Ukrainian athletes talk about 'unpleasant' Paralympics after return of Russian flag at Milan Cortina

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian athletes talked about an "unpleasant" Paralympics inMilan Cortinabecause of the return of the Russian flag and anthem.

Milan Cortina Paralympics Opening Ceremony

Theflag flewat the Paralympics for the first time since the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, and theanthem was playedfor the first time at a major global sporting event since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine boycotted the opening ceremony last week and was set to boycott the closing ceremony on Sunday as well.

Athletes from both countries have been expressing how proud they are of representing their nations during the ongoing war.

On Saturday, Ukraine and Russian teams competed against each other in a Para cross-country mixed relay race, with Ukraine earning a silver medal and Russia finishing in sixth place.

"As you know, the relay is about the unity of the team, and that was painful and unpleasant," Ukrainian skier Iryna Bui told The Associated Press through a translator in a telephone interview. "So we are happy that today we were on the podium and that we are proving our strength."

Bui did not compete in that relay but won a silver medal in the women's Para biathlon sprint pursuit standing on Friday. She will also compete in the 20-kilometer interval start on Sunday, the final day of the Milan Cortina Games.

She said it was "shocking" and "awful" to see the Russian flag and anthem at the Games.

"It is horrible indeed to see this, this flag that is soaked in blood of Ukrainians, and they are proud of it," she said. "And I ask myself what is happening in this world now."

Russia's invasion of Ukrainefour years ago ignited Europe's biggest conflict since World War II, causingsuffering for civiliansand harrowing ordeals for soldiers while rewriting thepost-Cold War security order. Thefighting has entered its fifth year, with the number of casualties — people killed, wounded of missing — estimated in the millions combining both sides.

Apush for peacehas not progressed amid the difficulty of ending reconcilingkey differencessuch as the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian land and postwar security for Ukraine.

"We constantly read the news, and we stay in touch with our families and worry about Ukraine," Bui said. "We have been living under stress for four years and as athletes, we understand that we represent our country on the international stage, and now it is very important to help Ukraine with our results and our victories.

"Our goal is to fight in every race and the team is highly motivated," she said. "We want to bring Ukrainians victories and give them something positive in their life."

The flag's return

Russian athletes are backcompeting under their own flagin the Winter Paralympics after years of having to do so as neutral athletes because of the country's doping violations and military conflicts.

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The return of the Russian flag and anthem has signaled a possible full-fledged return to the Olympic circles ahead of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

The International Paralympic Committee gave wildcard entries to Russian athletes, a decision that upset Ukraine and a few other nations that boycottedthe opening ceremonylast week. Athletes from Russia's close ally Belarus also were allowed to compete under wildcard entries.

"There is still a war in Ukraine," Hryhorii Vovchynskii, captain of the skiing and biathlon team, told the AP. "I think a country who invades Ukraine and start a war with Ukraine can't be competing with its athletes."

Vovchynskii, who is Bui's wife and won a silver medal in Para biathlon at Milan Cortina, said he doesn't pay attention to the Russians' presence.

"It felt like they were not there, they didn't exist," he said through a translator.

Vovchynskii said Ukrainians were receiving "a lot of support" from athletes from other countries at Milan Cortina.

A pair of German athletes appeared tostage a protestin the podium ceremony when Russia won a gold this week.

Ukraine's Paralympic committee a few days ago accused local organizers and the International Paralympic Committee of subjecting Ukrainian athletes and coaches to "systematic pressure" at the Games. Organizersdefended their actions.

Russian pride

Ahead of the final day of Milan Cortina on Sunday, Russia was fifth in the medals table with five golds, while Ukraine was seventh with three golds.

Some of the Russian athletes tried to avoid talking too much about politics but didn't hide their pride about competing under their own flag and hearing their national anthem on the podium.

Para alpine skier Varvara Voronchikhina said it was "really special" to see the Russian flag fly at the Paralympics again.

Para snowboarder Filipp Shebbo said it was "perfect" for Russians.

"A good moment for Russia, for the athletes," he said. "Hopefully this will continue. We had been waiting for this for a long time."

AP Winter Paralympics:https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

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Ukrainian athletes talk about 'unpleasant' Paralympics after return of Russian flag at Milan Cortina

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Ukrainian athletes talked about an "unpleasant" Paralympics inMilan Cortina...

