NBA: Jazz pummel Kings, set franchise scoring mark

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 24 points and Jordan Clarkson added 23 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 154-105 victory over the host Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Georges Niang chipped in 19 points, while Rudy Gobert added 12 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for the Jazz. Eight players scored in double figures to help Utah (45-17) snap a two-game losing streak and remain in first place in the Western Conference.

The Jazz set a franchise record for most points in a game. Utah averaged 41.3 points per quarter over the final three quarters.

Richaun Holmes and Buddy Hield scored 18 points apiece to lead the Kings. Justin James added 16 points. Tyrese Haliburton chipped in 13 points and eight assists. Sacramento (25-37) could not keep pace after allowing the Jazz to shoot 64 percent from the field and make 24 of 41 (58.5 percent) of their 3-pointers.

Bogdanovic scored back-to-back layups to punctuate an 8-0 run and give Utah a 26-18 lead late in the first quarter. He had an effective opening quarter, scoring 12 points to go with a block and a steal.

Sacramento cut the deficit to a point at 26-25 on back-to-back baskets from Hield and Terence Davis. Then the Jazz broke the game open to start the second quarter.

Utah scored 13 unanswered points and ripped off a 31-6 run overall to build a double-digit lead. Niang and Royce O'Neale finished off the run by combining for baskets on three straight possessions that extended the Jazz lead to 61-33 late in the second quarter.

Utah eventually built up a 76-44 halftime lead. The Jazz scored 46 points in the second quarter while holding the Kings to 17. The Jazz shot 61.9 percent from the field in the first half - which included 10 of 19 on 3-pointers.

The Jazz played without their usual starting backcourt of Mike Conley (hamstring) and Donovan Mitchell (ankle).

Harrison Barnes (groin) sat out for Sacramento. De'Aaron Fox also missed his third straight game for the Kings due to NBA health and safety protocols.

-reuters

Terraces of France’s cafes, restaurants, to open next month

PARIS (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that the outdoor terraces of France’s cafes and restaurants will be allowed to reopen on May 19 along with museums, cinemas, theaters and concert halls under certain conditions.

In an interview with regional newspapers, Macron outlined a four-step plan to reopen the country and revive its economy. The French government is slowly starting to lift partial lockdowns, despite still high numbers of coronavirus cases and hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Reopening nurseries and primary schools this week was a priority, the president said.

“We have taken on the responsibility of the priority on education and the strategy of living with the virus, including with high numbers of infections, higher than those of our neighbors,” Macron said.

Students will go back to secondary and high schools next week, and a domestic travel ban will end, he confirmed. A 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will remain in place.

Restaurants and cafes will be able to serve customers outdoors at tables seating a maximum of six people starting May 19, when the nightly curfew will be pushed back to 9 p.m. Non-essential shops also reopen, as well as cultural sites and sport facilities, which will have occupancy limits of 800 people indoors and 1,000 outdoors.

French authorities are anticipating the COVID-19 outlook in the country to be better next month, when a greater proportion of the population will be vaccinated.

The government’s plan provides for permitting foreign tourists back into France on June 9 as long as they hold a “sanitary pass” with proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or a negative PCR test.

On that same day, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to resume regular service until an 11 p.m. curfew. Events of up to 5,000 people will be allowed.

The final stage of the plan will see the end of the nighttime curfew and the lifting of most restrictions on June 30, although nightclubs will remain closed.

France is reporting about 29,000 new confirmed cases each day, down from about 40,000 earlier this month. Over 5,800 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized in French intensive care units, a slight decrease from previous days. France has reported almost 104,000 virus-related deaths in the pandemic. COVID-19 deaths.

Associated Press

Lyft to sell autonomous driving unit for $550 million to Toyota

WASHINGTON - US ride hailing service Lyft agreed to sell its autonomous driving division to a unit of Japan's Toyota for $550 million, the companies said Monday.

The move follows a similar divestment from Uber last year as the rideshare firms focus on core operations amid struggles during the yearlong coronavirus pandemic.

The Lyft operations known as Level 5 will be folded into Woven Planet Holdings, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, which will create a team of some 1,200 working on self-driving technology in Japan, the United States and Britain.

Lyft will receive some $550 million in cash, with $200 million paid upfront and $350 million of payments over a five-year period, under the agreement.

"This acquisition advances our mission to develop the safest mobility in the world at scale," said Woven Planet chief executive James Kuffner.

"This deal will be key in weaving together the people, resources, and infrastructure that will help us to transform the world we live in through mobility technologies that can bring about a happier, safer future for us all."

Lyft CEO Logan Green said the transaction "brings together the vision, talent, resources and commitment to advance clean, autonomous mobility on a global scale."

Both Lyft and Uber had been working on their own technology for autonomous cars, but the firms have been hit hard by the slowdown in ridesharing during the global pandemic.

Agence France-Presse

Canada bans passenger flights from India, Pakistan for 30 days

OTTAWA - Canada suspended all passenger flights from India and Pakistan on Thursday for 30 days, Transportation Minister Omar Alghabra announced, citing increased Covid-19 cases detected in travelers arriving from these countries.

