MON SIX

Kate Middleton played rock, paper, scissors with children during a rainy walkabout in Powys, Wales

NEED TO KNOW

• The visit celebrated the community ahead of St. David's Day, with the royals wearing daffodil pins for Welsh pride

• William and Kate's trip coincided with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's humanitarian visit to Jordan

Kate Middletonbraved a game in the rain during her visit to Wales withPrince William!

On Feb. 26, Princess Kate, 44, tried her hand at a few rounds of rock, paper, scissors with children during her visit to Powys.

As seen in a video shared toXby Emily Ferguson of theDaily Express, the Princess of Wales eagerly played the children's classic with two young boys during a walkabout in the downpour.

"Let's do it again. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Aw!" Princess Kate expertly said, as the first young boy's "paper" gesture topped the "rock" she made with her hand.

The royal mom of three then turned to the second youngster, and they played three speedy rounds, before his "rock" beat her "scissors."

The game in the rain brought a smile to Kate's face, and she seemed to congratulate the second winner. She then waved to a little girl who held a drawing of the Welsh flag and said, "Nice to meet you."

The Princess of Wales, who is nicknamed the Children's Princess for her warm way with kids, has three children of her own at home:Prince George, 12,Princess Charlotte, 10, andPrince Louis, 7.

Her game play at the walkabout wasn't her only cute interaction with kids on Thursday. Anothervideoshowed Princess Kate giving three big hugs and a few handshakes to a group of little girls holding Welsh flags — a few who bounced with excitement to meet the princess.

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She also accepted a necklace from a young girl at the Oriel Davies art gallery, graciously letting the child help fasten the handmade creation!

Powys is the county with the most volunteers per capita in the U.K. and William and Kate visited to celebrate community ahead of St. David's Day, the national holiday, on March 1.

The Prince and Princess of Wales poignantly pinned on daffodil pins in homage to the upcoming St. David's Day, when daffodils (Wales' national flower) or leeks (St. David's personal symbol) are traditionally worn as a symbol of Welsh pride.

William and Kate have a strong connection to Wales, living there as newlyweds and after the birth of Prince George. Following the death ofQueen Elizabethin September 2022,King Charlesannounced that his eldest son and daughter-in-law were now thePrince and Princess of Wales, bestowing William with the highly prestigious title reserved for the male heir to the throne.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Their stops on Feb. 26 included visits to The Hanging Gardens in Llanidloes, Oriel Davies public art gallery in Newtown and Hafan yr Afon community hub in the same village.

Prince William and Princess Kate's away day in Wales coincided with the final day ofPrince HarryandMeghan Markle's humanitarian trip to Jordan,creating a rare moment of overlapwhere both couples were conducting public outings.

The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Powysone week after the historic arrestof William's uncle, the formerPrince Andrew, on Feb. 19.

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NBA Hall of Famer Chris Bosh revealed on social media Wednesday that he dealt with a recent health scare, which has left him with a different outlook on life.

The 41-year-old Bosh didn't provide many details on the scare, only that it was "instant," that he woke up covered in blood while preparing for a date with his wife and that he has no memory of the incident. The area around his eyes was also noticeably darker.

Bosh's recollection:

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"So I woke up covered in my own blood. It was crazy. It was fast. It was instant. There was no warning. I didn't have any time to prepare for it. I was getting ready to go on a date with my wife and the next thing you know, I was, I was on the ground.

"I won't get into specifics, but you can kind of see I'm still recovering [points to face]. I'm not gonna try to hide that one in case I look different, but it was a scary thing and it came fast ... I'm lucky I came back. It was just darkness, it wasn't anything else. I went to the darkness, I came back. I have no recollection. I have no memory other than coming back here. So, don't wait."

While Bosh didn't specify what he dealt with, his history of blood clot issues is notable. His 2014-15 season ended due to a blood clot in his lungs and he never played a full season again,with the NBA ruling in 2017 he was unsafe to continue playing due to the condition. He kept trying to return to the league until his retirement in 2019.

