VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has canceled a planned July trip to Africa on doctors' orders because of ongoing knee problems.

The Vatican said the July 2-7 trip to Congo and South Sudan would be rescheduled “to a later date to be determined.”

Francis has used a wheelchair for about a month due to strained ligaments in his right knee that have made walking and standing difficult.

As recently as this week, however, plans were proceeding for the trip to the two African countries.

But questions have swirled for months about the 88-year-old’s ability to manage the taxing journey.

Francis also has a July 24-30 visit to Canada planned. A Vatican statement said nothing about that trip.

Video above: Sausage vendor near Boston's Fenway Park feeling the bite of MLB lockout

Major League Baseball on Friday canceled spring training games through at least March 17 as negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players' union drag on.

On Tuesday, MLB postponed the March 31 Opening Day and canceled the first two series of regular-season games after a deal wasn't finalized.

A collective bargain agreement determines players' terms and conditions of employment. Players will not be paid for canceled games, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred noted.

The league indicated that it's prepared to continue negotiations while the union said that team owners are trying to crack the players' united front.

"We worked hard to avoid an outcome that's bad for our fans, bad for our players and bad for our clubs," Manfred told reporters earlier this week. "I want to assure our fans that our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort by either party."

The league had initially canceled all spring training games through March 7, and MLB's Opening Day was slated for March 31. The commissioner said games were canceled and not postponed because it is not feasible to reschedule interleague games.

The earliest spring training games could start is currently March 18.

The players' union on Tuesday criticized the league's decision to postpone Opening Day and the cancellation of regular reason games, saying in a statement that players — and fans — are "disgusted, but sadly not surprised."

"From the beginning of these negotiations, Players' objectives have been consistent — to promote competition, provide fair compensation for young Players, and to uphold the integrity of our market system," the union said. "Against the backdrop of growing revenues and record profits, we are seeking nothing more than a fair agreement."

The league locked out the players on Dec. 2, preventing them from using team facilities and keeping free agents from signing new contracts. The halt stems from disagreements over how to distribute an estimated $11 billion in annual revenue.

Owners say they have been battered by the decline of in-person attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have pushed to sign a new CBA similar to the most recent one.

Players, meanwhile, have seen their salaries decline in recent years, particularly for non-star players. The union has pushed to change the league's restrictive rules around free agency and cut down on financial penalties for teams that spend heavily.

Video above: Liquor stores dump Russian vodka after invasion in Ukraine

Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine, many in the world have come together to protest the action.

That includes artists who were scheduled to perform in Russia.

The following is a list of musicians who have canceled their shows:

Green Day

The punk-infused rock band had been scheduled to play Moscow's Spartak Stadium in May as part of their Hella Mega Tour.

On Sunday they announced on their verified Instagram account that they were canceling.

"We are aware that this moment is not about stadium rock shows, it's so much bigger than that," their posted statement read. "But we also know that rock and roll is forever and we feel confident there will be a time and a place for us to return in the future. Refunds available at the point of purchase. Stay safe."

AJR

Indie pop trio AJR tweeted on Feb. 25 they were canceling a show scheduled in Moscow for October, along with some words of wisdom about misinformation.

"We are sad to announce that we will be cancelling our upcoming show in Russia," the group, made up of brothers dam, Jack, and Ryan Met, tweeted. "Thank you to our Russian fans who oppose their country's unprovoked and criminal behavior. Our hearts are with the people of Ukraine. At this point, the best thing you can do is share ACCURATE info."

Louis Tomlinson

The former One Direction member had shows planned in both Moscow and Kyiv's Stereo Plaza in Ukraine in July as part of his 2022 World Tour.

On Monday he tweeted that the concerts would not be happening.

"Due to the recent events in Ukraine, I have to sadly announce that my tour shows in Moscow and Kyiv are cancelled until further notice," his note posted on Twitter read. "The safety of my fans is my priority and my thoughts go out to the people of Ukraine and all those suffering from this needless war."

Health

Rock band Health also announced Monday that they would not be performing their two scheduled concerts in Russia.

"Though we do not wish to penalize our fans for governmental decisions that are beyond their control, given the current state of affairs we will no longer be performing our previously scheduled shows in St. Petersburg and Moscow," a statement shared to Instagram read. "Our thoughts go our to the people of Ukraine."

Yungblud

The British artist said in a statement Monday that he will not be performing in Russia this summer.

"I'm heartbroken to announce I will be cancelling my Russian shows scheduled for this summer," the statement read. "Heartbroken because I know the vicious and brutal acts of the Russian regime in Ukraine over the past week do not reflect the attitudes and ideals of the beautiful people who I have met in Russia in the past!"