"Given the higher number of cases of Covid-19 detected in air passengers arriving in Canada from India and Pakistan... I am suspending all commercial and private passenger flights arriving in Canada from Indian and Pakistan for 30 days," Alghabra told a news conference.

"This is a temporary measure, while we assess the evolving situation and determine appropriate measures going forward," he added.

The restriction will go into effect at 11:30 pm Eastern Time Thursday (0330 GMT Friday).

It will not apply to cargo flights, Alghabra said, particularly to ensure the continued shipment of vaccines, personal protective equipment and other essential goods.

India, which is undergoing an alarming surge being blamed on a "double mutant" variant and super-spreader events, reported a single-day high of more than 300,000 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday.

Health Minister Patty Hajdu said that overall only 1.8 percent of travelers to Canada have tested positive for coronavirus.

While India accounts for 20 percent of recent air travel to Canada, more than half of all positive tests at the border were from flights arriving from the country, she said, adding that "a similarly high level of cases... have also been linked to Pakistan."

"It is a significant volume," she said, "and given the epidemiological situation in India, it makes sense to pause travel from that region while our scientists and researchers (try) to better understand this variance of interest, to better understand where the trajectory of the cases in that region are going."

BAN ON NON-ESSENTIAL FLIGHTS

Health Canada data showed 18 flights from Delhi and two from Lahore, to Toronto or Vancouver, in the past two weeks had at least one passenger onboard who was diagnosed with the illness.

Canada last December briefly suspended flights from Britain over concerns about outbreaks of a Covid variant. 

Earlier on Thursday Parliament voted unanimously to urge the government to ban non-essential flights from Covid hotspots where variants have surged, including India and Brazil.

Alghabra said there are currently no scheduled flights between Canada and Brazil, but added that "we will not hesitate to ban travel to other countries if the science bears that out."

Several dozen cases of the variant of the virus initially declared in India have already been identified in Canada, according to media reports.

Some countries have taken similar steps to prevent worsening outbreaks due to this variant: the United Arab Emirates announced Thursday that it will suspend all flights from India.

Britain also this week banned entry to travelers from India, and France has announced that they will be subject to a 10-day quarantine upon arrival in the country.

All travelers to Canada are already subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine. They must also present a negative Covid test before boarding an international flight, and another upon arrival in Canada.

Struggling with a third wave of infections, Canada recorded 9,000 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, bringing its total to 1,151,276 cases and 23,812 deaths.

Agence France-Presse

Apple packs iPad Pros with faster chips, slims iMacs and jumps into tracking tags

Apple Inc announced on Tuesday a range of new computers, a paid podcasting service and devices for finding lost items, signaling the continued expansion of its once-simple product line into more and more corners of customers' lives.

The new $30 AirTags, tiny devices that can be attached to items such as keys and wallets to locate them when they are lost, were applauded by analysts as a likely hot-seller that would also keep the company's more than 1 billion customers locked into its products.

A new iPad Pro tablet, featuring the same Apple-designed processor that powers the company's more recent Mac computers, has keyboard and trackpad options that help make it a full-blown alternative to traditional laptops and desktops.

And a refresh of the Mac desktop line boasts seven color options, harkening back to the famous candy-colored Macs that helped Steve Jobs revive the company in the 1990s.

The announcements show how the iPhone maker is accelerating the expansion of its product portfolio and working to keep customers committed to its family of devices even as government scrutiny of the power and reach of major technology firms intensifies.

Most of the product introductions had been telegraphed before the presentation, which had no major surprises. Shares of Apple were down 1.3 percent, slightly more than the 1 percent drop in the Nasdaq index.

The new iMacs, which start at $1,299, feature a higher quality front-facing camera and microphone, responding to complaints from consumers during the pandemic that the computer's cameras had not kept pace with iPhones and iPads during an era of pervasive video calls.

"Apple cameras in their computers have been terrible, frankly. They finally have a reasonable camera in the iMac," said Bob O'Donnell, head of TECHnalysis Research, who added that the new colors were likely to stand out in a market dominated by black, white and silver machines. "For right now, it feels fresh and new."

The new iPad Pros, starting at $799, use the same M1 chip as Apple's other computers, rather than the beefed-up version of iPhone chips found in previous models. The tablets also have additional ports for connecting monitors and 5G connectivity, while featuring a higher-quality display than the company's laptops. 

Analysts said that when combined with Apple's keyboard and trackpad accessories, the new iPad Pro models could be a compelling replacement for a laptop, especially for content creators or business travelers. But those accessories also push the price to nearly $1,100 - more than Apple's cheapest laptop, the $1,000 MacBook Air.

Ben Bajarin, principal analyst for consumer market intelligence at Creative Strategies, said the devices are not likely to be volume sellers but will target the niche of consumers who value versatility.

"If you want to go the gamut from mobile production, content consumption and or creativity, that’s the device that does it,” he said.

Apple also announced podcast subscription services that will compete with rival Spotify Technology SA, a move to regain ground in a market it popularized years ago but never made money from.

