ALEX BLOG

On the Friday, March 13, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast:Bracket season is almost here. With conference tournaments underway and Selection Sunday looming, which teams look ready to make a deep run and which powerhouses might miss the field entirely? USA TODAY College Sports Reporter Paul Myerberg joins The Excerpt to break down the tournament picture, including Florida's title defense, potential Cinderella teams and the NBA prospects who could steal the spotlight.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it.This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Podcasts:True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

Dana Taylor:

March Madness is just around the corner, and that means brackets, buzzer beaters, and the annual scramble to figure out which teams are contenders and which ones might bust your bracket. Can the defending Champion Florida Gators men's basketball make another title run? Which powerhouse programs might be on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday, and which NBA prospects could turn the tournament into their breakout moment?

Hello, and welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Friday, March 13th, 2026. Joining me to preview the men's NCAA tournament is USA TODAY College Sports Reporter Paul Myerberg. Thanks for coming on The Excerpt, Paul.

Paul Myerberg:

Oh, thank you so much for having me.

Dana Taylor:

Paul, let's zoom out first. What kind of March Madness are we heading into this year? Is there a clear favorite or does this feel like a wide open field?

Paul Myerberg:

Yeah, it kind of feels like both, and I know that's hedging my answer, but at the same time you have clear favorites, you have maybe at least four, maybe six, if you're being optimistic, maybe eight teams. And within that, there's a very wide open competition for who you think is the best team of the country or who you think can win the national championship. Those eight teams, I would say, are kind of sitting in first class. And then you have another 60 teams, 75 teams, just way back in coach. That's the separation that we're seeing now.

Yeah, there are really talented teams who are not on the bubble, but maybe back off the top one or two seeds who could come up and win this national championship, but we're really hyper-focused on these specific handful, handful-plus of teams. And the odds are at this point that the national champion will come from this very small group.

Dana Taylor:

The Florida Gators are coming in as the defending national champions. How realistic is it for them to repeat and what would have to go right for that to happen?

Paul Myerberg:

It's a really interesting team and it's a team that has evolved in a really interesting way. If you think back to last March and last early April, for your listeners to remember the tournament, this was a team that was led by a very singular talent named Walter Clayton. And Walter Clayton was maybe six feet in sneakers. He was not the biggest guy on the court, but he was someone who every time Florida was in trouble, they needed someone to make a play to provide a spark, he really carried that team and was the MVP of the Final Four and had a historic NCAA tournament. And it took Florida some time to find themselves and discover who they were.

So if you had asked me this question maybe a month to a month and a half ago, I think the answer would've been no, because Florida was not playing like a national championship team. They had a lot of holes and I don't think they knew who they were yet, but this group has really rallied. They're on an extended winning streak right now. Players like Alex Condon have grown into leadership roles. Rueben Chinyelu, who's their big man in the middle, is a veteran, experienced guy who's extremely physical. At this point, Florida's in that small group of teams that I mentioned, those six to eight teams when you think you win a national championship. And we'll see how they do in the SCC, that conference tournament. But as of right now, the arrow is really pointing up on Florida.

And it's funny, there was a time for about two decades where very few teams even competed to go back to back. It was seen as one of the great challenges in college sports. We had UConn do it in '23, '24. I think Florida's got a really excellent chance at this point to repeat. And considering where they were in maybe January into early February, it would be really an incredible achievement for this specific team to follow in last year's footsteps and cut down the nuts again in Indianapolis.

Dana Taylor:

Paul, Duke is always a school mentioned during March Madness and they're a number one seed. Are there any other blue bloods you are watching ahead of the tournament?

Paul Myerberg:

Yeah, Duke is the number one seed very likely this year. They might even be the top overall seed. They're extremely good. I'm looking at blue bloods who are kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum. These are three teams who are historic powers who are not going to be one seeds. They'll be in the tournament, but it's just up in the air how they're going to do. And that's North Carolina, Kansas, and Kentucky. North Carolina has had injury problems. When they are healthy, they're extremely good, and I think they're going to be healthy come March or come March Madness. So they're a team to watch. Kansas is hit or miss, very talented. We'll talk about one of their players later on as a draft prospect named Darryn Peterson.

