Children play on workout equipment at Tehran's Melat park during 'Sizdeh Bedar' (Nature Day), the 13th day after the Nowruz Persian New Year

The Pentagon has failed to comply with a court order to restore press access, a federal judge ruled Thursday, rejecting new restrictions put in place by the department after its prior rules were deemed unconstitutional.

As part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by the New York Times, the court ruled in March that the Pentagon's changes last year to press access -- which saw credentials from a host of prominent outlets stripped -- violated the constitution.

However, the Pentagon responded to the March ruling with even tighter restrictions.

"The very next business day, the Department announced that it was immediately closing the 'Correspondents' Corridor' -- the area in the Pentagon from which journalists had worked for years," Judge Paul Friedman noted in his Thursday order.

The Pentagon also moved to fully bar journalists from entering the sprawling military headquarters without an official escort. Instead, a new workspace would be provided "in an annex facility."

For decades, vetted journalists from prominent outlets have been granted badges that allow them to freely move through parts of the Pentagon to engage with officials and public affairs staff.

The Defense Department has cited security risks for the tighter restrictions.

Friedman wrote Thursday that the tightened restrictions, "are not security measures or efforts to make good on prior commitments but rather transparent attempts to negate the impact of this Court's Order."

"The Department disagrees with the Court's ruling and intends to appeal," Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote Thursday on X.

"The Department has at all times complied with the Court's Order -- it reinstated the PFACs of every journalist identified in the Order and issued a materially revised policy that addressed every concern the Court identified in its March 20 Opinion."

Friedman, in his latest order, said that the Defense Department must permit the Times' journalists and "all regulated parties" access to the Pentagon.

Pentagon press access has become a flashpoint in broader tensions between the media and the Trump administration, with officials frequently lashing out at coverage it views as displeasing.

Among other measures, last year the Defense Department forced eight prominent outlets to vacate their workspace to make room for new, mostly conservative outlets.

AFP, alongside the Times, Fox News, the AP, and others have refused to sign the new policy, which resulted in the stripping of their Pentagon credentials.

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It was a war JD Vance never wanted. Now the US vice president has been tasked with ending it.

Vance heads to Pakistan this week with orders from President Donald Trump to turn the shaky Iran ceasefire into a lasting peace deal.

For the 41-year-old Vance, who has kept a notably low profile during the Middle East conflict, it will be one of the biggest moments of his career.

But the man widely regarded as a leading contender in the 2028 US presidential election will face huge challenges too when talks begin Saturday in Islamabad.

"I cannot think of a case where the vice president ran formal negotiations like this," Aaron Wolf Mannes, a lecturer at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and an expert on the American vice presidency's role in foreign policy, told AFP.

"This is high risk, high reward."

Vance built his political brand as an avowed anti-interventionist who wanted to keep America out of any more foreign wars, like in Iraq where he served as a US Marine.

That has made for a difficult balancing act after Trump launched the Iran war on February 28.

Vance has publicly backed the conflict but has kept out of the limelight. When the ceasefire was announced, Vance happened to be far away in Hungary, supporting Prime Minister Viktor Orban's electoral campaign. 

The New York Times reported this week that in discussions behind closed doors in the weeks before the war, Vance argued against military action, saying it could cause regional chaos and split Trump's MAGA coalition.

But Vance now suddenly finds himself as Trump's diplomatic closer for an Iran deal.

"My key role was, I sat on the phone a lot," Vance told reporters as he left Hungary this week. "I answered a lot of phone calls. I made a lot of phone calls. And again, I'm happy about where we are."

Announcing the Islamabad talks this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Vance played a "very significant and a key role in this since the very beginning."

- Not always diplomatic -

Vance will be accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner as he becomes the first US vice president to visit Pakistan since Joe Biden in 2011.

The White House said Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner "have always been collaborating on these issues."

"The President is optimistic that a deal can be reached that can lead to lasting peace in the Middle East," Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP.

One theory is that the Iranians may view Vance as a more likely partner for diplomacy given his widely reported opposition to the war, and general doubts about US interventionism.

After Tehran expressed fury over Israel's continued attacks on Lebanese cities despite the ceasefire deal, Vance appeared to take a softer tone, saying there may have been a "legitimate misunderstanding" from Iran that Lebanon would be included. 

He hasn't always been so diplomatic. 

A long-term skeptic of support for Ukraine, Vance notoriously kicked off the Oval Office row between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2025.