Apple shares have risen nearly 95 percent over the past year, faster than the 63 percent rise in the Nasdaq Composite Index, thanks to a record $274.5 billion in sales for fiscal 2020 as consumers stocked up on electronics during the pandemic.

The AirTags announcement could result in a new round of complaints to lawmakers that Apple is hurting smaller rivals. Tile, a private company that has sold a competing tracker for nearly a decade, last year testified before the U.S. House of Representatives that Apple's App Store rules had made it harder to use Tile's products and will be called before the U.S. Senate to testify on Wednesday.

Apple has said it subjects all apps, including its own, to the same App Store review rules, and recently allowed third-party developers to access the same systems as its AirTags.

In a research note, Raymond James analysts Chris Caso and Melissa Fairbanks said AirTags "could grow to become a $10 billion opportunity, similar to AirPods."

But Bajarin of Creative Strategies said that iPhone owners who come to rely the tags to help them keep track of everyday items are likely to stick with Apple's brand over a longer time.

"The more you buy into just one hardware product, the less likely it is you’ll ever leave," Bajarin said.

-reuters

Tencent pledges $7.7 billion to support China poverty, environment initiatives

Chinese tech giant Tencent on Monday pledged to invest 50 billion yuan ($7.68 billion) in environmental and social initiatives, a move that comes as China's internet heavyweights come under intense scrutiny from antitrust regulators.

Tencent, China's biggest social media and video games company, said its investment would fund initiatives in areas including basic science, education innovation, rural revitalisation, carbon neutrality, food, energy, and water provision, assistance with public emergencies, technology for senior citizens and public welfare.

It also said it is forming a corporate development group to spearhead such initiatives. It did not provide a time frame for its investment.

"Tencent should continue to respond to the ever-changing needs of the public and of the era, so as to develop and prosper together with society as a whole," Pony Ma, founder and chairman of Tencent, said in a statement.

Last week, China's market regulator warned the country's biggest internet companies to eradicate any banned practices, two days after slapping Alibaba with a record $2.75 billion fine after an investigation found it had abused its dominant market position for several years.

President Xi Jinping has made poverty alleviation one of his key priorities.

-reuters

Cambodia uses wedding halls for COVID patients as cases surge

PHNOM PENH—Cambodia began setting up thousands of hospital beds in two wedding party halls on Sunday to cope with an influx of COVID-19 patients in a country that up until recently had largely managed to contain infections.

Cambodia also reported a daily record 618 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, its health ministry said, in a spike in infections following an outbreak first detected in late February.

The new numbers took the overall tally to 6,389. Cambodia until recently had one of the world's lowest numbers of infections. It has reported 43 deaths, all in the past two months.

"The Ministry of Health has decided to use the Premiere Centre Sen Sok to prepare for the Covid-19 treatment centre which can accommodate more than 1,500 Covid-19 patients," Cambodia national television TVK said on Sunday, citing a health official.

Or Vandine, secretary of state and health ministry spokeswoman said she was busy in a meeting and had no immediate comment to a Reuters query. Health Minister Mam Bunheng couldn't be reached for comment.

Images in local media showed Mam Bunheng visiting one of the wedding venues Vimean Piphob Thmey Sensok as police set up hospital beds. A Reuters photographer was denied entry and told to come back next week.

Earlier this week, the government also turned another weddig venue Koh Pich Convention & Exhibition Centre into a field hospital housing about 1,800 beds.

Phnom Penh and a satellite district of the capital went into lockdown on Thursday in an attempt to curb the spread of infections.

Under the lockdown, most people are banned from leaving home for two weeks except to go to work, buy food or for medical treatment. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

-reuters

Academy of Country Music awards show set to air with live audience, performances

In Nashville, Tennessee, the traditional home of country songs, the Academy of Country Music will hold its annual awards show on Sunday, incorporating small venue live broadcasts from classic genre landmarks.

With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, for a second year the awards will take place in multiple smaller sites around Nashville rather than the usual Las Vegas venue.

The 56th ACM Awards will, however, feature mostly in-person performances before live audiences - including at Nashville’s emblematic Grand Ole Opry House.

The ACM award show is set to air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT) on CBS and Paramount+, with a lineup of more than two dozen performers, including co-hosts Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, as well as genre stars Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Maren Morris and Luke Combs.

Urban, the 2019 Entertainer of the Year winner, returns after hosting last year, while ACM nominee Guyton will be the first Black woman to host the ceremony.

“I’m beyond thrilled to be co-hosting with my friend Mickey,” Urban said in a statement. “I love that everyone will get to see her infectious energy and uber creative spirit in full light.”

Guyton’s performance of her critically acclaimed song “What Are You Gonna Tell Her” at last year’s show featured Urban as a surprise guest on piano.

She was nominated for new female artist of the year and will sing her single, “Black Like Me.”

Morris and Chris Stapleton lead this year’s nominations, with six each. Morris got nods for “The Bones” as both song of the year and single of the year.

Stapleton, a nominee for both best male artist and entertainer, is also up for song of the year for “Starting Over” as both artist and songwriter.

