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WASHINGTON (AP) — The war with Iran is doing collateral damage to the world economy.The conflict is driving up energy and fertilizer prices; threatening food shortages in poor countries; destabilizing fragile states such as Pakistan; and complicating options for the inflation fighters at central banks like the Federal Reserve.Causing much of the pain: Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of world’s oil passes — after the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes Feb. 28 that killed Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.“For a long time, the nightmare scenario that deterred the U.S. from even thinking about an attack on Iran and which got them to urge restraint on Israel was that the Iranians would close the Strait of Hormuz,’’ said Maurice Obstfeld, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “Now we’re in the nightmare scenario.’’With a key shipping route cut off, oil prices have surged — from less than $70 a barrel on Feb. 27 to a peak of nearly $120 early Monday before settling closer to $90. They’ve taken gasoline prices with them.According to AAA, the average price of U.S. gasoline has shot up to $3.48 a gallon from just under $3 a week ago. Prices could be felt even more significantly in Asia and Europe, which are more dependent on Middle Eastern oil and gas than the United States.20 million barrels of oil a day go missingEvery 10% increase in oil prices – provided they persist for most of the year – will push up global inflation by 0.4 percentage points and reduce worldwide economic output by as much as 0.2%, said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.“The Strait of Hormuz has to be reopened,’’ said economist Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and recipient of the 2024 Nobel memorial prize in economics. “It’s 20 million barrels of oil a day going through there. There’s no excess capacity anywhere in the world that can fill that gap.’’The world economy has shown it can take a punch, absorbing blows from the Russian invasion of Ukraine four years ago and from President Donald Trump’s massive and unpredictable tariffs in 2025.Many economists express hope that global commerce can stagger through the latest crisis.“The world economy has shown itself capable of shaking off significant shocks like broad U.S. tariffs, so there is room for optimism that it will prove resilient to the fallout of the war on Iran,’’ said Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University.Timing is everythingEspecially if oil prices can fall back to the $70-to-$80-a-barrel range, wrote economist Neil Shearing of Capital Economics, “the world economy may absorb the shock with less disruption than many fear.’’But a lot of ifs remain.“The question is how long is it going to go on?’’ said Johnson, also former IMF chief economist. “It’s hard to see Iran backing down now that it’s announced this new leader” – Mojtaba Khamanei. The son of the slain ayatollah is believed to be even more of hardliner than his father.Also muddying the outlook for an end to the crisis is uncertainty about what the United States is trying to achieve. “This is all about President Trump,” Johnson said. “It’s not clear when he’s going to declare victory.’’Economic winners and losersFor now, the war is likely to create economic winners and losers.Energy importers — most of Europe, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India and China — will get clobbered by higher prices, Shearing wrote in a commentary for London’s Chatham House think tank.Pakistan finds itself in an especially bleak position. The South Asian country imports 40% of its energy and relies especially heavily on liquified natural gas from Qatar, supplies of which have been cut off by the conflict. Higher energy prices will squeeze Pakistani families and damage their economy.Far from cutting interest rates to provide some relief, though, the country’s central bank will probably have to raise them instead, say economists Gareth Leather and Mark Williams of Capital Economics. That is partly because inflation remains uncomfortably high in Pakistan — and higher energy prices threaten make it worse.But oil-producing countries outside the warzone — Norway, Russia, Canada — will benefit from high oil prices without the risk of missile and drone attacks.Energy isn’t the only issue. Up to 30% of world fertilizer exports – including urea, ammonia, phosphates, and sulfur – pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Joseph Glauber of the International Food Policy Research Institute.Disruption in the Strait has already cut off fertilizer shipments, raising costs for farmers – and is likely pushing food prices higher.“Any countries with significant agriculture sectors, including the United States, would be vulnerable,’’ Obstfeld said. “The effects are going to be most devastating in low-income countries where agricultural productivity may already be challenged. Add this extra cost component and you get the prospect of significant food shortages.’’Where things stand in the USThe United States, now a net exporter of energy, should gain slightly overall from higher oil and gas prices. But ordinary families will feel the pain at a time when Americans are already furious about high costs ahead of November’s midterm elections.U.S. households pay an $2,500 a year, or nearly $50 a week, to fill up their cars, said Mark Mathews, chief economist at the National Retail Federation. A 20% increase in gasoline prices means an extra $10 a week out their budgets, forcing them to cut back elsewhere. "If I have to pay more for an essential, then I would reduce a discretionary item,” Mathews said.If oil prices remain around $100 a barrel, analysts at Evercore ISI calculated, the resulting higher gasoline prices will wipe out for most Americans the benefits of higher tax refunds this year arising from Trump’s 2025 tax cuts. Only the top 30% would still see a gain.A quandary for central banksThe Iran crisis also puts the world’s central banks in a bind. Higher energy prices feed inflation. But they also hurt the economy. So should central bankers raise rates to curb inflation — or cut them to give the economy a lift?The Fed is already divided between policymakers who think a weak American job market needs help from lower rates and those still worried that inflation remains stuck above the central bank’s 2% target.“Their minds will easily go to the 1970s’’ Johnson said, when conflict in the Middle East and an Arab oil embargo sent oil prices rocketing. Central bankers are haunted by the memory that their predecessors “didn’t get it right in the 1970s. They thought it was a temporary shock. They thought they could accommodate with lower interest rates, and they ended up regretting that because inflation became much higher.’’Johnson predicted that higher energy prices ignited by the war with Iran are “going to massively intensify the debate inside the Fed’’ and make U.S. rate cuts less likely.____AP Retail Writer Anne D’Innocenzio in New York and AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.

