Sun worshippers: Indonesians soak up the rays to battle virus

From shirtless soldiers to teens suntanning on their parents' driveways, Indonesians are soaking up rays like never before in the hope that plentiful sunshine will ward off coronavirus.

The rush to take up a practice usually associated with Bali-bound foreigners has been driven by unfounded claims on social media that sunlight -- and the vitamin D it supplies -- can slow or kill the virus.

That hope got a boost last week when a senior US official said new research showed sunlight quickly destroys the virus. The study has yet to be evaluated independently, but US President Donald Trump spoke about it enthusiastically during a press conference.

"I always avoided the sun before because I didn't want to get tanned," said Theresia Rikke Astria, a 27-year-old housewife in Indonesia's cultural capital Yogyakarta.

"But I'm hoping this will strengthen my immune system," she added.

Medics have their doubts, but say a 15-minute burst of morning sunshine can be good for you.

"Exposing the body to direct sunlight is good to get vitamin D, not to directly prevent the disease," said Dr. Dirga Sakti Rambe at Jakarta’s OMNI Pulomas Hospital.

Vitamin D, which comes from fish, eggs, milk and sunlight exposure, is important in maintaining a healthy immune system, he said, but added: "Sunbathing does not kill the virus that causes COVID-19."

Whatever the science, one thing is for sure: there is no shortage of sunshine in the tropical 5,000-kilometre- (3,100-mile-) long Southeast Asian archipelago.


The rush outdoors has led to an Indonesian government warning about the dangers of skin cancer, and calls for novice sun-seekers to slap on protection.

It was a rare caution in a place where sunbathing is not practised widely and beauty product commercials extol the virtues of fair skin.

Across Asia, pale skin has long been associated with a higher social class and skin-lightening products are big sellers.

Muslim majority Indonesia's relatively conservative dress codes -- especially for women -- mean skimpy swimwear isn't a feature of the new craze.

- 'Asian skin tone' -

But the pandemic has made a convert of Rio Zikrizal, even if he struggles with the idea of soaking his shirtless torso in the sun.

"In normal times I'd be reluctant to sunbathe," the Jakarta resident said.

"I've got an Asian skin tone which gets dark easily so I often use products to make my skin lighter."

Nabillah Ayu, who lives on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, starts her newly adopted sunbathing routine around 10 am -- when she used to be in the office -- in the hopes of avoiding the deadly respiratory disease.

"Sunlight can't directly kill coronavirus, but it can boost the immune system and stop you from getting it," the 22-year-old said.

Bare-chested suntan sessions have been incorporated into morning exercise routines for some military and police units.

And in major cities, residents are flocking from neighbourhoods crammed with narrow, dark alleyways to open areas -- including commuter train tracks -- where they can catch some unobstructed rays.

It is a motley mix of women in head-covering hijabs with rolled up sleeves and pants, shirtless male teens and wrinkly pensioners all clamouring for a bit of sunshine as the odd train zips by.

"I've just started sunbathing regularly since the pandemic hit," Alfian, who goes by one name, told AFP near train tracks in Tangerang on the edge of Jakarta.

"Afterwards I take a shower and my body feels fitter."

Pensioner Wadianto Wadito, who suffers from heart disease and diabetes, figures he can use all the help he can get.

"I'm already taking a lot of medicines anyway, so now I'm sunbathing to get all my vitamins without taking more pills," the 65-year-old said.

Agence France-Presse

Self-isolation? Some in Georgia choose beach instead

After being locked down for weeks, many residents in Georgia are thumbing their noses at the deadly coronavirus and seeking sanctuary in the sun, sand and waves of the southern state's beaches.

Under a cloudless blue sky with balmy temperatures and soft breezes rolling off the water, Tybee Island proved a powerful weekend lure Saturday for Georgians desperate for any return to normalcy -- and an escape from self-imposed isolation.

"How long are we supposed to imprison ourselves?" a bikini-clad Mackenzie Scharf, 30, said to AFP as her five-year-old son flew a Spider Man kite.

"This is much safer than going grocery shopping."

One day after Georgia's governor allowed a limited reopening of thousands of businesses, several hundred people were enjoying Tybee Island's sprawling South Beach.

It feels great -- like it's supposed to feel," said 39-year-old mother and housewife Rachel Lilly, barely lifting her head from a watermelon-themed towel as she enjoyed her first beach trip of the year.

