War in the Middle East: latest developments

Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Sunday killed at least 15 people, a day after Israel threatened to hit Lebanon's main border crossing with Syria, forcing it to close.

Israel has launched airstrikes across Lebanon as well as a ground invasion in the south since March 2, when armed group Hezbollah entered the Middle East war on the side of its backer Iran.

Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir visited troops in southern Lebanon on Sunday and pledged to intensify strikes against Hezbollah.

One of Israel's strikes in Beirut Sunday killed at least five people and wounded 52 in the Jnah neighbourhood, the Lebanese health ministry said.

A strike targeting an apartment building in Ain Saadeh town east of Beirut killed three people and injured three others, while a strike in the southern town of Kfar Hatta, far from the border with Israel, killed seven people including a four-year-old girl, the ministry said.

Hezbollah on Sunday claimed to have fired a cruise missile at an Israeli warship off the coast, but the Israeli military told AFP it was "not aware" of such an incident.

Israeli attacks on Lebanon since the start of the war have killed more than 1,400 people, including 126 children, and displaced over a million, according to Lebanese authorities.

- Panic attacks -

The strike in Beirut's Jnah neighbourhood landed about 100 metres away from the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the largest public medical facility in Lebanon, a medical source told AFP.

Zakaria Tawbeh, deputy head of the hospital, said they received "four killed, three Sudanese and a 15-year old girl, and 31 wounded".

"Lots of glass was broken, and some of our patients had panic attacks."

After the first attack, 53-year-old Jnah resident Nancy Hassan thought she was safe at home.

"Shortly after, the planes were flying overhead, and we heard a huge bang, then stones rained down on us," she told AFP.

Hassan lost her daughter in an Israeli strike on the same area during the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

"My daughter was killed, she was 23 years old. Today, her friends were killed. Every time, they bomb us in the neighbourhood without warning," she added.

Israel also launched several strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, an area now largely evacuated but where Hezbollah holds sway.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon warned that attacks by Israel and Hezbollah near its positions "could potentially draw return fire".

- Vital crossing -

On Saturday, Israel had said it would target the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, the main gateway between the two countries.

"Due to Hezbollah's use of the Masnaa crossing for military purposes and smuggling of combat equipment, the (Israeli army) intends to carry out strikes on the crossing in the near future," said the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee, urging people to leave the area.

The border post was quickly evacuated on the Lebanese side.

In Syria, borders and customs public relations director Mazen Aloush insisted the crossing was exclusively used by civilians but said it would close temporarily due to the threats.

Masnaa is a vital trade route for both countries and a key gateway to the rest of the region for Lebanese people.

Military expert Hassan Jouni told AFP that Israel's threat to strike the crossing "is not based on sound security considerations but rather aims to pressure the Lebanese government... to disarm Hezbollah".

At another border crossing further north known as Qaa, an AFP correspondent on Sunday saw a long line of cars and vans waiting to enter Syria as people sought an alternative route.

As Israeli troops push into border areas in southern Lebanon, destroying villages, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated his call for talks with Israel, saying he wanted to spare his country's south from destruction on the scale seen in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

"Why don't we negotiate... until we can at least save the homes that have not yet been destroyed?" he said in a televised address.

bur-pdw/ksb

JJ Spaun bagged a sensational eagle on the penultimate hole to warm up for the Masters with a a dramatic one-shot victory at the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open on Sunday.

Spaun carded a five-under-par closing 67 at the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course to finish the tournament with a 17-under aggregate 271.

That was enough to vault the 2025 US Open champion, who had started the final round tied for fourth, to the top of the leaderboard ahead of England's Matt Wallace, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Michael Kim, who finished on 16 under.

The signature moment for Spaun came on the par-four 306-yard 17th, when his tee shot landed on the green and rolled to within 10 feet of the flag.

He duly made the putt for eagle to move to five under for the day, and then held his nerve to make a crucial up-and-down par on the par-five 18th.

The victory couldn't have been better timed for Spaun, who won his first PGA Tour victory at San Antonio in 2022, but who has endured a rough start to 2026.

