Crooning diplomacy: France, Armenia leaders unite in song of shared son

Iran's powerful chief negotiator warned the United States against any further escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, after a spate of attacks risked reigniting the Middle East war.

The US military said its Apache and Seahawk helicopters hit six Iranian boats threatening commercial shipping and its forces repelled missile and drones on Monday, while the UAE reported fresh Iranian attacks on its territory. 

Iran's latest warning followed US President Donald Trump announcing a plan to guide ships from neutral countries out of the Gulf, before the rivals traded fire as they vie for control of the waterway with duelling maritime blockades.

"We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America; whilst we have not even started yet," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also the speaker in Iran's parliament, wrote in a post on X.

The war, which erupted more than two months ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy, impacting hundreds of millions worldwide despite a weeks-long ceasefire.

Ghalibaf said the actions of the US and its allies had put shipping security at risk, but said their "malign presence will diminish", with Tehran vowing not to surrender control of the Hormuz strait.

It denied any of its combat ships had been hit in US attacks but accused Washington of killing five civilian passengers on boats.

But despite the clashes under Trump's effort dubbed "Project Freedom", Denmark's freight giant Maersk said on Tuesday that one of its ships had successfully sailed through the Hormuz under US escort.

Iran's military had threatened to attack any US forces that approached or entered the trade route. 

- 'Direct consequences' -

The UAE called Iranian missile and drone attacks including one on an energy facility in Fujairah "a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression", while key US ally Saudi Arabia called Tuesday for efforts "to reach a political solution".

But negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain deadlocked, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far.

The sharpest escalation since the ceasefire delivered another shock to the global economy, with stocks sinking on Tuesday after crude prices surged a day earlier as the tensions raised fears over the truce, with no sign of a deal to reopen the strait.

Soaring energy costs for consumers due to the war have caused economic pain around the world and created a headache for Trump months before midterm elections.

Washington's European allies are also concerned that the longer the strait remains closed the more their economies will suffer.

"These attacks are unacceptable," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X, adding that "security in the (Gulf) region has direct consequences for Europe". 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also implored Tehran to "return to the negotiating table and stop holding the region and the world hostage", echoing calls from French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

UAE authorities said four cruise missiles were launched, with three successfully shot down and another falling into the sea.

Iran also fired drones at a tanker affiliated with the UAE's state-owned oil giant ADNOC, they said.

Tehran said it had "no pre-planned programme" to target oil facilities in the UAE, but it blamed Washington's attempt to break Tehran's blockade of the Hormuz strait for its attacks.

"What happened was the product of the US military's adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through the forbidden passages of the Strait of Hormuz, and the US military must be held accountable for it," an Iranian military official told state TV.

- High alert -

An Israeli military official said Monday that the army remained on high alert and was monitoring the situation after the US said it downed the Iranian missiles and drones.

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said a security deal and an end to Israeli attacks were needed before any meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is being sought by Washington.

Israeli and Lebanese representatives last month met twice in Washington -- the first such meetings in decades, which came after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war on March 2, sparking heavy Israeli strikes and a ground invasion.

burs-jfx/ser

North Korea has welcomed foreign visitors and firms to a trade fair this week, showcasing homegrown products including the latest model of its sleek Jindallae smartphone.

Diplomatically isolated and under biting sanctions over its nuclear and weapons programmes, North Korea has an ageing manufacturing base which analysts doubt has the ability to make high-quality consumer technology.

Still, Pyongyang has touted Jindallae -- "azalea" in Korean -- as a convenient way for citizens to stay connected, albeit through a strictly controlled domestic network.

The devices, which come in a range of colours and feature a large circular camera module with multiple lenses, have been on display at the Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair, the country's largest.

AFP images showed visitors browsing stalls at the event on Monday, with state media saying "more than 290 enterprises and companies" from North Korea, Russia, China, Mongolia, Switzerland and Thailand were represented.

There was no information on how many people attended or where they had come from.

Jindallae was first unveiled in 2017, and the latest model appeared to be similar to the version released last year, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan.

The vast majority of North Korea's 25 million people cannot access the global internet, with phones instead connecting to a highly restricted national intranet.