"I'm not concerned" about catching coronavirus, "as long as it's not packed," she said. "But if everyone does what we're doing, that's a problem."

Locals said Saturday was the busiest beach day of the year so far for Tybee Island, a laid-back tourist destination on Georgia's Atlantic coast.

Several hundred people were on the sand strolling, jogging, throwing footballs or wading in the mild waves.

Social distancing was generally in effect. But masks or other protective gear? Forget about it.

"It's just nice to, you know, come up for a little air," silver-haired attorney Brian Monroe, 49, said after throwing a Frisbee with his daughter.

"When the beach is sparsely populated like this it's not too hard to social distance."

Tybee Island authorities nevertheless were patrolling the sand on all-wheel drive vehicles, cautioning people about distancing.

One block off the sand, sun-splashed youths wearing sandals and long swim trunks scanned their phones and held red plastic cups as they rode cruiser bikes through quiet streets.

The smell of sunblock lingered. A motorcycle group rumbled down the main drag, Butler Avenue. Restaurants and smoothie shops were providing take-out for beachgoers.

- 'Get it on' -

This was not the scene that Tybee Island's Mayor Shirley Sessions envisioned.


She shut the community's beaches several weeks ago as a measure to contain viral spread. But this month Georgia Governor Brian Kemp overruled her with an order of his own.

Neighbors South Carolina and Florida have both opened some of their beaches.

But Georgia has gone further. On Friday, Kemp gave permission for some small businesses to re-open statewide, including barber shops, bowling alleys and nail salons, provided protective health measures were in place.

Restaurants and social clubs can open come Monday.

Realtor and 40-year Tybee Island resident Harold Heyman said he's all for Georgia and other states throwing the doors of their businesses wide open, health concerns be damned.

"Get it on," the bronzed and shirtless 75-year-old grinned as he walked toward his beachside home.

Heyman scoffed about the concern someone his age might have about contracting a virus which has already infected more than 925,000 people in the United States, 53,000 of whom have died.

As for defying a crisis to hang out at the beach, swim, and soak up the sun, "this is my way of being healthy," he added.

Eighteen miles (29 kilometers) inland in Savannah, Georgia's historic city that draws some 14 million visitors per year, conditions were more gloomy.

Many of Savannah's hotels and restaurants are temporarily closed, and its famed haunted tours have also been halted.

Locals rode through town on bicycles but few tourists were walking the historic streets or snapping photographs in Chippewa Square.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said he believes it is "absolutely premature" to open, given the city has yet to meet White House guidelines for opening up business, including 14 straight days of declining infections.

Johnson has also urged faith leaders not to hold church services Sunday.

Agence France-Presse

Giro d'Italia cyclist turns delivery man to stay fit

He really should be training for the Giro d'Italia instead of making deliveries during the coronavirus pandemic. But how else is a professional Italian cyclist supposed to stay fit?

At least that is what Umberto Marengo was thinking when he decided to pull on his lycra and start hauling pasta and pizza across the suburbs of the northern Italian city of Turin.

Marengo and his little Italian team Vini Zabu-KTM are still trying to gain a measure of respectability on the professional tour circuit.

The KTM riders considered themselves lucky to have even qualified for one of the three Grand Tours.



But the Giro will not be starting on May 9 because of the virus that has officially killed almost 26,000 across the Mediterranean country.

The 27-year-old had little to do but sit at home with his girlfriend. The subject of ice cream came up and Marengo's new career soon followed.

"We searched the internet and found this ice cream parlour making home deliveries," Marengo recalls.

"So I began to wonder if I couldn't find some people who needed someone to make their deliveries for them."

Marengo got in touch with the mayor and was soon speeding along abandoned city streets on his racing bike -- a rucksack full of deli sandwiches strapped to his back.

"The customers are all amazed," Marengo admits.

"Especially since I always try to go up by the stairs to stay that little bit fitter."

- 'Clear my head' -

The pandemic has played as much havoc with the global sports schedule as it has with most other aspects of life.

The Giro has still not been rescheduled and the timeframe for the two other major cycling races -- the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana -- is unknown.

But Italy is preparing to ease its way out of what is now the world's longest active national lockdown when the current restrictions expire on May 3.

Marengo and the other riders will soon drop what they are doing and enter extreme training regimes.

