Category World News

After leading racer Marc Marquez crashed for the first time this season, Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia won the chaotic Americas Grand Prix ahead of Alex Marquez from Gresini Racing.

Marquez had won the weekend’s qualifying race and a third straight sprint victory, but the six-time MotoGP champion decided to retire in the wake of extensive damage to his bike in Sunday’s main race.

Alex Marquez will leave Austin with the bigger smile as he moves up to the top of the MotoGP riders’ championship with 87 points, one point ahead of his older brother Marc, who is 75 points ahead of Bagnaia.

As Alex was unable to catch up with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who finished third, Ducati did it again clean sweep of the podium.

“I’m so happy, I’m already without my voice.” After eating a celebratory hot dog in the paddock, Bagnaia yelled out loud.

What a relief to return to the top of the podium after such a challenging period.

When the sun briefly came out, there was chaos even before the race started, and riders who had previously chosen to use wet tires hurriedly returned to pits to switch bikes before choosing slicks on a drying track, which caused a red flag.

When the 19-lap race finally arrived, Marc Marquez had a flawless launch off the line, leading both his brother and Bagnaia before peeled away and took over the lead by more than a second at the end of the first lap.

Bagnaia had previously finished second to the Marquez brothers in previous races and sprints, and the Italian was determined to finish higher by using Alex’s slipstream to overtake the Gresini rider and place second on lap four.

Marquez crashes

Marc Marquez appeared to be in command of the race lap record, but on lap nine, the Spaniard abruptly slammed off the track, putting his hopes on a record-extending eighth victory at the Circuit of the Americas in ruins.

As the race progressed, Bagnaia’s eyes lit up behind him, and the double world champion took advantage of the opportunity to close the gap on his championship teammate, extending his lead over Alex.

After less than five laps, Marc gave up and put his bike back in the pits to retire. He attempted to ride on without a foot peg and a screen.

Alex finished second for a third straight race, but Bagnaia eventually took the lead by two seconds over him.

“We are currently in command of the championship,” the leader says. Being Mr. Seconds also pays off, Alex chuckled. We are Mr. Seconds.

It marked Di Giannantonio’s first podium appearance since 2023 in Qatar, the location of the upcoming round.

The Italian said, “I’m just speechless, tired, and I need about 200 beers this night to recover.”

“For sure, Marc gave us a small gift. But that’s racing, really?

The top five were topped by his teammate Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli from Pramac Racing.

Novak Djokovic, a Czech teenager, won the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium in straight sets 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/4), both decided by tiebreaks, 7-6 (7/4).

Djokovic’s 100th professional title was denied by the 19-year-old, who is 54th overall in the world.

Djokovic, 37, was hoping to become the only men with 100 or more career titles, including Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer, but he was unable to match the teenager’s quickness and creative play.

Due to heavy rain, the Sunday final was delayed by almost six hours, and it was obvious that Djokovic had an eye infection when the players arrived.

Mensik made a strong first-serve start, breaking Djokovic’s lead of 2-0. The tall, big-serving Czech held the lead until Mensik found the net to break Djokovic’s lead at 4-2.

From that point on, the set was still in play, but Mensik’s powerful serve, with two aces, immediately took the lead in the tie-break. Although Djokovic fought back, he gave up the set with an overhead volley, sealing it with him.

Djokovic lost his first set of the tournament overall.

No one was able to break during the second set, which was a nip-and-tuck affair.

Mensik’s strength once more proved decisive in the tie-break, and when Djokovic slammed for a return to win, he fell to his back.

One for all time

The 37-year-old Djokovic and Mensik matchup marked the biggest age difference since 1976 and the biggest age difference in a Masters 1000 final. Mensik was competing in his first ATP 1000 final. When Djokovic won his first Miami Open title in 2007, he was just two years old.

The only time they have met on court was at the Shanghai Masters in October, when Mensik defeated Djokovic in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic is my tennis inspiration. I started playing tennis because of him. He’s my “biggest idol,” Mensik said last year in an interview with the ATP Tour.

In his distinguished career, Djokovic won 99 of the 307 ATP Tour-level competitions. The Serbian has won a men’s record 24 of his 76 Grand Slams.

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has stated that “all countries” will be affected by his soon-to-be-announced reciprocal tariffs, stifling hopes that only those nations will be targeted by those with the biggest trade imbalances with the US.

Trump stated to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday that his long-awaited tariff announcement would “beginning” with all nations.

Trump told reporters, “You’d start with all nations.” Essentially, all of the nations discussed here.

Trump’s comments come after the US president’s administration “liberation day” by downplaying the scope of the tariffs scheduled to be unveiled on April 2.

The measures would be primarily focused on 10 to 15 nations, which account for the majority of the US trade deficit, as Kevin Hassett, a White House economics adviser, suggested earlier this month.

In an interview with Fox Business, Hassett stated, “There are more than 100 countries that don’t really have any tariffs on us and don’t have any non-tariff barriers.”

Trump himself made an appearance last week to underplay the impact of the upcoming tariffs, saying that people would be surprised and that the reciprocal measures would be “very lenient.”

Although the precise details of Trump’s plans are still undetermined, his administration has pledged to impose duties on nations that are comparable to those imposed on US exports as well as non-tariff trade barriers, such as subsidies.

