Sixers top Magic to book NBA playoff clash with Celtics

When falling bombs shattered the usual calm of his Kashmir village, Mohammad Rashid set his mind to building a shelter for his family, ready in case fighting erupts again in the divided Himalayan region.

The conflict last year between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan -- which both claim the whole of Kashmir -- was their worst in decades, following an April 22 attack that killed mostly Hindu civilians at a mountain resort.

The ensuing four-day military escalation saw both sides deploying drones, missiles and fighter jets, killing more than 70 people and leaving many residents reeling, in fear of getting caught up again in war.

"We fear another round like people living near the sea fear a tsunami," said shopkeeper Mohammad Majid from Rashid's farming village of Kasaliyan, nestled in the forested hills of Poonch district in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Before the fighting, Rashid had initially been working on a new kitchen with steel-framed windows and a properly sealed door meant to stop snakes from slithering in.

But a far more pressing threat arose as mortar shells rained on Kasaliyan, forcing the family to flee for safety.

"I realised that more than the snakes, my children needed protection from shells that can drop from across the border without warning," 40-year-old Rashid told AFP near the militarised frontier separating the Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of disputed Kashmir.

He put aside the kitchen project, pouring his life savings into converting the structure into a makeshift bunker with reinforced walls and a concrete roof.

"I thought having a safe place is most important because shelling can start anytime again," Rashid said.

- Killed seeking shelter -

Leading up to last year's fighting, gunmen attacked a site near the resort town of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 26 people.

According to witnesses, the attackers separated women and children from men, who were then shot dead on an alpine meadow.

The site has since been closed to tourists.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the attack -- a charge Islamabad denied -- triggering tit-for-tat diplomatic measures and a sharp military escalation.

New Delhi launched airstrikes on what it called "terrorist infrastructure" deep inside Pakistan, which responded with drones, mortar fire and aircraft deployment along the Kashmir frontier, known as the Line of Control.

In the morning after the first night of bombing, Rameez Khan and his wife Urusa left their Poonch home with their 12-year-old twins, hoping to reach safety.

But just after they stepped out, a shell hit the narrow street they were on, killing the children on the spot.

"I can't forget that street and that moment," said Urusa, her eyes brimming with tears.

A ceasefire was eventually agreed, but it was too late for her children.

"They told us about the ceasefire, but they didn't tell us how to stay safe before the bombardment started," said the mother.

The children were among at least 14 civilians killed in Poonch -- the worst-hit district on the Indian side where the violence reached areas once considered safe.

- 'In case it all starts again' -

Kasaliyan, home to around 2,000 people, has a single government-built community shelter which can hold only about 40 people crammed tightly.

Authorities have not constructed new civilian bunkers, except for two large shelters for officials.

Other than Rashid, at least three more families in the village have built their own bunkers since the May ceasefire.

Many villages remain without shelters, despite decades of hostilities and two wars since Muslim-majority Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan when they won independence from Britain in 1947.

Jagdish Kaur, 73, lost her son as well as much of her hearing when a shell struck her home during the latest fighting.

"Now any sharp sound makes me collapse," she said.

Retired police officer Mohammad Aslam, 67, fled his home at the first sign of escalation, a decision he believes saved his life.

When he returned after the ceasefire, his house had been badly hit.

The government paid him 100,000 rupees ($1,065) in compensation, but he has not touched the money.

"It's not enough to repair this kind of damage," Aslam said, pointing at cracked walls and the tin roof pierced by shrapnel.

"I've kept the money handy instead, in case it all starts again."

pzb/abh/ami/ane

Sporting towering Elvis-style hair and a school uniform modified into a rebellious silhouette, 15-year-old Reona worships Japan's classic bad-boy subculture recently taken global by a hit Netflix dating show.

Japan in the heady 1980s teemed with hot-blooded teens who rebelled against society through dangerous motorcycle rides, school "wars" and full-on street brawls.