The KLM rider says delivering food has been rewarding -- although maybe not terribly useful for staying racer-fit.

"This is mainly to stay useful to my community," he says.


He makes up to 30 deliveries a day and has managed to set a personal lockdown record by riding 70 kilometres (45 miles) in a day -- less than half the average length of a single stage.

Marengo conceded that he will probably have a lot of ground to make up when he makes his last delivery once Italians' stay-at-home orders are lifted.

"This really has nothing to do with normal training, even if I try to make every delivery as quickly as possible," Marengo says.

But at least he has managed to avoid being pushed through punishing routines at the gym -- now closed -- by his trainer.

"I never liked it," Marengo says of the tedious hours at the gym.

"That's another reason I started making deliveries. It allows me to clear my head."

Agence France-Presse

The coronavirus cancels Oktoberfest in Germany

BERLIN — This year’s Oktoberfest in Munich has been called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The cancellation of the world-famous annual celebration of beer, which was supposed to run from September 19 to October 4, underlines expectations that the way back to normal life will be very long.

The Oktoberfest typically draws about 6 million visitors every year to the packed festival grounds in Bavaria’s capital.

Bavarian governor Markus Soeder said after meeting Munich’s mayor Tuesday: “We agreed that the risk is simply too high.” He added that “you can neither keep your distance nor work with facial protection” at the Oktoberfest.

Soeder noted that the festival attracts visitors from around the world, raising concerns about bringing new infections to Bavaria.

Mayor Dieter Reiter said that “it is an emotionally difficult moment and of course it is also an economically difficult moment for our city.”

As it stands, major events with large audiences are banned in Germany until at least the end of August.

The country has taken the first steps toward loosening its shutdown, allowing small nonessential shops to start opening this week, but it remains unclear when bars and restaurants will be able to welcome customers again.

The Oktoberfest has previously been canceled during the two world wars; at a time of hyperinflation in Germany in 1923; and because of cholera outbreaks in 1854 and 1873, German news agency dpa reported.

Associated Press

Facebook to warn users who ‘liked’ coronavirus hoaxes

Facebook will soon let you know if you shared or interacted with dangerous coronavirus misinformation on the site, the latest in a string of aggressive efforts the social media giant is taking to contain an outbreak of viral falsehoods.

The new notice will be sent to users who have clicked on, reacted to, or commented on posts featuring harmful or false claims about COVID-19 after they have been removed by moderators. The alert, which will start appearing on Facebook in the coming weeks, will direct users to a site where the World Health Organization (WHO) lists and debunks virus myths and rumors.


Facebook, Google and Twitter are introducing stricter rules, altered algorithms and thousands of fact checks to stop the spread of bad misinformation online about the virus.

Challenges remain. Tech platforms have sent home human moderators who police the platforms, forcing them to rely on automated systems to take down harmful content. They are also up against people’s mistrust of authoritative sources for information, such as the WHO.

“Through this crisis, one of my top priorities is making sure that you see accurate and authoritative information across all of our apps,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page Thursday.

The company disclosed Thursday that it put more than 40 million warning labels in March over videos, posts or articles about the coronavirus that fact-checking organizations have determined are false or misleading. The number includes duplicate claims—the labels were based on 4,000 fact checks.


Facebook says those warning labels have stopped 95% of users from clicking on the false information.

“It’s a big indicator that people are trusting the fact-checkers,” said Baybars Orsek, the director of the International Fact-Checking Network. “The label has an impact on people’s information consumption.”

But Orsek cautioned that the data Facebook provided should be reviewed by outside editors or experts, and called on the historically secretive company to release regular updates about the impact of its fact-checking initiative.

Orsek’s organization is a nonprofit that certifies news organizations as fact-checkers, a requirement to produce fact-checking articles for Facebook. Facebook has recruited dozens of news organizations around the globe to fact-check bad information on its site. The Associated Press is part of that program.

Facebook will also begin promoting the articles that debunk COVID-19 misinformation, of which there are thousands, on a new information center called “Get The Facts.” Putting trustworthy information in front of people can be just as useful, if not more, than simply debunking falsehoods.


Still, conspiracy theories, claims about unverified treatments, and misinformation about coronavirus vaccines continue to pop up on the site dail—sometimes circumventing the safeguards Facebook has implemented.

The new notification feature also only applies to posts on users’ main news feed—not in groups, where misinformation often spreads unchecked, and not on WhatsApp or Instagram, though Facebook has put some other protections in place on those platforms.