Kentucky is someone that I'm really watching because they are so hit or miss. Supposedly, and we don't know these numbers because they're impossible to access, but supposedly Kentucky has the most expensive roster. Nowadays with NIL, you can essentially pay for players. Kentucky has done that, and it's become a bit of a cautionary tale because Kentucky went out and developed and purchased a roster that resembles, in some respects, an all-star roster of established players mixed with five-star recruits, and Kentucky doesn't really know who they are or what they can be. So that's a team that I'm watching. If it clicks, and there's no reason to think that it will, but if it clicks, Kentucky is a team that could be very, very dangerous.

At the same time, like I said, we're waiting for it to click. And if they get ejected in the opening round as a seven seed or an eight seed, it's going to be a difficult off-season for the Wildcats and for Coach Mark Pope.

Dana Taylor:

Who are the teams that look built to make a deep run this year? What separates those programs from the rest of the field?

Paul Myerberg:

That's a really great question. And I think just to tackle the second part, what separates a great regular season team, there are a lot of really good regular season teams from a great tournament team is coaching, it's experience, and its execution. And it's not really so much depth. You don't really need to go nine players deep in the tournament. Very rarely do teams do that. A lot of times teams that win a national championship just go seven deep or eight deep. So the teams that I'm looking at are teams that are really strong through your sixth, your seventh guy, have made recent tournament runs, they know what it takes, and are well coached and they know who they are and they have an identity.

So let's just name a few. Duke, we touched on. Arizona, they were the last unbeaten major conference program. UConn won two of the last three national championships. Michigan, Iowa State, and Houston. I think those are the six teams that I look at right now. And Florida, obviously, six or seven teams I look at right now and I say, "Okay, these are the teams that are go deep into March." And what they all have in common is, like I said, recent postseason success, singular talents who can carry a team on an off night, and a coach who knows what he is doing, knows how to press the right buttons. So as I said in the start, if I had to put my chips on the table and say it's either one of these teams or the field, I don't sweat it. It's one of those teams to me that'll win the national championship.

Dana Taylor:

Some conferences look especially strong this season. Are there leagues that could end up dominating the bracket or sending a surprising number of teams into the Sweet 16?

Paul Myerberg:

Advertisement

There are a few conferences who I think are going to make noise, and I think they're going to make noise for different reasons. There's the Big 12, and the Big 12 is not as deep as other leagues, but they're really top-heavy. That's because they have Arizona, they have Houston, they have Iowa State. And those are three teams, like I said, who could win it all. And that's a really good top three. You could see all three of those teams in the elite eight. I mean, you could conceivably see two of those teams in the final four, maybe get all three depending on how the seating and the brackets shake out. That's one league that is very top-heavy.

Two leagues that are deeper but don't have that really thick upper crust would be theBig 10and the SEC. I think both of those leagues will challenge to have the most teams in the bracket. SEC last year had 14. They're not going to get there this year, probably more like nine or 10, similarly with the Big 10. The Big 10 and the SEC have teams at the top. They have an Alabama, they have a Florida, they have a Michigan, they have a Michigan State, but that's more about the depth. So if you look at the Sweet 16, I wouldn't be surprised if the Big 10, the SEC make up half of that, maybe make up nine of the 16 teams with another few from the Big 12. So I would focus on those three leagues.

One league on just quickly on the other end of the spectrum, a couple years ago, the Big East was dominating this tournament. They had a budget teams, the elite eight. Obviously UConn went on to win the whole thing. This year, the Big East might get three teams in the bracket unless you have an upset in the conference tournament. That's UConn, that's St. John's, and Villanova. So it has a different feel. You might see two of those teams get to the elite eight, but the Big East doesn't have that kind of depth that we're used to seeing from the conference in the recent pass.

Dana Taylor:

Every year we see a few big name programs sweating it out on Selection Sunday. Which name teams are in real danger of missing the tournament this year?

Paul Myerberg:

There are two big names that could miss the tournament. If I had to guess, at least one of them definitely will, probably both of them will down the line. That's Indiana and Auburn. We might know Indiana now is a football school, amazingly, because they just won 16 and 0 and won the national championship back in January. Indiana basketball is historically one of the flag bearers for this sport. They're really bad. They're really, really bad and it's causing a lot of hand wringing in Bloomington waiting for September to roll around. So, Indiana, I think is on the outside looking in now. As it stands, they've probably got to win two games in the Big 10 tournament to make the field. It feels really unlikely.