"This game is so crazy," Spaun said afterwards. "I haven't been feeling at the form that I wanted to be based off of last season. Just trying to take each day as it comes and accepting what I have. 

"Just means a lot to come back and win here at a place that's been so good to me." 

Spaun had missed the cut in four of his seven outings so far this season, with his highest finish before this week a tie for 24th place at The Players Championship last month.

But now the 35-year-old will head to Augusta for next week's Masters in fine fettle as he hunts a second major championship.

Spaun said adopting a more relaxed approach had been behind this week's improved form.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself this year to start the year, and a lot of expectations," he said. 

"It's the complete opposite of the mantra I had all year last year that really helped me, so I tried to get back to that.

"Went into the last few weeks starting at The Players just trying to be freed up and put less pressure on myself."

rcw/bb

Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and Jayson Tatum added 23 as the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-101 on Sunday.

Tatum added 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals for the Celtics, who notched their third straight win to tighten their grip on second place in the NBA Eastern Conference.

After hot starts in their past two victories, the Celtics looked sluggish in the early going.

They were bedeviled by 18 turnovers, leading to 24 Raptors points, and connected on just eight of their 28 three-point attempts.

Up 80-77 going into the fourth quarter, the Celtics were buoyed by 11 points from Payton Pritchard in the final frame, pushing their lead to as many as 18.

Ja'Kobe Walter scored 16 points and RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram added 15 points each for the Raptors, who are seventh in the East but neck and neck with Philadelphia in the fight for sixth and a chance to escape the play-in tournament.

Later Sunday LeBron James leads a depleted Lakers team against the Mavericks in Dallas.

The Lakers, clinging to third place in the Western Conference, have confirmed they will be without NBA leading scorer Luka Doncic and offensive sparkplug Austin Reaves for at least the last five games of the regular season.

Doncic suffered a hamstring strain in a loss to Oklahoma City Thursday and Reaves has an oblique muscle injury.

The fourth-placed Denver Nuggets are hot on the Lakers' heels with the Houston Rockets just two games behind them in fifth place.

Golden State superstar Stephen Curry is expected to return from a 27-game injury absence when the Warriors host the Rockets.

Curry, who last played on January 30, was diagnosed with a bone bruise and patella-femoral pain syndrome in his right knee.

The 38-year-old said this week that he'd been frustrated at the slow pace of recovery from an injury he expected to sideline him "a week, 10 days max".

"The patience then was tough just because it's one of those injuries you really have to let rest," he said.

Curry said there is "nothing structurally wrong" with his knee but acknowledged he's dealing with "a new normal" in terms of managing the issue.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry will be on a minutes restriction as the team, currently 10th in the West, builds toward the play-in tournament.

bb/rcw

American fourth seed Tommy Paul saved three match points before scoring a battling three-set victory over unseeded Argentine Roman Burruchaga to win the ATP Houston US Men's Clay Court Championship on Sunday.

Paul, 28, held his nerve in a nail-biting third set to dig out a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 triumph in 2hr 40min to claim the fifth ATP title of his career.

The American had looked to be heading for defeat after the 77th-ranked Burruchaga engineered a trio of match points while leading 5-3 on Paul's serve in the decisive third set.

But Paul showed tremendous resilience to put out that fire and hold, and then broke Burruchaga in the next game to square the match at 5-5.

Buoyed by that narrow escape, Paul then held to love to go 6-5 up, and suddenly the pressure was all on the 24-year-old from Buenos Aires, playing in his first ATP final.

Burruchaga, the son of 1986 World Cup-winning footballer Jorge Burruchaga, appeared equal to the challenge after going 40-0 up.

Yet once again Paul dug deep and clawed his way back to deuce.

The American moved to match point when Burruchaga drilled a backhand wide down the line, and then clinched victory when the South American yanked a wild forehand long on the next point.

rcw/bb

The University of California at Los Angeles thrashed South Carolina 79-51 on Sunday to capture the coveted US women's collegiate basketball championship.

In a commanding performance at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona, UCLA dominated on both ends of the floor, building an early lead with an unselfish offensive display and lock-down defense.