That means a lot of users won’t get the new alert from Facebook, said Stephanie Edgerly, an associate professor at Northwestern University who researches audience engagement. She said many users might simply see a false claim in their Facebook feed but not share, like or comment on it.

“A lot of what we know about how people scroll through their news feed not clicking on things, they still reading posts or headlines, without clicking on the link,” Edgerly said.

Facebook users, for example, viewed a false claim that the virus is destroyed by chlorine dioxide nearly 200,000 times, estimates a new study out today from Avaaz, a left-leaning advocacy group that tracks and researches online misinformation.

The group found more than 100 pieces of misinformation about the coronavirus on Facebook, viewed millions of times even after the claims had been marked as false or misleading by fact-checkers. Other false claims were not labeled as misinformation, despite being declared by fact-checkers as false.

“Coronavirus misinformation content mutates and spreads faster than Facebook’s current system can track it,” Avaaz said in its report.

This is especially problematic for Italian and Spanish misinformation, the report said, because Facebook has been slower to issue warning labels on posts that aren’t in English. Avaaz also noted that it can take as long as 22 days for Facebook to label misinformation as such—giving it plenty of time to spread.

False claims about coronavirus treatments have had deadly consequences.

Last month, Iranian media reported more than 300 people had died and 1,000 were sickened in the country after ingesting methanol, a toxic alcohol rumored to be a remedy through private social media messages.

Associated Press

WATCH: Clip of David Bowie in ‘Stardust’ falls to earth on YouTube

Some four years after his death, a previously unreleased clip by Bowie, “Repetition ’97”, recently fell to earth on YouTube.

At a time when the Tribeca Film Festival has just announced the debut of select 2020 Festival programming online, David Bowie fans were delighted to discover a short extract from “Stardust”.



Written and directed by British filmmaker Gabriel Range, the film takes us on a road trip with the young Bowie in 1971. Then aged 24, the singer is just about to embark on a transformation that turned him into Ziggy Stardust, his first and most famous alter ego which immediately made him a pop icon.

The short sequence centers on a scene in which David Bowie, whose real name was David Robert Jones, discusses his prospects in the United States with Ron Oberman, a publicist for Mercury Records.

When Bowie raises the issue of Mercury’s doubts about his album “The Man Who Sold the World” and his United States tour, Oberman insists that he has none whatsoever.

AFP Relaxnews

Other Music documentary to be released this week

The documentary about the legendary New York indie record store was originally slated for a theatrical opening for Record Store Day Saturday, on Saturday, April 18.

While Record Store Day has been postponed to June 20 in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, “Other Music” will be released through “virtual screenings” from Friday, April 17 through Monday, April 20.



The film will be available to rent through the websites of more than 20 independent record stores and theaters, which will receive half of the proceeds of the “virtual cinema” initiative.

Once “Other Music” is purchased through a vendor, the full-length documentary will be available to view for 72 hours on any internet-connected device.

Among the participating record stores and theaters are Stranded Records in San Francisco, Songbyrd in Washington D.C., Sweat Records in Miami, Shuga Records in Chicago, the Groove in Nashville, as well as Northwest Film Forum in Seattle.

The 85-minute-long documentary, directed by Rob Hatch-Miller and Puloma Basu, chronicles the musical and cultural impact of the now-closed indie record store Other Music.

“Other Music” includes appearances by artists who launched their careers in the much-loved store, which closed its doors in Manhattan’s East Village Neighborhood in 2016.

Among them are Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig, Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500, Daniel Kessler of Interpol, as well as Avey Tare and Panda Bear of Animal Collective.

Also contributing to the documentary, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, are American singer-songwriter Regina Spektor, Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro, music journalist Lizzy Goodman and American actor Jason Schwartzman.


“We are so honored to have the privilege of being able to tell the story of a place that was so special to us and to our lives in New York City — as it was to so many other people. We hope our film further cements Other Music’s legacy as one of New York City’s most important musical landmarks, and inspires people around the world to keep its spirit alive,” directors Rob Hatch-Miller and Puloma Basu said of the film.

AFP Relaxnews

US restaurants turn to grocery sales to help offset losses

O’Fallon, Mo. (AP) — Charlene Gulliford at the Gandy Dancer never figured there would come a day when the Michigan restaurant known for its steaks and seafood would sell toilet paper and cartons of eggs, but the coronavirus has restaurants in survival mode.