And for the ambitious Vance, a soon-to-be father of four and Catholic convert, politics is always in the background.

Since Trump's return to power, Vance has been unusually prominent in a tough job that is simultaneously one heartbeat away from the presidency yet also, in the words of one former veep, "not worth a bucket of warm spit."

His crucial role in the Iran talks comes against the backdrop of a looming potential battle with Rubio to be the Republican heir to Trump in two years' time.

"If he can get something that papers it over without dealing with real issues, that's probably enough," said Mannes.

"But if nothing good comes of this, it raises questions about his competence, which is not going to help him electorally. And of course Rubio's right there as a potential rival for 2028."

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The mustachioed brothers of "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and Ryan Gosling's unassuming teacher-turned-astronaut in "Project Hail Mary" are civilization-saving heroes in their own worlds. But cinema owners here on Earth also feel pretty grateful to them.

The two films have drawn stellar audience figures in the last few weeks, pushing the US box office to its best start to the year since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The North American movie industry, which is in a constant battle with booming streaming services, surpassed $2 billion in receipts by the first week of April for the first time this decade, according to Box Office Mojo.

Although the figures do not yet match pre-Covid totals, cinema owners are "very excited," said Michael O'Leary, CEO of Cinema United, the world's largest trade organization for movie theaters.

The positive results -- up 23 percent year-on-year -- come as theater owners prepare to gather in Las Vegas for their annual CinemaCon meeting, where studios offer a sneak peak of their upcoming slates.

Those present will be hoping the sector can extend this growth after a difficult few years that have seen audiences dwindle in the face of the pandemic, strikes by actors and writers, and competition from streamers that have changed audience habits.

O'Leary said that along with big-budget crowd-pleasing US films, a growing suite of international fare is helping to sustain cinemas.

"It's not just movies from Hollywood that people are interested in," O'Leary told AFP in an interview.

"I think a lot of it is that people are drawn to compelling stories. It doesn't really matter where you live or where you're from, or even what language you speak... you want to have a compelling and interesting story."

O'Leary said there is also a generational element in the optimistic audience numbers.

"You've seen the... industry reinvest in itself, focus on creating even more grand and exciting experiences at the theater, and you're starting to see audiences come back, particularly younger audiences," he said.

"Gen Z is kind of leading the way. It's the fastest growing demographic of habitual moviegoers."

- Studio merger - 

A decade ago, filmgoers in the United States and Canada would frequently spend more than $11 billion annually at the cinema, but since the pandemic, the total take has not exceeded $9 billion.

This year's string of big releases has sparked hopes that there could be a return to such lofty numbers.

The opening weekend for Amazon MGM's "Project Hail Mary" logged a healthy $81 million, and was followed up by "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" with $131 million.

Upcoming releases expected to do well include Michael Jackson biopic "Michael," "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu," "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," "The Odyssey," and the third installment in the epic "Dune" series.

But there are clouds on the horizon for cinema owners, said O'Leary, with unease over Paramount's attempt to swallow Warner Bros.

"When you have consolidation of legacy studios, as we learned with Disney and Fox, the amount of movies produced goes down, prices go up, and we think that is bad for theaters," he said.

"It's bad for the industry, and it's certainly bad for movie fans."

O'Leary said his group had made representations to US regulators about the proposed mega-merger.

"We continue to oppose this transaction (and) encourage them to look closely at this merger, because the consequences of it are serious," he said.

CinemaCon will take place from April 13 to 16 in Las Vegas.

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Augusta National's firm, fast greens played havoc with some of the world's top golfers in Thursday's first round of the 90th Masters.

They are already talking about crusty conditions for the weekend and one of the hardest challenges in many years at the famed course.

"I think this could be the toughest Masters we've played in a while," said 2019 British Open winner Shane Lowry of Ireland. "Look at the forecast. They can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend.

"Before the week is out, it's going to get very crusty around here."

There's no rain coming to soften up a layout where scores on Thursday averaged 74.648 strokes with 63 double bogeys or worse as green speeds tested veterans and rookies alike.

"It's like a Saturday firm I would say for a Thursday, which is not really normal," Australian Min Woo Lee said.

American Patrick Reed broke a tee at 17 trying to fix a ball mark in the hard putting surface.

"It definitely has the teeth in it to make it really tough," said Reed, the 2018 Masters champion.

"The greens are already getting firm, crusty, and bouncy. It's going to get fast, and it's going to take a lot of patience."

