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President Donald Trump will cancel an in-person meeting of G7 leaders at Camp David in June because of the coronavirus and will hold a video-conference instead, the White House said on Thursday. The decision comes as nations around the world seal their borders and ban travel to stop the virus’ spread. Trump held a video-conference with the leaders of the world’s major industrialized countries earlier this week and plans to repeat that in April, May and June, when the physical meeting at the presidential retreat in Maryland was scheduled to take place. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow, who also serves as Trump’s G7 “sherpa,” has informed his counterparts about the move. The White House also informed the other G7 members that in order to continue close coordination, the President will convene the Leaders’ via video teleconference in April and May just as he did this week. The G7 is made up of the United States, Italy, Japan, Canada, France, Germany, Britain as well as the European Union//Reuters

The Olympic flame arrives in Japan on Friday (Mar 20), with what should have been a joyous celebration dramatically downscaled, as doubts grow over whether the Tokyo Games can go ahead during the coronavirus pandemic. Organisers have already taken the "heartbreaking" decision to pare back events surrounding the torch relay, as the world battles the virus that has killed more than 9,000 people and threatens to spark a global recession. The flame arrives on a special charter flight into Matsushima Air Base in the Japanese province of Miyagi, deliberately chosen as part of the "Recovery Olympics" to showcase the region's revival after the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown. The flame will be picked up in a special charter plane. But some 200 local children that were due to welcome the flame will be kept away as part of measures designed to halt the spread of the virus, which has infected 900 people in Japan. The relay begins on Mar 26, starting from the J-Village sports complex in Fukushima that was commandeered as a base by workers scrambling to contain the fall-out from the nuclear meltdown//CNA

Coronavirus has killed more people in Italy than in any other country, after deaths there rose by 427 in a day. The number of deaths now stands at 3,405, which is more than in China where the virus originated last year. There have been 3,245 reported deaths in China. A lockdown imposed on 12 March in Italy has been extended beyond the original 25 March end date. Nearly all Italians have been told to stay at home. Despite these measures, the number of new cases and deaths has continued to spiral. There have been 220,000 cases of the virus worldwide with more than 9,000 deaths. China confirmed it had no new domestic cases on Wednesday for the first time since the outbreak began, a major milestone. But it reported 34 new cases among people who had recently returned to the country. The number of cases in China - more than 81,000 - is still far higher than in Italy, which has 41,035. Italy shut down most businesses and banned public gatherings nationwide on 12 March as it tried to halt the spread of the virus. Bars, restaurants and most shops have closed, as have schools and universities. The lockdown has been extended, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said it had helped prevent "the collapse of the system"//BBC

The global tennis calendar has been thrown into further chaos after the decision by French Open organisers to postpone the Grand Slam, with players and rival tournaments critical of the apparently unilateral move.  As quoted by AFP.com (19/3), the event at Roland Garros, traditionally the second major of the season, was on Tuesday moved from a May 24 start date to September 20, meaning it would start just one week after the US Open, if that event remains in its original slot. Organisers said strict confinement measures imposed by the French government to tackle COVID-19 had made it impossible to continue with preparations. French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli said his side   has made a difficult yet brave decision in this unprecedented situation, which has evolved greatly since last weekend. Organisers of the Grand Slam in New York acknowledged it might need to be moved but, in a scarcely veiled dig at the French Open organisers, said they would not go it alone//AFP