Trump has long accused other nations of stifling US trade, blaming his protectionist economic agenda as necessary to revive domestic manufacturing and create jobs. He last week imposed a 25% tariff on all auto imports.

Washington’s relations with some of its closest allies and closest partners, including Canada, the European Union, and Japan, all of whom have large automotive industries, have been strainened by Trump’s most recent tariffs on cars and other vehicles.

Investors are unsure whether Trump’s repeated tariff announcements will make his tariffs permanent or whether he views them as primarily a bargaining tool.

Trump stated last week that he was “certainly open” to striking deals with nations to avoid the tariffs after the April 2 announcement.

In light of further turbulence in global trade, Asian stock markets sharply decreased on Monday.

As of 03:00 GMT, the benchmarks for South Korea’s KOSPI and Japan’s Nikkei 225 both fell 3.85 percent and 2.55 percent, respectively.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Australia’s ASX 200 both experienced declines of 1.56 percent and 1.20 percent, respectively.

US President Donald Trump has said he is “not joking” about seeking a third term in office, which is barred by the United States Constitution.

Speaking in a phone interview with NBC News on Sunday, Trump directly addressed speculation over a potential third term, saying, “No, I’m not joking. I’m not joking”, but added, “It is far too early to think about it”.

“There are methods which you could do it, as you know”, he said, without elaborating on potential legal or political avenues.

The US Constitution’s 22nd Amendment limits presidents to two four-year terms, whether consecutive or not.

The 22nd Amendment says that “no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice”.

Trump was asked in the NBC interview about a scenario where his running mate, Vice President JD Vance, could assume office before stepping aside to allow him to take over. Trump acknowledged the possibility, stating, “That’s one” approach.

“But there are others, too”, he added, without elaborating further.

‘ We’re working on it ‘

Overturning the 22nd Amendment would require a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-quarters of the 50 US states.

Trump, who began his second, non-consecutive term in January, has repeatedly alluded to extending his time in office.

Some of his allies have also floated the idea of keeping him in power beyond 2028, while Trump himself has occasionally teased about the possibility, often in ways that taunt his political opponents.

If he were to pursue another term in the 2028 election, Trump, who was the oldest president to be inaugurated in the US in January 2025, would then be 82 years old.

The precedent of a two-term limit dates back to 1796, when George Washington voluntarily stepped down after two terms.

This tradition remained largely unchallenged for more than 140 years until Franklin D Roosevelt won a third term in 1940 amid the Great Depression and World War II. Roosevelt died months into his fourth term in 1945, prompting Congress to formalise term limits with the 22nd Amendment in 1951.

Longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon suggested in a March 19 interview with NewsNation that Trump may seek re-election in 2028.

Several air raids in the early hours of Sunday struck tents and homes as Palestinians celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. At least 35 people were killed in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

Sunday’s killings come as the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) recovered the bodies of 15 medical workers in Rafah who came under heavy Israeli fire last week. Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad obtained exclusive satellite images showing that at least five rescue vehicles were destroyed by the Israeli military in that deadly attack.

“]This] is a tragedy not only for us … but also for humanitarian work and humanity”, PRCS said in a statement, adding that the Israeli military targeting the health workers “can only be considered a war crime”.

Amid the violence, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate as Israel has halted the delivery of aid into Gaza since early March.

“Palestinians are supposed to break their fast with a very nice meal]for Eid], but today they are unable to secure one meal – it’s devastating, the situation in Gaza”, said Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah.

Food in the Strip is scarce and highly expensive, with parents saying that feeding their families is a “mission impossible”, Khoudary said.

Meanwhile, prospects for a breakthrough in ceasefire talks seem remote.

On Sunday, Netanyahu repeated a demand for Hamas to disarm and for its leaders to leave Gaza, while promising to step up pressure on the group to release the 59 remaining captives it is holding, 35 of whom are believed dead.

These are part of a new set of demands put forward by Israel, with the backing of US President Donald Trump, set to revise the terms of a three-phase ceasefire agreement signed in January.

According to the original deal, following the release of a first batch of captives each week, the two parties agreed to enter a second phase of negotiations to discuss a permanent end to the war, the release of remaining captives and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

But Israel insists Hamas should release all captives without Israel committing to end the war. With Hamas refusing the new demands, Israel resumed bombing the Strip and relocated troops inside the enclave.

On Sunday, Netanyahu also said Israel would work to implement Trump’s “voluntary emigration plan” for Gaza and said his cabinet had agreed to keep pressuring Hamas, which says it has agreed to a new ceasefire proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that Netanyahu’s comments were a recipe for “endless escalation” in the region.

Netanyahu rejected assertions that Israel was not negotiating, saying “We are conducting it under fire, and therefore it is also effective”.

“We see that there are suddenly cracks”, he said in a video statement issued on Sunday.

Relations between the United States and Europe are under severe strain just two months into US President Donald Trump’s second term.

There are major divisions over NATO, the Russia-Ukraine war, Greenland and trade – with European leaders scrambling to react.

What is driving these differences, and what comes next?

Presenter: Adrian Finighan

Guests:

Niall Stanage – White House columnist at The Hill newspaper

Theresa Fallon – Director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies