NBA: Red-hot Jazz heap another loss on Lakers

Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley each flirted with triple-doubles and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points in his customary role off the bench as the red-hot Utah Jazz smashed the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-89, Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Conley finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the wake of being snubbed as an All-Star reserve, while Mitchell totaled 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his first game since earning a second spot in the All-Star Game.

Rudy Gobert, also named to his second All-Star team, added 18 points with nine rebounds as the Jazz to their 22nd win in 24 games. It was also the 20th time in the spurt that they have won by double digits.

Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 points -- all on 3-pointers for Utah, which has the best record in franchise history to begin a season (26-6) and the NBA's best mark so far.

LeBron James scored 19 points but didn't have much help in the Lakers' most lopsided loss of the season. Los Angeles, playing without Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder, lost their fourth straight and fell for the fifth time in six games.

The game was competitive in the first quarter, but the Jazz blew it open in the second quarter by outscoring the Lakers, 39-24. 

Utah put it away with a 27-17 third-quarter advantage, holding Los Angeles to its lowest point total in a quarter this season.

The Lakers are hoping to get Schroder back for Friday's home game against Portland. He has been sidelined for four games due to NBA health and safety protocols.

Only two other players scored in double figures for the Lakers: Montrezl Harrell (16 points) and Markieff Morris (12).

Derrick Favors added 12 points for Utah.

Utah made 22 3-pointers after draining a franchise-record 28 in beating Charlotte on Monday.

-reuters

More than 200 groups urge G20 to back IMF issuance to help poor countries in pandemic

WASHINGTON - Jubilee USA Network, Oxfam and 215 other civil society groups on Wednesday urged Group of 20 finance officials to back an issuance of $3 trillion of the IMF's own currency, or Special Drawing Rights, to help countries weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an open letter to the International Monetary Fund and G20 finance ministers, the groups said a new allocation of SDRs would boost the reserves of all countries and avoid pushing low- and middle-income countries further into debt distress.

G20 finance ministers and central bankers will discuss a possible SDR issuance - a move akin to a central bank printing money - when they meet by video conference on Friday. Proponents note that such a move will not add cost for the IMF members.

Italy, which leads the G20 this year, is pushing for a smaller $500 billion allocation of SDRs, which can be converted to hard currency by IMF members - a move backed by France, Germany and others, but still lacking support from Washington.

The United States had opposed such a move under former President Donald Trump, but has not yet communicated a firm position on a new SDR allocation under President Joe Biden.

Treasury has declined to comment on the issue.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday also called for the G20 to take strong policy action to reverse a "dangerous divergence" that she said threatened to leave most developing economies languishing for years.

In a blog ahead of Friday's meeting, Georgieva said a new SDR allocation would substantially boost countries' liquidity without increasing their debt burdens. It would also expand the capacity of donor countries to provide new resources, she said.

Religious groups have also weighed in. On Tuesday, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and Jubilee USA Network urged President Joe Biden to back a $3 trillion allocation to help poor countries bolster US trade with the developing world.

Anti-poverty group ONE on Wednesday backed an allocation of $650 billion.

-reuters

Beyond Big Three: Djokovic sets sights on Serena, Court

Not content with challenging Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the men’s Grand Slams record, Novak Djokovic has Serena Williams and Margaret Court in his sights after claiming an astonishing ninth Australian Open title.

The world number one’s bold statement followed Sunday’s final, when he ended a turbulent tournament marked by a muscle injury and media attacks by humbling an in-form Daniil Medvedev.

Djokovic’s 18th major crown placed him within striking distance of the men’s record of 20, jointly held by Nadal, who lost in the quarterfinals, and Federer, who was absent through injury.

But the Serb also raised the prospect of a bigger goal: reaching the 23 held by Williams, and even the 24 won by Court straddling the amateur and Open era.

“Getting closer to maybe Roger’s, Rafa’s record, Serena, Margaret,” said Djokovic, when asked about his goals and schedule for this year.

“Everyone has their own journey and their own way of making history. They’ve made history already. They made a tremendous mark in our sport.

“I think about winning more Slams and breaking records, of course. And most of my attention and my energy from this day forward, until I retire from tennis, is going to be directed in majors, trying to win more major trophies.”

Djokovic, 33, said he would play a slimmed-down schedule focusing on the majors, rather than the rankings, now he’s guaranteed to surpass Federer’s record of 310 weeks as world number one on March 8.