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Vanderbilt's SEC tournament upset of Florida could knock the Gators off the No. 1 line on Selection Sunday

Did Florida's chances at a No. 1 seed in the2026 NCAA tournamenttake a big hit on Saturday?

The defending national champions wereupset 91-74 by Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the SEC tournament. The Commodores led for the final 29 minutes and had a 13-point lead at halftime by outscoring the Gators 33-20 after the game was tied at 14-14.

The lead simply got bigger in the second half. And Florida coach Todd Golden eventually got frustrated enough to draw a technical foul. After Devin McGlockton hit a wide-open 3-pointer with 8:11 to go to put the Commodores up 23, Golden got hit with the T for berating the officials.

McGlockton's shot was Vanderbilt's 10th 3-pointer of the game on just 19 attempts. The Commodores finished 10-of-21 from behind the arc as the team shot 55% overall.

[Enter Yahoo Fantasy Bracket Mayhem now for your shot at $50K]

Florida, meanwhile, was much, much colder. The Gators had a massive rebounding edge against Vanderbilt thanks to their forward trio of Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu. But that advantage didn't matter thanks to how poorly Florida shot the ball and how little Vanderbilt turned it over.

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Vandy had just seven turnovers while Florida turned it over 13 times. The Commodores turned those Gators turnovers into 24 points.

If the loss makes Florida fall off the No. 1 line, either UConn or Houston could join Duke, Michigan and Arizona on the No. 1 line. The Huskies face St. John's in the Big East championship game on Saturday night, while Houston has the chance to get a big win over Arizona in the Big 12 title game.

Is Florida still a favorite to win it all?

The Gators are looking to be the second straight team to win back-to-back NCAA titles after UConn won the 2023 and 2024 NCAA tournaments. The Huskies were the first team to win consecutive titles since the Gators won in 2006 and 2007.

Florida is one of the betting favorites to win it all and has been one of the hottest teams in college basketball across the final two months of the season. But Saturday's game was also a good example of how this Florida team isn't as good as last season's version.

The national title team had Condon, Haugh and Chinyelu playing key roles — and they have formed one of the best frontcourts in college basketball this season. But the Gators were led by senior guards Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard, and Clayton was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.

Golden added guards Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland through the transfer portal over the offseason and Urban Klavzar has played a bigger role after appearing in 26 games as a freshman in 2024-25. But the backcourt isn't as deep as it was a season ago. Could that end up costing the Gators later in March?

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Vanderbilt's SEC tournament upset of Florida could knock the Gators off the No. 1 line on Selection Sunday

Did Florida's chances at a No. 1 seed in the2026 NCAA tournamenttake a big hit on Saturday? The defending ...

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Padres reportedly narrow potential buyers down to 4 groups, final bids to be submitted in April

The San Diego Padres have narrowed down the list of potential buyers to four groups, according to reports. A second and final round of bids to purchase the MLB franchise will be submitted in April.

In late February, five prospective ownership groups reportedly placed bids to the Seidler family. One of those groups is no longer in the running, according tothe San Diego Union-Tribune.

Each of the remaining four groups has been informed that they are still in the running and met with the Padres management at the team's spring training complex in Peoria, Arizona, this week. However, the four ownership groups expected to submit bids have not been revealed publicly.

[Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season]

Previously, Golden State Warriors ownerJoe Lacob was reported to front one of the ownership groups. Lacob, 70, has owned the Warriors since 2010, winning four NBA championships and becomingthe most valuable teamin the league. He had made earlier attempts to purchase the Athletics, Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Two of other groupsreportedly expressing interestin buying the Padres are led by Dan Friedkin and José E. Feliciano. Friedkin and his Pursuit Sports group own Everton of the Premier League and AS Roma in Serie A. Feliciano's private equity firm Clearlake Capital owns Premier League club Chelsea.

Friedkin previously pursued a purchase of the Boston Celtics beforeBill Chisholm and his Symphony Technology Groupwon the bidding last spring.

Another groupreported to show interestin making a bid involved Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees and was led by Vuori founder and CEO Joe Kudla. Brees regularly attends Padres games and is reportedly friends and workout partners with Kudla, whose activewear clothing company is located in nearby Carlsbad, California. However, it's not known if the Brees group is one of the four finalists in the second round of bidding.