Bosh did not say whether that clotting issue was a factor in this recent scare.

What he did say was he is no longer taking life for granted after coming so close to death:

"It made me really have a different outlook on life and how things go, what we do for ourselves, what we do for our family, how we live our lives. And no matter what it is, make sure you don't wait. That's the thing that I get from this. Don't wait to take action, because it could come fast, it could come quick. I'm lucky to be alive and I feel great about that. And now I'm thinking about how I live my day to day life. That's really it, but don't wait.

"Don't wait to take action. You might be wanting to get a promotion, you might want to try out for the team, you might want to go on that vacation. It might be so many different things that people want to do, that we want to do that we never do. So that's what I get from all this. Don't wait for it. You might want to start a business, don't wait. Just do it. You might hit the deck, I don't know."

Bosh was an 11-time NBA All-Star in his career with the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat and won two titles with the Heat alongside LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. He remains the Raptors' all-time leader in rebounds and blocks and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.

Tony Dungy's time at NBC is reportedly on the verge of ending.

The Hall of Fame coach is likely out as a regular on the network's "Football Night in America" Sunday pregame show, according toThe Athletic's Andrew Marchand. While NBC could reverse course, the move would be part of a revamp for the show.

There's also reportedly a possibility NBC gives him an emeritus role like it did with Bob Costas and Al Michaels, where he officially remains with the network but in a reduced role.

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The 70-year-old Dungy has been an analyst for NBC since 2009, the year after his retirement as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He is reportedly one of several NBC studio analysts whose contracts ended after the Super Bowl.

There are few details on how the reworked "Football Night in America" could operate, but Marchand reports the show could slim down its cast and take the whole operation on the road alongside "Sunday Night Football." Dungy had previously been part of a traveling component for the show, alongside Rodney Harrison and Jac Collinsworth.

Dungy was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016 and held a 139-69 record in 13 seasons as head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Colts, winning Super Bowl XLI in 2007 with the Colts and Peyton Manning.

His time with NBC hasn't been without incident, with examples includinghis comments painting Michael Sam as a locker room distraction after he came out as gayanddrawing a rebuke from NBC for sharing the "litter boxes in schools" myth on social media. There was alsohis involvement in the snub of Bill Belichick from the Hall of Fame, as he has refused to say whether he wasone of at least 11 voters who voted against his former coaching rival.

JERUSALEM (AP) — As U.S. forces mass in the Middle East, Iran facesthe threat of major strikesby the world's most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites and critical infrastructure.

Iran

Iran has nowhere near the same capabilities, and is even more vulnerable after last year'swar launched by Israeland recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain onAmerican forcesand allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic's survival is at stake.

While Iran suffered major losses last June, it still has hundreds of missiles capable of hitting Israel. While Iran suffered major losses last June, it still has hundreds of missiles capable of hitting Israel, according to Israel's estimates. Iran boasts a much larger arsenal of shorter-range missiles capable of hitting U.S. bases in Gulf countries and offshore American forces, soon to be joined bya second aircraft carrier.

Iran has previously threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz,a vital waterway for the global oil trade, and claimed to have done so partially during military drills last week.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneiwarned that Iran could sink American warships, and top officials have said a U.S. attack would spark regional war. Iran's U.N. ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said "all bases, facilities and assets of the hostile force in the region" would be legitimate targets.

Lingering capabilities

Israel carried out heavy strikes on Iran's longer range missile arsenals — as well asits military leadershipand nuclear program — during the 12-day war in June. The U.S. struck Iran's main nuclear sites, and President Donald Trump said at the time that they had been "obliterated."

But the extent of the damage — andhow much has been rebuilt— is still unknown. Iran continued to strike Israel with missiles and drones until the fighting stopped,increasingly eluding its vaunted air defenses.

Iran's shorter-range missile arsenal was largely untouched, said Danny Citrinowicz, an Iran expert at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies. That could make Iran more inclined to retaliate against tens of thousands of U.S. forces based in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.