PAPHOS, Cyprus (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday pledged to defend Cyprus and dispatch additional warships to the Eastern Mediterranean to strengthen allies' security in the region unsettled by the Iran war.Macron said he was visiting Cyprus primarily to show solidarity with the country, where a Shahed drone struck a British air base on the southern coast last week. It was the first drone attack of the war on European territory."When Cyprus is attacked, it is Europe that is attacked," Macron said after talks with his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Cyprus' main air base near the southwestern town of Paphos. "We are bound to one another by strategic partnerships.”Macron had ordered the French frigate Languedoc to waters off Cyprus, a fellow European Union member, to bolster its anti-drone and anti-missile defenses. Last week, France also sent ground-based anti-drone and anti-missile defenses.Greece has dispatched four F-16 fighter planes to the Paphos air base, and its frigates Kimon and Psara are already patrolling off Cyprus, tasked with intercepting any missiles or drones.Macron hails ‘unprecedented’ show of strengthMacron said he would deploy eight warships, two helicopter carriers and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, equipped with its 20 Rafale fighter jets, to the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider Middle East, calling France's move “unprecedented.” Cyprus and France signed a new strategic partnership in December.He briefly visited the French aircraft carrier off Crete, Greece.Macron also pointed to a French-led initiative in the works that will involve European and non-European nations helping to escort oil and gas tankers with the aim of gradually reopening the Strait of Hormuz off Iran “as soon as possible after the most intense phase of the conflict is over.”Cyprus' leader, Christodoulides, noted: “Our countries have the common belief that the European Union must engage more actively, more strategically and more coherently with the wider region as part of a comprehensive approach."The Greek prime minister stressed that any action is purely defensive in posture, adding that "we're not going to accept any part of European territory, like Cyprus, to be exposed to the slightest danger."EU leaders seek to contain Middle East conflictMacron has been involved in diplomatic talks seeking to avoid further escalation in the Middle East. On Sunday, he spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and urged him to stop strikes.Christodoulides has underscored that Cyprus won't take part in any military operation and remains focused on its regional humanitarian role that includes a maritime corridor sending aid to Gaza via the Israeli port of Ashdod.The Shahed drone on March 2 caused minor damage to a hangar at the RAF Akrotiri air base. No one was injured. Another two drones were intercepted by British Typhoon and F-35 warplanes that were scrambled from the air base shortly later that day.Cyprus officials confirmed last week that the Shahed originated from Lebanon and believe that it was launched by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Hezbollah’s arsenal includes exploding drones, similar to the ones used by Iran.Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji on Sunday condemned the drone attack, adding: “I called on our Cypriot friends not to confuse the Lebanese state with those acting outside its authority and legal framework."The Lebanese government has ordered its security agencies to crack down on non-state groups carrying out attacks.Macron said France is expending diplomatic capital to ensure a return to calm and to allow for the Lebanese armed forces to assert themselves as Israel pounds Hezbollah positions.“Our goal is simple, Hezbollah must cease all strikes from Lebanese territory, because it is putting all Lebanese people in danger,” Macron said, and urged Israel to cease its strikes in Lebanon.___Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus. Kareem Chehayeb contributed to this report from Beirut.

NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who brought explosives to a far-right protest outside New York City's mayoral mansion said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, according to a court complaint.Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Their lawyers didn't argue for bail but could do so later.The homemade devices, which did not explode, were hurled Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islam demonstration led by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office.“Balat and Kayumi sought to incite fear and mass suffering through this alleged attempted terror attack in the backyard of an elected city official,” James Barnacle, who runs the FBI's New York office, said at a news conference after the brief court session.The defendants said nothing in court, but Kayumi smirked and looked over at Balat as the judge read part of the complaint alleging they acted in support of the Islamic State group. Balat stared ahead at the defense table.According to the complaint, Kayumi blurted out, as he was being arrested Saturday, that “ISIS” was the reason for his conduct. Balat later told authorities that he had pledged allegiance to the extremists, and Kayumi asserted that he was affiliated with the group, the complaint said.Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded hundreds more.“No, even bigger,” Balat replied, according to the complaint.Lawyer says he doesn't believe the suspects knew each otherEmir Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside court that his client is a Philadelphia-area high school senior with “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life. “There’s a lot to figure out,” the attorney added.Asked whether he believed Balat was a terrorist, the lawyer said: “I believe he’s 18 and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing.”Kayumi’s lawyer, Michael Arthus, pointed in court to the extensive publicity surrounding the case and asked that prosecutors avoid saying anything that could prejudice potential jurors.No one answered the door at a home listed as belonging to one of Kayumi's relatives in Newtown, Pennsylvania. At a home where neighbors said Balat lives in nearby Langhorne, a young man declined to comment when a reporter knocked on the door.The FBI said Monday it has conducted multiple searches in connection with the investigation, including of a Pennsylvania storage unit.A spokesperson for Neshaminy High School, located in Langhorne, confirmed that Balat is in his senior year there. He has not attended in-person classes since enrolling in the district’s virtual program this past September, according to a note sent to parents Monday by the district's superintendent.Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said neither defendant had a criminal history. Essmidi said he didn’t believe the two young men had known each other for long.“They are not known to each other. They do not live together. They did not have friendly, family or school ties,” Essmidi said. "There is no reason to believe they knew each other prior to this incident, and I don’t know how well they knew each other at the time of this incident.”Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on social media that authorities “will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, anti-American ideology to threaten this nation.”No ties to Iran war, police say, as prosecutor vows ‘swift justice’Tisch said there are no indications that the attack was connected to the ongoing war in Iran.An automated license plate reader captured the defendants entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the noontime attack, according to the complaint. Kayumi's mother filed a missing person report, saying she last saw him around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.The men's vehicle — registered to one of Balat’s relatives — was discovered Sunday, a few blocks from where they were arrested. A search of the car turned up a fuse, a metal can, and a list of chemical ingredients and components that could be used to build explosives, the complaint said.Lang's sparsely attended protest Saturday drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators. Amid the faceoff, Balat tossed a jar-sized device that contained the explosive TATP into the crowd, the complaint said. The object also contained a fuse, plus an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts, the complaint said.The device extinguished itself steps from police officers. According to the complaint, Balat then ran down the block and collected a second, similar device — which has yet to be tested for explosives — from Kayumi. Balat dropped it near some police officers and tried to run away, the complaint said. Police tackled Balat and soon arrested him and Kayumi.