Their outlandish fashion and supposed traits such as chivalry have since made them Japan's pop-culture darlings, from anime to film, despite its conformist population's disdain for rule-breakers. 

The latest to capitalise on the genre is Netflix, whose recent reality show "Badly in Love" spotlighted Japan's "yankii" (delinquent) culture by starring 11 young men and women, including former "bosozoku" (motorcycle gang) members. 

And a yankii-themed exhibition is now underway in Tokyo, re-enacting the 80s chaos with flamboyantly modified motorcycles and heavily embroidered "tokkofuku", military-style jackets worn by the bikers. 

High-schooler Reona, who AFP has chosen not to name in full because he's a minor, mimics the 80s rebels by donning baggy school trousers designed to create an imposing impression.

"I think their hardcore manliness on full display is so cool," he told AFP. 

A fighting spirit, loyalty to friends and straightforwardness are redeeming qualities often associated with the subculture. 

Modern delinquents, meanwhile, are sometimes derided for their childish TikTok clout-chasing, online bullying and the underhanded way they scam elderly people as part of so-called "black-market part-time gigs".

Prank videos have gone viral in recent years showing teenage customers committing unhygienic antics at Japan's famed sushi conveyor-belt restaurants -- so-called "sushi terrorism".   

"Getting arrested for riding around your motorcycle may have some honour, but getting arrested for those sushi pranks is plain lame," Reona said.

Hirotaka Sotooka, 43, laughs off his eight-year-old son's precocious penchant for gangster-like attire, but draws a clear line.

The parent is willing to tolerate motorcycles, fistfights and fashion statements, but "I don't want him to bully the weak, be violent toward women or do anything purely evil", he told AFP. 

"Otherwise it's his life to enjoy," he said, proudly watching as his son strikes a perfect tough-guy pose before a bosozoku-style bike showcased at the yankii exhibition during its February iteration.

- 'Embarrassing' -

Japanese teens still do make headlines vrooming recklessly, skirmishing or even duelling, but they are now commonly seen as less belligerent after many moved online to vent.

The number of bosozoku members, too, plummeted nearly 90 percent to 5,880 in 2024 from their peak in 1982, police data shows.

That is partly because "surveillance cameras are now everywhere" and "everyone films you on an iPhone and leaves proof of your act", Kenichiro Iwahashi, a former outlaw biker turned delinquency expert, told AFP.

With the risk of arrest much higher, bosozoku gangs as hardcore as those in the 80s known for their unlicensed, unhelmeted and tokkofuku-flaunting style are "almost non-existent today", he said.

While long popular in fiction, yankii youths remain deeply frowned upon in real life for their transgressive behaviours and occasional transitions to full-fledged career criminals.

Satoru Saito, who performs as a "yankii comedian" complete with towering quiff, shaved eyebrows and tokkofuku, sometimes finds himself vilified online by those almost allergic to his "anti-social" appearance.

"For some people, this is a hard no," the 33-year-old told AFP.

"Most of these yankii folks are doing things like fighting or committing crimes, and the act of riding motorcycles at midnight can be extremely noisy, so I get why they are hated."

This makes "Badly in Love" an audacious project that few conventional TV broadcasters would have dared to green light.

From "Tokyo Revengers" to "Crows", manga and movies themed on school gangs have always made popular content as escapist fantasy.

But featuring these troublemakers beyond fiction would have "risked exposing TV stations to criticism from the public that they are endorsing the yankii culture", influential entertainment writer Motohiko Tokuriki told AFP.

Mindful of the risk, Netflix says it went beyond strict legal compliance to "avoid sensationalism" and contextualise cast members' past slips into delinquency. 

"We had extensive internal discussions... to ensure the production would not be perceived as glorifying or condoning the violence," "Badly in Love" executive producer Dai Ota told AFP.

Overall, his gamble paid off: the show, with Season 2 already set for release later this year, has maintained a weeks-long top 10 presence, including in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

"Our hope was to show that these young people -- who have often been marginalised or labelled as 'social outcasts' -- are simply youths who worry, struggle and genuinely grow."