Miranda Lambert follows with five nominations. She is the most nominated female artist in the Academy history, with a total of 68 in her lifetime. This time around, her “Blue Bird” is nominated for single, video and song of the year.

The 2020 show saw an unprecedented tie for entertainer of the year between Carrie Underwood and Thomas Rhett.

Rhett has been nominated for the same award this year, alongside previous winner Bryan, as well as Combs, Stapleton and Eric Church.

Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

-reuters

Sotheby's sees $16.8 million in first NFT sale

NEW YORK - Sotheby's hosted its first sale of art supported by NFTs, the trendy authentication technology, by artist Pak, with the works bringing in $16.8 million, the auction house said Wednesday.

The Sotheby's foray into NFT selling comes just a little more than one month after the sale of the NFT of the work "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days" by digital artist Beeple for $69.3 million at rival Christie's.

NFT stands for non-fungible token, an authentication certificate meant to ensure that ownership of a digital work -- animations, videos, photos or music, for example -- cannot be forged or otherwise manipulated.

Sotheby's first NFT sale featured an entirely different format than the video sale hosted by Christie's.

An unlimited number of animated illustration files created by Pak, called "Cube," were listed on the specialized platform Nifty Gateway as part of "The Fungible" collection.

Some 23,598 of these animations -- which rotate to appear to show a 360-degree view of a translucent and white cube on a black background -- were purchased over a three-day period beginning Monday for a total of $14 million. 

The artist wanted to question ideas of value and rarity by not limiting sales of the cube art files, and according to Sotheby's some 3,080 collectors have already purchased their own versions. 

Pak also sold two unique works, including one made up by a single pixel, which was bought for $1.36 million by digital collector Eric Young. The other was another rotating geometric shape which sold for $1.44 million. 

The person who purchased the most of the unlimited "Cube" works would also receive an ownership of a unique piece called "The Cube" -- a more detailed animated illustration of a rotating six-sided shape -- as a bonus.

The sales offer a peek into the strength of the NFT market, which generates more than $10 million worth of sales every day on digital platforms such as Nifty Gateway or OpenSea.

According to the site NonFungible.com, $2 billion has already changed hands through the NFT market in the first part of 2021 alone. 

Agence France-Presse

World Bank, Gavi urge countries with excess COVID-19 vaccines to release them

WASHINGTON - World Bank President David Malpass and José Manuel Barroso, chair of the Gavi vaccine alliance, on Monday discussed the importance of countries with excess COVID-19 vaccine supplies releasing them as soon as possible, the World Bank said.

Malpass expressed his desire to work closely with Gavi on a 2022 strategy, including helping expand vaccine production capacity for developing countries, the bank said in a statement.

The two officials also discussed the need for more transparency by countries, suppliers and development partners on vaccine contracts, and regarding national export and supply commitments and requirements, the bank said.

"During their meeting, President Malpass and Mr. Barroso discussed challenges facing acquisition and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines by developing countries and the importance of countries with excess vaccine supplies releasing them as soon as possible," it said.

Malpass has been outspoken about the need to accelerate vaccinations to contain the pandemic and limit further economic damage. Last week, he warned the slow rollout of vaccines in Europe could weigh on the region's economic growth.

On Monday, the bank said it had committed $1.7 billion of $12 billion that it has made available for vaccine development, distribution and production in low- and middle-income countries, with around $4 billion expected to be approved by mid-year.

Malpass said those funds could be used to make co-payments to the COVAX vaccine distribution initiative, and to buy additional doses beyond the basic 20% population coverage.

With new variants of the virus emerging, public health officials have warned the world could lose the race between the coronavirus and the vaccines meant to stop it due to the slow pace of vaccinations in developing nations.

The World Health Organization is urging more political will to boost production of COVID-19 vaccines and share supplies, including through stalled intellectual property waivers on vaccines through the World Trade Organization. 

-reuters

NBA: Celtics use huge second-half run to topple Jokic, Nuggets

Jayson Tatum had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and the visiting Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 105-87 on Sunday.

Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker scored 14 each and Robert Williams III scored 10 points for the Celtics, who went on a 31-3 run in the third and fourth quarters.

Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Facundo Campazzo scored 14 and Will Barton had 13 for Denver. The Nuggets had their eight-game winning streak snapped.

Denver led 79-65 with 2:17 left in the third quarter but the Celtics took control from that point.

Walker scored seven points, Brown had six to get Boston within a point early in the fourth quarter, and Langford hit two free throws to give the Celtics an 80-79 lead, their first of the game.

The Nuggets missed 10 straight shots and had five turnovers following Campazzo's 3-pointer that put them ahead by 14. The run ended with Monte Morris' jumper with 10-footer with 7:08 remaining.

Tatum then hit a jumper and a long 3-pointer to give Boston a 90-82 lead with 6:20 left.

Jokic got a rebound to get his 14th triple-double of the season and 55th of his career but he turned it over, leading to a dunk by Williams. The Celtics made two more field goals after misses by Jokic to push the lead to 96-82 with 4:41 left.

Porter's three-point play broke another Denver drought and was just the second Nuggets field goal since late in the third quarter.

The Nuggets scored just eight points over the final 14:17 of the game and missed 22 of their final 25 shots.