Auburn, similarly, they have played a really tough schedule, but just the wins aren't there. They're hovering around 500 right now. They've got a terrible record against teams that are at the very top of the SEC and in the top 25. So they're going to be sweating it out. Both those teams, like I said, I would guess that neither of them make it, and instead they're watching someone like Santa Clara play in their place. And that's going to be difficult for Indiana and their fan base, for example, to swallow.

Dana Taylor:

Well, how much did these conference tournaments actually change the bracket picture? Can a team still play its way in or out at this stage?

Paul Myerberg:

Definitely. And it's interesting to think about how individual conferences are impacted by their tournament. For example, like I mentioned the Big Ten and the SEC. Teams in that conference by and large are playing in the conference tournament for bragging rights and for a banner, but also for where their seating will be in the tournament because most of them are officially in the field. There's a chance that Ole Miss might come up and win the conference tournament and steal a bid from somewhere else. It just feels unlikely, just like in the Big 10. Why people love these conference tournaments and why they're just so caught up and wrapped up in them is because the unpredictability and because there are so many leagues where it's one and done, meaning that the only team that's getting in is your conference champion. And there are a lot of leagues. There are more leagues that are like that than not basically in division one.

So for me, for example, I live in Brooklyn, New York. Down the street for me is Long Island University. Long Island University is not making the NCAA tournament as an at large bid, meeting as a team that doesn't win their conference tournament. So they're playing in the Northeastern Conference Tournament. Every game matters. Every possession matters. Every shot matters. Every defensive stop matters because if you lose to whomever on whatever night, the season's over. Pack your bags, clean out your locker, go to class, and we'll see you in a couple months. And that's just so dramatic to me. And it's why people love March Madness. So when you watch conference tournaments, Big Ten and SEC, it's a lot of fun. The competition's at a high level, the level of play is excellent, but I love watching The MAC, and the MEAC, and the Southern Conference because it's live or die. Every single moment matters. So yeah, for those leagues, the conference tournament is absolutely everything. It's just everything.

Dana Taylor:

March Madness is often where NBA prospects introduce themselves to a national audience. Who are the top NBA Draft prospects we should be watching out for in this tournament?

Paul Myerberg:

Yeah, there are three. And I'll start by saying this. According to draft pundits and prognosticators, this is the deepest NBA Draft in terms of top-level lottery picks in a decade or maybe more, so there's a lot of attention on this year's draft class. There's still no doubt that there are three players who rise above the rest. That's Darryn Peterson at Kansas, Cameron Boozer at Duke, and AJ Dybantsa at Brigham Young. Each in their own way is a special talent. Darryn Peterson, he's had injury issues, but when he's playing and healthy, he's probably a number one overall pick in just an unstoppable score. Cameron Boozer, his father, Carlos Boozer, was an NBA All-Star. A big man for Duke, 20 points, 10 rebounds for assist. If he averages that amount through the end of regular season, he'll be the first freshman to do that since Larry Bird in the late 70s.

And then Dybantsa at Brigham Young, BYU is not a place where five-star basketball recruits go to, just historically. AJ went there and he's been the top scorer in the country. And if he leaves the nation scoring, he'll be the third freshman in the history of the NCAA to do so. So those are three guys that if you're just a casual fan and you flip on CBS or truTV on a Thursday or a Friday in a couple weeks, watch those guys because you'll be watching them on Amazon and on Thursday night on NBC for the next 10 years.

Dana Taylor:

Every year there's at least one Cinderella story, Paul. What kinds of teams tend to make those runs? And do you see any potential bracket busters this year?