Mobile phones can also help authorities in North Korea -- one of the world's most tightly surveilled societies -- keep tabs on people. Reporting by the BBC has suggested devices can periodically capture screenshots, which are then stored in hidden folders accessible to authorities.

Pyongyang has released few details of how the devices are produced.

A 2024 report by North Korea scholar Martyn Williams suggested many phones are produced by Chinese firms and rebranded for the North Korean market. United Nations sanctions formally prohibit the import of mobile phone hardware to North Korea.

North Korea had 6.35 million mobile phone subscriptions at the end of 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, according to the International Telecommunications Union.

Beyond Jindallae, other local brands include Arirang -- named after a traditional song -- and Phurunhanal, meaning "blue sky".

South Korean authorities said last month that they believe the North's long-moribund economy is recovering thanks partly to strengthening ties with Russia.

Pyongyang has sent troops and ammunition to aid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Analysts say North Korea is receiving economic, military and technical assistance in return.

sjh/mjw/ami

France's president donned his crooning hat during a state dinner on Monday, leading Armenian leaders in a rendition of "La Boheme," the 1965 classic by the late Charles Aznavour, a singer beloved in both countries.

Often called France's Frank Sinatra, Aznavour was born in France to Armenian immigrants, going on to become one of the most iconic voices in French music and a revered figure in the two countries.

Aznavour, who died in 2018 at age 94, often served as a cultural bridge between France and Armenia -- a role that was on full display at a state dinner held on Monday evening in the Armenian capital in honour of the visiting Macron.

In a performance captured in a video posted on social media, Macron launched into a rendition of Aznavour's classic about youth, love and the passage of time, as he sat behind a piano, microphone in hand.

Armenian President Vahagn Khatchatourian stood by his side and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has recently launched his own band, joined in on drums. 

"In the nearby cafes, we were a few who waited for glory," Macron sang in French to the delight of clapping audience members, looking visibly relaxed and smiling.

"And though miserable, with empty stomachs, we never stopped believing."

"Music in the spirit of friendship," Franceinfo director Agnes Vahramian, who posted the video of the performance, said on X.

The impromptu concert did not stop there. 

Khatchatourian later took to the piano to play "Les Feuilles Mortes" (Autumn Leaves), a post‑war French classic.

For Macron, "La Boheme" is a familiar number. He previously sang the song during a dinner at the Elysee Palace in 2023.

The musical interlude came as Macron was on a state visit to Armenia, with the former Soviet republic seeking to pivot away from old master Russia and closer to Europe.

France is home to some 400,000 people of Armenian descent, the largest Armenian diaspora after those in Russia and the United States.

vl-led-as/ekf/yad

Myanmar campaigners denounced on Tuesday US lobbyist Roger Stone, a close confidante of President Donald Trump, for accepting $50,000 a month to "rebuild" the Southeast Asian government's relations with Washington.

Myanmar's leaders have been considered political pariahs in many Western nations since 2021, when the military staged a putsch deposing the democratic government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering civil war.

The United States has imposed economic sanctions targeting Myanmar's top brass and their associates, as the nation suffered a half-decade human rights backslide that has crushed political dissent.

Filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act last week revealed conservative political consultant Stone has been commissioned through consulting firm the DCI Group to provide "public affairs services" to Myanmar's information ministry.

Campaign group Justice For Myanmar said in a statement that Stone and DCI "are profiting from a heavily sanctioned junta that is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity with total impunity".

US government documents said Stone will work on "rebuilding relations between the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the United States, with a focus on trade, natural resources, and humanitarian relief".

The revelation comes as Myanmar's post-coup authorities are touting a new chapter for the country, a campaign which rights monitors are treating with deep scepticism.

After five years of direct military rule, the junta oversaw tightly restricted elections returning a walkover win in January for its allies in civilian politics.

The polls excluded detained Suu Kyi's party.

A new parliament voted for coup leader Min Aung Hlaing to serve as the country's president, buttressing critics who describe the administration as a civilian fig leaf for military rule.

The new military-backed government is using the appearance of political reform to rehabilitate its image and reboot diplomatic ties, analysts say.