‘Three knights of tennis’

His triumph follows a difficult tournament, after he suffered a muscle tear in the third round and was criticized for requesting better conditions for players during quarantine.

“It hurts,” he said of the criticism. “I’m a human being. I have emotions.”

The Serb’s 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win over the 25-year-old Medvedev, who was on a 20-match winning streak, was also a sobering moment for the younger players hoping to dislodge the ‘Big Three’.

“The three knights of tennis,” Djokovic smiled.

“Roger and Rafa inspire me,” he added. “I think as long as they go, I’ll go. In a way it’s like a race who plays tennis more and who wins more.

“It’s a competition between us in all areas. But I think that’s the very reason why we are who we are, because we do drive each other, we motivate each other, we push each other to the limit.”

Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic said the Big Three were producing “better and better tennis” and also noted that Court’s record was on the horizon.

“I don’t know where is the end. Maybe they’re going to overtake Margaret Court and Serena, maybe not,” he said.

“But it’s amazing what they doing on the court. It’s amazing how they perform in the big matches.”

And Djokovic, dubbed the “king of Melbourne” by Medvedev, had a warning for the generation coming up behind the Big Three.

“Roger, Rafa, myself are still there for a reason,” he said. “We don’t want to hand it to them and we don’t want to allow them to win Slams.

“I think that’s something that is very clear. Whether you communicate that message or not, we are definitely sending that vibe out there.”

Agence France-Presse 

Bolsonaro seeks Israeli anti-COVID nasal spray for Brazil

BRASILIA — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Monday his government would seek emergency use authorization for an Israeli-developed nasal spray against COVID-19 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as a "miracle" treatment.

"EXO-CD24 is a nasal spray developed by the Ichilov Medical Center in Israel, with nearly 100-percent effectiveness -- 29 out of 30 -- against COVID in serious cases," Bolsonaro tweeted, two days after speaking on the phone with Netanyahu, who calls the Brazilian far-right leader a "good friend."

"A request to analyze this medication for emergency use will be sent shortly to (federal health regulator) Anvisa," Bolsonaro wrote.

The Ichilov Medical Center announced two weeks ago that one of its researchers had carried out Phase One testing -- typically the first of three phases of clinical trials -- on a nasal spray he developed against respiratory symptoms linked to COVID-19.

The researcher, Nadir Arber, reported he had administered the spray to 30 patients with moderate to severe cases of COVID-19, and that 29 of them had been released from hospital in three to five days.

But the medical center did not say whether a placebo had been given to a control group, and has yet to publish its findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

In order to be accepted as effective by scientists, new treatments must generally undergo randomized, controlled, blind clinical trials that are then shared in a research publication.

However, that did not stop Netanyahu from hailing EXO-CD24 as a "miracle" drug last week.

Bolsonaro, too, has been eager to embrace experimental treatments against COVID-19, even when health experts question them.

A fierce critic of lockdown measures, which he says unnecessarily harm the economy, he has instead fervently pushed the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to fight Covid-19.

He took the latter himself when he tested positive last July, despite scientists' findings that the two drugs are ineffective against the new coronavirus.

Bolsonaro has sought to cultivate close ties with Netanyahu.

In one of his first moves after winning election in 2018, he vowed to follow the lead of his political role model, then US president Donald Trump, and move Brazil's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- despite Palestinian claims to parts of the city.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Domantas Sabonis' triple-double guides Pacers to OT win over Wolves

Domantas Sabonis recorded 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 134-128 overtime win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in Minneapolis.

Malcolm Brogdon added 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers, who won for the third time in four games.

After giving up 40 second-quarter points, Indiana trailed for most of the second half.

Malik Beasley came off Minnesota's bench to score a team-high 31 points. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds while Ricky Rubio added 20 points and 13 assists, but the Timberwolves still lost for the sixth time in seven games.

A 10-4 Minnesota run spanning 1:23 gave the Timberwolves a 121-116 lead with 58.9 seconds left after Towns put in a 3-pointer and a basket in the paint, both off Rubio assists. 

However, a Jeremy Lamb 3-pointer, a Sabonis rebound and then a pair of Sabonis free throws forced overtime.

Minnesota rookie Anthony Edwards had a look at the would-be game-winner but missed his 3-point attempt at the buzzer. Edwards finished with eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Brogdon and Sabonis scored the first five points of the extra frame, then Brogdon made the last of his six 3-pointers with 9.8 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Brogdon went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc to lead Indiana on a 13-of-26 night from long range. Lamb scored 18 points off the Pacers' bench, and reserve Aaron Holiday added 15 points.