The Bruins out-rebounded the Gamecocks 49-37 and out-scored them 40-28 in the paint and 25-12 on second-chance points.

Gabriela Jaquez -- sister of Miami Heat player Jaime Jaquez Jr. -- scored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for UCLA. Gianna Kneepkens added 15 points and center Lauren Betts scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as she made her presence felt in the paint.

UCLA claimed their first NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division 1 championship, their previous title, in 1978, coming before the NCAA tournament era.

In the face of suffocating defense, South Carolina connected on just 25.7% of their shots from the field and the team that went into the final shooting 50.5% shot just 29% for the game.

Trailing 36-23 at halftime, South Carolina were outscored 25-9 in the third quarter.

Third-year guard Tessa Johnson scored 14 points to lead the Gamecocks, but South Carolina's top three scorers Joyce Edwards, Ta'Niya Latson and Madina Okot, were all held to single digits.

The margin of victory was the third largest ever in the women's championship game, and UCLA denied South Carolina a fourth title.

They lifted the trophy in 2017, 2022 and 2024 but fell to Connecticut last year.

bb/rcw

For just the third time under coach Kerrick Jackson, Mizzou baseball has earned a Southeastern Conference series win. 

The Tigers entered the Bluegrass State and pulled off a 5-4 comeback win in the ninth inning Friday, but then dropped Game 2 without much fight. This set Mizzou up for a rubber match, in which the Tigers came out on top with a 5-2 victory over No. 24 Kentucky on Sunday.

In a cutthroat conference, series wins are not a simple task. In the past three seasons, Mizzou has only accomplished the feat against then-No. 4 Florida in 2024, Texas A&M in 2025 and now No. 24 Kentucky in 2026. It also marked its first road series win over a ranked opponent since 2021 against then-No. 3 Mississippi State. 

The team has tied its SEC win total from the previous season and hasn't even reached the halfway point of conference play yet. 

This season, Mizzou has snagged one win on the road against then-No. 22 Tennessee on the road in the series opener and then took another series opener on the road Friday. The Tigers paired it with the win in the series finale. All three wins last year came in the series sweep of Texas A&M on the road.

"Anytime you can win a series on the road against a ranked opponent that's a really good ball club," Jackson said to Mizzou Radio postgame, "you gotta be able to take advantage of that, and we were able to do that today."

There was only a couple innings on Sunday in which the Wildcats had the advantage over Mizzou. The pitching for the Tigers has been up-and-down this season, but they were locked in on the mound in this game.

Mizzou needed just three pitchers for the win. 

In his first collegiate start, freshman right-hander Sam Rosand had himself quite a day. He tossed a career-high four innings and allowed just two runs across the second and third inning. Those were the only runs the Tigers allowed of the game. 

The Wildcats were able to tie together three singles off of Rosand in the second for the first of the runs for Kentucky, then added another run on a solo home run in the third. That briefly put Kentucky ahead 2-1. 

After one more scoreless inning on the mound from Rosand, lefty Juan Villarreal took over and continued to shut down the usually scrappy Wildcats offense. He didn't allow a hit, walked just two batters and hit two batters across his three-inning stint. 

Villarreal's appearances on the mound this season have brought improvement each time. He was able to go a season-high in innings and put up one of his best performances on the mound. 

He was followed by yet another stellar outing on the bump. Freshman right-hander Eli Skidmore has excelled in late inning roles and did so again Sunday. His two innings of one-hit ball earned him his first career save. 

"Friday night, he didn't even come to the game because he was sick," Jackson said. "So for him to go out there and do what he did, it was awesome." 

In many games this season, pitching success on the mound was typically paired with not enough run-support from the offense. That was not the case in the series finale. 

"You start with a freshman and you close with a freshman," Jackson said. "It doesn't get any better than that. Obviously had a great outing from Juan in-between there."

Along with Rosand and Skidmore, yet another freshman was a key contributor to the win for the Tigers. Young designated hitter Blaize Ward ripped three hits in the game and brought in two of the runs.

His first hit of the game was a single in the second that followed a double from Pierre Seals, which brought Seals home for the first Mizzou run. Three innings later in a four-run fifth, he singled again for the fourth run of the game. 