Justice For Myanmar said the lobbying work was registered "after the junta's last rebrand".

"Roger Stone has joined this contract with international criminals, which benefits US-sanctioned natural resource state-owned enterprises that the junta has illegally seized and is using to fund its widening attacks against schools, churches, monasteries and hospitals," their statement added.

Stone is a long-time firebrand conservative activist who served as a Trump campaign consultant.

In 2020 he was sentenced to 40 months in prison for hindering a congressional probe into whether Trump's first electoral bid conspired with Russia.

The sentence was commuted by Trump, sparing Stone jail time.

jts/sco/ami

The death toll from a giant explosion at a fireworks factory in central China rose to 26, with 61 more injured, officials said Tuesday.

The explosion occurred at around 4:43 pm on Monday at the Liuyang Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Company in Liuyang, Hunan province, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Following the blast, all fireworks makers in Hunan's provincial capital Changsha, which administers Liuyang, had been ordered to stop production ahead of safety inspections, CCTV said.

Videos on social media from Monday showed continuous explosions accompanied by a vast cloud of smoke rising high into the air in a rural area surrounded by mountains.

Drone footage from CCTV taken a day later showed a swathe of smouldering debris where buildings had stood, with rescue workers and excavators scouring the rubble.

Smoke continued to rise from some buildings left standing, many of them with their roofs blown off.

Changsha mayor Chen Bozhang told a news conference on Tuesday afternoon that another five people had died since earlier reports that 21 were killed.

"We feel deeply grieved and filled with remorse," Chen said, adding that search and rescue work was "basically complete".

The central government had sent experts to guide rescue efforts, while more than 480 rescuers had been urgently dispatched to the site, according to CCTV.

They had established a 3-kilometre (1.9-mile) control zone around the site and evacuated people nearby.

Police had apprehended the company's management while investigations into the cause of the accident continue, CCTV said.

President Xi Jinping had called for "all-out efforts" to treat the injured, search for missing persons, and for those responsible to be held accountable, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Liuyang is a major fireworks hub, producing around 60 percent of the fireworks sold in China and 70 percent of those exported.

Industrial accidents, including in the fireworks industry, are common in China due to lax safety standards.

Last year, an explosion at another fireworks factory in Hunan killed nine people, and in 2023, three people were killed after blasts struck residential buildings in the northern city of Tianjin.

In February, separate explosions at fireworks shops in Hubei and Jiangsu provinces killed 12 and eight people.

sam/dhw/mtp

Former French model Juliette G. says it took her years to make sense of how she ended up in a New York bedroom with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The 43-year-old is one of two ex-models who have accused Daniel Siad, a French modelling scout with close ties to the late US financier, of having groomed them with the aim of introducing them to potential abusers.

Their stories come as part of a wider reckoning with rape and sexual assault in the wake of the global MeToo movement in recent years that has seen a number of accusations in France and beyond. 

"I identified quite a few stages that led me there," Juliette told AFP.

"These men, through manipulation, conduct tests to see how far a young woman will give in."

For Juliette, who has asked to withhold her surname to protect her privacy, it all started in 2004, when she was 21.

Siad -- who denies the accusations against him -- approached her in a Paris avenue. She calls this the "targeting" stage.

He asked her if she was a model and if she would be interested in "professional opportunities" in the United States.

"I think he was trying to gauge whether I would accept without asking too many questions. Which I did -- I let things stay vague so I wouldn't come across as difficult," she said.

She was soon sent a plane ticket to New York and an address in the city. She had no other information, but she felt reassured when her modelling agency said they knew Siad.

In New York, she headed to an address on Madison Avenue, where she briefly met Epstein, whose name Siad had not mentioned until then.

The financier would be convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14.

- 'In his debt' -

Epstein asked for her passport.

This, she explained, was the second stage of her grooming -- "hostage taking". Without her passport, she could not leave.

Epstein then announced he did not have time to see her that day, but gave her $120 and said she could use his limousine to go shopping.

This, she said, was the third step. Now, despite never having asked for money, she was "in his debt".

"I was ashamed for a long time. Years later, I even thought about paying him back," she added.