The popular restaurant in Ann Arbor now doubles as a grocery store, offering staples such milk and bread in addition to meats and fish from its own pantry — and yes, even paper towels and the ever-elusive toilet paper. Sales began two weeks ago and the Gandy Dancer has found an income source to make up for some of its lost dine-in business, while also filling a need since traditional grocers are struggling to keep up with demand.

“A lot of people are saying they’re happy to support us, but a lot of people are saying, ‘Thank you for helping us,’” said Gulliford, the restaurant’s general manager.

The idea is catching on nationwide. Stay-at-home and social distancing orders meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 have put restaurant dining on hold, forcing many to close and leaving others barely surviving. From large chains to mom-and-pop eateries, restaurants are increasingly turning to grocery sales.

Panera this week launched Panera Grocery, offering not only the St. Louis-based chain’s popular breads, bagels and sweets but items such as milk, eggs and fresh produce that its 2,100 U.S. stores normally use to make meals. Grocery items can be delivered or picked up.

Subway is selling groceries at 250 of its stores in five states -- California, Connecticut, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington. Potbelly Sandwich Shop franchises launched Potbelly Pantry, offering mostly foods that the chain uses to make its sandwiches, such as meats, cheeses and breads.

Panera’s vice president of wellness and food policy, Sara Burnett, said the decision to sell groceries is a reaction to “the unprecedented crisis our country’s going through right now.” She wouldn’t disclose how much the pandemic has cost Panera, but she said 30 percent of its business typically comes from in-restaurant dining, “and that obviously is completely gone.”

The National Restaurant Association says the industry has lost 3 million jobs and $25 billion in sales since March 1. Spokeswoman Vanessa Sink said 3% of restaurants have closed permanently and another 11% expect to do so by the end of the month.

The move to grocery sales has been swift. Panera would typically spend months on a new business proposal, doing research, conducting surveys and opening test markets. Not this time. Panera Grocery went from an idea to launch in two weeks, Burnett said.


Grocery items sold by restaurants vary greatly. Some offer mostly the types of things already in their pantries, such as meats, vegetables, fruit, cheese, milk and eggs. Others, like the Gandy Dancer, offer a much broader selection.

Union Loafers in St. Louis is opting for quality, even if it means a higher price. The restaurant began selling locally produced goods such as eggs, milk, jams and meats on March 31. Co-owner Sean Netzer said patrons don’t mind the higher price — most items are selling out daily.

The chain restaurants, which buy in extraordinary bulk, can afford to sell at a lower cost. Subway and Panera Grocery prices are comparable to grocery store prices, the companies said.

Gulliford said the Gandy Dancer’s prices are more than competitive and can even be cheaper than the grocery store’s. For example, six lemons sell for $1 and potatoes are $1 per pound, she said.

Many of the restaurants-turned-grocery stores are offering “contact-free” service in which the customer place orders by phone or online and the goods are delivered straight to the trunk or backseat of the car. Gulliford said the elderly, who are at a higher risk of serious illness or death from the coronavirus, are especially appreciative of being able to avoid going into stores.

Restaurant operators aren’t sure if grocery sales will continue once the pandemic passes. Panera sees this as “kind of a tipping point to see what our customers need,” Burnett said.

Gulliford said the future is especially difficult to predict during this unprecedented time.

“It just really depends on what the new normal is,” she said.

The Associated Press

The Beatles’ legend lives on, 50 years after breakup

When The Beatles went their separate ways in the early 1970s, few thought that half a century later the pioneering band would still influence pop music culture.

But, with Friday marking 50 years since their unofficial breakup, the so-called “Fab Four” are still popular and present, in spirit if not in the flesh.

“The Beatles were said to have been the 20th century’s greatest romance, but no one then could have foreseen that such an already phenomenal accomplishment would extend into the next century,” band historian Mark Lewisohn told Agence France-Presse.

“Fifty years now after breaking up, The Beatles remain an artistic ultimate, leading creative people everywhere to the limitless playing field, open to all,” said the ardent author of “Tune in,” the first installment in a trilogy, “The Beatles: All These Years.”

Flashback to April 10, 1970, release of an interview with Paul McCartney, in which he suggested The Beatles were done making records together, and the band’s legacy seemed far less certain.

