‘No provocation’ can stop China’s military drills — Party newspaper

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

BEIJING — China’s military will carry out drills regardless of foreign provocations and pressure, the Communist Party’s paper said on Sunday, adding that exercises far out at sea like those conducted recently by its sole aircraft carrier will become normal.

This aerial photo taken on January 2, 2017 shows a Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning (C), during military drills in the South China Sea. AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

China caused unease among some countries in the region last month when the carrier the Liaoning, accompanied by several warships, cruised around self-ruled Taiwan and into the Pacific for what China called routine drills.

Earlier this month, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets and navy ships as the Liaoning then passed through the narrow waterway separating China from the island Beijing claims as its own.

For its part, China was alarmed this month when US President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state Rex Tillerson said China should be denied access to islands it has built in the contested South China Sea.

The People’s Daily said no amount of “word bombs,” such as Tillerson’s South China Sea remarks, could stop China’s military drills.

“These provocations, pressure, fantasies and over-exaggerations will not prevent the normal drills of the Chinese military,” the paper said in a commentary.

“The meddling and disruption of countries from outside the region can only run counter to the consensus of common interests that accords with this region and the world,” it added.

“Henceforth, the Chinese military’s exercises far out at sea will become a kind of normal, extremely normal drills,” the paper said.

China has invested billions of dollars in an ambitious military modernization program, especially its navy.

The Chinese navy has been exercising in waters far from home more often as it seeks to hone its operational abilities, and it has joined international anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia.

In 2015, five Chinese ships carried out exercises in international waters in the Bering Sea off the US state of Alaska.

China says it has a legitimate need to develop its “blue water” naval capabilities to protect the trade lanes on which the country’s economy depends, to defend the interests of its citizens overseas and uphold its global obligations.

In 2015, a Chinese naval frigate evacuated foreign citizens from strife-torn Yemen, marking the first time that China’s military has helped other countries evacuate their people during an international crisis. — Reuters

This aerial photo taken on January 2, 2017 shows a Chinese navy formation, including the aircraft carrier Liaoning (C), during military drills in the South China Sea. — AFP[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

7.9 earthquake hits Papua New Guinea

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

SYDNEY — A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Papua New Guinea Sunday, shaking homes and sparking a tsunami alert, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.

The tsunami warning for the Pacific island nation and its neighbors was later canceled.

The tremor struck 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Panguna on Papua New Guinea’s Bougainville island at a depth of 153 kilometers at 3:30 p.m. local time (0430 GMT), the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

No reports of damage or injuries have emerged so far, said the PNG Geophysical Observatory in the capital Port Moresby.

“But we know that given such a depth at which the earthquake happened, the chances of any major damage or casualties are not highly likely,” Spokesman Mathew Moihoi told AFP.

“Had there been any major disturbances or damage, we would have known by now,” he said, adding that the area where the quake struck was sparsely populated.

USGS’s preliminary assessment was that light to moderate damage was possible on Bougainville island. The quake was revised down from 8.0-magnitude to 7.9.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves of between 0.3 and one meter (1-3 feet) above tide level were possible for some coastal areas of PNG and the neighboring Solomon Islands.

The center issued another statement about an hour later to say that threat had passed.

“Even though it is quite deep at 150 kilometers, because it is such a large earthquake, it will produce shaking on the surface,” Geoscience Australia seismologist Spiro Spiliopoulos told AFP earlier.

Earthquakes are common near Papua New Guinea, which lies on the 4,000-kilometer-long Pacific Australia plate. It forms part of the “Ring of Fire,” a hot spot for seismic activity due to friction between tectonic plates.

In 2013, the Solomon Islands were hit by a devastating tsunami after an 8.0-magnitude quake rattled the region. That tsunami left at least 10 people dead, destroyed hundreds of homes and left thousands of people homeless. — AFP

No signs of life on Day 4 of Italy avalanche rescue

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

PENNE, ITALY — Rescuers combing the wreckage of an Italian hotel in a bid to find survivors of a devastating avalanche detected no signs of life overnight, officials said Sunday.