The Tigers brought chaos with them in the fifth to garner the lead. It began with a walk, featured a double steal that somewhat worked and ended with the first batter that came to the plate. 

After Eric Maisonet walked to lead off the inning, a throwing error by Kentucky's starting pitcher Ben Cleaver following a sacrifice bunt from Keegan Knutson allowed him to reach base, but made every run scored in that inning unearned and pushed Maisonet to third. The next batter, Kam Durnin, recorded a sacrifice fly to tie the game. 

Kaden Peer then took the plate and singled, pushing Knuston to third, but he wasn't on the base path long. He and Knutson engaged in a double steal attempt, in which Knutson made it home but Peer was caught stealing.  

After a hit-by-pitch of Jase Woita and a walk to Seals, Ward snagged his aforementioned second RBI and scored Woita from second base. 

The final run crossed when catcher Juliomar Campos earned a walk with the bases loaded. That settled the game at 5-2.

The Tigers earned just two hits in the inning but combined it with four walks, three different pitchers, two sacrifices, two wild throws and one error all in the inning for the lead. 

Mizzou (19-14, 3-9 SEC) will return to Columbia to face in-state foe Missouri State (21-9) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Taylor Stadium. 

Lebanese Christians marked Easter Sunday by turning their prayers to the south, where villages remain trapped by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

This year's celebrations were dedicated to "people in the south," said Jenny Yazbek al‑Jamal, as she left mass at a church in Beirut's northern suburb of Jdeideh.

With family living in the region, the 55-year-old said she feels like "one of them". 

It is not only Christian villages suffering in this war added al-Jamal, who leads the parish choir. 

"Muslim villages too... we stand with all the people of the south who were forced to flee their homes."

The church was packed on Sunday, with some worshippers left standing outside. 

Around the altar, placards bearing the names of Christian villages in south Lebanon -- cut off from the rest of the country or under fire -- had been placed.

Hymn singers struggled to raise their voices above the roar of Israeli fighter jets flying low over Beirut and bombing the capital's southern suburbs. 

"Even during our religious holidays, even on Good Friday, jets fly over us and break the sound barrier just to scare us," al-Jamal said.

- 'For peace' -  

"This has to stop," said Marina Awad, another 55-year-old worshipper attending mass with her husband. 

"It's truly very sad to know people had to abandon homes built over a lifetime, unsure if they will ever return."

Border villages are going through a severe crisis, added 65-year-old Dori Ghrayeb. "No food, no water, no bread, no medicine, and no medical care."

The Maronite Patriarchate expressed "deep disappointment" on Sunday over the cancellation for "security reasons" of a humanitarian convoy jointly set up by the Vatican's envoy to Lebanon. 

The convoy had been due to visit the border village of Debl.

Several Christian villages near the frontier -- including Ain Ebel, Rmeich and Debl -- are caught between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah. 

Residents have refused Israeli calls to evacuate as troops advance in southern border areas. They insist this is not their war and say they feel abandoned after Lebanese troops withdrew from several border points. 

The convoy, organised with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and two Christian charities, was meant to deliver 40 tonnes of medicine and basic supplies to residents "cut off from the rest of the country", the Patriarchate said.

The two charities, Caritas‑Lebanon and L'Oeuvre d'Orient condemned the cancellation as a violation of international humanitarian law, particularly as it affected vulnerable civilians trapped in their villages.

"I am for peace; the war must stop so that we can sit at the same table," Ghrayeb said.

dco-mby/at/hme/rh

Defending champion Jessica Pegula clinched back-to-back victories at the WTA Charleston Open clay court tournament on Sunday, routing Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva in straight sets to claim her second title of the year.

Top seed Pegula, who had gone to three sets in every round on her way to Sunday's final, was in no mood to take the scenic route again as she sprinted to a 6-2, 6-2 victory in 1hr 22min against her 89th-ranked opponent.

The Charleston victory follows Pegula's win at Dubai in February and is the 11th title of the 32-year-old New Yorker's career.

After an even start, Pegula seized control in the fifth game of the first set, grabbing the first break point of the match when Starodubtseva pulled a forehand wide.