“Violence that is meant to chill free speech, violence that is meant to keep us from assembling peaceably, will be met with swift justice,” Manhattan-based U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said at a news conference Monday.Protester arrested on unrelated chargesThe scene had grown chaotic even before the devices were thrown. Police said one person involved in the anti-Islam demonstration, Ian McGinnis, 21, was arrested after he pepper-sprayed counterprotesters.McGinnis, of Philadelphia, was released without bond after pleading not guilty Sunday to assault and aggravated harassment in a New York court, records show. His attorney, Steven Metcalf, said Monday that McGinnis was defending himself from counterprotesters.Three others were arrested but released without charge.Lang, who's running for U.S. Senate in Florida, was charged with assaulting an officer and other offenses during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He was later freed from prison as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency.While Mamdani spoke to reporters Monday morning at the mayoral residence, Gracie Mansion, Lang heckled from outside the gates.___This story has been corrected to reflect that police are now identifying one of the suspects by the name Ibrahim Kayumi, instead of Ibrahim Nikks. Earlier headlines were corrected to show Tisch referred to the possibility of the suspects being inspired by rather than related to the Islamic State group.___Associated Press writers Michael Catalini in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long. Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, their highest since 2022, back below $90.The S&P 500 dropped as much as 1.5% in the morning before flipping to a gain of 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed back a plunge of nearly 900 points to rise 239 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.4%.They’re the latest hour-to-hour swings to pummel financial markets because of the uncertainty about just how high oil prices will go and how long they will stay there because of disruptions to the energy industry in the Middle East. Markets made their remarkable reversals during the last hour of Wall Street’s trading after President Donald Trump told CBS News that he thinks “the war is very complete, pretty much.”That calmed worries that had built earlier in the morning, when the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly touched $119.50. It hadn’t been that expensive since the summer of 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.If oil prices stay very high for very long, households’ budgets already stretched by high inflation could break under the pressure. Companies, meanwhile, would see their own bills jump for fuel and to stock items on their store shelves or in their data warehouses. It all raises the possibility of a worst-case scenario for the global economy, “stagflation,” where growth stagnates and inflation remains high.Concerns have focused in particular on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran’s coast that a fifth of the world’s oil sails through on a typical day. Iran had earlier threatened to set fire to ships sailing the strait.If the strait remains closed for only a few weeks, the price of oil could push to $150 per barrel of higher, according to oil and gas strategists at Macquarie Research.But oil prices pared their gains through the day, initially on talk that seven of the world’s largest economies could coordinate moves to push back on the spikes. They then slid sharply after CBS News said Trump said of Iran that “if you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense.”Trump also added that when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, he’s “thinking about taking it over,” according to CBS.A barrel of Brent crude pulled back to settle at $98.96 in the afternoon and then kept falling afterward below $90. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude touched $119.48 during the morning, then pulled back to settle at $94.77 and then sank toward $85.The U.S. stock market has a history of bouncing back relatively quickly from past military conflicts, as long as oil prices don’t stay too high for too long. Some professional investors continue to suggest that drops in prices for stocks could ultimately offer opportunities to buy them at cheaper levels before they rise again.“We continue to believe that the current acute shortage of oil will be reversed in the coming months as new supply comes online and oil should drop significantly,” according to Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.Even with all the recent swings in the market, the S&P 500 index that sits at the heart of many 401(k) accounts is still within 3% of its record set in January.All told, the S&P 500 rose 55.97 points to 6,795.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 239.25 to 47,740.80, and the Nasdaq composite gained 308.27 to 22,695.95.To be sure, prices could reverse again in the coming days given all the uncertainties about the war. That's what happened through the huge swings that rocked Wall Street last week.In stock markets abroad, where economies are more dependent on the import of oil and natural gas, stocks fell sharply before Trump’s comments were published. South Korea’s Kospi sank 6%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 5.2% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1%.Trump’s comments came after he said late Sunday that high oil prices at the moment were worth the cost.“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” he said in a posting on his social media network.In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.10% from 4.15% late Friday.Worries about high inflation and oil prices are pushing upward on Treasury yields, and the 10-year yield briefly rose above 4.20% early Monday.But worries about a potentially slowing economy are pulling downward at the same time. On Friday, a discouragingly weak report on the U.S. job market showed that employers cut more jobs last month than they added.Yields then slid late in the day when oil prices eased.___AP Writers Matt Ott, Kim Tong-hyung and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese parliament extended its term by two years on Monday due to the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which has pushed the region into an escalating conflict, and Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon following renewed strikes with the militant group Hezbollah.The Israeli military said Monday it was targeting Hezbollah’s financial arm, al-Qard Al-Hasan, as its ground forces in Lebanon's south launched “focused raids” against what it called the group’s infrastructure.Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has accused Israeli forces of using white phosphorus incendiary shells in strikes on residential areas in a Lebanese village in violation of international law.Two more years for the current Lebanese parliamentLebanon’s state news agency said 76 legislators voted in favor of the decision, 41 were against, and four abstained. Hezbollah’s 13-member bloc in parliament voted in favor of the extension.The ongoing war with Israel that began last week has displaced over half a million people in Lebanon and made it difficult to hold a vote in large parts of the country.The parliamentary elections were scheduled for May.Israel attacks Hezbollah’s financial arm in Beirut, forcing people to fleeResidents of Beirut’s southern suburb, widely known as Dahiyeh, were ordered to evacuate before Israel launched strikes.Smoke billowed over Beirut after the attacks. The first strike destroyed a building housing an office of al-Qard al-Hasan in the southern suburb of Chiyah. A Lebanese journalist on site told The Associated Press he was wounded in the leg and taken to a nearby hospital. Video footage showed what appeared to be two strikes on the building that were minutes apart.The strikes on Chiyah were followed by more airstrikes on nearby areas, forcing Lebanese troops to close roads where al-Qard al-Hasan branches are located to ensure people's safety.Israel says Hezbollah uses al-Qard al-Hasan to finance its military activities and targeted several of the group's branches in southern and eastern Lebanon last week.Israeli ground forces start ‘focused raid’ in southern LebanonIn southern Lebanon, the Israeli military said it launched a “focused raid” to eliminate Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure using a brigade combat team under the command of the 36th Division.The military said before they initiated the operation, its forces launched a combined air and ground attack in the area.Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it struck Israeli troops inside Lebanon with anti-tank missiles and that it fired a volley of rockets on the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona in retaliation for Israeli strikes on cities, towns and villages in Lebanon.The group also said it had repelled an attempted Israeli helicopter landing in the eastern town of Nabi Chit, in the same area where a commando force landed two days earlier to search for the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli navigator who has been missing for nearly 40 years after crashing in Lebanon.The Israeli army said it was “not aware" of another attempted landing.Tensions between Hezbollah and Lebanese government flare upThe latest round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began on Feb. 2 when the group fired rockets and drones on northern Israel following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei two days earlier in a joint U.S.-Israeli strike. Israel retaliated with large waves of airstrikes and Israeli troops captured several new posts in southern Lebanon.The Lebanese government last week declared Hezbollah’s military activities illegal and ordered the country’s security forces to detain those who were behind the strikes on Israel.Three Hezbollah members were also detained last week while carrying weapons on their way to southern Lebanon and were questioned by judicial authorities. On Monday, the military court in Beirut ordered them released on a $20 bail each, judicial officials said.The officials said the judge asked the three men what they were doing and they responded that they were heading to southern Lebanon to fight against Israeli forces. They spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not allowed to speak to the media.Human Rights Watch says Israel used white phosphorus shells in strikes on LebanonThe human rights group said in a report Monday the Israeli military “unlawfully” hit a village in southern Lebanon with shells containing white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary munition.Through geolocating and verifying seven images, Human Rights Watch said Israel fired white phosphorus using artillery at residential areas in the southern Lebanese village of Yohmor. It happened hours after the Israeli military warned the residents of the village and dozens of others in southern Lebanon to evacuate.Human Rights Watch said it couldn’t independently identify if any residents were still in the area or if anyone was harmed.The Israeli military said in a statement that it is “currently unaware and cannot confirm use of shells that contain white phosphorous in Lebanon as claimed.” It added that any weapons that contain white phosphorus are used in line with international law.Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small.“The Israeli military’s unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians,” said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.Organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said the munition was used in Israel’s last war with Hezbollah, over a year ago, on numerous occasions in southern Lebanon, while civilians were still present.___Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel.

Iranian state TV early Monday said Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor.He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader, and the younger Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy.U.S. President Donald Trump told ABC News earlier Sunday he wants a say in who comes to power once the war is over; a new leader “is not going to last long” without his approval, he said.Here is the latest:Saudi Arabia says two dead in Kharj attack are Bangladeshi nationalsSaudi authorities said the two people killed in an attack Sunday in a central city were from Bangladesh.The Civil Defense said in a statement that 11 other Bangladeshi people were injured along with an Indian national.An earlier statement from the Saudi agency incorrectly stated the dead included an Indian national.The attack occurred in Kharj on Sunday when a military projectile fell on the residential building of a maintenance and cleaning firm, it said.Sirens sound in BahrainBahrain said sirens are sounding Monday morning in the country ahead of an attack, urging people to head to safe locations.Four more drones attacking vast Saudi oil field destroyedSaudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said forces destroyed Monday morning four more drones that were attacking the vast Shaybah oil field.Bahrain says 32 people including children injured in Iranian drone attackAn Iranian drone attack hit a residential area in Bahrain and wounded 32 Bahraini civilians, including children as young as two years old, authorities said.The attacks occurred in Sitra Island close to energy infrastructure, the National Communication Center said.Four of the wounded are in critical condition, including two boys aged 7 and 8 who suffered serious leg injuries and were undergoing surgeries, it said.US State Department issues order for non-emergency staff and families to leave Saudi ArabiaThe expected order was formally issued on the same day the U.S. military announced an American service member has died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on the kingdom.The service member died on Saturday from injuries sustained during a March 1 Iranian attack on the kingdom.The kingdom’s Civil Defense also confirmed Sunday that a military projectile that fell onto a residential area killed two foreign-born residents and wounded 12 others in Al-Kharj governorate.The Civil Defense spokesperson said in a statement that the two killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality, and all wounded are Bangladeshi residents.They are the first casualties to be reported by Saudi Arabia since the war began on Feb. 28.Drone intercepted near US-linked base in BaghdadIraqi air defenses shot down a drone early Monday as it approached Victoria Base, a U.S.-operated military compound inside Baghdad International Airport, a security source told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.There were no reported injuries or damage.It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.Pro-Iranian Iraqi militias, such as Saraya Awliya al-Dam, have previously targeted the base.By Qassem Abdul-ZahraSaudi Arabia sharpens warnings to IranSaudi Arabia sharpened its warnings to Iran early Monday, telling Tehran it would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states.The Saudi statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field.The kingdom dismissed comments by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday that Iran had halted its attacks on Gulf Arab states.“The kingdom affirms that the Iranian side has not implemented this statement in practice, neither during the Iranian president’s speech nor afterward,” Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.