Europe

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) could be “overwhelmed” by the coronavirus like the Italian health system in just two weeks, Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday in the face of rising numbers of deaths.

The death toll in Italy — the world’s worst-hit country — reached almost 5,000 on Saturday, while in Britain it hit 233.

In a statement released by his office, Johnson again urged Britons to stay at home to stop the spread of the virus.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis said on Sunday he will this week deliver an extraordinary “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) blessing - normally given only at Christmas and Easter - and called for worldwide prayer to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

Francis made the surprise announcement in his weekly Angelus message, which he has been delivering from inside the Vatican over the internet and television instead of before crowds in St. Peter’s Square.

LONDON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Major supermarkets plan to create tens of thousands of extra jobs across Britain to help keep shops open and stocked during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

As of 9a.m. (0900GMT) on Saturday, 72,818 people have been tested in Britain, of which 67,800 were confirmed negative and 5,018 were confirmed positive. 233 patients in the country who tested positive for the virus have died.

MOSCOW, Mar 22 (NNN-TASS) – Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin and his Belarusian counterpart, Sergei Rumas, held a phone conversation concerning energy issues, the Russian government said.

“The heads of government noted the achievement of principle agreements on the parameters of cooperation in the oil sector, taking into account the mutual interests of the parties,” it said in a statement.

The implementation of these agreements will ensure the supply of Russian oil to Belarusian oil refineries in full and on agreed terms, it added.

MOSCOW (AP) — The breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia is holding a presidential election Sunday to replace the leader who stepped down in January under pressure from the opposition.

Raul Khadzhimba resigned as president in January, days after demonstrators seized his office to protest alleged violations in September’s election in which Khadzhimba won a second five-year term.

TEHRAN, Mar 22 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iran and France swapped prisoners amid COVID-19 outbreak in both countries.

France released the Iranian engineer, Jalal Ruhollahnejad, who had been detained at the airport in Nice, in 2019, over alleged violations of Washington sanctions against Tehran.

As part of the swap, Iran also released the Frenchman, Roland Gabriel Marchal, on Friday, who was sentenced here to five years in prison, for allegedly acting against the Iranian national security.

ROME, Mar 22 (NNN-XINHUA) – Italy reported 6,557 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, raising the total to 53,578, since the pandemic first broke out in its north on Feb 21, according to the latest data, provided by the Civil Protection Department, managing the COVID-19 emergency.

A further 793 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the country’s death toll to 4,825. The number of active virus infections increased to 42,681, not counting recoveries and fatalities.

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — A strong earthquake shook Croatia and its capital on Sunday, causing widespread damage and panic. A 15-year-old was killed and there were other injuries, media reported.

The European seismological agency, EMSC, said the earthquake measured 5.3 and struck a wide area north of the capital, Zagreb, at 6:23 a.m. (0523 GMT) Sunday. The epicenter was 7 kilometers (4 miles) north of Zagreb at the depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/: The coronavirus pandemic had a serious impact on the oil market, but positive news from China demonstrate that this problem should not be exaggerated, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said on Friday.

GENEVA, March 21. /TASS/: About 20 vaccines against the novel coronavirus are currently being developed worldwide, said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for WHO’s emergencies program.

"At least 20 vaccines are in development for COVID-19. Their first clinic trials are already starting," she said.