Denver led by 14 late in the first quarter and by 11 in the final minute of the second after two free throws by Porter. Smart hit a 3-pointer and Tatum a layup with less than a second left in the period to cut the Nuggets' lead to 51-45 at halftime.

-reuters

NBA: Jayson Tatum's career-high 53 carries Celtics to OT thriller

Jayson Tatum scored 35 of his career-high 53 points in the second half as the Boston Celtics erased a 17-point deficit to outlast the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 145-136 in overtime Friday night.

Tatum shot 16-of-25 from the field, had six 3-pointers and added 10 rebounds as the Celtics won for the fourth time in five games. Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and Marcus Smart 24 points and eight assists.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lead the league-worst Timberwolves, who rallied from down 11 with 2:51 left in regulation to force overtime. 

D'Angelo Russell scored 26 with eight assists and Anthony Edwards had 24 points.

Boston led 122-111 before 3-pointers from Towns and Russell helped Minnesota get within three. 

The visitors knotted the score at 124 on another Russell trey that banked in with 9.7 seconds remaining, and Tatum missed a chance at a game-winner at the buzzer.

Brown and Kemba Walker drained back-to-back threes to put the Celtics up 132-127 in the extra period. 

Walker hit again from deep, and three free throws from Tatum had Boston ahead 138-132. Minnesota got no closer than five the rest of the way.

The Timberwolves began the third quarter on a 13-5 run for their largest lead of the game at 79-62. 

Trailing 87-74, the Celtics got within two following a 16-5 stretch, during which Tatum scored 13 straight points. The Celtics entered the fourth down 97-92.

Boston grabbed its first lead since 7:35 of the first when Walker hit a pair of free throws for a 101-100 margin with 8:21 to go. 

Payton Pritchard and Tatum followed with threes, and the Celtics stretched their advantage to seven.

The Timberwolves led 66-57 after a disastrous first half for the Celtics. Boston turned the ball over 12 times, and Minnesota took advantage, shooting 26-of-47 (55.3 percent) from the field.

The Timberwolves were up 26-22 with 2:09 remaining in the first before ending the quarter on a 13-3 run. 

The Celtics didn't get back within single digits until Tatum hit a 3-pointer with 7:58 left in the half to trim the margin to 49-40.

-reuters

Queen of Twitter: Dionne Warwick uses her voice on social media

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American singer Dionne Warwick, who has reigned as a diva for over six decades, is now using her voice as the ‘Queen of Twitter,’ spreading joy and poking fun in viral tweets to a new audience.

The pop legend, 80, regularly tweets her thoughts on life, career and fellow musicians, sometimes prompting responses that lead to heartwarming exchanges.

“If you are very obviously a rapper why did you put it in your stage name?” Warwick asked Chance the Rapper in a tweet. “I cannot stop thinking about this.”

“I will be whatever you wanna call me Ms Warwick,” Chance responded.

The five-time Grammy Award winner was surprised Chance even knew who she was.

It all started when Warwick saw her nieces and nephews having fun on Twitter and wanted to join in. Once she got the hang of it, Warwick decided how she would use her new platform.

“I’m going to do it when I have an urge to say something or feel that I need to say something and/or ask a question, somebody is going to answer it,” she recalled telling her niece who showed her the ropes.

Warwick, who is often referred to now as the ‘Queen of Twitter,’ relishes bringing positive energy to social media.

“That’s one of the things I’m enjoying more than anything else in the world, that everybody’s laughing with me, you know, and that I think is something that has been missing,” she said.

Warwick is also trailblazing with virtual concerts. Her first was held live from home on Easter Sunday.

“I had a little bit of anxiety, based on the fact that I had not sung in a complete year, and vocal cords are muscles and muscles had to be exercised, and I don’t do that,” she said.

“I wanted to do a disclaimer, you know, there might be a couple of squeaks, croaks,” she said with a laugh.

She will perform a second show on May 9, which is Mother’s Day in the United States.

This year Warwick was nominated for the first time to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a late recognition after nearly 60 hit songs including “Don’t Make Me Over,” “Walk on By,” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” and selling over 100 million records since the early 1960s.

Reporting by Alicia Powell; Writing by Richard Chang; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

-reuters

Asia's rising coronavirus cases a worry as vaccine doubts cloud campaigns

SINGAPORE - India, South Korea and Thailand faced mounting coronavirus infections on Thursday, undermining cautious hopes that Asia might be emerging from the worst of the pandemic as worries about safety threatened to delay vaccination drives.

India reported a record 126,789 new cases, the third day this week tallies have surged to more than 100,000, catching by surprise authorities who have blamed crowding and a reluctance to wear masks as shops and offices reopen.

More infectious variants of the virus may have played a role in India's surge, some epidemiologists say, with hundreds of cases found of variants first detected in Britain, South Africa and Brazil.

The alarming numbers have led to New Zealand putting a temporary ban on anyone arriving from India, even for the first time blocking New Zealand citizens from coming home, for about two weeks.

"We are temporarily suspending entry into New Zealand for travellers from India," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a news conference in Auckland.

