the start of the new football season in the face of the growing novel coronavirus outbreak in the country.
"The K-league has decided to temporarily postpone the start of the 2020 K-league season until the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak eases," it said in a statement.
This year's edition of the 12-team competition -- whose current champions are Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors -- had been due to kick off this weekend.
"This is a measure to protect the health and safety of the citizens and our players with the highest priority against the outbreak of the COVID-19 which has entered a serious phase," the K-league said after an emergency board meeting.
Authorities have so far confirmed 763 cases of novel coronavirus in South Korea, most of them linked to Shincheonji, a controversial religious sect, and seven deaths -- five of them patients at the same hospital.
Matches featuring Daegu FC, based in the city that is the epicentre of the South Korean ...

South Korea postpones football season over virus: K-league

Thailand's government threatened legal action on Monday against a banned opposition party which claimed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha aided in the cover-up of Malaysia's 1MDB graft scandal by harbouring a fugitive financier.
The stridently anti-military Future Forward Party, the third largest in parliament, was dissolved Friday by a court and its key members banned from politics for a decade.
On Sunday Future Forward's spokeswoman Pannika Wanich held a public conference and accused Prayut of allowing fugitive financier Low Taek Jho -- commonly known as Jho Low -- and his associates to pass through Thailand.
Low is wanted by several governments for his alleged mastermind role in plundering billions of dollars from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.
A Thai government spokeswoman hit back Monday at Pannika, saying her accusations were "not true".
"This accusation ... confuses the public," Narumon Pinyosinwat said on Twitter. "Concerned ministries are considering legal action and ..

Thailand denies PM aided Malaysia 1MDB graft scandal

Malaysian politics was in turmoil Monday after leader-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim denounced a "betrayal" by coalition partners he said were trying to bring down the government, two years after it stormed to victory.
Anwar's "Pact of Hope" alliance was thrown into crisis after his rivals within the coalition and opposition politicians met at the weekend reportedly to try to form a new government.
Speculation is mounting that Anwar, who had been the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, and his lawmakers would be left out of any new coalition, ending his hopes of becoming premier any time soon.
According to reports, the proposed new government includes Mahathir's party, the United Malays National Organisation -- the party of scandal-tainted ex-leader Najib Razak, which was ousted at the 2018 polls -- and a hardline Islamist group.
However, it was still unclear Monday morning whether the push to form a new government would succeed and Mahathir is yet to comment ...

Malaysia in turmoil as Anwar denounces bid to bring down govt

A year after being dumped by Germany head coach Joachim Loew, Thomas Mueller is set to showcase why he is so important for Bayern Munich - and Robert Lewandowski - at Chelsea in the Champions League.
Alongside Erling Braut Haaland, Bayern's star striker Lewandowski is joint top-scorer in the Champions League with 10 goals going into the last 16, first-leg clash on Tuesday.
In order to keep him fresh, Mueller was a second-half replacement in Friday's 3-2 league win over bottom side Paderborn when Lewandowski netted twice.
The Poland striker is on a career-high 38 goals after 32 games in all competitions and is happiest with Mueller alongside him.
"It's easier with Thomas next to me, he helps me out a lot," Lewandowski has said of Mueller.
"We always have one player more in the penalty area when he plays, I have more space and not always two or three opponents against me."
It's no coincidence that Lewandowski is enjoying his highest goal tally just when Mueller's 14 assists in Germany's 

Mueller ready to show Chelsea what Germany is missing

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard faces some big decisions ahead of Bayern Munich's visit to Stamford Bridge in the Champions League last 16 first leg on Tuesday.
AFP Sport looks at three major calls Lampard must get right if Chelsea are to take a step towards the quarter-finals:
Keep faith with Giroud?
Having spent much of the season in exile, Olivier Giroud was back with a bang as he scored the opening goal against Tottenham on Saturday in his first Premier League start since November.
The France striker had been reduced to fringe status by Lampard's decision to give talented youngster Tammy Abraham his opportunity, but an injury to the England international and the ineffective form of Michy Batshuayi gave Giroud a second chance.
He made the most of it with a lethal first half finish in the vital 2-1 win over Tottenham, producing a combative performance that might have given Lampard food for thought.
Giroud's second club goal of the season and his first in the Premier League since April 

Three decisions for Lampard as Chelsea face Bayern clash

New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office said Monday it is investigating former Oceania Football Confederation employees -- including ex-president David Chung -- after a complaint from FIFA.
Authorities will probe whether any criminal activity had taken place, but declined to provide further details of an active investigation.
"An investigation relating to former employees of Oceania Football Confederation is ongoing," a fraud office spokesman told AFP.  "The SFO commenced the investigation after receiving a complaint from the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)."
FIFA suspended Chung for six years in March 2019 for corruption related to an NZ Dollar 15 million (USD 10 million) building project in Auckland.
It found Chung guilty of receiving gifts and conflicts of interest over the scheme -- which intended to create a lavish "Home of Football" for the confederation in the New Zealand city.
Chung, from Papua New Guinea, had been one of FIFA's most powerful officials, ...