A handout picture released on January 21, 2017 by the Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS) shows a rescuer digging at by the avalanche-hit Hotel Rigopiano, near the village of Farindola, on the eastern lower slopes of the Gran Sasso mountain on January 19, 2017.
Italian rescuers pulled four survivors from the hotel and said they remained hopeful of finding alive at least some of the 23 people still trapped under the ruins. / AFP PHOTO / CNSAS / Handout / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / CNSAS ” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

As the painstaking rescue operation entered a fourth day, firefighters and mountain rescue experts again had to battle extreme weather conditions as they tried to locate the 23 people thought to be trapped under a vast pile of snow and the mangled ruins of the Hotel Rigopiano.

Nine people have been pulled alive from the rubble since rescuers first reached the remote hotel in the mountains of central Italy early on Thursday.

All of them were located on Friday and no other potential survivors have been identified since then.

But with scores of them working round the clock, the rescuers were refusing to give up hope that more people could still be clinging to life somewhere under the wreckage.

Five bodies have been recovered so far and there were two other survivors who were outside the hotel when the avalanche struck at nightfall on Wednesday.

It followed a series of powerful earthquakes in the region earlier in the day and some 36 hours of heavy snow. — AFP

A handout picture released on January 21, 2017 by the Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS) shows a rescuer digging at by the avalanche-hit Hotel Rigopiano, near the village of Farindola, on the eastern lower slopes of the Gran Sasso mountain on January 19, 2017. — AFP

Ugandans invent ‘smart jacket’ designed to diagnose pneumonia

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

UGANDA — A team of Ugandan engineers has invented a “smart jacket” that diagnoses pneumonia faster than a doctor, offering hope against a disease which kills more children worldwide than any other.

Telecommunications engineer Olivia Koburongo presents the mama-ope kit at the Makerere University of Public Health in Kampala on January 16, 2017.
A team of Ugandan engineers has invented a “smart jacket” that diagnoses pneumonia faster than a doctor, offering hope against a disease which kills more children worldwide than any other. / AFP PHOTO / ISAAC KASAMANI

The idea came to Olivia Koburongo, 26, after her grandmother fell ill, and was moved from hospital to hospital before being properly diagnosed with pneumonia.

“It was now too late to save her,” said Ms. Koburongo.

“It was too hard to keep track of her vitals, of how she’s doing, and that is how I thought of a way to automate the whole process and keep track of her health.”

Ms. Koburongo took her idea to fellow telecommunications engineering graduate Brian Turyabagye, 24, and together with a team of doctors they came up with the “Mama-Ope” (Mother’s Hope) kit made up of a biomedical smart jacket and a mobile phone application which does the diagnosis.

Pneumonia — a severe lung infection — kills up to 24,000 Ugandan children under the age of five per year, many of whom are misdiagnosed as having malaria, according to the UN children’s agency UNICEF.

A lack of access to laboratory testing and infrastructure in poor communities means health workers often have to rely on simple clinical examinations to make their diagnoses.

BLUETOOTH DIAGNOSIS
With the easy-to-use Mama-Ope kit, health workers merely have to slip the jacket onto the child, and its sensors will pick up sound patterns from the lungs, temperature and breathing rate.

“The processed information is sent to a mobile phone app (via Bluetooth) which analyses the information in comparison to known data so as to get an estimate of the strength of the disease,” said Mr. Turyabagye.

The jacket, which is still only a prototype, can diagnose pneumonia up to three times faster than a doctor and reduces human error, according to studies done by its inventors.

Traditionally doctors use a stethoscope to listen for abnormal crackling or bubbling sounds in the lungs, however, if medics suspect malaria or tuberculosis — which also include respiratory distress — the time lost treating those rather than pneumonia could prove deadly for their patient.

“The problem we’re trying to solve is diagnosing pneumonia at an early stage before it gets severe and we’re also trying to solve the problem of not enough manpower in hospitals because currently we have a doctor to patient ratio which is one to 24,000 in the country,” said Ms. Koburongo.

GLOBAL AMBITION
Mr. Turyabagye said plans were underway to have the kit piloted in Uganda’s referral hospitals and then trickle down to remote health centers.

The team is also working on patenting the kit, which is short-listed for the 2017 Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize.