“Iran has continued its aggression based on flimsy pretexts devoid of any factual basis.”It added the Iranian attacks mean “further escalation which will have grave impact on the relations, currently and in the future.”Israel’s military warns of Iranian missile launchIsrael’s military warned of an Iranian missile launch early Monday morning.It also said it targeted Hezbollah in airstrikes on Beirut and began airstrikes targeting central Iran early Monday.Qatar arrests more than 300 people over ‘misleading information’Qatar said more than 300 people from different nationalities have been arrested over allegations of inciting public concern amid the war in the Middle East.The Interior Ministry said they were detained for “filming, circulating, and publishing misleading information.”Asian shares sink on high oil pricesJapan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index has plunged more than 6% after oil prices soared to over $100 a barrel due to disruptions from the war in the Middle East.The Nikkei tumbled 6.2% to 52,166.92 shortly after trading began early Monday.South Korea’s Kospi sank 6.3% and shares in Australia and New Zealand more than 3%.Crude prices are at their highest level in more than three and a half years as the war ensnares major oil-producing countries and hinders exports from the Persian Gulf.The price for a barrel of Brent crude was at $109.46 a barrel, and U.S. benchmark crude traded at $107.37 a barrel.Both were 18% above their Friday closing prices.Attacks in Gulf countriesQatar’s Defense Ministry reported a missile attack on the country early Monday.In Saudi Arabia, the Defense Ministry said forces early Monday destroyed two drones that were targeting its vast Shaybah oil field.Meanwhile, fire broke out at an oil facility in the United Arab Emirates early Monday following an attack in Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, authorities said.The fire in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone was extinguished, they said.Woman injured after Iranian missiles launched toward IsraelOne woman was injured by flying debris in Rishon LeZion city in central Israel and is in moderate condition, the country’s emergency service, Magen David Adom, said early Monday, following the launch of Iranian missiles toward Israel.The service added that it provided the woman with medical treatment at the scene. A video circulating on social media showed a car with shattered glass and debris scattered across the road.Trump says oil prices will ‘drop rapidly’ once Iran conflict endsU.S. President Donald Trump offered assurance to consumers as oil prices eclipsed $100 per barrel for the first time in more than three and a half years Sunday, with the Iran war hindering production and shipping in the Middle East.“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” Trump said in a social media post. “ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY.”Iran‑aligned Iraqi Shiite militia hails new Iran leaderThe Kataib Hezbollah militia praised the appointment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's supreme leader, calling him “a figure possessing the leadership qualifications and competence necessary to shoulder the responsibilities of this great trust in these critical times.”In a statement, the group said the choice “is further proof of the vigilance of the Assembly of Experts and their deep foresight regarding the existential challenges facing the nation in confronting global arrogance,” adding that he is “the best successor for the best predecessor.”Israeli helicopter landing reported in eastern LebanonAn Israeli landing by helicopter on the eastern ridge near the Lebanese-Syrian border was reported early Monday, with heavy fighting ensuing, according to the state-run National News Agency.In a statement, Hezbollah said that Israeli helicopters were observed approaching from Syria, with some landing troops in the Sarghaya plain. The group said its fighters engaged the helicopters and ground forces, and the clashes were ongoing.No statement from Israel was immediately available regarding the reported landing and clashes.Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard pledges allegiance to the new Supreme Leader in a statementIran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard announced its allegiance to the new Supreme Leader in a statement early Monday.“The Guard as a powerful soldier and arm of the Supreme Leader is ready to follow the orders of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei while supporting the selection by the assembly,” said the Guard in a statement broadcast by state media outlets.The Guard is in charge of missiles operation in the war against the U.S. and Israel.Trump has called new Iranian supreme leader 'a lightweight'The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader, but Trump has previously stated he has a dim view of Mojtaba Khamenei.Trump has derided the 56-year-old who has never been elected or appointed to a government position, as “a lightweight.”“We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” Trump said in an interview with Axios last week.“I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela,” Trump said, referring to the acting president in the South American country. Delcy Rodríguez took power in January after a U.S. military operation captured Nicolás Maduro and whisked him to the U.S. to face federal drug conspiracy charges.Trump earlier on Sunday repeated that he expects to have a say in picking Iran’s next leader, warning that a new leader “is not going to last long” if the person doesn’t have his approval.Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s late supreme leader, has been named his successorIranian state TV early Monday said Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the country’s late supreme leader, has been named his successor.He had long been considered a contender, even before an Israeli strike killed his father at the start of the war, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader, and now the younger Khamenei will have the central say in war strategy.Saudi Arabia intercepts at least 3 drones and a missileThe Kingdom’s Defense Ministry said Sunday night it had intercepted a missile headed toward Prince Sultan Air Base, and two drones in northern Riyadh cityIn an earlier post on X, it said it intercepted a drone over the Empty Quarter desert while heading toward the Shaybah oil field.A separate post had the same details for the latter drone, but it was unclear if that was a different event.The ministry also shared footage it said showed Saudi air defenses intercepting and destroying “a number of drones” launched at it in recent days7th American killed in Iran operations, military confirmsThe U.S. military announced an American service member has died of injuries sustained during an Iranian attack on troops stationed in Saudi Arabia.The seventh American service member killed in the Iran war was an Army soldier, a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to The Associated Press.The service member died on Saturday from injuries sustained during a March 1 Iranian attack on the kingdomThe American death toll since the start of combat operations now stands at seven. Six Army reservists were also killed in the March 1 attack on Kuwait.All seven casualties from the war in Iran were Army soldiers. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed in a March 1 attack on a command center in a Kuwaiti port.By Konstantin ToropinIsrael says it destroyed headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard air forceThe military said in a statement that the headquarters struck in Tehran operated “the ballistic missile command, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) array, and other air force units.” The army’s spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said the headquarters were “destroyed.”Israel has pounded Iran with widespread airstrikes for days, hitting more than 140 targets on Sunday alone, according to Defrin. (edited)Israel’s army chief tells Israeli public to prepare for war to take ‘a long time’Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir spoke at an assessment held with the Home Front Command chief and other military officials, in comments provided by the army.