Myanmar police fire stun grenades and tear gas at pro-democracy protestersSeveral people reported injured in clashes in Yangon, as outspoken UN envoy is sacked by junta Protesters block a road during a protest against the military coup in Mandalay on Sunday. Photograph: AP
NEW YORK — Julius Randle scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lift the New York Knicks back to .500 with a 110-107 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. RJ Barrett added 24 for New York, which improved to 17-17 with its sixth win in its last 10 games. Derrick Rose had 17 points and Immanuel Quickley 10 as the Knicks reached the .500 mark for the first time since they were 8-8 on Jan. 21. Doug McDermott had 20 points for Indiana, which fell to 15-17 with its third straight loss. T.J. McConnell finished with 17, Domantas Sabonis had 15 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists, Justin Holiday had 13 points and Myles Turner 11. The third and final regular-season meeting between the Eastern Conference teams did not have the stakes that their iconic playoff series in the mid-1990s had, but that did not stop the franchises’ antecedents from playing a hard-nosed, possession-by-possession game that seemed familiar. Indiana appeared to be the sharper team for much of the first half after coming off a nationally televised 118-112 loss in Boston on Friday night. But New York, which hadn't played since routing Sacramento on Thursday night, took a 54-52 lead into halftime thanks to a 17-3 run over the final 4:38, capped by Rose’s buzzer-beating pull-up 3. During the spurt, New York forced Indiana into four missed shots and five turnovers prompting the 1,981 at Madison Square Garden to chant “Dee-fence!” New York maintained its advantage for most of the third quarter, and began the fourth with a 81-78 lead. But Indiana outscored the Knicks 18-12 over the first seven minutes of the final quarter and held a 96-93 advantage when Sabonis drew a charge from Randle. On the ensuing possesion, Turner scored on a layup to push the lead to five. It didn’t last as Barrett drilled a 3 and converted a three-point play to put the Knicks ahead 99-98. Following a timeout, Randle knocked down a 3 and Barrett converted a layup to extend the Knicks’ lead to 104-98. Indiana responded with a layup by McConnell and a 3 by Edmond Sumner to close within one at 104-103. That was as close as the Pacers would come as Nerlens Noel and Randle each made two free throws to push the lead to 108-103. Sabonis responded with a 3, but Knicks reserve guard Frank Ntiliknia made two free throws with 2.9 seconds left to seal the win. TIP-INS Pacers: A little more than a half-hour before the game was scheduled to start, Indiana announced guard Malcolm Brogdon would not play due to a sore right knee. He was replaced in the starting lineup by McConnell. Brogdon, who had played in every game this season before Saturday night’s loss, is averaging 21.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in 35.9 minutes per game. Knicks: Despite Randle’s suggestion after Thursday’s win over Sacramento that New York’s defence had slipped in its last two games, the Knicks entered Saturday night leading the league in fewest points per game with an average of 104.4. “You’re going to have slippage in different areas,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You’re not going to be able to work on everything every day, so you’re going to have to prioritize on the things you have to focus in on, and try to correct those things but it’s never-ending.” UP NEXT Pacers: At Philadelphia on Monday night. Knicks: At Detroit on Sunday night. ___ More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports Denis P. Gorman, The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s impoverished southeast has been experiencing wide disruptions of internet services, experts said, as unrest gripped the remote province after fatal border shootings. Several rights groups reported in a joint statement that authorities shut down the mobile data network in the restive province of Sistan and Baluchestan, calling the disruptions an apparent “tool to conceal” the government’s harsh crackdown on protests convulsing the area. The reports of internet interference come as Iranian authorities and semiofficial news agencies increasingly acknowledge the turmoil challenging local authorities in the southeast — a highly sensitive matter in a country that seeks to repress all hints of political dissent. Starting Wednesday, the government shut down the mobile data network across Sistan and Baluchestan, where 96% of the population accesses the internet only through their phones, rights groups said, crippling the key communication tool. After four days of unverified “localized regional network disruptions” amid the protests, NetBlocks, which monitors worldwide internet access, confirmed a new disruption to internet connectivity in the province beginning late Saturday. “This is Iran’s traditional response to any kind of protest,” Amir Rashidi from Miaan Group, a human rights organization that focuses on digital security in the Middle East, told The Associated Press on Saturday. “Shutting down the internet to block news and pictures getting out makes (authorities) feel more comfortable opening fire.” The week saw a series of escalating confrontations between police and protesters. Crowds with light arms and grenade launchers descended on Kurin checkpoint near Iran’s border with Pakistan on Thursday, Abouzar Mehdi Nakhaie, the governor of Zahedan, the provincial capital, said in comments carried by Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency. The violence killed one policeman, he added. Earlier this week, protesters attacked the district governor’s office and stormed two police stations in the city of Saravan, outraged over the shootings of fuel smugglers trying to cross back into Iran from Pakistan on Monday. The border shootings and ensuing clashes killed at least two people, the government said. Many rights activists in the area reported higher death tolls without offering evidence. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, vowed Friday to investigate the deaths. Officials insisted that calm had returned to the streets. The Iranian government previously has cut off internet access and cellphone service in tense times. In the fall of 2019, for instance, Iran imposed a near nationwide internet blackout as anti-government protests sparked by an increase in fuel prices roiled the capital of Tehran and other cities. Hundreds were reportedly killed in the crackdown nationwide. Given that authorities targeted the mobile network and not the landline in Sistan and Baluchestan, the disruption likely wouldn’t appear on regular network data, said Mahsa Alimardani, researcher at Article 19, an international organization that fights censorship. The area already suffered from unreliable internet connections. "This targeted shutdown was very intentional because they knew the realities of this province,” where people are poor and use cheap phones as opposed to computers, Alimardani said. Sistan and Baluchestan is one of most unstable and least developed parts of Iran. The relationship between its predominantly Sunni residents and Iran’s Shiite theocracy long has been fraught. A low-level violent insurgency in Sistan and Baluchestan involves several militant groups, including those demanding more autonomy for the region. The area also lies on a major trafficking route for drugs and petrol, which is highly subsidized in Iran and a key source of income for smugglers. Isabel Debre, The Associated Press
Barcelona looked dead and buried a few weeks ago but this was their ninth win out of 10 in LaLiga, a surge that has put them back in contention.
Canelo Alvarez had no trouble with an overmatched challenger.
NEW YORK — Luka Doncic scored 27 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 18 in his return from injury and the Dallas Mavericks snapped the Brooklyn Nets' eight-game winning streak with a 115-98 victory Saturday night. James Harden had 29 points for the Nets, but only four after halftime while playing as Brooklyn's solo superstar. Kevin Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left hamstring strain and Kyrie Irving rested his surgically repaired right shoulder. That took more than 56 points per game away from the NBA's highest-scoring team and Brooklyn couldn't keep up with a Dallas club that shot 52% from the field. Porzingis missed last three games with lower back tightness and shook off his rust after halftime to help Dallas break open the game. Leading by four at halftime, the Mavericks came out for the third quarter focused on throwing the ball inside to the 7-foot-3 Latvian, who has 7 inches on any starter in the Nets’ small-ball starting lineup. He responded with 10 points in the quarter, including a three-point play that capped an 11-2 spurt and pushed Dallas’ lead to 85-74. It became 91-76 when Dorian Finney-Smith blocked Harden’s shot to lead to Tim Hardaway Jr.’s basket. Dallas put it away with 12 straight points early in the fourth, making it 106-84 and soon after Harden was removed for good. Jalen Brunson scored 14 points for the Mavericks, who split games against the East's top teams after losing at Philadelphia on Thursday, when they committed a season-high 22 turnovers. They had only nine Saturday. Doncic and Harden each scored 15 points in the first quarter, but the Mavs gave more help to their point guard and led 38-26 after shooting 61%. Brooklyn cut it to 68-64 at halftime, when Harden had 25. TIP-INS Mavericks: Doncic turns 22 on Sunday. He had seven assists and six rebounds. ... Hardaway had 13 points. Nets: It was a historically late night in Brooklyn for the NBA's Saturday night game of the week. The Nets said that going back 30 years — as far as Elias has tracked game time records — it was the first time they tipped off a home game at 8:30 p.m. EST or later. ... Brooklyn had won nine straight against West teams. IRVING'S INJURY Coach Steve Nash said he didn't believe Irving's injury was serious, calling it a maintenance issue. It's the second game Irving has sat out to rest the shoulder, which limited him to 20 games last season. “I would expect him to play next game and if not, I don’t think this is a thing that will linger into the All-Star break,” Nash said. NASH AND NOWITZKI Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, former Mavericks stars who are close friends, were supposed to attend the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, together with their families last March. Nash was already in California because Nowitzki cancelled his trip and the tournament became the first major sports event called off in the U.S. because of coronavirus concerns. “You could kind of sense it coming and it was one of those things I think where we all had that kind of disbelief that this was actually going to snowball into this, but here we are a year later and it’s more real than ever,” Nash said. “So tough, tough time for everyone. We’ve lost a lot of people and we’re not through this thing in the slightest yet.” UP NEXT Mavericks: Visit Orlando on Monday night. Nets: Visit San Antonio, where they have lost 17 straight games, on Monday night. Brian Mahoney, The Associated Press
Elections are underway to 88 seats across 3 municipal corporations, 34 Zila Panchayat & 168 Taluka Panchayat seats.