Given shortly before the release of his first solo album, McCartney stopped short of announcing the formal breakup of the band in the brief and ambiguous Q&A.

But asked if he foresaw a time when his prolific songwriting partnership with fellow Beatle John Lennon would restart, his blunt reply—”no”—spoke for itself.

“McCartney Breaks Off With Beatles,” The New York Times headlined.

A British High Court case later that year to dissolve the business partnership made it official.

‘Indestructible’

The band’s acrimonious split left fans inconsolable, recalled Philip Norman, who has written several books on The Beatles, including the official 2016 Paul McCartney biography.


“A whole generation had grown up with The Beatles… they had a Beatles album for every important stage in their life,” he said.

“A lot of people thought it’s just dreadful… it’s just a bleak future without them. It truly did feel that way.”

But the band’s bountiful catalogue has aged well.

They remain the best-selling music artists of all time, with enduring hits from “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Hey Jude” to “Yesterday” and “Let It Be” familiar to at least four generations of fans.

“They’re not over,” Norman told AFP. “They’re still everywhere. They’re still in our language. They’re in our headlines… quoted all the time, their music is still played.

“The charm is just indestructible.”

‘No off-switch’

After busting out of Liverpool, England, in 1960, The Beatles—Lennon, McCartney, drummer Ringo Starr and lead guitarist George Harrison—became a social phenomenon.

But by the late ’60s, with the band “more popular than Jesus”—as the late Lennon once quipped—so-called Beatlemania was taking its toll.

He confessed in a recently discovered interview that the 1965 song “Help!” was a cry for exactly that.


“It was real. I was singing ‘Help!’ and I meant it,” he said. “There is no off-switch. You are on 24 hours a day… everyone wants a bit of you.”

Meanwhile, relations within the band, especially between Lennon and McCartney, had frayed.

By the time of McCartney’s announcement, they had not played live in four years. Starr and Harrison had solo records as well, while Lennon and his Japanese artist wife, Yoko Ono, had formed the Plastic Ono Band.

McCartney formed Wings, which included his wife, Linda, in late 1971 and despite initial criticism, it eventually prospered.

He, Harrison and Starr had fruitful solo and collaborative careers, while Lennon and Ono increasingly devoted their attention to pacifist activism.

‘Giant talents’

The Beatles almost got back together in the mid-1970s, but issues involving rights could not be resolved, according to Norman.

Then, in 1980, Lennon was shot dead in New York by Mark David Chapman, believed to suffer from mental illness.

McCartney said in 2016 that he had fortunately patched things up with his former bandmate before tragedy struck.

In 1982 he wrote “Here Today,” and later explained it was his way of saying “I love you” to Lennon. 


The pair’s relationship had been The Beatles’ main creative force.

“Lennon and McCartney were giant talents and produce an absolutely magical product together,” said Norman.

“Very different individuals but (they) just combined perfectly like virgin olive oil and vinegar—the perfect dressing.”

For Lewisohn, The Beatles continue to shine in today’s more manufactured pop music climate.

“There’s a universe of difference between shallow celebrity… and the true artistry with which The Beatles and other creative talents nourish the soul and inspire joy,” he declared. CL /ra

Agence France-Presse

Yankees top Forbes’ list of richest MLB clubs

Major League Baseball may lose billions to the coronavirus shutdown, but its clubs appear to be on
firm footing according to Forbes’ latest list of franchise values released Thursday.

The financial publication estimated that 28 of 30 MLB clubs appreciated in value in 2019.


The New York Yankees once again top the list, appreciating 9% to $5 billion in total value.

According to Forbes, the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, worth an estimated $5.5 billion, are the only sports franchise in the world worth more than the Yanks.

Forbes predicted that strong recent profits will “help offset any downturn from the delayed season.”

MLB has indefinitely postponed the 2020 campaign, which had been scheduled to start on March 26, as health authorities urge social distancing to slow the spread of deadly COVID-19.

Until the setback, Forbes said, MLB profits were at record highs thanks to flat player costs and increased revenue of $16 million per team on average.

Forbes calculated that the Yankees generated $683 million in revenue in 2019.

The Los Angeles Dodgers were rated the second-most valuable team at $3.4 billion, and also posted the second-highest revenue, Forbes said.