Despite her tough, heavily tattooed exterior, Season 1 participant Otoha told AFP she is "not at all what people think of me".

The 23-year-old "introvert" now calls her past delinquency "embarrassing".  

"I'd like people not to admire us, but take us as their anti-role model."

tmo/aph/sjc/fox/abs

Oil prices surged Monday on a re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, just a day after reopening it, citing the United States' blockade of its ports.

However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, even as Tehran said it was not currently planning to attend peace talks.

Crude plunged while US and European stocks rallied Friday after the Islamic republic said it would again allow ships to pass through the waterway -- through which a fifth of global oil and LNG gas usually passes -- citing the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

President Donald Trump told AFP that "we're very close to having a deal", adding that there were "no sticking points at all" left with Tehran, though Iran quickly pushed back, saying its stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere".

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate dived more than 11 percent and Brent shed nine percent.

But both contracts jumped sharply Monday, days before the end of a two-week ceasefire, owing to the ongoing US blockade and after an American destroyer fired on and seized an Iranian ship that tried to evade it. Tehran warned it would retaliate.

The blockade of Iranian ports has been a significant sticking point in negotiations between the two countries, and state broadcaster IRIB cited Iranian sources as saying "there are currently no plans to participate in the next round of Iran-US talks" in Pakistan.

The Fars and Tasnim news agencies had earlier cited anonymous sources as saying "the overall atmosphere cannot be assessed as very positive", adding that lifting the US blockade was a precondition for negotiations.

WTI jumped more than seven percent at one point, while Brent piled on more than six percent.

There has so far been only a single, 21-hour negotiating session held in Islamabad on April 11 that ended inconclusively, though groundwork for fresh talks continued afterwards.

"We're offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it," Trump said in a social media post Sunday, while also renewing his threats against Iran's infrastructure if a deal is not made.

But Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned that any attempt to pass through the strait without permission "will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted".

Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the blockade was "a violation" of the ceasefire.

Still, equities rose, tracking another record close for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in New York.

Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei led the gains thanks to a resumption of the tech rally that characterised markets before the war began on February 28.

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Wellington and Manila were also well up.

The dollar, which has been a key safe haven during the crisis and fell sharply Friday, advanced against its main peers.

Chris Weston at Pepperstone said traders were assessing "whether the ceasefire can be salvaged through this week’s diplomatic talks, with recalibration on the probability of military escalation".

"Trump's weekend social media posts raised the prospect of military re-escalation, though given the bar for this response is now set higher, some viewed this as a pure hawkish negotiating tactic ahead of this week’s diplomatic talks," he added. 

"Market participants understand that the path to a formal agreement (is) unlikely to be linear and remains vulnerable to sudden changes, so market players won't be wholly surprised by a sentiment shift. 

"However, without a comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, the ceasefire remained fragile."

- Key figures around 0230 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: UP 5.3 percent at $88.31 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.8 percent at $94.67 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 59,045.45 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 26,281.92

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 4,073.76

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1757 from $1.1776 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3500 from $1.3530

Dollar/yen: UP at 158.89 yen from 158.49 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.09 pence from 87.02 pence

New York - Dow Jones: UP 1.8 percent at 49,447.43 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 10,667.63 (close)

dan/fox

Hong Kong residents who lost their homes in a massive fire at an apartment complex last year began returning on Monday for the first time to collect what is left of their belongings.

The city's deadliest fire in decades killed 168 people when it ripped through seven of the eight apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court complex in November.

For the first time since then, around 6,000 residents are being given three-hour windows to enter their homes from Monday and get their belongings.

With 1,700 flats to pick through, authorities hope the process will be completed by early May.

An AFP reporter saw residents stepping out from government-organised shuttle buses as they arrived at the estate.