“Israel has already been in a state of prolonged emergency for two years,” Zamir said. “What we mainly need right now is perseverance and patience. It will take a long time yet, you need to be prepared for that, and however long it takes, it will take.”Israel confirms it struck hotel in central Beirut, says 5 Iran-linked commanders killedThe military said the overnight strike by its navy killed five top commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while they were “hiding in a civilian hotel.”It said they served in the Guard’s Quds Force’s Lebanon and Palestine corps and were involved in funding, arming and providing intelligence to Hezbollah and Hamas.The Quds Force works heavily with Iran’s allied militant groups in the region.Last week the Israeli military said it killed the acting commander of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps in an airstrike in Tehran.Macron urges Iran to halt strikes in phone call with the country’s presidentFrench President Emmanuel Macron said he had talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday and urged him to stop the strikes.“I stressed the need for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region,” Macron said on X.He also called on Iran to guarantee freedom of navigation by “putting an end to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”Macron also mentioned the case of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French nationals who were released from an Iranian prison in November and transferred to the French Embassy in Tehran, after more than three years in detention on spying charges. He called for their return to France as an “absolute priority.”Macron also stressed deep concern regarding the development of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic program and said a diplomatic solution is necessary.Both leaders agreed to remain in contact, according to Macron’s post on X.Macron is the first Western leader to talk to Iran’s president since the beginning of the war.Macron speaks with Iranian presidentFrench President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone Sunday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He also had separate talks with President Donald Trump, Macron’s office said.No other details provided.Lebanon says over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and HezbollahLebanon says over a half-million people have been displaced in the week of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.The actual number is likely higher. Lebanon’s count of 517,000 refers to those who registered on the government’s online portal. The cash-strapped government has struggled to accommodate the large number of people who have fled their homes in large parts of southern and eastern Lebanon.Israel over the past week has called on residents in dozens of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate as the fighting intensifies.▶ Read moreSix Palestinians have been killed this week in interactions with Israeli settlersPalestinian mourners marched down the main street of the West Bank village of Khirbet Abu Falah Sunday, hoisting high the coffins of three men killed in an interaction with settlers.Earlier in the day, Israeli settlers had attacked Palestinians near the village, which is east of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied territory, the military said. Two Palestinians were killed by gunfire and a third died from suffocation, likely due to tear gas, the military said.The deaths bring the total number of settler-related killings of Palestinians in the West Bank to six this week, and seven in the roughly nine weeks since the start of 2026.That’s a major spike. In all of 2025, the UN human rights office reported nine Palestinians killed by settlers.Sri Lanka plans to issue free visas for evacuated Iranian sailorsSri Lanka will issue a monthlong visa for the Iranian sailors evacuated outside its waters after a U.S submarine attack sunk another ship in the same area, killing more than 80 sailors.Public Security Minister Anada Wijepala told the media on Sunday that the government will issue “a free visa” for the Iranian sailors, adding that “it will take sometime for them(sailors) to leave this country.”On Saturday, 204 sailors were transferred to a Sri Lankan naval base from their ship “IRIS Bushehr” which was taken under Sri Lankan custody.The ship had sought help from Sri Lanka reporting an engine failure. The appeal followed the sinking of the Iranian warship “IRIS Dena by the U.S. torpedo attack, off Sri Lanka’s coast on Wednesday. The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies.The strike marked one of the rare instances since World War II in which a submarine sank a surface warship.Tensions on Israel’s northern border as military beefs up presence to counter HezbollahIsraelis along the northern border with Lebanon Sunday watched and worried as the area grew increasingly militarized during yet another round of fighting with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.Military jeeps and trucks with tanks on them could be seen on roads close to the border.“I believe that our army today will bring order regarding Hezbollah and eliminate them permanently so we can live here in peace,” said Morris Yakuti, a poultry farmer from the area.Others weren’t so sure.“Since I have enough experience in this area all my life, I think it’s just another circle of war and it will not end this war, so it will happen again and again,” said Harella Matalon Aizenshtadt.Israel’s renewed offensive began last week after Hezbollah launched rockets toward northern Israel during the war’s opening days.The subsequent strikes have been the most intense since a November 2024 ceasefire.The first day of the Iran war was the deadliest, an independent monitoring group saysArmed Conflict Location and Event Data, the U.S-based group known as ACLED, said over 43% of the fatalities were documented that day, Feb. 28, in 10 countries. ACLED has documented over 1,000 incidents in the first week of the war across 16 countries.The deadliest single strike during the first week was on Feb. 28 on a girl’s school near a Revolutionary Guards base in Minab in southern Iran, that killed 168 civilians.That was followed by another strike on a playground in Shiraz, in central Iran, on March 5, that killed 20 people. Another strike on a residential area in Lamerd, in Fars province, killed 19 on the first day of the war, ACLED said.Although ACLED recorded fewer strikes on civilian sites in Iran, they caused more causalities, it said. Over 57% of civilian casualties in Iran resulted from 3.4% of the recorded strikes by the US and Israel.Sirens spread to central Israel in successive barrages from IranMoments after residents of southern Israel were warned of incoming ballistic missiles from Iran, sirens sent millions more Israelis in the Tel Aviv metro area and parts of the West Bank into shelters as the army said it had detected another missile attack.Analyst says separatism will strengthen Iranian governmentHowever disdainful of their government in Tehran, most Iranians are wary of Trump’s courting of Iranian Kurdish groups, said Alex Vatanka, a fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.Iranians see the U.S. president’s calls to the Kurds and posts on social media as signals that Trump desires not the liberation but rather than the fragmentation of Iran.“What Iranians are by and large hearing is not regime change in Tehran, not this glorious move to a secular democracy and so forth, but basically the dismantling of Iran,” Vatanka said. Talk of separatism, from the Kurds and other minority groups like Baluchis, Ahwazi Arabs and Azeris “is going to undermine that bigger effort aimed at the regime and it will demoralize the opposition.”Vatanka said that territorial losses in Iranian Kurdish areas or perhaps three Iranian islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates would rally Iranians around the flag if not the authorities against foreign interference.Saudi Arabia reports its first deaths in the war with 2 killedThe Kingdom’s Civil Defense said Sunday evening that a military projectile that fell onto a residential area killed two foreign-born residents and wounded 12 others in Al-Kharj governorate.The Civil Defense spokesperson said in a statement that the two killed were of Indian and Bangladeshi nationality, and all wounded are Bangladeshi residents.These are the first casualties to be reported by Saudi Arabia since the war began a week ago.Analyst says defections final key signal to instability in IranThree key signals might signal fatal cracks in the Iranian government, said Farzan Sabet, researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute.Popular uprisings, foreign intervention, and defections from the political and military elites are key signals of big changes in Iranian history, he said. Foreign intervention is clear in the smoke and flames across Tehran from Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, he said, and the latest protest movement in 2026.But we have yet to see defections that might precipitate change, Sabet said.Israeli targeting of Iran’s domestic security infrastructure is likely aimed at demoralizing the police and giving opposition groups space to organize, he said.