"Iran may be weak. But it still has ways to inflict real pain on the United States — and much more incentive to try than it did before," Nate Swanson, head of the Atlantic Council's Iran Strategy Project, wrote in Foreign Affairs. "Iranian officials feel they need to give Trump a bloody nose or they will perpetually be at risk."

Iran launched missiles at a U.S. base in Iraq afterthe killing of its top generalin 2020 and targeted a U.S. base in Qatarnear the end of last year's war. Those strikes, which appeared to have been telegraphed in advance, caused damage but no fatalities, as early warning systems and missile defenses swung into action.

Iran could also carry out attacks farther afield. The country has been accused of using criminal gangs and armed groups to plan or carry out attacks around the world, including ondissidents,IsraelisandJewish targets.

Learning curve

Last year's Israeli strikes killed several top generals and nuclear scientists, revealing major vulnerabilities. At one point, Trump said the U.S. knew where Khamenei was hiding, calling him an "easy target."

Fresh offthe capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump may consider decapitation strikes aimed at bringing down Iran's decades-old Shiite theocracy, which he recently said "would be the best thing that could happen."

The Iranians have had eight months to learn from their mistakes and firm up internal security. Citrinowicz said there are likely contingency plans if Khamenei were to be killed. Rather than naming a single successor, power would probably shift to a small committee until hostilities subsided.

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Experts say the death of the 86-year-old Khamenei, who has ruled Iran for over three decades, would not in itself spell the end of the Islamic Republic. Power might eventually pass to a member of his inner circle,as it did in Venezuela, or to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

US allies could be targets

American allies are clearly concerned about a regional war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of a heavy response to any Iranian attack on Israel.

Arab Gulf states have long viewed Iran with concern and leaned on the U.S. for defense, but do not want to be drawn into war. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which host thousands of American troops, have said theywould not allow their airspace to be used.

An Arab Gulf diplomat said regional leaders were talking to Iran and the United States to avert war, warning that it could have severe consequences, including a spike in oil prices. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive, closed-door talks.

Iran has its own allies, including Houthi rebels in Yemen, armed groups in Iraq, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories. But its self-described Axis of Resistancesuffered major lossesin the fighting that rippled across the region after Hamas' October 2023 attack from Gaza.

A global pressure point

Another close-in target could allow Iran to inflict wider pain.

Around one-fifth of all traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, just off Iran's shore. The U.S. Navy is committed to keeping it open, but Iranian attacks could disrupt trade, as the far-weaker Houthismanaged to do in the Red Seafor much of the past two years.

Iranian officials have not explicitly threatened to target the strait in the current standoff, but Iranian forcespartially closedit last week during military drills, signaling it could be vulnerable if war breaks out.

Other critical oil assets would also be within range. In 2019,strikes on oil infrastructuretemporarily halved Saudi Arabia's production. Yemen's Houthisclaimed responsibility,but U.S. officialslater blamed Iran.

The nuclear question

After initially threatening military action over Iran'skilling of protesters,Trump shifted attention to its nuclear program, warning that "bad things" would happen if Iran doesn't agree to a deal. The two sides are set to holdanother round of indirect talksin Geneva on Thursday.

Iran has always said its nuclear program is peaceful, while the U.S. and others have long suspected that Tehran intends to eventually develop weapons. After Trump scrapped a 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran ramped up its enrichment of uranium, building up a stockpile of near-weapons grade material.

Iran's biggest sites were hit by U.S. and Israeli strikes, causing significant damage above ground. But it's unclear whether enriched uranium was spirited away before they were hit or buried underground. Iran says it has been unable to enrich since then, but it has also barred inspections.

Iran is still believed to be a long ways from developing a usable nuclear weapon, but radioactive material could pose a risk in the event of widespread strikes.

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy contributed reporting from Cairo.

By James Pomfret and Jessie Pang

HONG KONG, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai's fraud conviction and prison sentence were overturned by a Hong Kong court on Thursday, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security ‌charge.