New Zealand fraud probe into ex-Oceania Football chief

The lockdown of Guo Jing's neighbourhood in Wuhan -- the city at the heart of China's new coronavirus epidemic -- came suddenly and without warning.
Unable to go out, the 29-year-old is now sealed inside her compound where she has to depend on online group-buying services to get food.
"Living for at least another month isn't an issue," Guo told AFP, explaining that she had her own stash of pickled vegetables and salted eggs.
But what scares her most is the lack of control -- first, the entire city was sealed off, and then residents were limited to exiting their compound once every three days.
Now even that has been taken away.
Guo is among some 11 million residents in Wuhan, a city in central Hubei province that has been under effective quarantine since January 23 as Chinese authorities race to contain the epidemic.
Since then, its people have faced a number of tightening controls over daily life as the death toll from the virus swelled to over 2,500 in China alone.
But the new rules .

'No one cares': Locked-in Wuhan residents adapt to find food

Non-residents of Wuhan may leave the quarantined city at the epicentre of China's virus epidemic if they show no symptoms and have never had contact with patients, authorities said Monday.
Wuhan, a city of 11 million, has been under lockdown since January 23 after authorities shut down transport links into and out of the city in an effort to contain the new coronavirus outbreak.

China allows non-residents of Wuhan to leave virus centre

Seoul led a sharp drop across Asian equity markets Monday as South Korea announced a surge in COVID-19 infections, while oil plunged and safe haven assets rallied on growing concerns about the global spread of the deadly virus.
With the outbreak showing little sign of easing investors are increasingly concerned it could have a much longer term impact on the world economy, which was already stuttering, with a number of companies warning about their bottom lines.
Traders had been broadly optimistic that the virus -- which has killed nearly 2,600 and infected 80,000 -- was being contained outside China but a spurt of infections and deaths in other countries including South Korea, Italy and Iran has fanned fears of a wider outbreak.
"While the coronavirus is probably slowing in China, it is speeding up elsewhere," Charles Gillams, at RJMG Asset Management, said. "Its impact on Chinese business is already deep. So, whether that has a one economic quarter impact -- of some severity -- or is 

Seoul worst hit as Asia markets plunge on virus worries

The United States has urged Yemen's Huthi rebels to drop charges targeting the Baha'i community, which said that 24 believers of the faith will face a new trial session Tuesday.
Sam Brownback, the US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, voiced concern at reports that a court in Yemen's Huthi-controlled capital Sanaa is again summoning the Baha'is who in 2018 were slapped with charges that include apostasy and espionage.
"We urge them to drop these allegations, release those arbitrarily detained, and respect religious freedom for all," he wrote on Twitter.  According to the Baha'i community, one member among the 24 to be tried Tuesday -- five of whom are already detained -- said that a prosecutor made clear that his arrest was due to his religion.
"The Baha'is that are held in Sanaa are innocent and the physical and mental torture they are experiencing is designed to force them to admit to crimes they have not committed," Bani Dugal, principal representative of the .

US presses Yemen's Huthis to drop Baha'i charges

Lionel Messi has said Barcelona are not playing well enough to win this season's Champions League but his four goals against Eibar on Saturday were a reminder that with him there will always be hope.
Barca play Napoli in the first leg of the last 16 on Tuesday and will be expected to go through, even if their opponents are on a strong run, having won six out of their last seven matches, including victories over Juventus and Inter Milan.
Yet despite a whirlwind couple of months of political wrangling, remarkably Barcelona approach this tie sitting top of La Liga and with a spring in their step, in large part due to Messi.
His quadruple in the 5-0 rout at Camp Nou on Saturday was cathartic and not only because Real Madrid, whom Barca face in the Clasico on Sunday, failed to regain first place after losing to Levante a few hours later.
"It was a win we needed," said coach Quique Setien.
Messi has scored seven quadruples in his career but none executed amid such an intense time of ...

Defiant Messi gives troubled Barca hope of Champions League glory

China's death toll from the new coronavirus rose to 2,592 on Monday, after the National Health Commission reported 150 more fatalities, all but one in the epicentre of Hubei province.
Monday's death toll was a jump on the 97 deaths reported Sunday.
The commission also confirmed a total of 409 new cases in China, with most in Hubei.

China reports 150 more virus deaths

Haitian police demanding better working conditions shot up the army headquarters on Sunday, killing two servicemen and wounding a dozen more, the Defense Ministry said, prompting the government to cancel an upcoming carnival.
In a statement issued Sunday evening, the government said it had observed "with concern and dismay that terror has reigned in certain arteries of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area." In order to avoid a "bloodbath... it has been decided to cancel the carnival," which was scheduled to take place Tuesday, the statement said.
Media reports had said six people were wounded in the attack in Port-au-Prince by what the ministry said were gunmen wearing masks.
"We are under siege. We are coming under fire with all kinds of weapons -- assault rifles, Molotov cocktails, tear gas," General Jodel Lessage told AFP earlier.  He said soldiers had returned fire but did not give an injury toll, nor could he say how many people were at the army headquarters, near the ...

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