“It potentially creates a structure where it makes both a kind of popular uprising potentially more likely and more likely to succeed in the future, but it also creates space for the opposition to have organized armed resistance in the core of the country,” Sabet said.Starmer and Trump discuss military cooperationBritish Prime Keir Starmer has spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump about the military cooperation between the two countries in the Middle East.Trump has rebuked Starmer on several occasions since they last spoke over a week ago over the prime minister’s initial decision not to permit the U.S. military to use British bases in the initial attacks against Iran, describing him at one point as “not Winston Churchill.”Starmer has now granted permission for “defensive” actions against Iranian missile sites from U.K. bases after Iran started attacking countries throughout the region.Starmer’s office in No. 10 Downing Street said the pair discussed the military cooperation between the U.K. and U.S. through the use of bases “in support of the collective self-defense of partners in the region.”Starmer also shared his “heartfelt condolences” following the deaths of six U.S. soldiers.Israeli drone strike kills three in Gaza, hospital director saysThe strike Sunday in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City killed the three Palestinians and wounded several others, said Mohamed Abu Selmiya, the director of Shifa Hospital, where the bodies were brought.The Israeli military had no immediate comment.Israeli attacks have continued across the strip since the start of the latest war in the Middle East.More than 72,100 Palestinians have been killed in the war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Part of the Hamas-run government, its statistics are seen as generally reliable by the United Nations and independent experts.Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the initial attack and took another 251 hostage. The ceasefire deal ended major military operations and led to the release of all remaining captives but left major questions about Gaza’s future unanswered.Trump says members of Iranian regime ‘could qualify’ to take powerThe president in an ABC News interview reiterated that he wants a say in who comes to power in Iran once the war is over, warning anew that the new leader “is not going to last long” if the person doesn’t have his approval.Trump also expressed openness to someone with ties in the current regime.“I would, in order to choose a good leader I would, yeah, I would,” Trump said. “There are numerous people that could qualify.”He did not specify any Iranian figures who fit his criteria.US defends allowing India buy Russian oil amid reports Moscow is aiding IranTrump has faced blowback in Washington after the Treasury Department announced it would allow India to buy Russian oil until April 4.The move, which temporarily gives Russia a stream of revenue to fund its war against Ukraine that the U.S. only recently managed to cut off, -comes even as Moscow is reportedly sharing information with Iran that could help it target U.S. troops and assets in the Mideast.But top Trump administration officials say the waiver is motivated by pragmatism.Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Russian oil being sold to India had been expected to go to Chinese refineries but had been idling at sea.“Instead of having it wait six weeks to unload there, let’s just pull that oil forward, have it land at Indian refineries and tamp this fear of shortage of oil, tamp the price spikes and the concerns we see in the marketplace,” Wright said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”Ambassador Mike Waltz, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “it was kind of common sense” to let the oil on idling ships go to India.Israeli ambassador envisions transitional Iranian government under US-Israeli ‘guidance’Michael Leiter, Israeli’s ambassador to the United States, has laid out a vision for a post-theocracy Iran, with Jerusalem and Washington providing “guidance” for a pluralistic transitional government.“What we’re hoping for is that we move into a period of a transitional government where the minorities come together, where the majority of the people come together, all the various opposition parties come together for a transitional government where they can lead the country for a year or so together with the guidance from the United States and Israel and other regional allies,” Leiter told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning.Leiter said Israel has cultivated relations with Iranian ethnic minorities, such as the Kurdish and Baluchi communities. But he said the country’s ethnic Persian majority would need to buy in as well.“We want a united Iran,” he said. “What we’re encouraging them to do is to coalesce.”Leiter hailed the Israeli-American alliance that launched the ongoing unilateral war, saying, “We’ve reached a level of collaboration that we’ve never seen between our two countries and between our two militaries.”

NEW YORK (AP) — A device thrown by a counterprotester at an anti-Islam demonstration in New York City on Saturday was confirmed to be an improvised explosive, according to a preliminary police analysis. As the investigation continued on Sunday, police said they were looking into a second suspicious device found in the same area of Manhattan's Upper East Side.Two people were in custody for their alleged role in Saturday's confrontation, which unfolded during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event led by the far right activist Jake Lang outside the Manhattan residence of Mayor Zohran Mamdani.The sparsely attended event drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators, including one person who tossed a smoking object containing nuts, bolts, screws and a “hobby fuse” into the crowd, police said.In a social media post Sunday, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department’s bomb squad determined the object wasn’t a hoax device or smoke bomb, but an “improvised explosive device that could have caused serious injury or death.”The device extinguished itself steps from police officers, Tisch noted. The same person who threw it then received a second device from another counterprotester, which was dropped and did not appear to ignite, the commissioner said.Charges against the two counterprotesters were still pending. Tisch said police were working with federal prosecutors and the FBI on the case. The FBI said agents with the bureau's Joint Terrorism Task Force were participating in the investigation.“Violence at a protest is never acceptable,” Mamdani said in a statement Sunday. “The attempt to use an explosive device and hurt others is not only criminal, it is reprehensible and the antithesis of who we are.”Later Sunday afternoon, police said on social media that authorities investigating Saturday's events had “identified a suspicious device in a vehicle on East End Avenue between 81st Street and 82nd Street.” Several streets were closed and “limited evacuations of buildings” were ordered as the bomb squad assessed and worked to remove the device, the post said.Around 7 p.m., police used a flatbed truck to remove a Honda Civic and the streets were reopened.A person associated with Lang’s protest was also arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, assault and unlawful possession of a noxious matter after allegedly macing counterdemonstrators, police said.Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes before receiving clemency as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping act of clemency for Jan. 6 defendants last year. He recently announced that he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.Earlier this year, Lang organized a rally in Minneapolis in support of Trump's immigration crackdown, drawing an angry crowd of counterprotesters that quickly chased him away.

KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — From Olympic despair in a course-side forest to a joyous win in the World Cup.Atle Lie McGrath ’s emotions came full circle Sunday when he protected his first-run lead to win a tough and sun-baked World Cup slalom by just 0.01 seconds.“Today is just about luck,” McGrath said after winning the first men’s slalom since his emotional exit at the Milan Cortina Olympics three weeks ago when he skied out of the race he was set to win.Then, the Norwegian racer famously hiked across the mountain side to cool off alone beneath the trees lining the course in Bormio, Italy.On Sunday, McGrath was greeted in the finish area by his teammate Henrik Kristoffersen, runner-up by the minimum margin, and his childhood friend Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who was third by just 0.04 one day after winning a giant slalom.At the Olympics, McGrath's slalom misstep ensured Kristoffersen got the bronze medal, and Pinheiro Braathen won the giant slalom for Brazil.Dedicated to his grandfatherMcGrath’s emotions were heightened at the Olympics because his grandfather had died in the week the games opened. He dedicated this victory to him.“To bounce back like this after the Olympics, I think he has something to do with it. He was looking over me today,” the Vermont-born racer said. “I love him so much and he has helped me with so many things in life.”McGrath also extended his lead in the season-long slalom standings over Pinheiro Braathen to 41 points ahead of a decisive race on March 24 at the course where they raced as kids in Norway.“Me and Lucas we grew up skiing together in Hafjell,” McGrath said. “So it has a lot of special memories and it’s going to be a pretty cool fight.”Snow-melting heatIt was a heated battle Sunday in snow-melting temperatures that hit 11 Celsius (52 Fahrenheit) in the early afternoon. The toughest conditions were left for the first-run leaders who get the latest start times second time down.McGrath’s second run was just the 27th fastest of the 29 skiers who completed the race, with his skis sending sprays of wet spring-like snow trailing behind him.McGrath’s sixth career World Cup win, all in slalom, was his third this season. He also has two runner-up results and a third place as the most consistent slalom racer.Slalom title raceFour men can still win the World Cup slalom title though it shapes up as a duel between McGrath and Pinheiro Braathen, who won the crystal trophy in 2023 before switching to represent his mother’s nation Brazil.Clément Noël, the 2022 Olympic champion, trails by 77 points ahead of a final race that offers 100 to the winner. Noël placed sixth Sunday, though just 0.12 slower than McGrath, and thrashed the snow with a ski pole on seeing his time.Kristoffersen trails McGrath by 99 and needs an unlikely scenario in Norway where he wins and all three above him in the standings fail to score.The Olympic and world champion in slalom, Loïc Meillard, is no longer in the chase after he skied out in the first run Sunday.Overall standings racePinheiro Braathen’s 60 points earned Sunday also closed the huge gap in the overall standings to four-time defending champion Marco Odermatt, who effectively has the giant crystal trophy secured.Odermatt leads by 572 with seven races left though Pinheiro Braathen and third-place McGrath do not race in downhill or super-G.The men’s World Cup circuit moves to French resort Courchevel for three speed races starting Friday that should confirm Odermatt’s overall win, and likely his latest titles in downhill and super-G.___AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Megan Worthy still recalls singing in a choir in the Australian capital, Canberra, as she was growing up.Now, as a rare form of early-onset dementia chips away at her vision and other brain functions, the 58-year-old is transported back to her musical youth as she and her daughter, Bronte, sing together with other people with neurological conditions in an Amsterdam concert hall, the Concertgebouw.“It’s pretty brutal,” Worthy said of her rare neurological condition. “I’m starting to lose everything, you know, and this is really rewarding and seeing all these people, yeah, it did make me have a lot of memories.”She was taking part in a so-called “singing circle” run by opera singer Maartje de Lint at the landmark concert venue for seniors with what she calls “vulnerable brains,” many of whom have a form of dementia or Parkinson's disease.Millions of people have some form of dementia, a progressive loss of memory, reasoning, language skills and other cognitive functions. People can experience changes in personality, emotional control, even visual perception. Alzheimer’s is the most widely recognized type, but there are many others, with their own symptoms and underlying biology. Small strokes, for example, can impair blood flow to the brain and trigger what’s called vascular dementia.The singers in Amsterdam, who each pay 20 euros ($23.50) to attend, are arranged with their carers in a circle of chairs under a ceiling hung with 14 crystal chandeliers in the venue's ornate Mirror Hall.“We always say, music is like vitamins,” said Selien Kneppers, 78, who once managed a Dutch boogie woogie and blues band and now regularly attends the singing circle.Roving around the middle, often dropping to one knee and reaching out her hands to connect with a singer, is De Lint. She and other singers in her organization crisscross the Netherlands and Europe, leading singing workshops.Singing, De Lint says, is a way of keeping the brain active and bringing family members and their loved ones closer together.“So we give people perspective," she says before one of her singing sessions in Amsterdam. "It’s like actually a training for the brain, for the body, to get more resilient and understand the perspective that you still have.”The hour-long session clearly has an emotional effect on the singers and their carers. Helpers regularly hand out paper tissues for people to dab away tears. One man tenderly reached out a hand to touch the face of the woman next to him as they sang songs ranging from Elvis Presley's “Love Me Tender” to Frank Sinatra's “Fly Me to the Moon" and “Amazing Grace.”Neurobiologist Brankele Frank, who is not connected to De Lint's project, agrees that singing can be beneficial to people with dementia or Alzheimer’s or other kinds of neurodegenerative diseases.Music "speaks to brain areas that haven’t really been degenerated yet," she told The Associated Press. "So, for example, their verbal skills often are compromised, but music speaks to parts of the brain that don’t necessarily need verbal skills. And so it taps into their emotion, their sense of self, their identity.”Scientists are studying the potential benefits of music for people with dementia, traumatic brain injuries, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. Music lights up multiple regions of the brain, strengthening neural connections between areas that govern language, memories, emotions and movement.Megan's daughter, Bronte Henfling, said that even getting her mother to a new environment that was not a medical appointment to discuss her posterior cortical atrophy felt good.“Just hearing everyone come together and sing ... it reminds us that we’re all human and there’s a humanity out there which is really pleasing and nice to be a part of,” she said.