The Boston Red Sox clocked in at third at $3.3 billion, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($3.2 billion), San Francisco Giants ($3.1 billion), New York Mets ($2.4 billion), St. Louis Cardinals ($2.2 billion) and Philadelphia Phillies ($2 billion).

Only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins dropped in value, the Pirates by 1% and the Marlins by 2%.

Only the Marlins, valued at $980 million, were outside the billionaire club, according to the calculations by Forbes.

Agence France-Presse

TikTok’s time: video platform sees appeal growing during lockdowns

NEW YORK — This is TikTok’s time. The social video platform which was already a favorite of teens is increasingly being used by adults looking for ways to pass the time during coronavirus lockdowns.

Users post short videos — no longer than 60 seconds but often as short as 15 — to showcase their bite-size dance skills or share relatable experiences with a humorous twist.

The application, owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, saw 65 million worldwide downloads in March, according to analytics site SensorTower.

In addition to the existing 800 million reported in January by DataReportal, the app is nearing a billion users — though TikTok itself does not publish such data.

And though teens have been posting on the platform for months, it seems adults with more free time — as much of the world is encouraged to stay at home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus — are finally catching on.

Cecile, stuck at home in Paris with her six- and three-year-old children, was intrigued when a friend sent her a video. Soon, she had downloaded the app and was posting clips herself.


“I said to myself: ‘Well, this is something funny I could do with the boys to pass the time, if only for fifteen minutes,'” she said.

“When I say, ‘Come on, we’re making a video,’ they’re ready to go. It makes them laugh.”

Celebrities have joined the fun too, from Jennifer Lopez to Mariah Carey — even 82-year-old Jane Fonda.

Social media use is up across the board as movement is restricted around the world, but TikTok — already having a moment before the pandemic — is doing better than others.

Idyllic vacation views and perfectly framed artistic shots — long the markers of the Instagram aesthetic — are currently out of reach for most.

But the typical TikTok post does not require a beautiful background, explained Thibault Le Ouay, founder of Pentos, a company that helps brands with their marketing strategy on the platform.

“On TikTok, you do a dance in your own house,” he said, pointing to 15-year-old Charli D’Amelio, one of the app’s biggest stars with 46 million subscribers.

“She is at home in leggings. It’s not a video of a beach paradise,” he said. “It’s still something you can do at home.”

Plus, TikTok has levity baked into its DNA.

Many videos on the platform — a descendant of the website Musical.ly — are amateur performances of short choreographed dances and lip syncs to song clips, repeated and riffed on over and over.

“It’s a very interesting position to be in for TikTok right now, because the videos are generally pretty light, humorous, fun and easy,” said Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst for market research company eMarketer.

“And with all of the negative news that people are hearing on a daily basis from other media, TikTok is something different, and I think that people need that right now.”

#happyathome
The site has also taken on the role of promoting stay-at-home content in an effort to help fight the virus, a TikTok spokeswoman said.

The hashtag #happyathome has seen more than 7.9 billion views.

“We’re committed to doing our part to help the broader community get through this difficult time,” she said.

The app also has a page with information about COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, with contributions from the World Health Organization (WHO) that “dispel some of the myths” around the illness, she said.

Multiple brands have used civic responsibility as an entry point into TikTok, where advertising has been scarce until recently.

US personal hygiene and cleaning product giant Proctor & Gamble has worked with Charli D’Amelio for a campaign about social distancing, for example.

Brands’ marketing ability in general — including the opportunity to monetize content on TikTok — is limited by the pandemic, experts say.

But they are still interested, according to Williamson.

“The problem is for some companies (that) TikTok is an experiment for advertising,” she said. “And if they are being forced to cut their ad budgets — which many companies are right now — things that are experimental often times are the easiest to cut.”

And the app’s Chinese origins could be a concern for some brands in the US that are worried about data usage, she said.

eMarketer, which already predicted TikTok will grow this year to 45 million US users, up from 37 million, has not changed its forecast based on impact from coronavirus.

“The question I have for TikTok and all of the social media platforms that are seeing increases in engagement now is whether it will continue once things get back to normal, once older adults are back working and they have other things going on,” Williamson said.

“It’s too soon to tell right now.”

Agence France-Presse

Italian union urges pay deal for lower league players

The head of the Italian footballers' association (AIC) on Sunday urged football authorities in the country to strike a deal to safeguard lower league players, who risk losing their livelihoods due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

"In Lega Pro (which manages the third-tier Serie C), Serie D and women's football there are players who provide for their families with very low earnings," AIC president Damiano Tommasi told Rainews24.