Paul Myerberg:

Yeah, so Cinderella, it's a very, very narrow definition. Duke cannot be a Cinderella. We have to agree on that. Duke might think of themselves sometimes as plucky little underdogs. No, you're not Cinderella. You have to be very, very specific. You have to come out of nowhere. You have to have not achieved anything of late. You have to be discounted. And it helps if you have a bunch of guys who look like they shouldn't be sharing the court with Cameron Boozer or Darryn Peterson. Two teams who are really good, who have great records against not elite competition, who I think can bust the bracket for people, that's St. Louis. St. Louis is the top-scoring team in the country, or they have been for most of the year. It's just an electric offensive scheme, very dynamic, ton of break shooters. They could get into a game against a more talented team and just kind of run them off the court because they get hot.

And then Miami of Ohio, not Miami, Florida. We're talking Miami, Ohio. They're unbeaten in the MAC Conference, the Mid-American Conference. They've been in the news recently because people who are at Auburn, or former Auburn coaches, they don't deserve to be in the tournament if they lose a game because they haven't played a great schedule. That to me is like the definition of Cinderella. You have coaches or former coaches in major conferences saying you don't deserve to be there? Yes, put on your glass slipper and hit 18 three pointers in a game and beat Duke by 13. That's the dream for the Cinderella March Madness. So keep your eye on those two. One thing that's for sure, there will be a Cinderella. That is guaranteed. It'll be somebody. Every March has one. It could be a person, it could be a coach, it could be a team, but Cinderella will be there. She's out there waiting right now.

Dana Taylor:

And then any potential bracket busters?

Paul Myerberg:

Yeah, I would say those two teams, a team like I mentioned like Kentucky or North Carolina or Kansas, because they're so talented, they might get a low seed, like a six seed or a seven seed, which doesn't make sense when you look at the name, but just flip the switch. North Carolina with a player like Wilson who's been injured this season, flip the switch, get healthy, and make a run. So those are your bracket busters. They're not Cinderellas, but they are definitely bracket busters.

Dana Taylor:

Follow along with March Madness and all things sports with USA TODAY's Sports Seriously podcast. Paul Myerberg is a college sports reporter with USA TODAY. Paul, it was a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you so much for coming on The Excerpt.

Paul Myerberg:

Of course. Thank you so much for having me.

Dana Taylor:

Thanks to our senior producer, Kaely Monahan for her production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. I'll be back Monday morning with another episode of USA TODAY's The Excerpt.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Which team is built to win March Madness this year | The Excerpt

False spring has swarmed across the Central and Eastern U.S. in recent days, but the West is about to get in on the warmer weather once again.

A pattern change will cause the mercury to soar to record levels across the Southwest while the East will be riding quite the temperature roller coaster through next week.

Record Warmth Returns To West

Above average temperatures are going to dominate the West for the foreseeable future, threatening numerous records.

(MORE:March Outlook)

This record heat will cover much of southern and central California and stretch eastward into Texas. Some records could also be set as far north as Colorado. Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Albuquerque are all cities that could see daily records at least one day in the next week.

Daily temperatures will gradually climb each day. By early next week, places as far north as San Jose and Redding could see highs near 90 degrees.

For the Desert Southwest, this is looking to be a historic March heat wave.

Phoenix could see multiple days over 100 degrees. They typically don't reach temperatures this high until early May, and their earliest recorded 100 degrees was set in 1988 on March 26. This heat wave could beat this record by more than a week.

Some of these state all-time March records could be in jeopardy:

• California's state record max for March is 107 degrees at Mecca on March 21, 2004

• Arizona's state record max for March is 104 at Yuma on March 21, 2004

• Nevada's state record max for March is 100 at Laughlin on March 17, 2007

Temperature Roller Coaster For The East

The East will see temperatures rise above average through the weekend before they get knocked down by a harsh reality check early next week.

As this pattern flip brings warmth to the Southwest, it will pull colder air southward from Canada beginning Monday in the Rockies and Plains, then pushing to the rest of the South and East on Tuesday. That could be followed by another cold front Friday into next Saturday.

Advertisement

Temperatures will be up and down for much of the week ahead.

(MORE:Allergy Season Is Growing)

Record Warmth So Far

Before the calendar even turned to March, Phoenix tied or set new daily record highsfour days in a rowall in the 90s.

One Deep South Texas reporting station recorded what may be thenation's hottest winter temperature.

(MORE:Record Warmest Winter In Parts Of The West)

And the records continued to fall as we kicked off thefirst month of meteorological spring.