Judges Jeremy Poon, Anthea Pang, and Derek Pang said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, ‌to proceed, as a lower court judge had "erred".

"The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences," the judges wrote in a ​press summary of their judgement.

Even with the quashing of the fraud conviction and sentence, Lai will still remain imprisoned for 20 years in a separate national security case over two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one for publishing seditious materials.

That case has drawn global criticism from rights groups and countries including the U.S. and Britain and served as one of the most high-profile events in a years-long crackdown under a national security law imposed by Beijing after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Thursday's legal victory was a ‌rare one for the prominent China critic who has faced ⁠multiple prosecutions in recent years, and described himself in court as a "political prisoner".

His son Sebastien said, however, the ruling did not change anything for his 78-year-old father.

"He still has a sentence of 20 years in prison and has spent the last half a decade ⁠in solitary confinement in maximum security. The right thing is to release him immediately before it is too late," Sebastien Lai told Reuters.

Also on Thursday, a court sentenced the father of a wanted pro-democracy activist to eight months in prison under a homegrown national security law after he attempted to terminate her insurance policy and withdraw funds.

'THE JUDGE ERRED'

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Lai was sentenced in December ​2022 ​to five years and nine months in jail after being found guilty of breaching the lease ​terms of Apple Daily's headquarters by concealing the operation of a ‌private company, Dico Consultants Ltd, in the building.

Another Next Digital executive, Wong Wai-keung, 61, was found guilty of fraud and jailed for 21 months.

"In conclusion, we hold that Apple Daily Printing did not owe a duty to the Corporation to disclose its breach of the user restrictions or the non-alienation clauses occasioned by Dico's occupation and use of the said Premises. With respect, the Judge erred," the judgement read.

"His reasoning in concluding that the applicants were liable for the concealment as the prosecution contended is unsupportable. He erred in making those findings."

In the earlier ruling, Judge Stanley Chan wrote that Lai was aware of the need to apply for a license from the Hong ‌Kong Industrial Estates Corporation for Dico to operate at the headquarters and had "acted under the protective ​umbrella of a media organization".

During the appeal hearing, Lai's lawyer Derek Chan said that Dico, a company ​owned by Lai, supported the publishing and printing of the newspapers apart from ​handling the tycoon's private affairs.

He noted that at the start of the charge period on April 1, 1998, Dico held a 49% stake ‌in Apple Daily and was linked to Next Animation, the studio ​that produced animations for the newspaper's online ​news reports.

A spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said the Department of Justice will study the judgement to consider whether to appeal the court's decision.

DETERIORATING HEALTH

Lai's son and daughter have warned he might die in prison given his deteriorating health from over five years in solitary confinement. Lai has suffered from retinal ​vein occlusion in his right eye, high blood pressure, heart ‌palpitations and progressive hearing loss.

Rights groups and numerous democratic countries have called for Lai's release. U.S. President Donald Trump raised the matter with his Chinese ​counterpart, Xi Jinping, and is expected to follow up again in a closely anticipated visit to Beijing at the end of March.

(Reporting by Jessie ​Pang and James Pomfret; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Jacqueline Wong and Saad Sayeed)

GENEVA (AP) — Iran and the United States began indirect talks Thursday in Geneva over Tehran's nuclear negotiations viewed as a last chance for diplomacy as America has gathered a fleet ofaircraft and warshipsto the Middle East to pressure Tehran into a deal.

Switzerland Iran US Nuclear Talks

U.S. President Donald Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear program, and he sees an opportunity while the country isstruggling at homewithgrowing dissentfollowingnationwide protestslast month. Iran meanwhile has maintained it wants to continue to enrich uranium even as its program sits in ruins, following Trump ordering an attack in June on three of the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites, part of abruising 12-day warlast year.

If an American attack happens, Iran has said all U.S. military bases in the Mideast would be considered legitimate targets, putting at risk tens of thousands of American service members. Iran has also threatened to attack Israel, meaning a regional war again could erupt across the Middle East.

