Underdogs chase World Cup berths in Mexico playoff tournament

US figure skating star Ilia Malinin won a third straight men's gold at the world championships on Saturday, one month after his spectacular meltdown at the Winter Olympics.

Malinin led all the way to take the title with a winning margin of 22.73 points over Japanese rival Yuma Kagiyama after the free skate. Japan's Shun Sato took bronze.

"It's done. That's it," said an emotional Malinin after his performance in Prague.

"My expectation was to finish my free programme in one piece and that has definitely happened."

The 21-year-old told reporters that he felt a lot of "relief" now the season had ended, especially on a positive note.

"I had a different mindset coming here," he added. "All I wanted to do was escape from myself and enjoy every moment on the ice and have fun, and that is exactly what I did."

The world championships in the Czech capital are taking place just a month after the Olympics where Malinin was the overwhelming favourite.

Undefeated for more than two years, the star of skating led after the short programme before crumbling in the free skate to finish eighth.

Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov won the Olympic gold ahead of Kagiyama and Sato, who took silver and bronze respectively. Shaidorov skipped the world championships. 

In his first competition since, Malinin took a 9.44-point lead from Thursday's short programme into the free skate.

On Saturday, Malinin was more cautious than at the Olympic Games and simplified the technical aspects of his routine, notably swapping his trademark quadruple Axel for a triple Axel.

He also reduced the number of quadruple jumps from seven to five, nevertheless making an impressive comeback after the Olympic debacle, scoring 218.11 points for his free skate and 329.40 overall.

- 'No pressure at all' -

Malinin became the first men's skater to win three world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen from 2018 to 2021.

"I think this was probably one of the more easier world championships I've been to just because of the amount of pressure I had at the Olympics," Malinin told reporters.

"And going here I felt like it was almost no pressure at all. I've completely blocked out all the expectations, all the pressure that people put on me. And I was really here just to skate for myself and enjoy every moment of the world championships."

Kagiyama, 22, moved up from sixth after the short programme to win his fifth world medal and fourth silver with 306.67 points.

Sato, 22, took a medal at the worlds for the first time, rising from fourth as France's Adam Siao Him Fa dropped from second to fifth after falling during his routine.

The four-day world championships concluded later Saturday with Olympic champions Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry claiming gold in the ice dance.

Cizeron clinched his sixth world title after five victories with his former partner Gabriella Papadakis between 2015 and 2022.

For Canadian-born Fournier Beaudry it was a first world medal.

Cizeron and Fournier Beaudry have now won a European title, Olympic gold and a world crown as a pair this year.

"I think we'd hoped for it," Fournier Beaudry said of their success.

"But actually achieving it is another matter. And to finish on such a high note is even more satisfying."

The French pair had held a comfortable lead of more than six points over Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the bronze medallists at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last month, heading into the free dance.

They topped the scores on the night with 138.07 points and finshed with a total of 230.81.

Canada's Poirier and Gilles placed second with a total of 211.52 points.

Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik produced a fine free dance performance to pip Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson to the podium.

dif/ea/nf/pb/jc

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic, the NBA scoring leader, was suspended one game without pay by the league on Saturday after receiving his 16th technical foul of the season.

NBA rules require any player or coach be automatically suspended for one game once he is whistled for his 16th technical foul during a regular season.

Doncic would be banned an additional game for every two more technical fouls he receives during the remainder of the campaign.

The 27-year-old Slovenian tops the NBA in scoring with 33.7 points a game and ranks third in assists with 8.2 per contest.

Doncic has sparked the Lakers to a 48-26 start and third place in the Western Conference.

Doncic received his most recent technica foul with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers' 116-99 home victory over Brooklyn on Friday.

He will serve his suspension on Monday when the Lakers play host to the Washington Wizards.

js/rcw

Victor Wembanyama had 23 points and 15 rebounds while Stephon Castle added a triple double to lead San Antonio's 127-95 victory at Milwaukee on Saturday, boosting the Spurs' NBA win streak to eight games.

Castle contributed 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Spurs while 22-year-old French star Wembanyana added two steals, six assists and a blocked shot.

San Antonio improved to 56-18, second in the Western Conference and only two games behind league leader Oklahoma City.

The Spurs, who have clinched their first playoff berth since 2019, are an NBA-best 24-2 since February 1 and often winning by big margins.

"Taking a lot of pride in it," Wembanyama said. "Something none of us was used to until recently. It shows a lot of progress. Love it."

In his third season, 2023 NBA Draft top pick Wembanyama has lifted the Spurs from 22-60 in his Rookie of the Year campaign to a legitimate title threat.