"We're looking to see if the resources we can get our hands on can help give them some security... 70 percent of players in the Lega Pro have gross earnings of less than 50,000 euros ($54,000) a year."

"Even going beyond individual athletes, I believe we have a responsibility to protect the kit men, physical therapists, drivers and pitch-side workers."

Tommasi spoke a day before a videoconference meeting between Serie A clubs in which player salaries -- as well as potential dates to restart the league -- will be on the agenda after failing to strike a deal with the AIC.

The top-flight outfits had reportedly proposed a four-month suspension of salary payments in line with what Juventus players have already agreed with their club, an idea that was given short shrift by the AIC, who according to newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport counter-proposed a one month stop.

On Saturday, the president of the Lega Pro Francesco Ghirelli said sides in the division could disappear in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which appeared on Sunday to be slowly abating in Italy but has still killed thousands.

"With every day that passes, there is a greater risk that entire clubs and companies could be forced out of business," Ghirelli said in a statement.

"The whole network of Serie C clubs is very close to collapse ... The very real risk is that owners could see their clubs go bankrupt. Players would then find themselves with no club and, consequently, no salary at all.

"This is why we need sacrifices from everyone to save football. We need to realise as soon as possible that this virus could see many Serie C clubs disappear."

Agence France-Presse

US service sectors slows in March

WASHINGTON (AP) — Growth in the U.S. service sector slowed in March with a much bigger decline expected in coming months from all the shutdowns and job layoffs that have occurred because of efforts to contain the coronavirus.

The Institute for Supply Management said Friday that its service-sector index slowed to 52.5 in March from a reading of 57.3 in February.

Any reading above 50 indicates the service sector, where most Americans work, is expanding. But with record layoffs over the past two weeks, economists believe services will fall into a contraction in April.

The March report said service industries were already showing signs of the impact of the virus. Reports from the health care sector found significant shortages of personal protective equipment, test swabs and other basic medical supplies.

“Extreme sourcing measures are required to procure necessary supplies for basic operations,” the ISM report said, quoting respondents to its survey.

Anthony Nieves, chair of the survey committee for the ISM services report, said one factor that kept the index from sliding further in March was strength being seen in the government and health care parts of the index.

ISM reported on Wednesday that its manufacturing index did fall into contractionary territory in March with a reading of 49.1. Private economists said they were looking for the services index to slide into contraction territory probably with the April report.

“Conditions in both non-manufacturing and manufacturing are expected to weaken over coming months in response to virus-related shutdowns, supply chain disruptions as well as weak demand,” said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics.

Associated Press

Facebook feature lets people reach out for help in pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO–Facebook on Tuesday activated a feature allowing people impacted by the coronavirus pandemic to reach out for help from their community.

The Community Help feature was added to the social network four years ago as a way to find shelter, food or supplies during natural disasters, and this week added the COVID-19 crisis to that list.

“We’ve been seeing since the beginning people asking for help,” Facebook app head Fidji Simo told AFP.

“We’ve been working for a couple of weeks at enabling the feature.”

While Community Help has been activated for tragedies such as the recent Australian wildfires, this time the feature reaches far beyond a single country and had to be woven into the coronavirus information hub, according to Simo.

Facebook set the help radius by default to 50 miles in the US and 100 kilometers in other countries, but people can scale back the area in which they are available to be of assistance.

“You can adjust it down if you can only help in your neighborhood,” Simo said.

The feature lets Facebook users request or offer help from walking dogs or fetching groceries to psychotherapy.

People wishing to help support coronavirus relief efforts can donate money through a UN-Facebook fundraiser, with Facebook matching donations up to a total of $10 million.

The leading online social network said it was adding a way to find and donate to local fundraising campaigns.

“Since the beginning of the spread of the virus and especially as people started practicing social distancing, we’ve seen them turn to Facebook to connect with and take action to help their communities,” Facebook said.


The California-based internet giant also said it was continuing to ramp up efforts to provide reliable, timely information about the pandemic and ways to take action.

Since a COVID-19 Information Center launched two weeks ago at Facebook, more than a billion people have been showed notifications about resources from health authorities through the hub and “educational pop-up” notifications at the social network and Instagram.

AP