Officials have advised residents to prepare mentally, with the fire department warning that more than 920 homes had been damaged and some completely destroyed by the blaze.

Images released by government officials show the ceilings and walls of some flats have collapsed or been charred black, and the interiors littered with debris.

Damaged areas of the residential complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district have been cordoned off as "danger zones", while reinforcement works have been carried out where the building structure was compromised.

Upon returning to their flats, residents were required to wear face masks, hard hats and gloves.

A 50-year-old resident surnamed Chung told reporters that he had prepared a screwdriver, scissors and plastic bags before returning to his flat on Monday.

"Once I'm up there, some places like the keyhole might be full of dust, and I'm worried I won't have the tools (to deal with it) if some parts need to be taken apart," he said.

- 'Wouldn't want to leave' -

Survivor Harry Leung, one of the last residents to leave the complex on the day of the blaze, told AFP that he had mixed emotions about his return.

While keen to see the flat where he had spent most of his life, he said he was disappointed by the short time frame he was allowed to spend there.

Three hours, he said, was not enough time.

Hong Kong officials have offered to buy the apartments back around the pre-fire market price, despite the damage, but said that rebuilding the complex on the same site was "not feasible".

"I believe there are actually quite a few people who don't want to accept (the government's offer), but have no other options. They've been forced to accept it," Leung told AFP.

"If I had a choice, I really wouldn't want to leave (Wang Fuk Court)," he said.

Betty Ho, who plans to return in May to the flat she lived in for more than 30 years, told AFP that what she wants most to retrieve are the photo albums of her childhood.

Her family's "entire life's possessions are inside that building", Ho said.

After the fire -- the world's deadliest residential building blaze since 1980 -- Ho relocated to temporary housing set up for Wang Fuk Court residents near the estate.

For now, she is allowed to stay there until the end of the year, but she told AFP she felt anxious and powerless when faced with the uncertainty of her future accommodation.

"Will we be evicted?" she asked. "Where will I find somewhere to live?"

twa/dhw/abs

Australia's in-form Hannah Green birdied the first hole of a three-way playoff to capture her third LA Championship title on Sunday on the LPGA Tour.

Green curled in a long birdie putt at the first hole of sudden death to edge South Koreans Kim Sei-young and Im Jin-hee for her eighth LPGA crown.

She had muscled her way into the playoff with a four-under-par 68 that included five birdies on the back nine.

The victory in the last event before the first women's major of the year, next week's Chevron Championship in Houston, is Green's fourth worldwide this year.

"I felt like I was doing what I said I wanted to do yesterday, hit more greens," said Green, who started the day two shots off Kim's lead and admitted that after a birdie and two bogeys on the front nine "I honestly didn't think I was in the tournament still."

"I'm just fortunate that I at least got into the playoff," said Green, who joined Kim and Im on 17-under 217.

"I had that putt, very similar line, in regulation. It still was a tough putt so really glad it went in the hole."

Green is in red-hot form, winning the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore and the Women's Australian Open and Australian WPGA this year.

Although it's her third LA Championship crown, Green couldn't lean on familiarity with the course.

She won in 2023 and 2024 at Wilshire Country Club, while this year's edition was played at El Caballero for a second straight season because of course renovations at Wilshire.

Kim, a 13-time LPGA winner, started the day with a two-shot lead after a rollercoaster third round that saw her eight-shot advantage evaporate with four straight bogeys.

With the help of a chip-in eagle at the par-five 11th she was up by one with two holes to play but bogeyed the par-three 17th on the way to a two-under 70.

"Just a little disappointed because I had a good chance for the win," she said.

Im's chances of a second LPGA title looked dim after a double bogey at the 10th but she powered back with a five-under 67, joining the leaders with an eagle at the par-five 16th.

They returned to 18 for the playoff, where Im missed the green with her second shot and Kim missed her birdie attempt to set the stage for Green.

bb/pst

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics launched their NBA playoff campaigns with big wins on Sunday as Orlando shocked the Detroit Pistons.