"I guess one big component I have better than my first two years is winning. Now we're a winning team," he said. "Just trying to enjoy the whole thing and be the best version of myself."

A major reason for Wembanyama's confidence is the defensive skill he and his teammates have displayed.

"I know we're the best defense out there," Wembanyama said. "We have guys that have shown all season they can adapt quick. They are coachable. We have just a great collective so I've got 100% trust in my teammates."

"Wemby" delivered an impressive behind-the-back pass to set up a Castle slam dunk, the guard scoring 11 points early as the Spurs jumped ahead 46-24 just 2:30 into the second quarter on the way to a 67-45 half-time lead.

San Antonio led 102-79 after three quarters and scored the first 11 points of the fourth to help secure the victory.

The Bucks (29-44), playing without Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo for a sixth straight game due to a left knee injury, were eliminated from post-season contention with the loss to the Spurs, missing out on the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Milwaukee's defeat secured no worse than play-in spots for Philadelphia, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami -- who hold the seventh through 10th spots in the Eastern Conference.

East leader Detroit (53-20) was set for a later game at Minnesota (45-28) with each time missing its' top scorer.

The Pistons are without star Cade Cunningham due to a collapsed lung while Minnesota All-Star guard Anthony Edwards is out with a knee injury.

js/rcw

The United States were routed 5-2 by Belgium on Saturday in a humbling defeat for Mauricio Pochettino's team as they prepare to co-host this summer's World Cup.

The thrashing comes as a brutal reality check for the Americans, who have high hopes of a deep run in the upcoming tournament but were found severely lacking once again when facing top European opposition.

Just 75 days before the World Cup kicks off, the Americans took an early lead against the world's ninth-ranked team, with Weston McKennie slotting in to the delight of a packed 67,000 Atlanta crowd.

But any hopes of a statement victory were dashed as the Belgians swiftly came to life, with a deluge of goals from Zeno Debast, Amadou Onana, and Charles De Ketelaere, and a brace from substitute Dodi Lukebakio.

Patrick Agyemang grabbed a late consolation for the US, who play Portugal in another high-profile friendly Tuesday before Pochettino announces his final squad in May.

Long seen as minnows at the international level of soccer, the US hired former Tottenham and Paris Saint Germain coach Pochettino to oversee an increasingly star-studded roster including AC Milan's Christian Pulisic and Juventus midfielder McKennie.

The US will play all of its games at the World Cup on home soil, further raising expectations.

But fans shelling out to support the home team will expect to see far more than they witnessed on Saturday.

In a fairly even opening half hour, Belgium's veteran midfielder Kevin De Bruyne pulled the strings in midfield, and Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku threatened down the left flank, but the US enjoyed the better of the chances.

McKennie received the ball unmarked on the edge of the six yard box from a corner but his shot was brilliantly saved by Manchester United's Senne Lammens, who is aiming to supplant the injured Thibaut Courtois in Belgium's goal.

But McKennie made no mistake as another corner, delivered by Antonee Robinson, found him near the back post, where he tucked the ball into the net.

The goal seemed to spark Belgium into life. The Red Devils could have had several goals in the first half's final few minutes, but settled for a wonderful strike from outside the box by Zeno Debast.

It was the Sporting Lisbon defender's first international goal. 

- Hope fades -

After halftime, the floodgates opened. An increasingly dangerous Doku ran down the wing and passed into the box, with the ball scrambled to Onana, who calmly side-footed it home.

Six minutes later, US keeper Matt Turner -- hoping to win his place back from Matt Freese -- thought he had made a tremendous double save, but the referee spotted that Thomas Meunier's header had brushed captain Tim Ream's arm.

A lengthy VAR check failed to convince the official to overturn his decision, and De Ketelaere slotted in the penalty.

The afternoon went from bad to worse, as Belgium made a raft of substitutes on the hour mark, and one of those -- Lukebakio -- curled in a sumptuous shot under little pressure.

Lukebakio added Belgium's fifth before Ricardo Pepi took advantage of some sloppy late defending to set up Agyemang.

By that time thousands of US fans had left the domed arena, and full time was greeted with a smattering of subdued boos and whistles.

amz/rcw

World number one Aryna Sabalenka held off fourth-ranked Coco Gauff 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 on Saturday to claim her second straight Miami Open WTA 1000 title.

Sabalenka, fresh off her first Indian Wells triumph, became the fifth woman to sweep the "Sunshine Double" of Indian Wells and Miami and the first since Iga Swiatek in 2022.

The Belarusian star, whose only defeat this year was her Australian Open finals loss to Elena Rybakina, handed Gauff her first career defeat in a hardcourt final.