The Seidler family, which currently owns the Padres, has been exploring a potential sale since November. Chairman and majority stakeholder Peter Seidlerdied in November 2023at the age of 63 after a long illness. John Seidler, Peter's brother,currently controlsthe family trust, and thus the Padres, after being approved by MLB owners a year ago.

According to reports, the Seidler family is seeking a sale price close to $3 billion, which would be the highest ever for an MLB team. Steve Cohen bought the New York Metsfor $2.4 billionin 2020, the highest purchase price for an MLB club to this point.

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Padres reportedly narrow potential buyers down to 4 groups, final bids to be submitted in April

The San Diego Padres have narrowed down the list of potential buyers to four groups, according to reports. A second and f...

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Anti-war protests in Italy and Spain as high-stakes referendum on Italian judges looms

ROME (AP) — Thousands of people protested Saturday against wars in theMiddle Eastand judicial reforms proposed by Italy's conservative government — linking international tensions with a growing domestic political battle before a national referendum.

Italy Protests

The March 22–23 referendum on changes to the judicial system has become a major political test for Prime MinisterGiorgia Meloni's government, which faces an election next year. The debate over legal reforms has escalated into a broader confrontation between the prime minister and her political opponents.

In central Rome, protesters waving red trade union banners and Palestinian and Cuban flags chanted "Meloni government, resign" before the rally ended peacefully.

"The United States and Israel are destroying any form of coexistence dictated by international law," demonstrator Sandra Paganini said.

"They are dragging us towards a world war in which they are targeting completely innocent people who have done nothing wrong, intervening and destroying nations," she said.

Meloni said that the reforms are needed to tackle chronic delays in Italy's courts and restore public confidence in the legal system. But opponents argue that the changes could weaken judicial independence and make judges subject to political influence.

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The referendum has increasingly taken on the character of a political test for the prime minister. Meloni joined the campaign directly this week.

"If justice doesn't work, if it's slow, if it's inefficient, if it's unfair, then the whole machine gets stuck and everyone pays the consequences," Meloni said at a campaign speech in Milan on Thursday.

Anti-war protests have surged since the launch on Feb. 28 of large-scale U.S. and Israeli air attacks on Iran targeting military sites and senior leaders, and triggering retaliatory strikes that have shaken global markets.

Demonstrations also took place acrossSpainon Saturday, where rallies were organized in dozens of cities by a coalition of civic groups calling for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. In Madrid, thousands chanted slogans against the war and expressed solidarity with civilians affected by the conflict.

Additional protests took place earlier this week in Athens and other cities acrossGreece.

Derek Gatopoulos reported from Athens, Greece.

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Anti-war protests in Italy and Spain as high-stakes referendum on Italian judges looms

ROME (AP) — Thousands of people protested Saturday against wars in theMiddle Eastand judicial reforms proposed by Italy...

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Iran threatens to strike oil facilities after U.S. hits targets on Kharg Island, a critical fuel hub

U.S. forces have carried out "large-scale" strikes on Kharg Island, a critical hub ofIran's Gulf oil operations, with the country responding by threatening to strike U.S. allies' oil facilities if any of its infrastructure is damaged.

U.S. Central Command said Saturday that naval mine storage facilities and missile storage bunkers were among targets destroyed in the "precision strike" on the island, hitting "90 Iranian military targets" while "preserving the oil infrastructure."

Kharg Island, a tiny but strategic island 15 miles off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf, is home to an oil terminal that ships 90% of the country's oil exports. There are alsomilitary capabilitiesthere, including air defenses and mines buried underground.

Announcing the strike in a post on Truth Social late Friday,President Donald Trumpsaid that U.S. forces had "totally obliteratedevery MILITARY targetin Iran's crown jewel, Kharg Island."

The island's oil terminal has so far been unscathed in the war, according to oil market research firm Energy Intelligence, and the president said the island's oil infrastructure was spared in Friday's attack, but could be struck down the road.

"Should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision," Trump said, as Iran has actively interfered with shipping in the strait for several days.