The Thunder, trying to become the first team since Golden State in 2017 and 2018 to repeat as champions, routed the Phoenix Suns 119-84.

The Celtics, seeded second in the Eastern Conference behind Detroit, dominated the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91, but the Pistons trailed all the way in a 112-101 loss to the Magic.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player and Finals MVP, scored 25 points, connecting on just five of 18 from the field but drilling 15 of his 17 free throw attempts for Oklahoma City.

He added seven assists and two blocked shots before sitting out the entire fourth quarter.

Jalen Williams added 22 points and Chet Holmgren scored 16 for the Thunder, who wasted no time in seizing control in game one of their best-of-seven Western Conference series in front of a revved-up crowd at the Paycom Center.

Devin Booker scored 23 points for Phoenix but the Suns, who scraped through the play-in to claim the Western Conference eighth seed, were largely helpless against a Thunder team that amassed the best record in the league with 64 regular-season wins.

"It was a great defensive performance," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. "I thought the guys were really competitive, played on a string, great communication, covered for each other. (It) wasn't perfect, but we had each other's backs.

"We forced them to earn everything."

While the well-rested Thunder came out firing, the Pistons looked rusty after having a week off and the Magic, who beat Charlotte on Friday to secure their playoff spot, took full advantage.

Paolo Banchero scored 23 points and Franz Wagner scored 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter as the Magic withstood a 39-point performance from Pistons star Cade Cunningham.

Detroit trailed by as many as 13 in the first quarter and by 11 early in the third. A Cunningham three-pointer tied it with 7:04 left in the third, but the Magic pulled away again.

"I liked our composure the whole game, our energy," Wagner said after the Magic handed the Pistons an 11th straight home playoff defeat, a skid dating back to 2008.

- 'Incredible feeling' -

In Boston, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 51 points as the Celtics led wire to wire against the Sixers, who have lost their last six post-season series against Boston.

Tatum led the charge, racking up 21 of his 25 points in the first half. Brown poured in 16 of his 26 in the third quarter alone.

"It's an incredible feeling," said Tatum, whose unexpected late-season return from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in last year's playoffs has plenty of pundits picking Boston, not Detroit, to emerge from the East.

"Not too long ago I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to play this season, let alone get an opportunity to play in the playoffs," Tatum said.

The San Antonio Spurs -- with Victor Wembanyama getting his first taste of NBA playoff action -- hosted the Portland Trail Blazers in the day's final game.

bb/pst

A new Michael Jackson biopic will shortly arrive in cinemas telling the story of the King of Pop's early career, but it's a tightly controlled story that avoids any reference to the child sex abuse allegations that dogged his later life. 

Titled "Michael" and beset by production and legal problems, it spans his childhood in Gary, Indiana, and climaxes with the moonwalking megastar performing in London during his Bad World Tour.

Distributors Lionsgate are hoping for global revenues of $700 million from a production budget of $200 million, which would push it close to the $910 million earned by "Bohemian Rhapsody" in 2018 -- a record for a musical biopic.

Made by the same producer as the Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody", Graham King, it features Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the main role, a 29-year-old with no previous acting experience.

"They threw me right in the deep end," Jaafar told US talkshow host Jimmy Fallon earlier this month, adding that he had been helped with the dancing by his uncle's real-life choreographers.

"It was really a surreal, spiritual moment," he said of playing one of the most recognisable characters in pop music. 

- 'Controlled narrative' - 

Jaafar Jackson delivers a strong performance as the gloved and thrusting singer, while the concert scenes are sure to delight fans of the "Thriller" and "Bad" albums.

At the Berlin premiere on April 10, Jackson's sons Prince and Bigi were joined on the red carpet with his brother Jermaine -- Jaafar's father.

All the surviving Jackson siblings are credited as executive producers, meaning they all had a right to review the film before its global release from Wednesday.