The American had won her first nine, including a triumph over Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open championship match.

Gauff had also beaten the Belarusian for the title on the red clay of Roland Garros last year.

Sabalenka pocketed the first set with a ruthless display of power and precision.

She broke Gauff to open the match and, after Gauff saved three break points in a gritty fifth game, broke the American again in the seventh before serving it out in 37 minutes without facing a break point herself.

In a tense second set, Gauff's first break point chance -- from a blistering backhand passing winner in the second game -- sparked a jubilant reaction from the crowd at Hard Rock Stadium, home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins that is just about an hour away from Gauff's Delray Beach home.

But Gauff couldn't convert, slamming a forehand into the net on the next point as Sabalenka held.

It needed another gutsy hold from Gauff to keep it on serve in the fifth game.

Up 40-0, she wasted three game points with a pair of errors off the ground and a double fault then had to save a break point before taking the game on her fifth game point.

Gauff, finding more depth on her ground strokes to ramp up the pressure on Sabalenka, broke for the first time to take the second set.

But that was her last hurrah. Sabalenka broke to open the third set and broke again to seal the win when Gauff sailed a backhand long on Sabalenka's first match point.

bb/js

In a classroom turned shelter for displaced families, teenager Ahmad Melhem follows a recorded lesson on a tablet as the war between Hezbollah and Israel interrupts education for hundreds of thousands of students in Lebanon.

"I don't want to regret not finishing my studies despite the difficult circumstances," said Melhem, whose family was displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs, the site of repeated Israeli bombardment.

"We took a risk and went back to get schoolbooks," he told AFP. 

"We're trying with everything we have to continue our education so we can achieve our goals," said the 17-year-old, who hopes to study engineering after finishing high school. 

Crisis-hit Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war on March 2 when militant group Hezbollah fired rockets towards Israel to avenge the US-Israeli killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel has responded with large-scale strikes on Lebanon and a ground offensive in the country's south, killing more than 1,100 people -- including 122 children -- and displacing more than one million people, according to authorities.

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF says the war has left almost half a million students out of school in Lebanon, after more than 350 public schools were turned into shelters and many in areas under Israeli bombardment were closed. 

Melhem's family and others are sharing a classroom divided up by plastic curtains at a school in a central Beirut district, the room scattered with thin mattresses and blankets, a table and small stove serving as a shared kitchen. 

- 'Digital divide' - 

In the corner, Melhem has set up his books and a computer screen, but there is no internet in the room. 

An NGO has provided internet access in the schoolyard, crowded with children playing and families socialising, but Melhem says he cannot concentrate because of the noise, so he watches the recorded classes later. 

His private school resumed distance learning two weeks after the war began, after cancelling subjects and shortening lessons.

"In-person (class) is better and more engaging," he said. "I miss group work and the science projects we used to do." 

According to a 2023 World Bank report, each day of public school closures costs the Lebanese economy three million dollars. 

In the courtyard, Melhem's mother helps her other son, aged eight, to follow his online classes. 

"If I leave him alone, his mind wanders and he can't keep up with the lesson," says Salameh, 41. 

"The war has destroyed everything," she added. 

"Education is the only thing left for my children." 

UNICEF's head of education in Lebanon, Atif Rafique, expressed particular concern about the future of students who are preparing to enter university while the war continues. 

He warned of the dangers of children dropping out of school, especially "girls and adolescent young women" who face additional risks, including early marriage.

- 'Not even pens' -

In Dekwaneh, north of Beirut, at a vocational institute that is now a shelter, Aya Zahran said she spends her day "preparing food and working to make the place livable". 

"We have only one phone that my siblings and I share," said Zahran, 17, who is also displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs.

But "the link the school sent us (for online classes) doesn't work", she said.

Rafique said hundreds of public schools lack the resources for distance learning, and noted a "big digital divide" when it comes to internet access, with teachers also affected.

UNICEF has helped launch an online platform with recorded lessons, and a hotline allowing students to access materials through a phone call, without needing internet access. 

He said children in south Lebanon have been disproportionately affected by education interruptions since the last round of  hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah broke out in October 2023.

Just a week before the latest war began, UNICEF reopened 30 schools in the south that had been damaged in the previous conflict, he said.

At the vocational institute's entrance, an education ministry employee was registering children to assess what educational services they need. 

"The situation here is very difficult... there's no internet here, and not even pens," said Nasima Ismail, who has been displaced from the northeast Bekaa region, as she signed up her children.

"My children are top students. I don't want them to miss out on their education, as happened to us when we were kids," said Ismail, recalling Lebanon's devastating 1975-1990 civil war. 

