Cristiano Ronaldo scored for a record-equalling 11th consecutive Serie A game in his 1,000th professional match as Juventus extended their league lead with a 2-1 win over basement club SPAL.
The 35-year-old tapped in six minutes before the break on Saturday to equal the mark held by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored 25 goals in all competitions this season for Juventus, including 16 in his current run of 11 matches.
Aaron Ramsey added a second after an hour, before Andrea Petagna pulled one back from the spot for SPAL, amid controversy as the penalty was awarded following a VAR review despite the pitchside monitor not working.
It got Juventus back to winning ways away from home after consecutive defeats against Napoli and Hellas Verona, and ahead of next week's trip to French club Lyon in the Champions League last 16, first leg.
Maurizio Sarri's side opened up a four-point lead on second-placed Lazio who travel to Genoa on ...

Ronaldo marks 1,000th game with record-equalling goal

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Andre Villas-Boas had few excuses for his Marseille team after their 14-match unbeaten run in Ligue 1 came to an end with a surprise 3-1 home defeat by off-form Nantes.
Marseille are second and have put themselves in a strong position to qualify for the Champions League next season thanks to their hot streak but were downed by goals either side of half-time by Anthony Limbombe and Abdoul Kader Bamba and a late Alvaro own goal at the Stade Velodrome.
Morgan Sanson had given Marseille hope of continuing their run after levelling the scores with a lovely finish five minutes before the break on Saturday, but Villas-Boas admitted his side deserved to lose after a weak display.
"We weren't very good today, we lost the ball a lot and struggled to build play," said the Portuguese coach.
"We had confidence that we could change the match when we equalised, but their second goal hit us hard."
Marseille are nine points clear of third-placed Lille, who won 3-0 against rock-bottom Toulouse -- who ..

'Not very good' Marseille lose unbeaten run after Nantes defeat

Chelsea strengthened their grip on a Premier League top-four place by beating London rivals Tottenham 2-1 as Manchester City edged past Leicester despite another attack of the penalty jitters.
Sheffield United will rue missing out on the chance to clamber above Tottenham into fifth place after drawing at home to struggling Brighton on Saturday.
Liverpool's staggering 19-point lead over second-placed Manchester City means the title race is effectively over, with much of the focus turning to the scramble to qualify for next season's Champions League.
Frank Lampard's fourth-placed Chelsea went into their match against Jose Mourinho's Spurs at Stamford Bridge without a win in their past four Premier League matches and just one point clear of Spurs.
Fringe players Olivier Giroud and Marcos Alonso were recalled by Lampard and both rewarded their manager's confidence by scoring in the home win.
The result means Lampard has completed a league double against his former boss this season after ..

Chelsea see off Spurs as Jesus grabs late Man City winner

Lionel Messi scored four goals and Barcelona reclaimed top spot in La Liga as Real Madrid suffered a surprise defeat by Levante on Saturday, a week before the Clasico.
Madrid's nightmare afternoon was made worse by another injury to Eden Hazard, who was forced off in the second half of their 1-0 defeat in Valencia and is now doubtful to face Manchester City on Wednesday in the Champions League.
"It doesn't look good," said Real coach Zinedine Zidane afterwards.
Messi, meanwhile, ridiculed talk of a drought by scoring four goals against Eibar after four games without one, while emergency signing Martin Braithwaite made two assists off the bench, teeing up Messi and then Arthur Melo in injury-time.
Their 5-0 rout, coupled with Madrid's defeat, means Barca move back to the summit of La Liga, two points ahead of Zidane's side ahead of next Saturday's showdown at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"We've had good times this season and now this is a bad time," said Zidane. "Now we have a week where ...

Messi scores four as Barca jump above defeated Madrid before Clasico

Italian authorities have ordered the postponement of three Serie A football matches on Sunday over coronavirus fears in northern Italy.
The matches between title-chasing Inter Milan and Sampdoria, Atalanta against Sassuolo and Hellas Verona versus Cagliari have been pushed back to avoid the spread of the virus with 79 confirmed cases in an outbreak that has claimed two lives in the country.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced late on Saturday evening that all sporting events in the Veneto and Lombardy regions would be suspended on Sunday.
Juventus played earlier on Saturday to extend their lead on the top of the standings with a 2-1 win at SPAL in Emilia-Romagna.
Inter Milan are six points behind the champions in third.  Cristiano Ronaldo scored for a record-equalling 11th consecutive Serie A game in his 1,000th professional match.
The 35-year-old tapped in six minutes before the break to equal the mark held by Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Quagliarella.
The five-time Ballon d'Or ...