New Zealand, which has virtually eliminated the virus within its borders, recorded 23 new cases at its border on Thursday, 17 from India.

Two other countries that managed to largely keep the coronavirus under control during the first year of the pandemic were also grappling with new waves, though smaller than India's.

South Korea reported 700 new cases on Thursday, its highest daily figure since early January, and the prime minister warned that new social distancing rules would likely be needed.

Thailand, which has been planning a cautious re-opening of its tourist industry, reported a rise in new daily infections to 405 on Thursday, taking its total number of infections to 30,310, with 95 deaths.

Adding to Thai worries, it has detected 24 cases of a highly contagious virus variant first detected in Britain, its first reported domestic transmission of the variant.

Cases are also rising in parts of Europe but South America is the most worrying region of the world for infections, with cases mounting in nearly every country, the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

SUSPENDING SHOTS

Asia's increasing cases comes as worries are growing over the safety of one of the most prominent vaccines against the virus.

The European Medicines Agency on Wednesday said it found rare cases of blood clots among some adult recipients of AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine, although it said the vaccine's advantages still outweighed the risks.

Both South Korea and the Philippines have suspended use of the vaccine for people under 60 because of possible links to blood clots, while Australia and Taiwan said they would continue to use it.

Worry about the vaccine could delay immunisation drives in Asia, some of which are already dogged by supply problems. Campaigns in most parts of Asia lag those in places like Britain and the United States.

Australia's program to vaccinate its near 26 million people is more than 80 percent behind its original schedule.

Authorities there had pledged to administer at least 4 million first doses by the end of March but could only deliver 670,000. The government blamed supply issues from Europe.

While India's cases mount, vaccine centres in several parts of the country, including hardest-hit Maharashtra state, have been running out of supplies.

China, where the novel coronavirus emerged in late 2019, is driving ahead with its vaccination campaign, administering about 3.68 million doses on Wednesday, taking its total number of doses given to 149.07 million, authorities said.

Japan's vaccinations are far behind those in most major economies, with only one vaccine approved and about 1 million people having received a first dose since February, even as it struggles with new cases.

Infections in Tokyo spiked by 545 cases on Thursday, adding to worries about the Olympics and Paralympics, delayed from last year and now due to start at the end of July.

The government scrambled to calm a social media furore saying it was not looking to prioritise vaccines for its Olympic athletes, dismissing a media report that it was considering doing so.

Japan is not insisting that arriving athletes be vaccinated but there will be frequent tests while they are in Japan. There will be no foreign spectators and a decision on domestic ones has yet to be made.

-reuters

AstraZeneca jab risk-benefit 'still largely positive' - WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland - The risk-benefit balance for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is "still largely positive", the World Health Organization said Tuesday after fresh claims about links to blood clots.

A top official from the European Medicines Agency -- the EU's drug regulator -- claimed there was a clear connection between the jab and clots, though the EMA itself said it was still reviewing data and no conclusions had yet been reached.

The WHO said there was no evidence that the risk-benefit analysis had shifted on the jab, which is one of only three different COVID-19 vaccines so far to have received the green light from the UN health agency.

"There is no link for the moment between the vaccine and thrombotic events with thrombocytopenia," Rogerio Pinto de Sa Gaspar, the WHO's director for regulation and pre-qualification, told a press conference.

"The appraisal we have for the moment -- and this is under consideration by the experts -- is that the benefit-risk assessment for the vaccine is still largely positive.

Agence France Presse

NBA: Curry to auction 'Bruce Lee shoes' for families of Atlanta shooting victims

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry will auction a pair of custom game-worn shoes featuring a picture of martial arts icon Bruce Lee to raise money for the families of last month's Atlanta-area shootings victims.

Curry wore the yellow, white and black shoes -- designed with the Bruce Lee Foundation and featuring Lee's famous quote "under the heavens, there is but one family" -- during Sunday's 117-111 defeat by the Atlanta Hawks.

In the last year, there has been increased reports of anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States. Eight people -- six of whom were Asian women -- were killed in a March 16 rampage in Atlanta.

"I think Stephen's gesture is a beautiful example of allyship and solidarity in action," Shannon Lee, the daughter of the martial arts legend and chairperson of the board of directors for the Bruce Lee Foundation, tweeted.

"I am honoured he would choose my father and my family as the symbol for the idea that we are all one family, as my father said, and therefore must all stand for one another."

Speaking before Sunday's game, Curry said he had feelings of "disgust, horror and outright anger" at the violence in the United States.

"After all we have been through this past year, let alone in the history of our country, people still deal with unnecessary tragedy and are afraid for their lives," he told The Undefeated website.

"We have to do better."

The Biden administration announced measures responding to rising anti-Asian violence, including deploying $49.5 million from COVID-19 relief funds for U.S. community programs that help victims. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )

-reuters

Hong Kong bar owners in ‘hunger strike’ over virus closures

HONG KONG — A group of bar, karaoke and mahjong parlor owners have gone on a symbolic hunger strike in Hong Kong over anti-coronavirus measures that have kept them shuttered for most of the last year.