Iran's Fars News Agency, which is linked to its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said on Telegram Saturday that more than 15 explosions were heard on the island during the U.S. attacks, which it said targeted air defenses, a naval base, an airport control tower and a helicopter hangar.

It said there was no damage to oil infrastructure on Kharg Island, but warned about the consequences of "any attack" on Iran's energy infrastructure.

"If this happens, all oil and gas infrastructure in the region in which the U.S. and its allies have interests will be set on fire and destroyed," Iran's armed forces said.

Iran has previously hit energy targets across the region, with a fire breaking out on Saturday following a drone attack at an oil terminal in the UAE.

Kharg Island is the "backbone" of Iran's oil trade infrastructure, according to one analyst, who said Iran earned $53 billion in net oil export revenues in 2025, around 11% of the country's annual GDP.

The island "serves as the physical hub enabling Iranian crude exports and the primary gateway for oil revenues," said Petras Katinas, a research fellow in climate, energy and defense at the Royal United Services Institute. It also allows Iran to sustain crude oil sales despite U.S. sanctions, he added, which "undermines a key U.S. foreign policy tool."

Trump's focus on Kharg Island appears to go back decades. In an interview withThe Guardiannewspaper in 1988 where Trump expressed his desire to one day be president, he said he'd be "harsh on Iran" and threaten the island.

"One bullet shot at one of our men or ships and I'd do a number on Kharg Island," he said.

When asked by Fox Radio host Brian Kilmeade in an interview on Friday whether he would take Kharg Island after being reminded of his past comments, Trump said it "was not high on the list."

"Let's say I was gonna do it, let's say I wasn't gonna do it," Trump said. "It's sort of a foolish question."

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Two U.S. officials told NBC News last weekthat Trump has privately expressed a serious interest in deploying U.S. troops inside Iran, and on Friday, three U.S. officials said that approximately 5,000 additional Marines and sailors would be deployed to the wider region to support the war effort.

Katinas said that seizing the island "would cut off Iran's oil lifeline" but require a commitment of ground troops on Iranian soil, "which this administration seems hesitant to undertake."

With shipping in the Strait of Hormuz now stopped, Iran "cannot sell it anyway," he added. "But looking ahead, seizure would give the U.S. leverage during negotiations, no matter which regime is in power after the military operation ends."

In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump said nations affected by the disruption, including China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, could send warships to help keep the strait open alongside U.S. forces.

Ehsan Jahaniyan, the deputy governor of Bushehr, a port city close to Kharg Island, said Saturday after the strikes that "exports, imports and the activities of companies on the island are proceeding normally."

The overnight strikes came afterIran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei,issued a fiery first public statement on Thursday, vowing to keep blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz trade route and attacking Gulf states. The written statement was read by a state television announcer.

About one-fifth of global oil supplies and one-third of fertilizers used around the world pass through the vital waterway.

Eight seafarers and shipyard workers have been killed in attacks in the past two weeks, while four are still unaccounted for, according to the International Maritime Organization.

The price of oil has since soared back above $100 a barrel, while the U.S.eased sanctions on Russian oilin a bid to stabilize markets, a move that drew criticism from Ukraine and Europe.

On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution condemning Iran's attacks on its neighbors and calling on Tehran to halt its threats to ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked about the possibility of the U.S. Navy escorting tankers through the strait while speaking to reporters on Joint Base Andrews on Friday, Trump said, "It'll happen soon. Very soon."

Trump also said that gas prices would fall when the war ends.

"I think your gas prices, as soon as that's over, are going to come tumbling down, along with everything else. I think it's going to be — you're gonna see a very big decrease in the price of gasoline, gas, anything having to do with energy as soon as this has ended," the president said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday dismissed the situation in theStrait of Hormuz, suggesting that the blocked strategic waterway is not a major concern.

"As the world is seeing, they are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz, something we're dealing with. We have been dealing with it and don't need to worry about it," Hegseth said at the Pentagon news briefing.

"We're on plan to defeat, destroy, disable all of their meaningful military capabilities at a pace the world has never seen before," he added.

byAdministrator

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14:34

Iran threatens to strike oil facilities after U.S. hits targets on Kharg Island, a critical fuel hub

U.S. forces have carried out "large-scale" strikes on Kharg Island, a critical hub ofIran's Gulf oil operat...

Read More