During the first week of March, we saw many daily record highs tied or set across the Southern Plains and Southeast.

Then, this week, that warmth spread through much of the eastern half of the country.

Some notable daily high temperature records that were tied or broken on Monday occurred in South Bend, Indiana (73), Milwaukee, Wisconsin (70), Islip, New York (68) and Toledo, Ohio (73), among several others.

Tuesday, that record warmth continued to shift east where Central Park broke its daily high temperature with a high of 80. Other daily records that fell were Boston (Logan AP) with 73, Hartford, Connecticut (74) and Worcester, Massachusetts (67), among several others.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him onBluesky,X (formerly Twitter)andFacebook.

By Napat Wesshasartar and Artorn Pookasook

Thai aunt awaits news of a missing Thai crew member after Strait of Hormuz attack, in Surin province

BAN SAI, Thailand, March 13 (Reuters) - Thousands of miles from the Middle East in Thailand's rural northeast, Sommai Butdee waits for news ‌of her nephew, one of three crew members missing from the Thai-flagged vessel after ‌it was struck with two projectiles earlier this week as it travelled through the Strait of Hormuz.

On Friday, Sommai, 58, ​gathered with other relatives under their wooden stilt home in Surin province's Ban Sai village. Holding out her phone, she showed a photo of her nephew, 27-year-old Panupong Muentan, on his graduation from a merchant marine training centre.

"He didn't say much. I wished him a safe journey. He had gone ‌to work at sea once or ⁠twice before. He told me, 'Don't be afraid. There's nothing to worry about'," Sommai said, recalling the last time they had seen each other in February.

Sommai ⁠raised her nephew and described him as a good and devoted man, who hoped to help pay off the family's debt and his sibling's tuition fees through his work as an engine room mechanic.

"They only ​went ​there to make a living, to work. They didn't ​know anything about the bigger things happening ‌in the world. We never thought it would turn out like this. His parents and relatives are all sad," said his uncle, Dechawat Ratanapakul, 70.

Bangkok has demanded an apology and clarification from Tehran over the incident.

Advertisement

"Thailand is not a party to the conflict, the ship was not carrying anything controversial and there have been ships that have had safe passage and our vessel should ‌have been treated that way also," Thai Foreign Minister ​Sihasak Phuangketkeow told reporters in Bangkok on Friday.

The U.S.-Israeli war ​on Iran has threatened Gulf ports and ​disrupted global trade through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in ‌a statement carried by the Tasnim news ​agency that the ship was "fired ​upon by Iranian fighters".

Twenty other crew members abandoned ship in a lifeboat before being rescued by the Omani navy.

The three missing crewmen are believed to be in the vessel's ​engine room, the ship's owner, ‌Precious Shipping said previously.

"I just want to hug him if he survives. I hope ​he is safe. I would be so happy," Sommai said.

(Additional reporting by Chalinee Thirasupa; ​Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

By Mohammad Yunus Yawar

People stand near a house damaged in what the Taliban said was a Pakistani air strike on the outskirts of Kabul

KABUL, March 13 (Reuters) - Pakistan bombed the fuel depot of private airline Kam Air near Afghanistan's Kandahar airport, the Taliban said on ‌Friday, a significant escalation in the worst conflict in years between the neighbours ‌despite China's efforts to mediate.

Following Beijing's stepped up mediation efforts, no Pakistani air strikes were reported by either ​side in over a week until the bombing in Kandahar. Ground clashes along the 2,600 km (1,600 mile) border had also tapered off, although there had been intermittent bouts of fighting.

"The company (Kam Air) supplies fuel to civilian airlines as well as to United Nations aircraft," Taliban ‌spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Pakistan also ⁠carried out bombings in other areas, including the capital Kabul, with women and children among those killed as civilian homes were targeted in ⁠some locations, he said, adding that the aggression would "not go unanswered".

Pakistani security sources said the military had carried out overnight strikes on four militant hideouts in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia province, ​including one ​targeting an oil storage facility at the Kandahar ​airfield.

Afghanistan's defence ministry said it carried ‌out drone strikes in response on a Pakistani military base in the northern city of Kohat, causing heavy damage.

