MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Open tennis player Donna Vekic sent a message of support to her coach, Pam Shriver, and others in the greater Los Angeles area dealing with the wildfires ravaging the city — drawing a heart and writing “LA” in blue ink on a courtside TV camera after a victory on Sunday.
Vekic, who reached Wimbledon's semifinals last July and won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics for Croatia last August, defeated Diane Parry of France 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of this season's first Grand Slam tournament.
Players on bigger courts at various tennis tournaments often are handed a pen and encouraged to write something on the lens of a television camera. Vekic used the opportunity at the Australian Open to offer good vibes to California, where she trained with Shriver during her sport's just-concluded preseason.
“We were just there two weeks ago,” Vekic said. “So I really cannot believe what’s happening.”
She said she is in touch daily with Shriver, who won 21 Grand Slam titles in doubles and reached No. 3 in singles as a player.
“It's a very difficult situation for her," Vekic said. "She’s home in L.A. Her house is OK for now, but so many have lost everything, and it’s a horrible situation.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Donna Vekic of Croatia plays a forehand return to Diane Parry of France during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Donna Vekic of Croatia celebrates after defeating Diane Parry of France during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — A 10-day ceasefire began in Lebanon which could pause fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group and boost attempts to extend the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel after weeks of devastating war.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. However, Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants inside the country, who were not formally part of the agreement.
Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce.
Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold,
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but said Israeli troops would not withdraw.
Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.” Netanyahu, in his address, said it will extend 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon.
“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said in a video message.
Hezbollah said that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold” — a stance that could complicate the ceasefire.
The U.S. State Department said that according to the agreement reached between the two sides, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”
The wording suggested Israel would maintain the freedom to strike at will, as it did in the months following the ceasefire that ended the previous war. This time, Hezbollah said it would respond to any strikes by Israel.
It's unclear when the 1 million people displaced by the war will be able to return.
Trump posted the ceasefire announcement on his Truth Social platform.
The agreement came about following a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.
The talks amounted to the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.
Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.
The State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.
Lebanon has insisted on a ceasefire to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah before engaging in more talks, while vowing to commit to disarming the group.
Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.
Trump also invited the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House for what he said would be “the first meaningful talks" between the countries since 1983.
“Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly,” Trump wrote.
Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement in 1983 saying Lebanon would formally recognize Israel, and Israel would withdraw from Lebanon. The deal fell apart during Lebanon’s civil war and was formally rescinded a year later.
A Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of Iran’s negotiations with the U.S., in which Iran had insisted Lebanon be included in its own ceasefire, and came about through efforts by mediator Pakistan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.
It was unclear whether the frantic diplomacy could lead to a lasting deal before the ceasefire ends next week. The Iran war has killed thousands of people and upended global markets by disrupting the flow of oil.
Iranian state television did not provide details on the meeting between Pakistani Army Gen. Asim Munir and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, his country’s chief negotiator.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, which has become a key mediator after hosting direct talks between the U.S. and Iran that authorities said helped narrow differences between the sides.
The White House said any further talks regarding Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. The fragile ceasefire is holding despite a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian counter-threats to target regional ports across the Red Sea.
The 14-day ceasefire expires on April 22, but Trump suggested it could be extended.
“If we’re close to a deal, would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that.”
The war has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have pounded military and civilian infrastructure. Oil prices have fallen amid hopes for an end to fighting, and U.S. stocks on Wednesday surpassed records set in January.
Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.
But tensions simmered.
The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade, and a newly appointed military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he does not support extending the ceasefire.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.
Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic through the strait, which a fifth of global oil transited through in peacetime. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait sent oil prices skyrocketing, raising the cost of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.
Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece. Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.
Residents stand next to the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit a week ago in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
People drive their motorbikes past billboards showing the Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, top and right, and his father, the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Workers search amongst the rubble of a destroyed building that was hit a week ago in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A worker arranges furniture from an apartment of a destroyed building that was hit a week ago in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A woman walks past a billboard that shows a graphic depicting a military personnel's hand holding the Strait of Hormuz in his fist with signs which read in Farsi: "In Iran's hands forever," "Trump couldn't do a damn thing," " The control of Strait of Hormuz will be Iran's forever," in Vanak Square, in northern Tehran, Iran, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Relatives of Ghadir Baalbaki, 19, who was killed on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike, mourn during her funeral in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Paramedics attach a portrait over the grave of Ghadir Baalbaki, 19, who was killed on Tuesday in an Israeli airstrike, at a temporary mass grave in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Backdropped by ships in the Strait of Hormuz, damage, according to local witnesses caused by several recent airstrikes during the U.S.-Israel military campaign, is seen on a fishing pier in the port of Qeshm island, Iran, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Asghar Besharati)
In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir, left, is welcomed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Tehran, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, right, meets with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir in Tehran, Wednesday, April 15, 2026. (Iranian Foreign Ministry via AP)