According to UNICEF, most of the 900,000 annual deaths of children under five due to pneumonia occur in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

This is more than other causes of childhood death such as diarrhoea, malaria, meningitis or HIV/AIDS. — AFP

Telecommunications engineer Olivia Koburongo presents the mama-ope kit at the Makerere University of Public Health in Kampala on Jan. 16. — AFP

Trump tells CIA: ‘I am with you 1,000 percent’

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump told the CIA Saturday it had his full support as he paid a visit to mend fences after publicly rejecting its assessment that Russia tried to help him win the US election.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

“I am with you 1,000 percent,” Mr. Trump said in a short address to CIA staff after his visit to the agency headquarters in Virginia.

In his first full day in office, Mr. Trump moved swiftly to confront simmering tensions left by US intelligence findings that Russia interfered in the US election to try to tip the outcome in Trump’s favor.

“I love you, I respect you,” he told members of the US intelligence community.

“We’re all on the same wavelength, right?” he asked, referring in particular to the fight against the Islamic State group.

“We have not used the real abilities that we have. We’ve been restrained. We have to get rid of ISIS.”

Mike Pompeo, Mr. Trump’s pick to lead the CIA, has not yet been confirmed by the US Senate.

A Republican lawmaker, Mr. Pompeo is considered a foreign policy hawk and was an ardent opponent of former President Barack Obama’s administration.

Outgoing CIA Director John Brennan had stern words for Mr. Trump last Sunday, saying he needed to be more “disciplined” in his public comments.

“I don’t think he has a full appreciation of Russian capabilities, Russia’s intentions and actions,” Mr. Brennan said of Mr. Trump on Fox News Sunday.

Mr. Trump, likening US intelligence to Nazis, suggested Mr. Brennan himself may have leaked an unsubstantiated report that the Russians had gathered damaging salacious personal information about him.

The intelligence agencies had given both Messrs. Trump and Obama a summary of the dossier, which later was published in full by BuzzFeed.

Mr. Brennan said the US intelligence chiefs considered it their responsibility to make Mr. Trump aware that it was in circulation. — AFP

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., January 11, 2017. — Reuters.

Women’s March draws millions in resistance to US Pres. Trump

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

WASHINGTON — More than two million people flooded US cities on Saturday as women opposed to Donald Trump led a peaceful, stunning rebuke against the new US president that was echoed in sister protests around the world.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the Inaugural luncheon at the National Statuary Hall after being sworn-in on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S, January 20, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

As a sea of demonstrators brought downtown Washington to a standstill, streaming past the White House in a joyous parade of pink “pussyhats,” Mr. Trump launched a withering attack on the media, accusing it of downplaying attendance at his swearing-in a day earlier.

Mr. Trump did not acknowledge the mass protests that marked his first full day in office.

But their scale illustrated the depth of resistance to the Republican hardliner, who many fear will roll back the rights of women, immigrants and minorities.

Although the US capital does not release crowd counts, organizers of the main protest, the Women’s March on Washington, told AFP they estimated turnout at one million — quadrupling initial expectations — with some 600 sister protests held around the globe.

A demonstrator has her mouth covered with tape and is handcuffed during the Women’s March on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters spearheaded by women’s rights groups demonstrated across the US to send a defiant message to US President Donald Trump. / AFP PHOTO / Joshua LOTT

“I’m part of history, and one day will tell my children about this,” said 16-year-old Maria Iman, who traveled to Washington with fellow high school students from Illinois. “It feels amazing.”

A tide of women and men teens, pensioners, parents with toddlers on their shoulders — swelled into the streets around the National Mall for hours before flowing towards the White House in a determined show of unity.

“Women won’t back down,” “Women’s rights are human rights” and “Thank you Trump — you turned me into an activist,” read some of the thousands of handmade signs held aloft in the capital.

Educator Tanya Gaxiola, 39, who flew in from Tucson, Arizona, expressed concern that Mr. Trump will seek to restrict abortion laws and otherwise clamp down on women’s rights.

“He’s a narcissist and seeks approval, and this is a big display of disapproval,” Ms. Gaxiola said. “Hopefully, it catches his attention.”

More than half a million people packed the streets of Los Angeles, according to police there, and similar numbers gathered in New York. Other marches took place in Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, St. Louis, Denver and elsewhere.

‘FIGHT BACK!’
In Boston, where up to 175,000 people demonstrated, fiery Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren took aim at Mr. Trump’s campaign of “attacks” on women and minorities.

“We can whimper. We can whine. Or we can fight back!” Ms. Warren said to a loud roar.

Saturday’s rallying cry was heard far beyond America’s shores, with protests held from Paris to Prague, Sydney to Johannesburg, and in some 20 cities across Canada.

One of the largest was in London, where tens of thousands of women, men and children marched chanting “Dump Trump.”

The human tide flooding Washington appeared to dwarf the throngs of Mr. Trump supporters in red “Make America Great Again!” caps who had cheered his swearing-in.

The knitted “pink pussyhats” they wore were an allusion to Mr. Trump’s videotaped boasts of being able to grab women’s genitals with impunity.

Mr. Trump’s defeated rival Hillary Clinton tweeted her support to the protesters, while former secretary of state John Kerry was spotted in the crowd — a day after leaving office — with his dog on a pink leash.

Celebrities Scarlett Johansson and Michael Moore were among the speakers, and pop diva Madonna made an impromptu appearance on the Washington protest stage to deliver an expletive-laden indictment of the president.

“Welcome to the revolution of love,” the 58-year-old intoned, wearing her own black pussyhat. “To the rebellion. To our refusal as women to accept this new age of tyranny.”

The Women’s March began with a simple Facebook post from Hawaii grandmother and retired lawyer Teresa Shook to about 40 friends — but word traveled quickly and the event took on a life of its own. — AFP

This photo combination shows US President Donald Trump speaking during the Inaugural luncheon at the National Statuary Hall after being sworn in on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Jan. 20 — AFP

A demonstrator with her mouth covered with tape and is handcuffed during the Women’s March on Jan. 21. — AFP

Syria regime, rebels head to Kazakhstan for first peace talks

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN — Syria’s government and rebel fighters will on Monday sit down at the negotiating table for the first time in nearly six years of war, the latest diplomatic push to end the hostilities.

A general view shows Nur-Astana mosque in Astana on January 22, 2017.
The so-called Astana peace talks, set to begin on Monday, will be the first time a delegation composed exclusively of rebel groups will negotiate with the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. / AFP PHOTO / Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV

Hosted in the Kazakh capital Astana, the talks will see an opposition delegation composed exclusively of rebel groups negotiating with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in an initiative sponsored by rebel backer Turkey and regime allies Russia and Iran.

Though the talks have been welcomed by all parties in the conflict, delegates from both sides are heading to Kazakhstan with apparently opposing ideas about the goals, with Mr. Assad insisting Thursday that rebels lay down their arms in exchange for an amnesty deal.

Although Mr. Assad said the talks would prioritize reaching a cease-fire, Damascus has insisted it will seek a “comprehensive” political solution to the conflict that has killed more than 300,000 and displaced over half of the country’s population.

The rebels, meanwhile, say they will focus solely on reinforcing a frail nationwide truce brokered by Moscow and Ankara last month.

The talks, which could last days, come a month after the Syrian regime, bolstered by its allies, took full control of second city Aleppo from rebels in its biggest victory in more than four years of fighting.

With stakes high and outcomes unclear, the Syrian opposition is wary that the regime could use the rebel groups’ inexperience in political talks to its advantage in Astana, a European diplomatic source told AFP.

“There is genuine worry in the opposition that the representatives of rebel groups, which are not at all used to these types of international negotiations, will be dragged into a political solution that will play into the hand of the regime,” the source said.

US REPRESENTED
The United States under new President Donald Trump will also be represented — with the US ambassador to Astana taking part.

A key negotiator in previous cease-fire agreements, Washington was last month sidelined from sponsoring the nationwide truce brokered by Russia and Turkey after months of disengagement from the conflict.

After overcoming a rift in relations following Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane in Syria in November 2015, the two countries this week conducted their first joint strikes against Islamic State group targets in an operation Moscow hailed as “highly effective.”

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview aired Saturday on Russian state television that deals that could help end the conflict in Syria were “unlikely” to be struck in Astana because “too many parties are involved in the process.”

Iran, the talks’ third sponsor, will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaber Ansari, the country’s Isna news agency reported.

Analysts say Iran, a longtime ally of Mr. Assad, views the Astana talks as an opportunity to increase its influence in the region after playing a crucial role in the symbolic recapture of Aleppo.

France, Britain and the European Union will also send their ambassadors as representatives at the talks.

A STEPPING STONE?
Divergent agendas and the absence of some key players and high-level officials cast uncertainty on how the Astana talks could serve as a building block for next month’s Geneva negotiations.