Indiana's Justin Holiday contributed 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Timberwolves got 18 points from Naz Reid and 11 points from Jaden McDaniels.

The Pacers shot 50.5 percent from the floor while the Timberwolves hit just 42.1 percent of their field-goal attempts, and Indiana had a 51-44 edge in rebounding. Minnesota made just 15 of 40 attempts from 3-point range.

-reuters

NBA: LeBron James leads Lakers past Timberwolves

LeBron James totaled 30 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-104 road victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

The Lakers, one of the best road teams in the league this season, won for the 13th time in 16 games away from L.A. and prevailed for the eighth time in their past nine games overall.

Playing without Anthony Davis, who is expected to miss multiple weeks after straining his right Achilles, the Lakers trailed 81-77 with 1:56 left in the third quarter.

James sparked a 26-8 surge that helped the Lakers open up a 14-point lead in the final quarter and eventually hold on for the victory.

Kyle Kuzma (seven points) started again with Davis out, but it was Montrezl Harrell who was clutch off the bench with 17 points and six rebounds. and Marc Gasol (11 points) on the defensive end limiting Karl-Anthony Towns to only 15 points and six rebounds.

Towns was averaging 21 points over his first three games back since returning from a 13-game absence due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Dennis Schroder also delivered on the offensive end shooting 9-for-15 and finishing with 24 points. The Lakers made 11-of-26 three-point attempts (42.3 percent).

But Minnesota was sharp from long distance as well, connecting on 16-of-34 attempts (47.1 percent). Rookie Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Jordan McLaughlin and Ricky Rubio each finished with 13 points, and Naz Reid had 10 points.

But Malik Beasley struggled from the field shooting 4-of-15 and finishing with only 11 points after averaging 24.6 points per game over his previous seven.

Things got worse on the injury front for the Timberwolves on Tuesday.

According to ESPN, Minnesota is expected to be without guard D'Angelo Russell for the next 4-6 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Russell is averaging 19.3 points and 5.1 assists in 20 games this season.

-reuters-

Germany extends virus shutdown until March 7

BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel's government agreed Wednesday to continue a partial lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic until at least March 7, even as Germans grow increasingly weary of the tough restrictions.

Following crunch talks with the leaders of Germany's 16 states, Merkel said that the number of new Covid-19 infections in Europe's top economy was dropping after more than two months of shuttered schools and shops.

"When we look at this development we can be quite satisfied," she told reporters. 

But she called on Germans to be patient as fears grow over more contagious virus variants first detected in Britain and South Africa.

"We want to do everything in our power so that we don't end up riding an up-and-down wave of openings and closures," Merkel said, calling the period until mid-March "existential" for Germany's management of the pandemic. 

The new strains "are spreading especially quickly and require significant additional efforts", the government said in conclusions agreed at the meeting.

EXPONENTIAL GROWTH

Under Germany's federal system, regional states have significant decision-making powers and some have strayed from the government line in the past to loosen some restrictions.

The text stresses that schools and daycare centers should be "the first to gradually reopen", but that it is for individual states to decide how and when.

After the announcement, Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller said the capital would begin partially reopening schools from February 22, with other regions expected to follow suit.

The conclusions call on Health Minister Jens Spahn to review whether nursery workers and teachers can be given higher priority in vaccinations. 

Hairdressers may reopen on March 1 if they take the necessary hygiene precautions.

The conclusions also raise the prospect of museums, galleries and some services restarting once the virus incidence rate falls to 35 new cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period.

The government had earlier set an incidence target of 50 but revised it downward due to the threat of what Merkel called "exponential growth" posed by the more contagious virus mutations. 

With an eye to an outbreak of the South African variant in the Austrian region of Tyrol bordering Germany's Bavaria state, Merkel said she had conveyed her "concern" to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday.

SCIENCE-BASED MANAGEMENT

Germany closed restaurants, hotels, culture and leisure centers in November, followed by schools and non-essential shops in December. The measures were later extended until February 14.

Since then, new Covid-19 cases have dropped considerably and the seven-day incidence rate has fallen below 75 for the first time since November.

The figure is currently at 68, down from 111 at the last such meeting on January 28, Merkel said. 