England's Justin Rose, three off the lead after an opening 70, says even fans of severe challenges might have their limits pushed this week.

"Every player would say they would like it firm and fast," he said. "But I think there's a boundary to that."

Rose, who lost a playoff to Rory McIlroy in last year's Masters, is in a wait-until-Sunday mode.

"I think the lead at this point is irrelevant," Rose said. "There's so much golf ahead that there's no point in even looking at who is doing what at this moment in time.

"It's just about executing your strategy, feeling like you can run the clock down, playing as well as you can, and then towards the end you've got to figure out if you need to change your strategy. But until the final few holes really it's just about doing as good as can you do."

World number one Scottie Scheffler was on 70 as well.

"I did a good job of staying patient and playing smart. Overall, I'm pretty proud of the effort," Scheffler said. "I feel like I'm in a good spot."

Scheffler figures Augusta National officials can make the course as difficult as they want.

"We'll see how much they want to push it in the next few days," Scheffler said. "So much of this course is wait and see, so we'll see."

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US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Iran of doing a "very poor job" of allowing oil through the Strait of Hormuz and of breaching the terms of their two-week ceasefire agreement.

In a barrage of social media posts that sparked fresh fears for the shaky truce, Trump also warned Iran against imposing a toll for ships passing through the crucial waterway.

"Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

"That is not the agreement we have!"

Iran and the United States said the 167-kilometer (104-mile) strait between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean would reopen after the two-week truce was announced on Tuesday.

But just 10 vessels have passed through since the Middle East war ceasefire took effect, according to maritime tracking data.

Tensions have risen further after Iran suggested imposing a toll on ships -- though Trump has made similar suggestions and even aired joint tolls with Tehran.

"There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait -- They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!" Trump said in an earlier Truth Social message.

In yet another post in which he raged at a critical media editorial on the ceasefire, Trump added that "very quickly, you'll see Oil start flowing, with or without the help of Iran."

The US leader's tone appeared to darken noticeably from earlier comments to NBC News in which he said he was "very optimistic" about a peace deal with Iran after their ceasefire, and that Israel was "scaling back" strikes in Lebanon.

Trump told the US broadcaster in a telephone interview that Iran's leaders were "much more reasonable" in private but added that "if they don't make a deal, it's going to be very painful."

Vice President JD Vance is due to hold talks with Iran in Pakistan on Saturday. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are also traveling to Islamabad.

"The president is optimistic that a deal can be reached that can lead to lasting peace in the Middle East," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly told AFP in a statement on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had meanwhile agreed in a call with Trump on Wednesday to "low-key it" with Lebanon after devastating strikes, the US president said.

Israel and Lebanon will hold talks in Washington next week, a State Department official said Thursday.

Israel's heaviest strikes on Lebanon since Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in early March killed hundreds on Wednesday, rattling the uneasy truce between Washington and Tehran less than 48 hours after it came into force.

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Missouri softball is set for a three-game road series against No. 14 Georgia starting Friday. With just four weeks left until the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the series marks a pivotal moment in the season as the Tigers fight to remain in postseason contention.

The Tigers enter the series at 21-20 (5-7 SEC), coming off a 2-1 series loss to LSU. Missouri avoided the sweep with a 1-0 win behind Cierra Harrison's shutout performance in Game 3. Harrison has emerged as a key piece in conference play for the Tigers, pitching a 1.52 ERA with two shutouts while holding SEC batters to a .208 batting average.

Outside of Harrison, Missouri’s pitching staff against LSU, allowing 25 runs in the first two games.

That stretch was a departure for much of Missouri’s SEC play this season, in which it stayed competitive against some of the top teams in the conference. The Tigers lost two one-run games in a sweep to No. 8 Florida before stealing a game against No. 6 Alabama in a tight series loss.

“When I look at the body of work over our entire season, we've been very, very competitive,” Missouri coach Larissa Anderson said after the Game 3 win against LSU. “The last two games, we were not. So we have to be more competitive. Regardless of the win or the loss today, we did what we were supposed to do. The win just makes it feel that much better ... . We can carry that win into this next series against Georgia.”

Georgia sits comfortably at 29-10 (7-5 SEC), coming off a gritty series loss to Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. The Bulldogs sole win came courtesy of a 10-6 offensive explosion in game two, but Texas A&M won the other two showdowns to take the series. Despite the road setback, Georgia is 19-5 at home and has beaten quality opponents including Northwestern, UCF and NC State — all teams Missouri lost to early in the season.