"I want them to complete their education, even if we are left with nothing," she said. 

"I wish them days better than ours." 

lom/lar-ris/lg/rh/smw

US figure skating star Ilia Malinin won a third straight men's gold at the world championships on Saturday, one month after his spectacular meltdown at the Winter Olympics.

Malinin led all the way to take the title with a winning margin of 22.73 points over Japanese rival Yuma Kagiyama after the free skate. Japan's Shun Sato took bronze.

"It's done. That's it," said an emotional Malinin after his performance in Prague.

"My expectation was to finish my free programme in one piece and that has definitely happened."

The 21-year-old told reporters that he felt a lot of "relief" now the season had ended, especially on a positive note.

"I had a different mindset coming here," he added. "All I wanted to do was escape from myself and enjoy every moment on the ice and have fun, and that is exactly what I did."

The world championships in the Czech capital are taking place just a month after the Olympics where Malinin was the overwhelming favourite.

Undefeated for more than two years, the star of skating led after the short programme before crumbling in the free skate to finish eighth.

Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov won the Olympic gold ahead of Kagiyama and Sato, who took silver and bronze respectively. Shaidorov skipped the world championships. 

In his first competition since, Malinin took a 9.44-point lead from Thursday's short programme into the free skate.

On Saturday, Malinin was more cautious than at the Olympic Games and simplified the technical aspects of his routine, notably swapping his trademark quadruple Axel for a triple Axel.

He also reduced the number of quadruple jumps from seven to five, nevertheless making an impressive comeback after the Olympic debacle, scoring 218.11 points for his free skate and 329.40 overall.

- 'No pressure at all' -

Malinin became the first men's skater to win three world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen from 2018 to 2021.

"I think this was probably one of the more easier world championships I've been to just because of the amount of pressure I had at the Olympics," Malinin told reporters.

"And going here I felt like it was almost no pressure at all. I've completely blocked out all the expectations, all the pressure that people put on me. And I was really here just to skate for myself and enjoy every moment of the world championships."

Kagiyama, 22, moved up from sixth after the short programme to win his fifth world medal and fourth silver with 306.67 points.

Sato, 22, took a medal at the worlds for the first time, rising from fourth as France's Adam Siao Him Fa dropped from second to fifth after falling during his routine.

The four-day world championships concluded later Saturday with Olympic champions Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry claiming gold in the ice dance.

Cizeron clinched his sixth world title after five victories with his former partner Gabriella Papadakis between 2015 and 2022.

For Canadian-born Fournier Beaudry it was a first world medal.

The French pair had held a comfortable lead of more than six points over Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, the bronze medallists at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last month, heading into the free dance.

They topped the scores on the night with 138.07 points and finshed with a total of 230.81.

Canada's Poirier and Gilles placed second with a total of 211.52 points.

Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik produced a fine free dance performance to pip Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson to the podium.

dif/ea/nf/pb

A boisterous "No Kings" rally competed for visitors' attention Saturday in Washington, as people also packed the National Mall for a kite-flying festival and the US capital's favorite annual rite of spring: communing with the cherry blossoms.

The trio of colorful and competing events left the city's monument area thronged with tourists, activists and selfie-seekers -- a tapestry of political protest, environmental tourism and family fun. 

"Where we come from there's not a lot of stuff like this, and there were so many people, like thousands, and it was a really cool experience for me" to attend the protest against President Donald Trump, said Casey Chafik, a 15-year-old visiting from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

As she and her parents dodged kites and their strings, Chafik -- still three years away from being able to vote -- told AFP it was important to gather with "people like me who believe in the same thing and who are willing to stand up for what is right."

"History is happening right in front of our eyes right now," the teen added, "and it's important that we're speaking up for what we believe in at such an important time."

For hours on a crisp, blue-sky day, kite flyers mingled with sign-wavers, sharing space on the National Mall as they pursued their dueling missions.

- 'Messy and chaotic' -

"The planning could have been a little better," quipped Greg Erlandson as he walked toward the US Capitol hoping to catch some speakers for the anti-Trump rally.

"But it's kind of nice seeing everybody out here. I'm sure there are people who are Trump supporters or people who don't know what's going on and they're seeing the signs (held by protesters). That's a good thing," the 72-year-old former publisher from Maryland said.

"This is what democracy looks like. It's kind of messy and chaotic."

Erlandson said he showed up as an "act of solidarity" with other people unhappy with how the country is being run.

"I don't know that rallies bring political change, at least not immediately," he said. "But at the same time I think it's a way of realizing that you're not alone."

One woman said she traveled from Boston to Washington to see the cherry blossoms, but wound up also flying a dragon-shaped kite with her friend and learning about the day of protest that includes anti-Trump demonstrations in 3,000 cities and towns across America.