But Covid-19 deaths remain troublingly high, and hospitals say they are still close to capacity.

Germany on Wednesday added another 8,072 coronavirus cases to the official figures, bringing the total to just under 2.3 million. 

Almost 63,000 people have died of the virus, according to the Robert Koch Institute for disease control.

Although a majority of Germans still back Merkel's science-based management of the crisis, fatigue is setting in after three long months of restrictions and amid a sluggish vaccine rollout.

A YouGov poll this week showed that just half of Germans want the current measures to be maintained or tightened, down from 65 percent in early January.

Merkel said she and state leaders would convene again on March 3 to fine-tune the restrictions based on the latest data.

Agence France-Presse

Asian shares near all-time peak, oil heads to $60 on economic revival hopes

SYDNEY - Asian shares hovered near record highs on Monday while oil edged closer to $60 a barrel on hopes a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package will be passed by US lawmakers as soon as this month just as coronavirus vaccines are being rolled out globally.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was last up 0.2 percent at 717.2, not far from last week’s record high of 730.6.

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.3 percent while Australian shares advanced 0.5 percent led by technology and mining shares.

E-mini futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent in early Asian trading.

Hopes of a quicker economic revival and supply curbs by producer group OPEC and its allies pushed oil to its highest level in a year as it edged near $60 a barrel.

Global equity markets have scaled record highs in recent days on hopes of faster economic revival led by successful vaccine rollouts and expectations of a large US pandemic relief package.

On Friday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit all-time highs on stronger-than-expected corporate results in the fourth quarter and as companies were on track to post earnings growth for the first quarter instead of a decline.

The rallies came even as US data painted a dour picture of the country’s labor market with payrolls rising by 49,000, half of what economists were expecting.

The weak report spurred the push for more stimulus, underscoring the need for lawmakers to act on President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package.

Biden and his Democratic allies in Congress forged ahead with their stimulus plan on Friday as lawmakers approved a budget outline that will allow them to muscle through in the coming weeks without Republican support.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen predicted the United States would hit full employment next year if Congress can pass its support package.

“That’s a big call given full employment is 4.1 percent, but one that will sit well with the market at a time when the vaccination program is being rolled out efficiently in a number of countries,” said Chris Weston, Melbourne-based chief strategist at Pepperstone.

In currencies, the US dollar came off a four-month high against the Japanese yen to be last at 105.39 following the weak jobs report.

The euro edged up slightly after rising 0.7 percent on Friday to a one-week high of $1.2054. It was last at $1.2044.

The risk-sensitive Australian dollar held near a one-week high at $0.7678.

In commodities, Brent crude and US crude climbed 52 cents each to $59.86 and $0.57.37 respectively.

US gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,817 an ounce.

-reuters

Christopher Plummer, ‘Sound of Music’ patriarch, dead at 91

WASHINGTON—Christopher Plummer, a patrician Canadian who starred as widower Captain von Trapp opposite Julie Andrews in the blockbuster 1965 musical "The Sound Of Music" and in 2012 became the oldest actor to win an Oscar, has died at 91, his longtime friend and manager Lou Pitt said on Friday.

“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words," Pitt said. "He was a National Treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come."

Plummer passed away peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife Elaine Taylor at his side, Deadline Hollywood said.

Plummer, an accomplished Shakespearean actor honored for his varied stage, television and film work in a career that spanned more than six decades, was best known for his role in "The Sound Of Music," which at the time eclipsed "Gone With the Wind" (1939) as the top-earning movie ever.

Plummer flourished in a succession of meaty roles after age 70 - a time in life when most actors merely fade away. He claimed a long-awaited Academy Award at age 82 for his supporting performance in "Beginners" as an elderly man who comes out of the closet as gay after his wife's death.

"You're only two years older than me, darling," Plummer, who was born in 1929, purred to his golden statuette - first given for films made in 1927 and 1928 - at the February 2012 Oscars ceremony. "Where have you been all my life?"

Plummer became the oldest actor to win a competitive Academy Award - supplanting Jessica Tandy and George Burns, who both were 80 when they won theirs.

Plummer appeared in more than 100 films and also was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Russian author Leo Tolstoy in 2009's "The Last Station." He won two Tony Awards for his Broadway work, two Emmy Awards for TV work and performed for some of the world's top theater companies.