The four-day protest started on the pavement outside the Hong Kong government’s headquarters on Sunday — the one-year anniversary of when authorities first ordered a round of closures to stem infections.

Those taking part are refusing food in shifts, more an act of protest than a full hunger strike.

“People are queueing for beaches… restaurants are full but only we are in pain and barred from opening,” Leung Lap-yan, founding president of the Licensed Bar and Club Association, told reporters.

Hong Kong’s bars — a major early source of infections — have been hit particularly hard by social distancing measures that have been tightened and relaxed depending on infection rates.

Over the last year, they have been fully closed for 230 days, opened with restrictions for 101 days, and allowed to run normally for only 24 days.

The latest closures have been in place since November, meaning bar owners missed out on the usual peak Christmas, New Year and Easter holiday seasons.

Densely populated Hong Kong was one of the first places to be hit by the coronavirus, but strict social distancing and universal mask wearing has helped keep infections to just over 11,000 with 205 deaths.

Those measures have caused economic devastation, however, and prompted accusations that authorities are more willing to relax curbs for politically connected industries.

Restaurants have remained open in recent weeks — with a cap on four people per table — while Hong Kong’s malls and theme parks have been packed.

Gyms have also been allowed to reopen despite being at the centre of a major recent cluster.

The protesting owners said their industries were willing to adopt stringent measures including capacity restrictions and even requiring customers to drink with a straw.

But so far they have not won any government approval to reopen.

Yuen Kwok-yung, one of the city’s top microbiologists, said on Monday that he understood people’s anger.

“But if you want a full restoration of business, you must have 28 consecutive days with zero local cases,” Yuen said.

“Otherwise, once the restrictions are gone, it will come back.”

Agence France-Presse 

Salah can prove loyalty to Liverpool in Real Madrid showdown

Mohamed Salah can silence the critics who question his loyalty to Liverpool by avenging the most painful moment of his career when the Egypt star faces Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.

Salah sparked howls of indignation among Liverpool fans recently when he refused to rule out the possibility of playing for a Spanish club in the future.

The fact that Salah was speaking to Madrid-based newspaper Marca at the time only increased speculation that he was laying the groundwork for a move to Real Madrid.

“I hope to be able to play for many more years. Why not? No one knows what’s going to happen in the future, so maybe one day, yes. It’s not up to me,” Salah said when asked if he was keen to try Spanish football.

Salah’s flirtatious response was similar to the one he gave to another Spanish outlet in December when questioned about a potential La Liga move.

“I think Madrid and Barcelona are two top clubs,” he told AS.

Whether either Real or Barcelona could afford to buy Salah amid the current financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic remains to be seen.

But for a club whose supporters pride themselves on their passionate and unflinching loyalty to the Liverpool cause, Salah’s refusal to rule out a switch to Spain was a careless own goal.

It tapped into the long-standing suspicion among a section of Liverpool’s fanbase that Salah, whose contract runs until 2023, is motivated by personal glory rather than team success.

The cynics support their claims by highlighting Salah’s occasional spats with Liverpool forward Sadio Mane when he shoots rather than passing to a better placed teammate.

They also point to Salah’s sulky response to being substituted during the defeat against Chelsea in March, and his reported frustration at being ignored for the Liverpool captaincy in the absence of the injured Jordan Henderson.

Real revenge mission

Of course, Salah could rightly mention that Liverpool might well have failed to win either the Champions League in 2019 or the Premier League last season without his goals and sublime skills.

Even this season, with Liverpool in the midst of a failed title defense marred by seemingly endless injuries, Salah’s haul of 26 goals — including one in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Arsenal — shows what a threat he carries.

With 120 goals in 193 appearances in all competitions since joining from Roma in 2017, Salah is rightly ranked among Liverpool’s all-time greats.

But the 28-year-old’s place in the hearts of Kopites might not be so secure.

Michael Owen and Steve McManaman — both local heroes at Liverpool at the time — were never so fondly regarded after swapping Anfield for Real’s Bernabeu.

Inspiring Liverpool to a revenge victory against Real in a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final won by the Spanish club would go some way to appeasing the doubters.

That bitter 3-1 loss in Kiev remains a personal nadir for Salah, who was in tears on the pitch after being forced to come off with a first half injury following a clash with Sergio Ramos.

Salah had suffered a dislocated shoulder that would hamper him at the World Cup later that year, with some claiming Ramos had deliberately exacerbated the injury with the way he dragged the Egyptian to the turf.

“Let’s just say that I have special motivation to win the tie and go through to the semi-finals,” Salah told Marca about the Real reunion.

Ironically, Real captain Ramos is expected to miss both legs of the quarter-final with a calf injury.

Ramos’s absence is a major boost for Liverpool as they seek to salvage a miserable season by winning a seventh European Cup.

If Salah can play a leading role in making that dream come true, his commitment might not be questioned quite so often.

Agence France-Presse 

CDC updates guidance to cruise ship industry, urges vaccinations

WASHINGTON— The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention on Friday issued new guidance to the cruise ship industry, including the need for COVID-19 vaccinations, a necessary step before passenger voyages can resume.