The following day, she returned to the Madison Avenue building, hoping for a professional interview.

Instead, he showed her around the premises, walking through a gym decorated with "photos zooming in on women's intimate body parts".

"Was it a subtle test of tolerance?" she said. "To see whether I would leave or accept being in such a surprising environment?"

Then he led her to a bedroom.

"My internal alarm went off," she said.

"I felt the need to say, 'I'm warning you, I'm not going to do anything.'"

She said he told her not to worry, but that he needed to see her body -- including her breasts -- to be able to recommend her to modelling agencies.

"I hesitated, but I'd just spent seven hours on a plane and they'd paid for my ticket... I did it," she said.

- 'Get back into shape' -

Epstein groped her, she said, then declared her body was not up to standard and she would need three months to "get back into shape".

He said that if she needed money, he could set her up to work as a party "escort".

Juliette pretended to mull the offer, but demanded he give her back her passport. She said he rummaged around in a pile of "some twenty passports" and returned it to her.

Juliette escaped.

Epstein died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors.

But Juliette said she was speaking out to help investigators looking for the convicted offender's accomplices.

Siad, who is under investigation in France, is just one of several French men who have been accused of aiding Epstein to traffic and abuse women.

French authorities in late 2020 arrested modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel after allegations he procured women for the US billionaire. He was found dead in prison in 2022.

And 15 women in March urged France to investigate Gerald Marie, the former European head of Elite, a modelling agency known for managing supermodels Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford.

Among them, former Swedish model Ebba Karlsson has accused Siad of grooming her for Marie.

- 'You could go so far' -

Karlsson, now 56, said Siad approached her in Sweden in 1990. She was 20 years old.

"He was very talented," she said, describing how he would push a person to see how vulnerable they were.

"He would attach to their desires, their longings, and portray himself as some kind of saviour," she said, promising he could make them "a very famous model".

"And they were hooked," she said.

Karlsson said she followed Siad to Monaco and then to France, but the modelling jobs he had promised never materialised. Without money, she "became more and more dependent on him".

Karlsson said that one evening, in a pool house near Cannes, Siad raped her.

In the days that followed, she said, he announced he had found her a job with Elite.

Siad, via his lawyer Menya Arab-Tigrine, rejected the accusations. She said she hoped her client was not being made to "bear responsibility, because he is still alive, for the actions of other men who have died".

Karlsson then met Marie in his office to discuss working for Elite.

"Why is he closing the blinds?" she said she thought.

He flattered her.

"You're so beautiful," she said he told her. "You could go so far," she said he added, introducing the idea of her starring in a movie.

Then suddenly "he put his fingers into me," she said. 

"It was to remove my power," she added.

Karlsson said she later attended an audition at his home, where she was one among "about ten girls" -- most appearing younger and speaking little English or French -- to be told to parade braless.

She pretended to accept the job, but flew back to Sweden and never returned.

Marie's lawyer Celine Bekerman denounced what she called "unfounded attacks" against her client.

She said a rape probe against Marie had been dropped in 2023. She accused Karlsson and other plaintiffs of choosing to ignore this and establish "far-fetched links between Gerald Marie and cases he has nothing to do with".

Karlsson said she was speaking up about the grooming and abuse so "we can stop that behaviour and teach young people" how to avoid it.

clw/ah/ekf/st

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Tuesday the democratic island has the "right to engage with the world", after he returned from a trip to Africa that Taipei has accused Beijing of trying to derail.

Taiwan said China applied "intense pressure" to Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar to revoke overflight permits for Lai's original trip to Eswatini, Taipei's only ally in Africa, which had been scheduled for April 22-26.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and opposes the self-governed island's participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries.

"Taiwanese people are people of the world; Taiwanese people have the right to engage with the world," Lai told reporters at Taipei's international airport after his flight home on the Eswatini king's plane. 

Lai flew on the king's aircraft to Eswatini on Saturday.

"We will not shrink back because of suppression," Lai said, flanked by Eswatini Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla who had flown to Taiwan with him and his delegation.

"Mutual visits between heads of state should be the most ordinary thing, just like when we go out to visit friends, and are a basic right of every country."