"It's great to see the 'No Kings' rally, and for people to speak up about whatever they want," said the 28-year-old who asked not to be named.

Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters marched past the famed Lincoln Memorial. Some held up oversized papier-mache heads of Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other members of the president's cabinet, along with a banner reading "Arrest them!"

Todd, a 30-year resident of Washington and progressive film director, said he joined the protest "to represent and to be inspired" by other activists critical of Trump's policies and behavior.

"But this ability to integrate with all kinds of other celebrations makes it kind of unique," the 65-year-old, who asked that only his first name be used, told AFP.

The blending of multiple events in a space commonly nicknamed "America's front yard" allows the politically motivated and the less aware to "show up and start a conversation," he said.

mlm/jgc

Pakistan's prime minister said he had a "detailed" call with Iran's president on Saturday, as foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey gathered in Islamabad for talks on the war in the Middle East.

The diplomats were due to attend talks Sunday and Monday "on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region", the Pakistan foreign ministry said.

Shehbaz Sharif's government has emerged as a key facilitator between Iran and the United States as their war drags on, serving as an intermediary for messages between the two sides.

Sharif said he had a "detailed telephone conversation with my brother President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran earlier today, lasting over one hour", as part of preparation for the talks Sunday and Monday.

The talks will be led by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who announced late Saturday that Iran had allowed "20 more ships" under the Pakistani flag -- or two ships daily -- to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

"Dialogue, diplomacy, and such confidence-building measures are the only way forward," Dar said on X, tagging US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Sharif said he had apprised Iran's president "of Pakistan's ongoing diplomatic outreach -- engaging the United States and brotherly Gulf and Islamic countries -- to facilitate dialogue and de-escalation."

Pezeshkian hailed Islamabad's efforts and "thanked Pakistan for its mediation efforts to stop the aggression against the Islamic republic," according to his office.

The pair have spoken previously in recent weeks about the conflict and Pakistan's commitment to bringing it to an end.

Islamabad has longstanding links with Tehran and close contacts in the Gulf, while Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir have struck up a personal rapport with US President Donald Trump. 

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier on Friday he expected a direct US-Iran meeting in Pakistan "very soon", without revealing his source. 

While Tehran has refused to admit to holding official talks with Washington, Iran has passed a response to Trump's 15-point plan to end the war via Islamabad, according to an anonymous source cited by the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

burs-zz/ksb

World number two Jannik Sinner is in formidable form heading into Sunday's Miami Open ATP final against Jiri Lehecka, where the Italian will try to add the title to his Indian Wells triumph this month.

Sinner is vying to become just the eighth man, and the first since Roger Federer in 2017, to complete the so-called "Sunshine Double" of Indian Wells and the Miami Open.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has reached the title match without dropping a set and is, in fact, on a record streak of 32 consecutive sets won at the Masters 1000 level.

That run includes titles in Paris and Indian Wells, and he could join Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the only men to win three consecutive Masters titles.

"It's good to put myself in this position," Sinner said after dispatching fourth-ranked German Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in Friday's semi-finals.

"Obviously, I try to perform in the best possible way in every event (but) in bigger events I like to play more. So, I'm very happy that I can play one more final here in Miami."

Sinner is in the Miami final for a fourth time. He lifted the trophy in 2024, but he missed last year's edition as he served a three-month doping ban.

"Standing here again, in the final, means very, very much to me," he said.

With his performances in the elite March hardcourt tournaments, Sinner has stepped up the pressure on Carlos Alcaraz in the battle for world number one.

But he expects a stiff challenge from Lehecka despite leading their head-to-head 3-0.

"He played incredible tennis throughout the whole week here," Sinner said. "So, he doesn't have anything to lose.

"It's definitely a court that suits him very well. And then how he plays tennis is a very flat-hitting forehand and backhand, serving very well.

"He is a very, very aggressive player. And this is perfect for this kind of conditions here."

Lehecka is chasing a third ATP title, but is in his first final at the Masters 1000 level.

Like Sinner, he hasn't dropped a set en route to the final.

“It feels great," Lehecka said after overpowering rising French talent Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals.

"It's definitely something I've been working towards the whole year and the whole pre-season."

Lehecka, ranked 22nd in the world, said he and his team had made consistency a focus as they prepared for the season, and that consistency -- in training as well as in matches -- is yielding dividends now.

"We put big amounts of time, big amount of hours that we spend on the court and also in the gym," he said. "We were not doing anything specific towards this week, but I think it's the work that we did in the last two, three months that's just paying off right now."

bb/js