In the year since the first coronavirus case was identified in Mexico, the disease has killed at least 185,257 people and sickened almost 2.1 million. Mexico registered its first case on Feb. 26, 2020, in a man who had travelled to Italy. The Health Department reported just over 8,000 more confirmed infections and 783 more confirmed deaths Saturday, but because Mexico does so little testing the real number is certainly much higher.
CHICAGO — Frans Nielsen had a goal and an assist and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday night for their second straight victory. Bobby Ryan, Darren Helm, Christian Djoos and Evgeny Svechnikov also scored for Detroit, which won for the third time in four games after a 4-12-3 start. The Blackhawks had won two straight and five of their previous six. Alex DeBrincat, Mattias Janmark and Dominik Kubalik scored for Chicago. Detroit scored twice in a 4:18 span late in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Helm beat goalie Malcolm Subban from the slot at 14:09, just 16 seconds after the DeBrincat had tied the game. Helm was left alone when both Chicago defenceman chased the puck behind the net, only to see centre Luke Clendening hit Helm on the tape with a pass. The Red Wings made it 3-1 with their first power-play goal in 15 games with 1:33 left in the second. Djoos used Chicago’s David Kampf as a screen and fired a wrist shot over Subban’s right shoulder. It was the third power-play goal of the year for Detroit. DeBrincat scored with 6:07 left in the second. He hopped off the bench when the Red Wings’ defenders weren’t looking and beat goalie Jonathan Bernier with a wrist shot from the slot on a breakaway. Bernier stopped 29 shots for his sixth win of the season. The Red Wings’ Svechnikov beat Subban from the doorstep for a 4-1 lead 2:33 into the third. Subban stopped 31 shots. Janmark tipped a Carl Soderberg pass by Bernier to cut the lead to 4-2 two minutes later, but Nielsen scored his first goal of the season with a hard wrist shot at 8:!5 to put the Red Wings ahead 5-2. Kubalik scored with 12 seconds remaining for Chicago. Ryan opened the scoring midway through the first period, his quick wrist shot beating Subban from the slot. Until taht point, the Blackhawks had outshot the Red Wings 11-2. But, Ryan’s goal shifted the momentum. Chicago standout Patrick Kane managed five shots, but failed to score in his first game chasing his 400th career goal. CHASING 400 Patrick Kane, the first pick in the 2007 draft, will be the fourth player in Blackhawks' history to score 400 goals with the team, joining Hall of Famers Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita and longtime threat Steve Larmer. Kane won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2007-08 and picked up the Hart as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2015-16, the first American to do so. POWERLESS NO MORE Detroit’s power-play languished at the bottom of the NHL before the game, connecting on only 6.1 per cent of its chances. Christian Djoos’ second-period goal was the first man-advantage score for the Red Wings in 40 attempts, dating to a Jan. 28 score in a 7-3 loss at Dallas. UP NEXT The Red Wings and Blackhawks meet again at United Center on Sunday night. ___ More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports The Associated Press
The FDA said J&J's vaccine offers strong protection against serious illness, hospitalisations, and death. The company has said it expects to deliver 20 million doses to the US by the end of March
DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs) with a dunk vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 02/27/2021
Lonnie Walker IV (San Antonio Spurs) with a dunk vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 02/27/2021
Dejounte Murray (San Antonio Spurs) with an and one vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 02/27/2021
Compared to Tesla Model 3 which sold 13,843 in January 2021 in China, the mini all-electric EV sold 25,778 models, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
Trey Lyles (San Antonio Spurs) with a 2-pointer vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 02/27/2021
LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs) with a block vs the New Orleans Pelicans, 02/27/2021
Top plays from New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers, 02/27/2021
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (New Orleans Pelicans) with an assist vs the San Antonio Spurs, 02/27/2021
Willy Hernangomez (New Orleans Pelicans) with an alley oop vs the San Antonio Spurs, 02/27/2021
Yahoo Movies