"There would be no victory for anybody — it would be a devastating war," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told India Today in an interview filmed Wednesday just before he flew to Geneva.

"Since the Americans' bases are scattered through different places in the region, then unfortunately perhaps the whole region would be engaged and be involved, so it is a very terrible scenario."

Geneva talks are the third meeting since June war

Araghchi again is passing messages to Steve Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and friend of Trump who serves as a special Mideast envoy for the president. The two men held multiple rounds of talks last year that collapsed after Israel launched its war against Iran in June. These latest talks are againbeing mediated by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that's long served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West.

Araghchi met Oman's Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi after arriving in Geneva on Wednesday night. The men "reviewed the views and proposals that the Iranian side will present to reach an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, based on the guiding principles agreed upon in the previous round of negotiations," a report from the state-run Oman News Agency said. Al-Busaidi will pass on Iran's offer to American officials on Thursday, it added.

An Associated Press journalist saw al-Busaidi after he met with the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. The Omani diplomat flashed a thumbs up to a question about whether he was hopeful for the talks.

Al-Busaidi returned Thursday to the Omani diplomatic residence on the shores of Lake Geneva . A convoy believed to be carrying American diplomats later arrived to the compound, followed by another believed to be carrying Iranian diplomats. Oman later published images of Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, meeting with al-Busaidi at the residence, signaling the start of the talks.

In this round of negotiations after the June war, Trump has pushed to halt Iran's enrichment of uranium entirely, as well as address Tehran's ballistic missile program and its support of regional militant forces. Iran has maintained the talks must remain focused only on nuclear issues.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Wednesday that Iran is "always trying to rebuild elements" of its nuclear program. He said that Tehran is not enriching uranium right now, "but they're trying to get to the point where they ultimately can."

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Iran has said it hasn't enriched since June, but it has blocked IAEA inspectors from visiting the sites America bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press also hasshown activity at two of those sites, suggesting Iran is trying to assess and potentially recover material there.

The West and the IAEA say Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003. Before the June attack, it had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran has yet to restart a weapons program, but has "undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so." While insisting its program is peaceful, Iranian officials havethreatened to pursue the bombin recent years.

"The principle's very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon," U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

Vance said Trump is "sending those negotiators to try to address that problem" and "wants to address that problem diplomatically."

"But, of course, the president has other options as well," Vance added.

Threat of military action sparks war fears

If the talks fail, uncertainty hangs over the timing of any possible attack.

If the aim of potential military action is to pressure Iran to make concessions in nuclear negotiations, it's not clear whether limited strikes would work. If the goal is to remove Iran's leaders, that will likely commit the U.S. to a larger, longer military campaign. There has been no public sign of planning for what would come next, including the potential for chaos in Iran.

There is also uncertainty about what any military action could mean for the wider region. Tehran could retaliate against the American-allied nations of the Persian Gulf or Israel. Oil prices have risen in recent days in part due to those concerns, with benchmark Brent crude now about $70 a barrel. Iran in the last round of talks said itbriefly halted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes.

Satellite photos shot Tuesday and Wednesday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by the AP appeared to show that American vessels typically dockedin Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, were all out at sea. The 5th Fleet referred questions to the U.S. military's Central Command, which declined to comment. BeforeIran's attack on Qatarin June, the 5th Fleet similarly scattered its ships at sea to protect against a potential attack.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Melanie Lidman from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — South Africa chose to field first against the West Indies in a heavyweight Super Eights clash at theT20 World Cupon Thursday.

One of them will lose for the first time in six matches at the tournament.

Ahmedabad's red-soil pitch is expected to give some extra bounce to fast bowlers but both sides are packed with explosive hitters.

South Africa named the same squad that trounced co-host India on Sunday.

With plenty of left-handers in the Proteas batting lineup, West Indies included spin allrounder Roston Chase in place of Akeal Hosein.

Later Thursday, India takes on Zimbabwe in Chennai in a must-win game for both.

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West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

AP cricket:https://apnews.com/hub/cricket