The Ukrainian saved that point but was quickly in trouble again, giving Pegula another break point with a rushed return which the American converted for a 3-2 lead.

After holding to go 4-2 up, Pegula then went a double-break ahead as more unforced errors from Starodubtseva proved costly.

After comfortably serving out for the set, Pegula was soon on the offensive in the second, breaking Starodubtseva for a third time to 1-0 up.

Starodubtseva finally began to exert some pressure in the next game and twice carved out break points. 

But Pegula slammed the door shut to hold for 2-0 and then rammed home the advantage by breaking again for a 3-0 lead.

Another break left her 5-0 up and serving for the match. Starodubtseva finally showed some resilience to fight off three match points to grab her first break to make it 5-1.

But Pegula made no mistake on her next service game, holding to love to wrap up victory.

rcw/pb

British police said they arrested seven people on Sunday at a protest near an air base in eastern England used by US forces, accusing them of supporting the banned group Palestine Action.

Activists had gathered to protest the alleged use of the Royal Air Force Lakenheath base as a departure point for US aircraft involved in the war in the Middle East.

The Lakenheath Alliance for Peace, which organised the protest, said the seven had been arrested wearing clothing with the message: "We oppose genocide, we support Palestine Action."

Police said the five men and two women had been arrested "on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government banned Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation last year, making it a criminal offence to belong to or support the group.

In February, a court ruled the ban was "disproportionate" and interfered with the right to free speech.

But the government has appealed, and the ban remains in effect in the meantime.

More than 2,700 people have been arrested and hundreds charged over rallies in support of the group, according to protest organisers Defend Our Juries.

Police said in a statement on the latest arrests that they had a duty to enforce the law "as it currently stands, not as it might be in the future".

Two protesters were also arrested on Saturday at Lakenheath and charged with obstructing public thoroughfares, police said.

The New York Times and BBC have reported that images relayed by Iranian media of the US fighter jet shot down on Friday in Iran match a model typically stationed at Lakenheath.

President Donald Trump has railed against Starmer for what he calls insufficient support for the US campaign in the Middle East, straining the countries' longtime alliance.

The UK has authorised the United States to use British military bases to carry out "defensive" operations against Iran and protect the vital Strait of Hormuz.

mhc/jhb/pdw

"The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," based on the wildly popular Nintendo video game, crushed the competition at the North American box office in its opening weekend with $130.9 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The animated sequel from Universal and Illumination Studios tracks the adventures of Mario, Luigi and friends in outer space, where they must save Princess Rosalina. It features the voices of Jack Black, Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy and Brie Larson. 

"This is a sensational opening for the second episode in an animation series," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

"Family moviegoing is leading the industry now and these series are a lot of the reason why."

Dropping to second place in its third week in theaters is another space adventure flick, "Project Hail Mary," which earned $30.7 million over the three-day Easter weekend in the United States and Canada, Exhibitor Relations reported.

The Amazon MGM film stars Ryan Gosling as a teacher-turned-astronaut who awakes on a spaceship with a mission to save Earth from a sun-dimming phenomenon.

Debuting in third place was "The Drama," a romantic comedy starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson about a couple unraveling just before their wedding. The A24 film earned $14.4 million.

"Current romantic comedies are about the misery of romance... all played by bigger-than-life stars," said Gross, citing past successes "Anyone but You" with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, and "Ticket to Paradise" with Julia Roberts and George Clooney.

Dropping to fourth place at $5.8 million was Disney/Pixar animated hit "Hoppers," the story of a young animal lover who uses technology to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver so she can better communicate and protect wildlife.

Fifth place went to Universal's romance film "Reminders of Him," with $2.2 million. The movie, the latest adaptation of a novel by Colleen Hoover, stars Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers.

"Moviegoing has momentum right now. The big films are working and audiences like what they're seeing," Gross said.

Rounding out the top ten:

"They Will Kill You" ($1.9 million)

"Dhurandhar: The Revenge" ($1.82 million)

"Ready or Not 2: Here I Come" ($1.8 million)

"Scream 7" ($915,000)

"GOAT" ($800,000)

bur-sst/des