To the Ukranians he wrote, "My heart is with you -- you've already shown such strength and determination, resisting this needless invasion."

"Everyone deserves to be the creator of their own destiny, rather than having it forced upon them by acts of war and aggression," he wrote. "Ukraine, I promise I'll come back as soon as I can!"

For a year and a half, music fans have been struggling to get refunds.

For Tom Relly, it was several hundred dollars worth of tickets to a canceled Foo Fighters concert.

"They are a pretty big business, and we are just little people who want our money back," he said.

In Diedre Perlmutter's case, it was a postponed Cher performance.

"Now they are not refunding anything because it has not been canceled," she said.

Mike Kramer is at his wit's end trying to get answers about his tickets to a soccer match.

He tried calling but said, "the recording flat out said we are not providing any phone support at this time."

Third-party ticket sellers may not have money to give

The good news: Ticketmaster is now refunding tickets to events canceled in 2020 and 2021.

But millions of people like Kramer are dealing with third-party ticket sellers that all have different policies.

Michelle Couch Friedman, who is with the nonprofit consumer group Elliott Advocacy, says there's nothing wrong with resellers until it comes to refunds.

"Any time you are putting a third party between you and your purchase, you are adding a layer of difficulty if there is a problem later," she said.

Many concertgoers did not even realize they were buying from a third-party ticket broker, which never even had the tickets.

"When the concerts or events are being canceled, the refunds are going to those people who were the original ticket holder," Friedman said.

That means a third-party buyer may never receive a refund.

What you can do

There are some things people can do to protect themselves when buying concert tickets or requesting a refund.

Elliott Advocacy suggests:

• Buying directly from Ticketmaster, if possible.
• Being careful when Googling for Ticketmaster. Third-party sites often pay for search engines' top listings. 
• Emailing the ticket site or contacting them through Twitter if you can't reach a human over the phone.
• Filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Finally, customers can dispute the charge through their credit card, but if the refund is already in the works, Elliott Advocacy says that could actually muck things up and get them nowhere.

So use a credit card dispute as a last resort, so you don't waste your money.

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BARCELONA -- For adventure-seekers and travelers, the pandemic has put a damper on outdoor excursions. But for one filmmaker in Barcelona, a canceled family ski trip turned into an opportunity to bring adventure home to his living room.

Philipp Klein Herrero is fanatical about skiing.

“I am always skiing,” he said. “It's my passion.”

So, when the pandemic lockdown forced him to cancel a long-planned family ski trip to France, the filmmaker decided to create a video for them.

“I wanted to send them love from where I am and that's how the idea came about.”

He taped a GoPro to his ceiling and cleared the room, bringing to life the adventure of a lifetime – on his living room floor.

“It starts with me waking up on the side of the mountain in my sleeping bag and having my skis right next to me,” he said. “Once, it gets too steep to walk I switch into ice-climbing mode.”

Over the next six and a half hours Klein painstakingly captured this stop-motion odyssey – one frame at a time. He used bed sheets for the side of the mountain.

“And of course, nowadays the first thing you do when you reach the summit is you cheer and then take some selfies,” he said.

The 57 second film has gone viral, making international headlines.

“It just went absolutely crazy from there on,” he said.

Klein says his only true desire was to spread a message of hope, inspiring others in challenging times.

When asked what the most important thing that he wants people to take away from watching his video, he said that we all have to stay positive.

“We have a tricky situation among us, and we literally don’t know how it’s going to end up, but it’s within us to make the best out of it.”

He’s proving adventure can be found just about anywhere.

MANCHESTER, Tenn. — The 2021 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has been canceled just days before it was set to begin.

Organizers said the decision to cancel the event was due to the flooding the farm experienced this week due to Hurricane Ida.

Festival organizers released the following statement about the cancellation:

This year's festival was scheduled for Sept. 2-5.

Last year's event was canceled due to COVID-19.

Instead, organizers opted for a three-day virtual event that featured new and archived performances.

The four-day festival was supposed to be headlined by The Foo Fighters, Lizzo and Tyler, The Creator.

Other performers included Megan Thee Stallion, Tame Impala, Lana Del Rey, Jason Isbell, and the 400 Unit, Leon Bridges and Incubus.

Although the weather was the reason for the cancellation of Bonnaroo, news of the music festival canceling comes after several other touring acts have had to cancel due to COVID-19.

KISS had to cancel their show in Pittsburgh after frontman Paul Stanley tested positive for the virus.

Caroline Sutton at WTVF first reported this story.