Inter Milan game among three postponed over coronavirus fears in Italy

England will kick off the 2021 women's European Championship at Old Trafford as part of an ambitious target to sell 700,000 tickets for the event and smash previous attendance records.
The final of the 16-team tournament between July 7 and August 1 next year will take place at Wembley with eight other stadiums across England hosting the other 29 matches.
"To kick-off at the Theatre of Dreams in Manchester and to have the final at the iconic Wembley Stadium shows just how far the game has come," said UEFA's head of women's football and former German international Nadine Kessler.
"This is what women's football deserves. To play in such stadia is what you strive for -- as a player, coach, referee and a fan."
England's Football Association is hoping to ride the momentum of the Lionesses' run to the semi-finals of last year's World Cup.
A UK television audience of 11.7 million watched England's defeat in the last four to world champions the United States.
Attendances at Women's Super ...

Women's Euro 2021 to kick off at Old Trafford

Unseeded Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan rallied for a 1-6 6-4 6-0 victory over sixth-seeded Ugo Humbert Saturday to reach the ATP Delray Beach final.
Nishioka, apparently refreshed by a second rain delay, roared through the final set to advance to his second career final.
He won his only prior title match at Shenzhen in 2018.
On Sunday he'll face either second-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada or fourth-seeded American Reilly Opelka, who squared off in the second semi-final later Saturday.
Nishioka, 24 and ranked 63rd in the world, is already projected to surpass his career-best ranking of 58 on Monday.
After reaching that mark in March of 2017 Nishioka tore a left knee ligament and dropped as low as 380th in the world in April 2018 before starting to climb his way back.
Nishioka, who rallied to beat American Brandon Nakashima in the quarter-finals, saved six of eight break points he faced and won 27 of 37 points in the deciding set to beat the in-form Frenchman, who triumphed in Auckland in 

Nishioka rallies to reach Delray Beach final

US President Donald Trump has been India's best friend among all his predecessors, an official of the Trump 2020 Presidential Campaign said on Saturday, on the eve of the president leaving for his first state visit to India.
Trump will visit India on February 24 and 25 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Trump will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including First Lady Melania Trump, the President's daughter Ivanka Trump, son-in-law Jared Kushner and a galaxy of top American officials.
"President Trump has been the best friend of India amongst all US Presidents. He loves Indians and Indian-Americans. Indian Americans nationwide love him as much," Al Mason, advisor to Global Real Estate Investments, Education Institutions and Hospitals, told PTI.
"How else do you explain 60,000 Indian-Americans attending his 'Howdy, Modi!' rally with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston, not to overlook the fact that billion-plus Indians in India love President Trump too," he .

Trump has been India's best friend among other US presidents, says campaign official

New Zealand were in complete command of the first Test against India with a comprehensive first innings lead of 183 at lunch on third day here on Sunday with debutant Kyle Jamieson and No 11 Trent Boult belting the bowlers for fun.
New Zealand scored 348 in their first innings as Ishant Sharma (5/68 in 22.2 overs) remained the stand-out bowler for India.
Ravichandran Ashwin (3/99) got a couple of wickets in the morning session but not before getting a lot of stick from the tail-enders including Jamieson and Boult.
Jamieson's 45-ball knock had four towering sixes and he added 71 runs for the eighth wicket with Colin de Grandhomme (43 off 74 balls) in under 15 overs.
Boult (38 off 24 balls) had some real fun in the end and by that time, the shoulders of the Indian attack had already drooped as they were able to read the writing on the wall.
Jamieson and Boult were the reasons that New Zealand could extend their lead above 175-run mark as India will now have to play the catch up ...

Jamieson, de Grandhomme put New Zealand in driver's seat

New Zealand were bowled out for 348 in their first innings in reply to India's below-par 165 at lunch on the third day of the opening Test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve here on Sunday.
Resuming at the overnight score of 216 for 5, New Zealand added 132 runs on the morning session of third day.
Skipper Kane Williamson top-scored for New Zealand with 89.
Ishant Sharma was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of five for 68, while off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin scalped three wickets giving away 99 runs.
New Zealand, thus, took 183 runs lead over India in the first innings.
Brief Score:
India 1st Innings: 165 allout in 68.1 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 46; Kyle Jamieson 4/39).
New Zealand 1st Innings: 348 all out in 100.2 overs (Kane Williamson 89, Ross Taylor 44, Kyle Jamieson 44; Ishant Sharma 5/68, Ravichandran Ashwin 3/99).