A consistent and versatile offense has paved the way for the Bulldogs, as the team is 16th in the nation with a .354 batting average. They are averaging more than seven runs per game and consistently find ways to get on base. Georgia currently rosters six athletes that have played 35-plus games this season with an OPS above 1.000.

The Bulldogs also have seven athletes with batting averages above .300. For comparison, Missouri has three. Infielder Keirstin Roose (.339 batting average) leads the team with 12 home runs, while Sarah Gordon (.442) and Tyler Ellison (.430) anchor the lineup as consistent hitters.

The offense exploded in Game 2 against Texas A&M with back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning from Bailey Lindemuth and Roose giving the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish.

Georgia is led by pitchers Addisen Fisher and Randi Roelling in the circle. Fisher transferred to Georgia after a strong freshman season at UCLA. She continued her sharp play, currently leading the team with a 2.07 ERA. She appeared in all three games against Texas A&M.

Roelling serves as the primary option for the Bulldogs, leading the team with 80⅓ innings pitched plus a 3.05 ERA. Her 80 strikeouts rank 12th in the SEC. Presley Harrison, who started a game against Texas A&M, is another pitcher the Tigers could face this weekend. The freshman currently sits at a 3.71 ERA with 34 innings pitched.

Missouri’s ability to compete against Georgia will likely depend on how the Tigers limit Georgia’s offense. Missouri has shown an ability to compete against some of the best in the nation, and will need to capitalize on opportunities if the Tigers want another series win. Missouri has improved significantly since the start of the season and will look to continue the trend against the Bulldogs.

“What is so fun about this team is their youth, because they want to get better every single day, and I see growth in little things,” Anderson said.

After Georgia, the Tigers will have a tough stretch of their schedule, including series’ against No. 7 Arkansas and No. 10 Tennessee. The Tigers will also take on No. 23 Kansas on Tuesday, who upset Arizona State last weekend in a 2-1 series win.

The tough stretch makes this weekend’s series against the Bulldogs a critical opportunity for Missouri to remain in postseason contention. The Tigers need to stay above .500, which is a threshold required for postseason play.

A strong showing against a top-15 team will boost Missouri’s resume as it fights for a postseason push after missing the NCAA Tournament in 2025.

The series between the two SEC squads begins at 5 p.m. Friday, continues at 1 p.m. Saturday and concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday in Athens, Georgia. All games will be available to watch on SEC Network+.

Detroit Tigers center fielder Parker Meadows was hospitalized for observation on Thursday after a scary collision with left fielder Riley Greene in a 3-1 Major League Baseball loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Meadows and Greene were both tracking an eighth-inning line drive from Twins batter Josh Bell when they smacked into each other at full speed.

Greene remained on his feet with the ball in his hand as Meadows crumpled to the ground with blood trickling out of his mouth after the head-to-head clash.

"It was a terrible feeling," said Greene, who went over to offer support before Tigers medical staff arrived to tend to Meadows and, eventually, help him onto a cart.

The Tigers said he would stay in hospital overnight.

"That was an ugly, scary one," Tigers manager A.J Hinch said. "When we got out there, it looked like he had bit his lip or inside his mouth, so there was some blood, and he was pretty out of it.

"Those are scary collisions. You don't know what you're going to get when you get there," Hinch added. "Obviously we're going to get him checked out for everything, but this one worries me."

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Venezuela on Thursday threw open the country's vast mineral reserves to private investment, less than three months after rolling back state control over the oil sector, in line with US demands.

The South American country, which is undergoing a profound transformation following the US overthrow of leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, has the world's largest proven oil reserves.

But it is also rich in gold and diamonds as well as bauxite and coltan, a mineral that contains a metal used in mobile phones, laptops and other electronics.

The unicameral National Assembly unanimously backed the mining law on its second reading, assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez announced.

Rodriguez, a former member of Maduro's inner circle who is now championing liberal reforms, hailed the law as "a vehicle for building future prosperity."

Maduro was captured by US forces during a January 3 bombing raid on Caracas.

He was replaced by his former deputy Delcy Rodriguez (a sister of Jorge Rodriguez) who has shown herself amenable to US demands on tapping Venezuela's oil and other key resources.

- Security concerns -

The law's adoption comes a month after US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited the Caribbean nation to push for a liberalization of the mining code.