Advertisement

Pakistan's military and information ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The fighting erupted last month with Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan that Islamabad said targeted militant strongholds. Afghanistan called the strikes a violation of sovereignty as it launched ‌retaliatory attacks.

Militancy has been a bone of contention between ​allies-turned-foes Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad saying Kabul ​provides safe haven to militants executing ​attacks on Pakistan.

The Taliban, however, denies the allegation and says militancy is ‌Pakistan's internal problem.

Reuters had reported on ​Thursday that mediation efforts ​by China, which had been urging an end to the violence, had helped ease the fighting.

Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi had also said that Islamabad and ​Beijing were engaged in a "dialogue ‌process" on Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Saad Sayeed ​in Bangkok; Additional reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar in Mumbai; Writing by Sakshi Dayal; ​Editing by Christopher Cushing and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

By Michael Martina, Trevor Hunnicutt, Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past Taiwanese flags on a street in Taipei

WASHINGTON/TAIPEI, March 13 (Reuters) - A major U.S. arms package for Taiwan that includes advanced interceptor missiles is ready for President Donald Trump's approval and could be signed after his trip to China this month, sources briefed on the discussions said.

With a price tag ‌of about $14 billion, the arms deal would be the largest ever for the democratically governed island, which faces steadily rising military pressure from China.

Sources familiar with the ‌administration's thinking told Reuters the deal was under wraps ahead of Trump's planned trip to Beijing from March 31 to April 2 to meet President Xi Jinping, but could be announced after his return.

Xi told Trump in February ​that arms sales to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory, must be handled with "prudence."

Trump's moves to secure a favorable trade deal with China have raised concerns among some China watchers that he could curb U.S. military support for Taiwan.

But the queued arms approval suggests that the administration plans to maintain, or even increase, support. That, in turn, would ease anxiety in Taipei.

The package largely consists of PAC-3 and NASAMS air defense missiles, one of the sources said.

"As soon as the president gives the thumbs up, those are ready to be officially announced. Everything is done," said the source, ‌who, like the others, spoke on condition of anonymity, given ⁠the sensitivity of the matter.

Another $6 billion in "asymmetric" defense capabilities was also awaiting approval and could be announced in linked or subsequent packages, the source added. The source declined to specify what those capabilities are.

Trump's National Security Strategy issued last year says deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority for ⁠Washington, "ideally by preserving military overmatch."

But Trump's comments, including a February remark to journalists that he was "talking" to Xi about Taiwan arms sales, have stirred speculation that he could scale back the long-standing U.S. practice of providing Taiwan with the means to defend itself, which is written in to U.S. law.

Last month, the New York Times reported the package had been delayed to avoid upsetting Xi ahead of Trump's China ​visit.

Nonetheless, Trump's ​arms sales approvals to the island in his second term have already surpassed the amount approved by his ​Democratic predecessor Joe Biden over four years, including an $11 billion package in ‌December for various missiles, drones, artillery and aircraft parts.

Advertisement

Taiwan's parliament authorised the government on Friday to sign contracts for four weapons systems included in that $11-billion package ahead of lawmakers' formal spending approval, to ensure the deal met a signing deadline.

Analysts say U.S. administrations going back decades have timed weapons approvals for Taiwan around sensitive political engagement with Beijing.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters that the government's "opposition to U.S. arms sales to China's Taiwan region is consistent and unequivocal."

China, which considers Taiwan its own territory, regularly demands that the U.S. stop selling it weapons.

In response to questions to the White House, a senior U.S. official confirmed more weapons approvals were in the works.

"Arms sales are working their way through the process. There is no change ‌to our policy with respect to Taiwan," the official said.

CLOSELY WATCHED IN TAIPEI

Two Taiwan sources familiar with ​the matter said that Washington has repeatedly assured them of its support.

But the upcoming summit has been a source ​of uncertainty.

Beijing was seeking to delay U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and has ​been trying to create a better atmosphere ahead of the summit, including by toning down military pressure on the island, another Taiwan source familiar with ‌the matter said.

"We have confidence in Trump, though. Beijing has underestimated the ​strategic vision of the White House," the source ​said.

Taiwan's defense ministry told Reuters that its arms procurement projects have completed "preliminary coordination" with the U.S. side, and the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency has provided information on items to be purchased and delivery schedules.