The new technical instructions, the first update since October, include increasing from weekly to daily reporting frequency of COVID-19 cases and illnesses and implementing routine testing of all crew based on a ship’s COVID-19 status and establishing a plan and timeline for vaccination of crew and port personnel.

"COVID-19 vaccination efforts will be critical in the safe resumption of passenger operations," the CDC said.

CDC said the next phase of the CDC's conditional sail order will include simulated voyages to will allow crew and port personnel to practice new COVID-19 operational procedures with volunteers before sailing with passengers.

"CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising when it is safe to do so, following the phased approach outlined in October's conditional sail order," the agency said.

It did not specify a date for the resumption of cruise operations from US ports despite calls from the industry for planning for a phased resumption by the beginning of July. The CDC said it would issue additional guidance before it allows cruises to resume.

The Cruise Lines International Association, which represents Carnival Corp, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean Cruises and others had pleaded with CDC to issue new guidance, saying in a March 24 statement the "lack of any action by the CDC has effectively banned all sailings in the largest cruise market in the world." It did not immediately comment on Friday.

The group had said the prior conditional sail order issued in October was "outdated" and "does not reflect the industry’s proven advancements and success operating in other parts of the world, nor the advent of vaccines, and unfairly treats cruises differently. Cruise lines should be treated the same as other travel, tourism, hospitality, and entertainment sectors." 

-reuters

Jurisdiction in Huawei executive's case for US judge to decide: Canada

Canada's attorney general on Thursday fired back at defense accusations of US jurisdictional overreach in Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou's extradition case, saying the issue is ultimately for a trial judge to decide.

Meng's lawyers argued this week that her alleged crimes took place in Hong Kong and had no direct link to the United States.

If Canada sends her to the United States to face trial on bank fraud and conspiracy charges, they further argued, it would be violating international law on legal jurisdictions.

Canadian government lawyer Robert Frater said the jurisdiction matter must be left to Canada's justice minister -- who has the final say on extraditions -- and a US trial judge.

"This is a matter that can really only be properly litigated before a US trial judge," Frater said, adding that the defense arguments' "flaws run so wide and so deep I scarcely know where to begin."

For more than two years, the Chinese businesswoman has been fighting being sent to the United States, which alleges she misled investment bank HSBC by distancing Huawei from its subsidiary Skycom and its activities in Iran that breached US sanctions.

Both Meng and Huawei deny any wrongdoing.

Meng arrest lawful 

The defense also conceded this week that Canada's arrest of Meng was required under its extradition treaty with the United States, but with hindsight, she should now be released.

"Ms. Meng's detention was required by the extradition treaty, so it can't be regarded as unlawful initially," said defense lawyer Gib van Ert. "What we're saying now is the detention is revealed now to be unlawful... (because) it is founded on the unlawfulness of the extradition request itself."

Van Ert said that HSBC's US$2 million in loans after Meng's meeting with HSBC executives at a Hong Kong tea room did not cause any US harm.

"How much impact did these transactions actually have on the US financial system?" asked van Ert. "In my submission, the answer is... very nearly no impact as a percentage.

"Had someone just flown to London and paid cash, we wouldn't be here because there would be no connection to the US at all."

Canada's lawyer countered that countries can prosecute crimes committed internationally if there is any impact on them and that HSBC was put at risk because it continued providing banking services to Huawei and Skycom based on Meng's assurances.

Meng's "lies in the tea room have a consequence: the creation of legal risk that takes place in the United States and gives the requesting state the ability to prosecute," Frater said.

Meng will next appear on April 26. Her extradition hearings are scheduled to end on May 14, barring appeals.

Agence France-Presse

Chrissy Teigen fronts People magazine's 'Beautiful' issue

LOS ANGELES — Former model Chrissy Teigen was revealed as the cover star of People magazine’s “Beautiful” annual issue on Wednesday, sharing that she’d long put her calorie counting days behind her.

Teigen, 35, said her definition of beauty has also changed since she became a mother to children Luna, 4, and Miles, 2.

“It’s really, really nice to be able to come to an age where I can appreciate every little scar and see my body as something that’s done incredible, miraculous things. The difference is these two beautiful, wonderful babies, and these scars are the things I’ve been through,” Teigen told People magazine.

Teigen is married to singer-songwriter John Legend, who in 2019 was named People’s sexiest man alive.

A cook book author, Teigen told People she has had “ups and downs” with dieting over the years but was no longer as strict with herself as she had been when she was a swimsuit model.

“At this point, if it’s going to make me happy and make me feel good, then I indulge in it. I’ve spent way too many years counting calories and scheduling way too many workouts and trying to figure out what ‘wellness’ meant to me,” she said.

Teigen last week she announced she was quitting Twitter, where she had been a prolific poster, saying the social media platform “no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively.” She kept her Instagram account.

People magazine in 2018 changed the title of its annual special issue from the “Most Beautiful” to simply “Beautiful.” Other men and women to have made the front cover include Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Lupita Nyong’o and Leonardo DiCaprio.

The special double issue hits newsstands on Friday.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Jane Wardell

-reuters