But the involvement of the family has led to accusations that the film sugar-coats the image of a man who was dogged by sexual abuse allegations before his death by overdose in 2009, aged 50.

His daughter Paris, who had no involvement, has been one of the most outspoken critics.

"A big section of the film panders to a very specific section of my dad's fandom that still lives in the fantasy, and they're gonna be happy with it," the actress and singer wrote on Instagram last September.

"The narrative is being controlled and there's a lot of inaccuracy and there's a lot of just full-blown lies."

- 'Human story' -

A third of the original film exploring allegations against the star had to be cut and re-shot.

Lawyers for the Jackson estate realised there was a clause in a settlement with one of the singer's accusers, Jordan Chandler, that barred any mention of him in a film, Variety film magazine reported.

Although Jackson was never convicted in criminal or civil court, other alleged victims filed lawsuits after his death, several of which are still active.

The film was originally scheduled for release in April 18, 2025 before being pushed back by a year.

Several documentaries including 2003's "Living with Michael Jackson" and 2019's "Leaving Neverland" focused on his habit of inviting children to spend nights with him.

"I would love that the film would tell the most human story about Michael Jackson possible," Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African and African American Studies at Duke University, told AFP recently.

"But I also realise that we're in a period of time where Hollywood does not deal with celebrities in that way."

The film is almost certain to give another boost to the money-spinning family franchise. 

"MJ: The Musical" opened on Broadway in 2022 and has been staged in other countries, while the Cirque du Soleil production "Michael Jackson ONE" has been running in Las Vegas since 2013. 

adp-agu-burs/pdw/jxb/ane

Over a feverish few days of diplomacy, Pakistan's military and civilian politicians successfully divided the Middle East between them to push for a second round of US-Iran peace talks expected to take place in Islamabad this week.

The country's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, headed to Tehran on Wednesday for what would become a three-day trip, where Iranian leaders said he carried US proposals for a second round of peace talks.

Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his foreign minister conducted a whirlwind diplomatic tour across regional allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

The twin trips illustrate the coordination at play in what is often described as a "hybrid regime" in Pakistan, and Munir's central role in the negotiating process.

"The synergy that is going on right now is giving results, and to take this momentum forward all this synergy will be needed," said Sheharyar Khan, executive director of the Islamabad-based National Dialogue Forum.

Munir was one of two Pakistani mediators in the room during face-to-face talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad on April 11.

"It's not political leadership that takes the decision in these kinds of situations, but the military leadership," said a Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official described Munir's visit to Iran as "important" in bringing both sides back to the negotiating table.

"The deal is almost done. He is the only person who can convince Iranians for a deal -- that's because of the trust level."

- 'Who is the strong man?' -

While a first round of peace talks between the United States and Iran did not yield an agreement, it did lead to the highest-level face-to-face negotiations between the two sides in decades, and communications channels remained open -- through Pakistan.

Building on that momentum, Pakistan's leaders have been pushing for a second round of talks in Islamabad, with security being stepped up across the capital on Sunday in anticipation.

Munir's rise on the global stage has coincided with a consolidation of military power in Pakistan, which has seen him given unprecedented legal immunity and an extended term.

The military as a whole has also taken a more prominent role in governance.

Critics and the political opposition say the moves, as well as sweeping constitutional reforms, have eroded democracy in the country.

However, the military has repeatedly denied meddling in the civilian domain -- even though it ruled Pakistan for nearly half its existence through a series of coups since independence in 1947.

The National Dialogue Forum's Khan said that, while both civilians and military leaders were working closely together in the current system, it was Munir who had the authority to call the shots.

"Who is the person who can give the results? Who is the strong man? Who is controlling? Who is in the lead? That is obviously Mr. Field Marshal," Khan said.

Munir has also built a close relationship with US President Donald Trump -- who often refers to him as his "favourite field marshal" -- since a brief but intense war with India last year.

Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East programme at Washington's Quincy Institute, said that relationship was crucial.