“The success or failure of Astana is not predetermined,” Russian Middle East expert Boris Dolgov told AFP.

“If something can be achieved in Astana, I think that a portion of the armed opposition will participate in the Geneva talks.” — AFP

A general view shows Nur-Astana mosque in Astana on January 22, 2017. — AFP

Fans snub Westbrook

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

Russell Westbrook was, of course, being disingenuous when he noted over the weekend that “I don’t play for All-Star bids. I play to win championships.” He was asked about his reaction to his failure to crack the West starting unit, and he replied the only way he could. What else was he expected to point out in the face of voting results, which placed him first in the eyes of members of the media and his peers but only third from the point of view of fans? How else was he going to react after continuing to put up astounding numbers not seen in 55 years?

In truth, Westbrook didn’t have to say anything. He was most definitely hurt by the snub; he would have been under normal circumstances, but even more so in light of his triple-double norm halfway through the season. Absent his exertions, the Thunder would have proven conventional wisdom true and performed as an also-ran following one-time league Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant’s departure. And yet he was still left out of the conference’s All-Star First Five. Heck, what else did he need to do in order to earn the nod of hoops followers? However, to admit it out loud would be tantamount to adding injury to insult.

Make no mistake. Westbrook will be at the All-Star Game. As sure as night follows day, he will be chosen by head coaches as a reserve. And while there’s nothing he can do about voting results, he remains in charge of his own showing. “I play to become a better player… I just continue doing what I’m doing and play the game the right way, and everything else will work out.” He’s right to concentrate on factors over which he has control. It’s not his fault the Thunder have a small market and offer little pull outside of the Sooner State; in comparison, the Warriors and Rockets command a significant following beyond the United States and, most importantly, in vote-rich China, thereby boosting the tallies of Stephen Curry and James Harden.

Which, in a nutshell, means Westbrook figures to be even better in the second half of his 2016-2017 campaign. He has played with a chip on his shoulder since being chosen fourth overall in the 2008 draft, and he will most definitely use the slight as motivation. Bottom line, he’s an All-Star, and he aims to show all and sundry that he’s first among equals.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.

Local GDP data to boost stocks amid uncertainties

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

THE PHILIPPINES’ growth story should cushion local equities amid persisting uncertainty over the economic policy direction in the United States, as the new leadership there ushers in a protectionist regime that may negatively impact emerging markets.

“The release of the GDP (gross domestic product) data this week will provide a glimpse of the strong fundamentals of the Philippine economy despite the headwinds from these global uncertainties,” Aniceto K. Pangan, trader at Diversified Securities, Inc., said in a mobile phone message.

The Philippine Statistics Authority will release fourth-quarter and annual GDP growth figures on Thursday. After advancing 7% in the preceding quarters, the economy should have expanded 6.9% in the three months to December to hit the upper end of the government’s 6-7% target.

The data should highlight the strong fundamentals of the Philippine economy and subsequently keep investors from pulling out the equities market, Mr. Pangan said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index declined 5.86 points or 0.08% to 7,232.66 last week, as investors turned cautious ahead of US President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration and amid renewed concerns over Britain’s looming divorce with the European Union.

Investors were hoping for clarity on the “America First” agenda of Mr. Trump, who has threatened US companies against outsourcing jobs and tightening immigration controls, among others.

In his inauguration speech last Friday, Mr. Trump reiterated a protectionist strategy in advancing the US economy forward, saying: “We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs. Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength.”

Aside from protectionist policies, the market should watch out for aggressive moves to ramp up fiscal initiatives, which would bolster expectations of the Federal Reserve hiking rates further, 2TradeAsia.com noted in a report.

“With no major local headlines in place yet, the mart might begin to factor in the country’s GDP report on Thursday to manage expectations for this year’s performance, and realign their portfolios,” it said.

2TradeAsia.com also cited the submission of the Philippine Development Plan, which should shed more light on the growth strategy of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration in the coming years. “Consequently, Trump and Duterte’s policies seem to mirror similar sentiment when it comes to economic priorities, which could definitely level their playing field to adopt fair and market-based trading conditions,” it added.

2TradeAsia.com pegged the local stock barometer’s immediate support at the 7,150 mark and resistance at the 7,300 level, noting: “For now, it’s better to wait on cues until the dust clears out.”

Juvic Pagunsan, four others tied for second in Singapore Open

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

SINGAPORE — Veteran Thai golfer Prayad Marksaeng won the Singapore Open by a single stroke on Sunday after shooting a final round of four-under-par 67 to finish at nine-under 275.

The 51-year-old Prayad finished a shot clear of four players who tied for second at eight-under, Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand, Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines, Jbe Kruger of South Africa and the defending champion, South Korea’s Song Young-Han.

The tournament favorite, Australia’s Adam Scott, led by a stroke after the third round but blew his chances of a fourth title at the Sentosa Golf Club when he hit two balls into the water. — AFP

Marcus Morris’s game winner pushes Pistons past Wizards

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

LOS ANGELES — Marcus Morris delivered a game-winning putback as time expired on the clock to lift the Detroit Pistons to a 113-112 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday.

AUBURN HILLS, MI – JANUARY 21: Marcus Morris #13 of the Detroit Pistons tips in the game winning buzzer beater while playing the Washington Wizards at the Palace of Auburn Hills on January 21, 2017 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Detroit won the game 113-112. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images/AFP
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Detroit squandered a 16-point lead in the final quarter before the clutch basket by Morris who finished with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.

The Pistons launched three desperation shots during a mad scramble in the closing seconds leading up to the final buzzer in front of a crowd of 18,200 at The Palace arena.

He leaned over his twin brother, Markieff Morris a Wizards forward, while scoring the basket.

Reggie Jackson had 19 points and eight assists and Tobias Harris supplied 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Pistons, who have won three straight.

Joe Leuer came off the bench to score 10 points after missing the previous five games with a knee injury.

Pistons center Andre Drummond was held to three points because of foul trouble.

John Wall had 19 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Washington. Markieff Morris contributed 19 points and nine rebounds, Bradley Beal had 17 points and Jason Smith scored a season-high 16 for the Wizards.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Nicolas Batum converted a four-point play and hit another three-pointer in a span of 31 seconds down the stretch as the Charlotte Hornets toppled the Brooklyn Nets, 112-105.

Batum nailed a three-pointer, was fouled and converted the free throw to give the Hornets the lead for good at 101-98 with 3:21 left.

Then he hit another three-pointer on the Hornets’ next possession to extend the lead to 104-98 with 2:50 remaining. The Hornets stretched the lead to nine from there and never let the Nets get closer than five again.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford has often lamented his team’s fourth quarter difficulties, but he was pleased with how his team found a way to make plays down the stretch. — AFP

Marcus Morris, #13 of the Detroit Pistons, tips in the game winning buzzer beater while playing the Washington Wizards at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Jan. 21 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. — AFP

Vivo taps NBA star Stephen Curry as brand ambassador

January 23, 2017 | 10:32 am

VIVO, a premium smartphone brand, tapped international basketball superstar Stephen Curry as the brand ambassador and official endorser of all Vivo phones, including its breakthrough flagship product Vivo V5 Plus, considered the perfect selfie phone because it is equipped with the world’s first 20 megapixel dual front cameras.

“With Vivo being a premium brand, it’s only fitting that we choose the best ambassador for it,” Vivo brand director, Annie Lim, said of their chosen brand ambassador.

The NBA superstar, two-time MVP and Golden State Warriors’ point guard had earlier expressed his excitement in the Vivo grand launch last November, when he was first revealed as the official ambassador for all upcoming Vivo phone models. “I’m really thankful for being part of the Vivo family and I’m looking forward to more activities with Vivo,” Curry said. The Perfect Selfie phone comes with 20-megapixel primary and 8-megapixel secondary front cameras and advanced selfie features, such as the ‘bokeh’ effect, face beauty mode 6.0, and selfie soft light.

Designed with a 5.5-inch large display, ultra-slim bezel technology, and 5th generation Corning Gorilla glass with enhanced scratch resistance, Vivo V5 Plus is the perfect blend of style, convenience, and function.

For speed and efficient performance, the Perfect Selfie phone is run by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor, paired with Vivo’s Funtouch OS based on Android 6.0, with a 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM, to boot.

Sound-wise, the V5 Plus uses the Vivo’s premium Hi-Fi system, the AK4376.

Finally, the newest Vivo model has an updated fingerprint technology for quick launching, and a fast-charging feature, according to International Data Corp. (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.