The United States slammed China's "intimidation campaign" after Lai's first trip was delayed. The remarks were rejected by China's foreign minister as "baseless accusations".

On Saturday, China's foreign ministry accused Lai of making a "stowaway-style escape farce" that made him "an international laughing stock".

- 'Sanctions' -

Eswatini, a small enclave kingdom formerly known as Swaziland, is one of 12 countries that still recognise Taiwan. China has persuaded other nations to break diplomatic ties with the self-ruled island.

Lai had planned to visit Eswatini from April 22 to 26 for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession and his 58th birthday.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung went instead after Lai's trip was postponed.

A Taiwanese security official, who requested anonymity in order to speak to the media, said previously that China had threatened "to revoke substantial debt relief granted to (Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar), halt financing and impose further economic sanctions".

Lai's last official overseas trip was in November 2024, when he visited Taiwan's Pacific allies and transited through the US territory of Guam.

Trump's administration reportedly denied Lai permission to transit through New York last year as part of an official trip to Latin America. Taiwan's foreign ministry denied that he was blocked.

joy/amj/tc

The old saying about lemons and lemonade has borne fruit for a French craft brewery, which was ordered by Yoko Ono to stop making its "John Lemon" beer -- and has now nearly sold out thanks to the publicity.

Aurelien Picard, owner of the Brasserie de l'Imprimerie brewery in the Brittany region, says he received notice in late March from lawyers for Ono to halt the use of the brand name or pay royalties for referencing her late husband, Beatles legend John Lennon.

"There were numbers like 100,000 euros ($117,000), and between 150 and 1,000 euros per day in penalties if we didn't do what they said," Picard told AFP. 

"Basically, they demanded we recall all our product and immediately stop using the brand."

After some back-and-forth, the small brewery won permission to sell its remaining 5,000 bottles by July 1, then halt production of the brand.

But the media attention generated by the dispute turned out to be great publicity: the brewery nearly sold out of John Lemon in a matter of days.

"It was crazy. I have less than 1,000 left," said Picard.

"It was kind of funny, amid our misfortune."

The brewery, several of whose beers play on celebrity names, launched John Lemon five years ago, because it seemed "cool", said Picard.

The company, located in the northwestern town of Bannalec, has two employees and sells between 50,000 and 80,000 bottles per year, mainly to liquor stores and restaurants within a 40-kilometre (25-mile) radius.

It is now looking for a new name for its flavourful blonde beer.

Picard thought of "Jaune Lemon" -- the French word for "yellow" -- but Ono's lawyers were sour on the idea, he said.

aag/jhb/cms

The Met Gala turned New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art into the world's most glamorous red carpet, with A-list actors, musicians, athletes, artists and designers coming together for charity -- and offering their best looks.

Here are the top five moments of the night:

- Queen Bey -

As the red carpet arrivals went on for hours, everyone was waiting and wondering: when will Beyonce arrive? 

Typically, the event's co-chairs are among the first on the scene, and tennis legend Venus Williams and Oscar winner Nicole Kidman did just that.

But Beyonce made a grand entrance, and did not disappoint.

She stunned fashionistas in a diamond skeleton gown, with skin-toned mesh underneath, the bejeweled bones showing to the tips of her fingers. The outfit, designed by Olivier Rousteing, included a feathered coat and an intricate headpiece.

At her side was rapper husband Jay-Z, elegant in a black tux and tails, and their 14-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who wore a strapless creamy white dress with a puffy train and a matching jacket.

"It feels surreal because my daughter's here," Beyonce told Vogue. "It's incredible to be able to share it with her and I think she looks so incredible."

- Saint Laurent rules -

Saint Laurent designer Anthony Vaccarello was  co-leader of the gala's "host committee" -- one tier below the co-chairs - and his work was on display all over the red carpet.

From actress Zoe Kravitz, who worked on the committee with him, to supermodel Kate Moss to "heated Rivalry" star Connor Storrie, the label was everywhere.

Rapper Doja Cat, also on the committee, wore a draped latex gown with a demure neckline -- but slit up to her waist.