Taiwan's defense ministry said in January that an arms deal with the U.S. covering four items was in the offing, but said it could ​not give details before they were provided to the U.S. Congress, ‌the usual process for approval of such sales.

The U.S. State Department has said it supports increased defense spending by the island. Raymond Greene, Washington's top diplomat ​in Taiwan, said in January that the U.S. was "fully committed to delivering critical systems as quickly as possible."

(Reporting by Michael Martina Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and ​Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Don Durfee and Matthew Lewis)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A Sydney business consultant was convicted Friday of breaking Australia'sforeign interference lawsby providing reports to two people he should have suspected were Chinese spies.

Alexander Csergo, 59, is only the second person to be convicted under Australian laws against covert interference and espionage thatangered Chinawhen they were legislated in 2018.

The jury that heard the trial in New South Wales District Court in Sydney found Csergo should have suspected that a man and woman he knew only as Ken and Evelyn were working for China's ministry of state security.

Advertisement

He was found guilty of the charge of reckless foreign interference and was released on bail for the weekend to return to court Monday, when prosecutors will argue for him to be placed in custody. He faces a potential prison term of up to 15 years when he is sentenced.

Csergo's lawyers argued he used open-source information as research. He also lied to the suspected spies about interviewing several individuals includingKevin Rudd, the former prime minister who is currently Australia's ambassador to the U.S.

Csergo was working in Shanghai as a communications and technology consultant in 2021 when he was approached through the professional network platform LinkedIn by Evelyn, who said she was from a Chinese think tank.

He provided handwritten reports to Evelyn and Ken in return for cash on topics including defense, security, politics and mining. Subjects included theAUKUStrilateral partnership in which Britain will help provide Australia with a fleet of submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology.

By Felix Light and Mariya Gordeyeva

ALMATY, March 13 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan holds a referendum on Sunday on a new constitution that some critics say could allow President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to ‌remain in charge of Central Asia's largest economy beyond his current term limit of 2029.

Tokayev, ‌a former diplomat who has maintained good relations with Russia, the U.S. and China, has called the referendum "a truly historic moment" ​that moves Kazakhstan, an energy and minerals giant, away from a "super-presidential" system towards a greater separation of powers.

But some analysts say the draft retains an excessively powerful presidency.

"[It] significantly increases the powers of the head of state and does not create a system of checks and balances," said political analyst Dosym Satpayev.

The proposal merges ‌parliament's two chambers into one and ⁠restores the post of vice-president, abolished in 1996, who would be picked by the president.

Kazakh presidents would remain limited to a single term of seven years, a ⁠change Tokayev himself introduced in 2022.

Tokayev, 72, has said he will step down in 2029, but some observers say a new constitution could reset his term limit, a tactic used by the leaders of several other ex-Soviet ​republics, ​including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

RETURN TO THE UN?

Advertisement

Referring to ​a rumour widespread in Kazakhstan that Tokayev ‌may run for the post of United Nations secretary-general this year, Satpayev said the vice-presidency would allow Tokayev to anoint a successor before leaving office early.

A Kazakh diplomatic source told Reuters that Tokayev, who headed the UN's Geneva office in 2011-2013, is considering both being a candidate for secretary-general and seeking a possible second presidential term.

Tokayev has said he does not want to return to the UN.

State-approved pollsters say ‌a large majority backs the new constitution, while public opposition ​to it has been subdued.

The vote comes at a fraught ​time for Kazakhstan, whose economy is closely intertwined ​with Russia's, and which has suffered from the Ukraine war fallout.

Economic growth has ‌accelerated but so has inflation, hitting 11.7% in ​February, while interest rates ​are at 18%, a record high. A tranche of tax rises has deepened discontent.

Asya Tuligenova, who sells horsemeat, a Kazakh delicacy, at a bazaar in the commercial capital Almaty, said traders ​were shouldering rising costs to avoid ‌passing them on to consumers.

"We're kind of afraid. If we raise prices, it will be ​difficult for our regular customers."

She did not say whether she would vote on Sunday.

(Reporting ​by Felix Light and Mariya GordeyevaEditing by Gareth Jones)