India bowl out New Zealand for 348 at lunch on Day 3

Two young Polish climbers fell to their deaths in Slovakia's High Tatra Mountains on Friday amid high winds and heavy snow, local rescuers said Saturday evening.
Slovakia's Mountain Rescue Service (HZS) said its rescuers "found two bodies of Polish climbers (aged 27 and 25 years)", on Saturday afternoon near the 2,558 metre-high Kezmarsky Peak, according to a statement.
Strong winds and very low visibility due to falling snow had initially hampered rescue helicopters from approaching the area.
"After multiple flight attempts, rescuers returned to their base in Stary Smokovec, where they collected several groups of rescue brigades and deployed them by helicopters to all sides of the Kezmarsky Peak," the HZS said in a statement on Saturday evening.
Kezmarsky Peak is one of the most popular and demanding climbing destinations in the High Tatras.

Two Polish climbers die in Slovakia's High Tatra mountains

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said he was "not sure" it would be possible for the European Union and Britain to reach a trade deal by the end of the year.
Britain and the EU are about to embark on negotiations aiming to hammer out a trade agreement by the time the post-Brexit transition period shuts at the end of December.
But France has made clear it thinks the negotiations will be particularly difficult, especially in such a tight timeframe.
"I am not sure that an agreement will be reached between now and the end of the year," Macron said at a meeting with fishermen, who are concerned for their livelihoods after Brexit, at an agricultrual trade event in Paris.
"Anyway, it is going to become more tense because (the British) are very hard," he said, adding that fishing rights would be a key point of contention.
Britain formally ended its 47-year membership of the EU on January 31, nearly four years after a majority voted to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum.
France ...

Macron says 'not sure' EU-UK trade deal possible before end of 2020

A charter bus swerved on a rain-slicked Southern California highway and rolled down an embankment Saturday, killing three people and injuring 18 others, authorities said.
Several passengers were thrown from the bus, and one of the dead was trapped under the vehicle after it landed on its roof shortly after 10 a.m. off. interstate 15 in Pala Mesa, an unincorporated community about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of San Diego, North County Fire Protection District spokesman John Choi said.
There were no seat belts on this bus, Choi said. Another person who died was trapped inside the bus, he added.
The wounded were taken to three hospitals with varying injuries, Choi said.
A California Highway Patrol officer told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the bus driver suffered minor injuries and remained at the scene.
He apparently swerved and lost control of the bus, Officer Mark Latulippe said.
It was not immediately clear where the bus was headed. Authorities have not released the name of the 

Charter bus rollover kills 3, injures 18 outside San Diego

Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday denied a claim by US officials that Russian-linked social media accounts were making a coordinated effort to spread alarm about the new coronavirus, branding the accusation intentionally misleading.
"This is a deliberately false story," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the TASS state news agency in Russia's first official reaction to the claims by US officials to AFP.
State Department officials tasked with combating Russian disinformation said that thousands of false personas were being used on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to promote unfounded conspiracy theories that the US was behind the COVID-19 outbreak, writing in multiple languages.
"Russia's intent is to sow discord and undermine US institutions and alliances from within, including through covert and coercive malign influence campaigns," said Philip Reeker, the acting Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia.
"By spreading disinformation about coronavirus, Russian malign ...

Russia says US claims it is fuelling virus alarm 'deliberately false'

Clint Eastwood, the iconic actor and director who infamously delivered a speech to an empty chair at the 2012 Republican convention, is endorsing Michael Bloomberg for president and not Donald Trump, whom he supported four years ago.
In a wide-ranging interview, the 89-year-old multiple Oscar winner told The Wall Street Journal that while he appreciates some of the good that Trump has done, he laments the bad and the ugly nature of today's "ornery" politics in America.
Trump should act "in a more genteel way, without tweeting and calling people names," said Eastwood, who endorsed the brash billionaire over Hillary Clinton in 2016 because, as he said at the time, he feared she would "follow in (president Barack) Obama's footsteps."
"The best thing we could do is just get Mike Bloomberg in there," he said in the interview released late Friday, referring to the US media tycoon who jumped into the Democratic presidential nomination race in November.
Bloomberg, 78, is the former mayor of ..

Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood backs Bloomberg: report

A dozen towns in northern Italy effectively went into lockdown Saturday after the deaths of two people infected with the new virus from China and a growing cluster of cases with no direct links to the origin of the outbreak abroad.
The secondary contagions prompted local authorities in the Lombardy and Veneto regions to close schools, businesses and restaurants and to cancel sporting events and Masses.
The mayor of Milan, Italy's business capital and the regional capital of Lombardy, shuttered public offices.
A 78-year-old man infected with the virus died in Veneto. A post-mortem test performed on a 77-year-old woman in Lombardy came back positive, though it wasn't clear if illness from the virus caused her death.
Hundreds of residents and workers who came into contact with 54 people who tested positive for the virus in Italy were put into isolation pending results of their tests. Civil protection crews set up a tent camp outside a closed hospital in Veneto to screen medical staff for 

Italy towns close down amid virus case clusters, 2 deaths

The home of a key Togo opposition candidate was surrounded by security forces just hours after polls closed Saturday in elections widely expected to see President Faure Gnassingbe claim a fourth term in power.
Troops could be seen outside the house of Agbeyome Kodjo, considered an important challenger in the electoral race, as the government confirmed the move and said it was for "his own safety".
"We are largely in the lead everywhere, my house is surrounded by soldiers," Kodjo told AFP.
A large contingent of security forces were blocking all access to the property in the capital Lome, according to AFP journalists at the scene.
Military roadblocks were being put up elsewhere in the city, while internet connections appeared to be sporadically interrupted.
Polls closed at 1600 GMT Saturday after what had been a peaceful election day with a moderate turnout.
Gnassingbe, who was running against six other candidates, has led the West African country of eight million people since 2005 ...

Troops at home of Togo opposition candidate as presidential polls close

Voting is underway across Nevada as the most diverse state so far has its say in the Democrats' nomination fight.
Uniformed housekeepers and casino workers streamed into the Bellagio on Saturday, one of seven casino-resorts on the Las Vegas Strip among 200 caucus locations statewide hosting caucuses.
Nevada is the third contest on a 2020 election calendar marked by chaos and uncertainty after the opening votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, overwhelmingly white, rural states.
The first presidential contest in the West will test the candidates' strength with black and Latino voters for the first time in 2020.
Nevada represents an opportunity for these candidates to demonstrate their appeal to a larger swath of our country, said state Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat who is not endorsing a candidate.
Nevada's population aligns more with the U.S. as a whole, compared with Iowa and New Hampshire: 29 per cent Latino, 10 per cent black and 9 per cent Asian American and Pacific ...

Voting underway as Nevada Democrats weigh in on 2020 fight

Egypt's state prosecutor decided to re-arrest and put on trial a doctor for performing a genital mutilation operation on a 12-year-old girl who died, his office said Saturday.
The procedure known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has been banned in Egypt since 2008, but the practice remains rife in the conservative Muslim country with many believing it promotes women's chastity.
In January, Nada Hassan Abdel Maqsood died after undergoing an FGM operation, sparking fury online and in the media.
Her father filed a police complaint leading to the arrest of the doctor, but earlier this month he was released on bail by a court after the physician claimed he had only carried out "cosmetic surgery".  But according to the prosecutor's office, the coroner carried out an autopsy on the girl's body and determined she had died of shock and pain linked to FGM.
The prosecutor ordered the doctor, Abdel Fadeel Reshwan, to stand trial for FGM that led to the death of the 12-year-old girl.  Her ...

Egypt doctor to face trial over deadly genital mutilation

Debris has been found in the fuel tanks of 70% of grounded Boeing 737 Max jets that have been inspected by the company, Boeing confirmed on Saturday.
Inspectors found the debris in 35 out of about 50 jets that were inspected. They are among 400 built in the past year that Boeing hasn't been able to deliver to airline customers.
Boeing temporarily halted production last month because the planes were grounded after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia that killed 346 people.
Although debris hasn't been linked to those crashes, metal shavings, tools and other objects left in planes during assembly can raise the risk of electrical short-circuiting and fires.
On Tuesday the company had said debris was found in several planes but it did not give a precise number.
The debris was discovered during maintenance on parked planes, and Boeing said it immediately made corrections in its production system to prevent a recurrence. Those steps include more inspections before fuel tanks are sealed.
This ..

Debris found in fuel tanks of 70% of inspected 737 Max jets

Authorities in Iran have reported a sixth death from the new virus that emerged in China.
The governor of Markazi province told the official IRNA news agency Saturday that tests of a patient who recently died in the central city of Arak was positive for the virus.
Ali Aghazadeh said the person who died was suffering from a heart problem, too.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian health authorities reported a fifth death from the new virus and said the fatality was among 10 new confirmed cases of the virus in Iran.
So far, 28 cases have been confirmed in Iran, including at least five of the six who died. People are being treated for the virus in at least four different cities, including the capital, Tehran, where some pharmacies had already run out of masks and hand sanitizer. Other cities are Qom, Arak and Rasht.

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