BAZ BAMIGBOYE: British stars were hoping for a divine night of Oscar glory - including a pair of actors who dubbed themselves The Two Welsh Popes. Jonathan Pryce plays Pope Francis.

The Welsh actor, 72, cut a dapper figure as he opted for a classic black suit as he joined wife Kate Fahy at the 92nd Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.

In an eagerly-awaited document, Francis did not even refer to recommendations by Amazonian bishops to consider the ordination of married men and women deacons.

During his weekly audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis showed his solidarity with those suffering from the global outbreak of the coronavirus as he kissed people in the crowds.

Pope Francis said there was too much 'verbal violence' in the world which was 'amplified by the internet' as he addressed followers in St Peter's Square today.

The 83-year-old pontiff has scrapped an audience with tech chiefs including Microsoft and IBM executives today, a day after calling off an appearance at Mass in Rome.

MICHAEL GOVE: The financial crisis and other failures of leadership from a past generation of political leaders have turned people against distant and unaccountable power-brokers.

Pope Francis, who cancelled a series of engagements last week after falling ill, has tested negative for coronavirus - amid an outbreak of the disease in Italy that has sickened 2,000 people.

Pope Francis (pictured today) prayed that clergymen would 'have the courage to go out and go to the sick people' as he celebrated Mass by himself at the Vatican this morning.

The footprints mark where people should stand to avoid close contact under the one-yard rule - which Italians were taking to heart by carrying rulers into bars and shops today.

Cardinal Angelo De Donatis has today issued a new decree, stating that some of Rome's churches will stay open, despite his initial order to close all of the religious sites just a day ago.

Speaking to daily Italian publication La Repubblica on Wednesday, the Pope said he had asked God to stop the epidemic in Italy 'with his hand'.

Pope Francis was seen delivering his weekly Angelus prayer to an empty Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican City this morning, as Italians stay home to combat the spread of coronavirus .

Some 5,476 people have died after testing positive for coronavirus across Italy, with more than 59,000 cases of the deadly virus confirmed.

Giuseppe Berardelli, 72, from Casigno in Italy's hardest-hit Lombardy region, died from coronavirus last week - but locals say he did not give up his respirator as was first reported.

Pope Francis gave his homily as he spoke via webcam from the chapel of his Vatican residence Tuesday, urging Christians not to indulge in the 'evil' of self pity but to instead make positive changes.

Pope Francis was swabbed along with those who surround him yesterday, it has been reported. They all tested negative for coronavirus. The pope had a cold last month.

Francis lead the ceremony inside the shelter of an empty St Peter's Basilica. He was joined only by his aides, some nuns and a few laypeople, who sat staggered throughout the pews.

The head of the Catholic Church seemingly compared the cardinal to Jesus in a tweet on Tuesday.

Pilgrims have been barred from retracing Jesus's steps in the Holy Land, with flights grounded and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre closed for the first time since 1349.

The Argentine pontiff live-streamed an Easter Monday prayer from his private library as the Vatican and Italy entered a second month of restrictions on most outdoor activities.

During Mass today the pope said the coronavirus recovery could not leave anyone behind. He spoke at the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, Italy, to mark Divine Mercy Sunday.

Eliezer Grynfeld (pictured) died in Israel last week, leaving two children, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Alter Principal Lourdes Lambert said the decision not to renew the teacher's contract was made by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati after someone expressed 'concern' to Archbishop Dennis Schnurr.

Christopher Grant (pictured with his sister) was shopping at the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where Patrick Crusius opened fire on Saturday, killing 22 people.

The Texas Rangers are investigating the harassment of a Hispanic family from nearby Fort Worth, who claimed on Facebook to have been the target of racist remarks from a nearby fan.

Veteran employee Gilbert Serna, 36, and loyal customer Adria Gonzalez, 37, have been credited with saving dozens of lives by directing people to safety during the massacre on Saturday.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used a vigil for victims of gun violence on Monday night to call Donald Trump a racist. 'I don't want to hear the question, 'Is this president racist?' anymore. He is,' she said.

The heartbreaking words of a little girl whose parents died in the El Paso shooting were revealed by her grandmother. Skylin Jamrowski then asked if the gunman was 'going to come and shoot me too.'

Austin Crusius, 30, is the older half brother of white supremacist El Paso Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius, 21. Austin, who lives in northern California, was once engaged to a Hispanic woman.

Families of 31 victims are mourning their loved ones after the gun rampage at Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday and the FBI now fears vulnerable relatives could be targeted by con artists.

The family, who have not been identified, say their son became friendly with Patrick Crusius when they both attended Plano Senior High School just outside Dallas in 2017

Beto O'Rourke offered his personal cellphone to El Paso shooting witness, Sean Nixon, 20. The Democratic presidential candidate who is from El Paso has spent several days in the town.

Michael Dale Hudson, 56, was captured on surveillance camera bursting through the entrance of the supermarket on Gibsonton Drive, narrowly avoiding an elderly shopper.

Friends and family gathered Thursday in Mexico to mourn a school principal, the first funeral service held for the 22 people that died in last Saturday's Walmart shooting.

The culprit, later identified to be Philip Attey, 55, admitted walking into the sporting goods section of a Port St. Lucie Walmart on Wednesday and posing the question - but says he wasn't being serious.

Officer Tim Baiardi, who worked with the Phoenix Police Department for 18 years, had his contract terminated on Thursday over the slapping incident, which was recorded on surveillance camera.  

Patrick Crusius, 21, has been charged with capital murder after opening fire inside the El Paso Walmart on Saturday.

Employees were sent were sent a memo on Thursday, which circulated online, instructing them to 'immediately' remove 'aggressive' displays, including hunting videos and combat games.

Donald and Melania Trump met the youngest survivor of the El Paso shooting at a hospital on Wednesday. Paul Anchondo's parents Jordan and Andre were among 22 people killed

Democratic presidential candidates put pressure Friday on Walmart to stop selling firearms after a gun-toting killer massacred 22 people in the parking lot of an El Paso retail store.

The image that went viral after it was Tweeted by Melania' staff, shows her holding Paul Anchondo, who is two months old and believed to be the youngest survivor of the August 3 massacre.

Bloomberg's ranking of the world's richest families has revealed how heirs at the top of the list are watching their fortunes grow by millions of dollars every hour.

Richard D. Clayton, 26, of Winter Park, Florida was arrested on Friday after authorities said he posted, '3 more days of probation left then I get my AR-15 back. Don't go to Walmart next week,' on Facebook.

Paul Anchondo's uncle said he received death threats after a picture of him, main, with the president went viral in the wake of the mass shooting which saw the baby's parents, inset, killed.

Charles Lawson of Pineville, Kentucky, was diagnosed with bipolar schizophrenia after driving to the Pentagon with multiple weapons in his truck on Tuesday.

A 70-year-old man camping in a Walmart parking lot put a hot cook stove in his van, causing it to catch fire and spread to another van, burning two young sisters and killing one of them.

Fran Young, pictured left, was left mortified after a technical mishap showed her name as a profanity on a Walmart screen, right. The oblivious great grandmother, 71,sat underneath for 20 minutes.

Dole Fresh Vegetables, which sells in Target and Walmart, issued a warning to customers on Friday to trash their 6oz bags and 10oz clam-shell boxes of baby spinach that have a sell-by date of August 5.

Walmart said Thursday in a quarterly earnings report that it would support a conversation around an assault weapons ban, even though the company no longer sells that category of firearm.