But for many fans his career was defined by his performance as an stern widower in "The Sound Of Music" - a role he called "a cardboard figure, humorless and one-dimensional." In his 2008 autobiography "In Spite Of Myself," Plummer refers to the movie with the mischievous acronym "S&M."

It took him four decades to change his view of the film and embrace it as a "terrific movie" that made him proud.

Director Robert Wise's wholesome, sentimental film follows the singing von Trapp family and their 1938 escape from the Nazis. Plummer's character falls in love with Andrews, portraying a woman hired to care for his seven children. The movie won the Academy Award as best picture of 1965.

"Originally I had accepted Robert Wise's offer simply because I wanted to find out what it was like to be in a musical comedy," Plummer wrote in his book. "I had a secret plan to one day turn 'Cyrano de Bergerac' into a Broadway musical. 'S&M' would therefore be a perfect workout in preparation for such an event."

He said he had never sung before in my life - "not even in the shower" - before taking a role that included crooning the song "Edelweiss." He blamed his own "vulgar streak" for the desire to star in a big, splashy Hollywood extravaganza.

"And yes, all right, I'll admit it, I was also a pampered, arrogant, young bastard, spoiled by too many great theater roles," he wrote. "Ludicrous though it may seem, I still harbored the old-fashioned stage actor's snobbism toward moviemaking."

LATE-CAREER RENAISSANCE

Plummer's late-career renaissance began with director Michael Mann's "The Insider" (1999) in which he portrayed CBS News interviewer Mike Wallace, acting alongside Al Pacino and Russell Crowe.

That was followed by triumphs in director Ron Howard's Academy Award best picture winner "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), director Spike Lee's "Inside Man" (2006), "Up" and "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" (both 2009) and "Barrymore" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (both 2011).

Plummer was born in Toronto on Dec. 13, 1929, into a privileged railroad family. He was the great-grandson of Sir John Abbott, the third prime minister of Canada.

Plummer confessed to a boozy lifestyle with plenty of affairs through the 1960s. He said his third wife, British actress Elaine Taylor, forced him after their 1970 marriage to stop the carousing that consumed some of his peers and friends, such as Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole.

"Yeah, I stopped," he told Britain's Telegraph newspaper in 2010. "Square son of a bitch that I was, coward that I was! No, Elaine did say, 'If you don't quit this stupid over-drinking I'm outta here.' And thank God. She did in a sense save my life."

Plummer's early films included 1965's "Inside Daisy Clover" with Natalie Wood and Robert Redford, released the same year as "The Sound Of Music," "The Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964) with Sophia Loren and Alec Guinness, and "Triple Cross" (1966).

Among his more colorful roles were as an eye-patch-wearing Klingon in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991) and as an urbane jewel thief in "The Return of the Pink Panther" (1975). He said he kicked himself for turning down the Gandalf role in the popular "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

One of his last major roles was as another patriarch, in the dark-comedy "Knives Out" in 2019.

His TV roles included the 1983 mini-series "The Thorn Birds."

Plummer lived with Elaine in Connecticut. He was the father of Tony Award-winning actress Amanda Plummer. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott and Nick Zieminski)

-reuters

Japan expected to extend COVID-19 state of emergency - media

TOKYO - Japan is expected to extend a state of emergency to fight the spread of COVID-19 this week for Tokyo and other areas as hospitals remain under pressure despite a decline in cases from their peaks, local media reported on Monday.

The government will decide on the extension after a meeting of its experts panel this week, public broadcaster NHK said.

The government last month declared a 1-month state of emergency, due to end on Sunday, for 11 areas, including Tokyo and its neighboring prefectures, as part of measures to rein in the pandemic.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has launched a raft of measures to contain a third wave of infections as his government remains determined that the Olympics go ahead as planned on July 23.

But support for his administration has weakened over unhappiness with its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which critics have called too slow and inconsistent.

The government may also consider lifting the state of emergency in some less-populated areas such as Tochigi Prefecture, which has seen a decline in cases, local media said.

A Nikkei newspaper poll showed 90 percent of respondents favored extending the emergency period in areas where it is implemented.

Japan has had a total of 390,687 coronavirus cases and 5,766 deaths, NHK said. In Tokyo, new cases totaled 633 on Sunday, below 1,000 for the third consecutive day.

Separately, the lower house is expected to pass on Monday a revision to the coronavirus special measures law, followed by upper house approval on Wednesday, NHK said. The revision would toughen regulations and allow authorities to levy fines on those who break the law.

-reuters