"Munir focused on Iran because it's the key stakeholder and he's seen as having the closest relationship with Trump," he said. 

"... the prime minister focused on regional states with more traditional foreign policy bureaucracies, whose buy-in matters, but is less critical."

Muhammad Saeed, a retired Pakistani general, told AFP that Munir was in "direct communication" with the US leadership to negotiate through sticking points in the dialogue with Iran.

"His presence is bringing both the sides to a middle ground," he said.

aha-sma/je/pbt

Mizzou men's basketball senior Jevon Porter entered the transfer portal Sunday, applying for an eligibility waiver to play next season. 

Porter played 12 games for the Tigers before suffering an injury that kept him out the rest of the season. He averaged 6.2 points and four rebounds per game.

Mizzou target Jalen Reece to visit with Gates

Former LSU player and Mizzou target Jalen Reece is set to visit with Missouri coach Dennis Gates on Monday. 

Texas A&M coach Bucky McMillan visited with Reece on Sunday, just one of many schools Reece is receiving interest from. 

Reece averaged 5.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game for the purple-and-gold Tigers. 

Kim English out of the running for UNC assistant coach

Former Mizzou standout and ex-Providence head coach Kim English declined an assistant coaching job at UNC after reports of an NBA team contacting him.

English was dismissed from the Friars' staff March 13 after leading them to a 15-18 overall record. 

Thousands of American and Philippine troops, joined for the first time by a significant contingent of Japanese forces, began annual military exercises Monday set against the backdrop of the Middle East war.

The war games will feature live-fire exercises in the north of the country facing the Taiwan Strait, as well as a province off the disputed South China Sea, where the Philippines and China have engaged in repeated confrontations.

The Japanese military, which is contributing 1,400 personnel, will use a Type 88 cruise missile to sink a target ship off northern Paoay, Philippine exercise spokesman Colonel Dennis Hernandez said.

More than 17,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors are taking part in the 19-day Balikatan, or Shoulder to Shoulder, exercises -- about the same number as last year's edition -- including contingents from Australia, New Zealand, France and Canada.

"Balikatan... represents an opportunity to showcase our ironclad alliance with the Philippines and demonstrate our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," US exercise spokesman Colonel Robert Bunn said ahead of Monday's opening ceremony.

Bunn added that US troop levels he described as "one of the largest deployments" in years would be unaffected by the ongoing Middle East war his country is waging, while declining to provide specific numbers.

Balikatan comes as Iran and the United States, along with Israel, are just days away from the end of the two-week ceasefire that halted the Middle East war, ignited by surprise US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The conflict has sparked a global energy crisis that has left import-dependent Philippines reeling.

The drills also come as Beijing ramps up military pressure around Taiwan, which it considers part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said last November that given his country's proximity to the self-ruled island and its surrounding waters, "a war over Taiwan will drag the Philippines, kicking and screaming, into the conflict".

In February, US, Japanese and Philippine aircraft patrolled over the Bashi Channel separating the Philippines from Taiwan to test what Manila called their "ability to operate seamlessly together in complex maritime environments".

Marcos considers Manila's 1951 mutual defence pact with Washington a bedrock of national security and has been building up security ties with Western nations to deter China.

Over the past two years, Manila has signed visiting forces or equivalent agreements with Japan, New Zealand, Canada and France, deals aimed at facilitating their participation in joint military exercises in the Philippines.

Bunn said American forces would have the option of firing Tomahawk and NMESIS anti-ship missiles, without confirming they would.

Integrated air and missile defence systems will also be put to the test, including technology for countering drones, Philippine spokesman Hernandez said.

Week-long naval exercises will also take place in so far unspecified waters off the main Philippine island of Luzon, he added.

Japan is deploying a tank landing ship, a destroyer, and a helicopter destroyer, while the US will use a cutter and a dock landing ship.

They will join two Philippine frigates and another from Canada.

cgm-cwl/fox