And singer Rose, a multiple Grammy nominee this year for "APT," her banger collab with Bruno Mars, wore a chic strapless black dress with a high slit and an outsized bird brooch at her waist.

- Music divas meet K-Pop -

The Met Gala hosted some of music's most glittering stars: Madonna, Cher and Stevie Nicks are all in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And Rihanna is a pop superstar, a beauty mogul and a Met Gala favorite.

But also on hand were some of the top names in K-pop, including Jennie, Rose, Lisa and Jisoo from girl group Blackpink, and the three women behind the mega-hit "Golden" from the Netflix film "KPop Demon Hunters."

While the Material Girl opted for a wispy Saint Laurent slip dress with a grayish cape handled by seven ladies-in-waiting and a towering hat featuring a ship, Cher wore a leather and lace Burberry dress, and Nicks wore a deep blue ensemble with matching top hat.

Rihanna is no stranger to the Met Gala and has made many unforgettable appearances, including last year, when she unveiled her third pregnancy.

This time around, she arrived in a sculptural silver gown from Maison Margiela with an intricately beaded bodice and an Art Deco-style headpiece.

For Team K-pop, singer-songwriter EJAE -- an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe winner for writing "Golden" -- stood out in a sparkling silver column gown from Swarovski, topped off with Korean hairpins called binyeos, according to Vogue.

- 'Heated Rivalry' stars scorch carpet -

Are you Team Rozanov or Team Hollander?

Actors Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams have emerged over the past year as the It Boys of showbiz and fashion, on the back of the massive success of their gay hockey romance series "Heated Rivalry," based on novels by Rachel Reid.

After taking the Winter Olympics and the Oscars parties by storm, the boys were back.

Storrie (who plays the flashy Ilya Rozanov) arrived first, wearing a chic black Saint Laurent suit with a sleeveless white-dotted black shirt that ended in a long train down his back -- which he revealed after ditching the jacket. 

Williams (who plays the subdued Shane Hollander) was the more daring of the two, sporting a pale blue Balenciaga suit with a cropped jacket, bare chest and a gauzy black train that was giving couture matador.

- Pure whimsy -

The theme for the gala is "Fashion is Art," and while many A-listers played it safe, a few understood the theme and went all-in.

"Game of Thrones" star Gwendoline Christie rocked a dramatic off-the-shoulder red Giles Deacon gown with a colorful feathered hat and a face mask in her hands, hoping to conjure the image of a John Singer Sargent painting.

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka made her Met Gala debut in a striking Robert Wun ensemble that featured a white coat with red feather accents, which she removed to reveal a red gown studded with thousands of red Swarovski crystals.

Broadway actor Ben Platt wore a pale green and sky blue suit that clearly depicted Georges Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" -- the source material for Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sunday in the Park with George."

And model Heidi Klum -- known for her over-the-top Halloween costumes -- resembled a living statue, her white gown draped perfectly, looking like marble.

bur-sst/ksb

Jalen Brunson produced a dazzling 35-point performance as the New York Knicks pummeled the Philadelphia 76ers 137-98 to grab a 1-0 lead in their NBA Eastern Conference semi-final playoff series on Monday.

Knicks talisman Brunson led a dominant New York offense who erupted for 74 points in the first half and were always in control against a dangerous Sixers side who upset second-seeded Boston in the first round.

OG Anunoby provided Brunson's offensive support with 18 points while Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges added 17 points apiece in front of a star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden.

The win was the perfect start to the best-of-seven series for the Knicks, who are chasing a first appearance in the NBA finals since 1999.

Brunson set the tone for a lopsided evening in the first quarter, pouring in 14 points as the Knicks surged into a 33-25 lead.

The 29-year-old point guard kept the points flowing in the second quarter as the Knicks rattled in 41 points to take a 74-51 lead into half-time, Brunson icing the half with a superb three-pointer from 25 feet.

New York never looked like surrendering that advantage over the remainder of the game, leading by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter before cruising home.

Philadelphia's big three of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul George failed to fire, shooting a combined 12-of-31 in the face of a stifling New York defense.

New York will aim to double their series lead in game two in New York on Wednesday.

rcw/pst