Burgum was accompanied by more than two dozen mining company executives, who he said were "eager to get started" once the "red tape" had been cut.

He described the opportunities for collaboration between Caracas and Washington as "unlimited."

The law is part of a series of reforms aimed at ending more than two decades of state control over the economy.

Mining activity is concentrated in an area known as the Orinoco Mining Arc.

Gangs and armed groups, including guerrillas from neighboring Colombia, control much of the area and extort businesses, according to numerous witnesses.

Lisseth Boon, author of the book "Oro malandro" ("Bandit Gold"), told AFP that Venezuela's security forces were complicit in the criminal activity.

Burgum said during his visit to Venezuela that Caracas had promised safe conditions for foreign mining companies keen to invest in the country.

afc/mbj/cb/sst

Senior forward Mark Mitchell received an invitation to play in the 2026 Portsmouth Invitational on Thursday, making it the fourth consecutive season an MU senior was asked to participate.

The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual seniors-only predraft camp. Last season, Tamar Bates was invited following the conclusion of his senior campaign with the Tigers. Following his participation in the tournament, Bates signed a two-way contract with the Denver Nuggets before being released in March of 2026.

Before that, Sean East took part in 2024 and D’Moi Hodge in 2023.

For Mitchell the invitation represents another accolade in what was a successful individual senior season. He became the first Mizzou player since Albert White in the 1998-99 season to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists. Mitchell was also named to the All-SEC second team.

The tournament will take place across four days from Wednesday-April 18 at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Potential portal movement

With the transfer portal opening Tuesday, Mizzou continues to be linked with several players.

There has been continued chatter on X surrounding rising sophomore Jamier Jones from Providence. The Florida native continues to be linked with the Tigers because of his relationship with Mizzou general manager Tim Fuller. Fuller helped Mizzou alum and then-Providence coach Kim English recruit Jones to Providence.

Alabama power forward Aiden Sherrell is another name that has been linked to Mizzou. Sherrell entered the portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag.

The Tigers are also linked to freshman forward Bryson Tiller from rival Kansas. Tiller has drawn interest from Mizzou, Michigan, Arizona and Miami. Michigan acquired sophomore forward J.P. Estrella from Tennessee on Tuesday, potentially increasing Mizzou’s odds of landing the big man.

If Tiller were to transfer to Mizzou, it would be the first time a Jayhawk moves east in the history of the rivalry.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday angrily lashed out at multiple well-known conservative commentators who have criticized his war against Iran, slamming his onetime allies as attention-seeking "NUT JOBS."

"They're stupid people, they know it, their families know it, and everyone else knows it, too!" Trump wrote in a nearly 500-word social media post.

In the president's crosshairs were Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly -- two former Fox News hosts turned independent podcasters -- as well as Candace Owens and Alex Jones, also podcasters and prominent conspiracy theorists.

All four have vocally criticized Trump over the war, slamming him for abandoning his anti-war campaign promises and -- to varying degrees -- accusing him of bowing to pressure from Israel to launch the conflict.

Their criticism has highlighted a divide among American conservatives over the war, a potential major political risk for Trump's Republican Party heading into the November midterm elections.

"They don't have what it takes, and they never did! They've all been thrown off Television, lost their Shows, and aren't even invited on TV because nobody cares about them, they're NUT JOBS, TROUBLEMAKERS, and will say anything necessary for some 'free' and cheap publicity," he complained.

While all four have been backers of the president's "Make America Great Again" movement, several have previous feuds with the president.

During Trump's first presidential campaign, Kelly -- then a Fox News host -- asked the billionaire businessman and reality TV star about disparaging remarks he had made against women.

Trump retorted with a joke about comedian Rosie O'Donnell, his longtime nemesis, and later prompted controversy by seeming to suggest that Kelly had asked the tough question because she was menstruating.

"You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever," Trump said at the time.

Trump referred to the saga on Thursday, saying Kelly "nastily asked me the now famous" question.

He also personally attacked the other three, slamming Carlson for not obtaining a college degree, saying he hoped French First Lady Brigitte Macron wins her defamation suit against Owens, and that Jones deserved to go bankrupt after calling a mass school shooting a hoax.

Owens has accused France's first lady of being a man.

"Actually, to me, the First Lady of France is a far more beautiful woman than Candace, in fact, it's not even close!" Trump wrote Thursday.

"These so-called 'pundits' are LOSERS, and they always will be!" he added.

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