Russia could play a key role in a deal on the future of Iran's nuclear programme, with Moscow being touted not only as a possible destination for Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, but also as a possible arbiter of deal breaches. Donald Trump, who abandoned a 2015 nuclear pact between Tehran and world powers in 2018 during his first term, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Four hours of indirect talks between the US and Iran in Rome on Saturday, under the mediation of Oman, made significant progress, according to US officials. Iran wants to keep its uranium stockpiles inside the country, but the US rejects this and wants either the stockpiles' destruction or a transfer to a third country, such as Russia. Before the Rome talks, in an intervention that sowed confusion in Iran and the US, Witkoff had on social media seemed to endorse such an objective, causing consternation in Iran, but in Rome he gave the impression that this was largely domestic political messaging. If he had not got that assurance it's likely the whole negotiation would have been wrapped up, and ended immediately.” On guarantees, Iran believes the only secure agreement is a treaty signed by US Congress, but Araghchi was told it would be anyone's guess whether Trump could get such an agreement through Congress given the strength of pro-Israeli opinion there. A third option if the US is in breach is for Russia to be empowered to return the handed-over stockpile of highly enriched uranium to Tehran, so ensuring Iran would not be the party punished for non-compliance. Rome was seen by some as an important site for the talks, since if they went wrong the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has the best relations with Trump, and so was well placed to mount a rescue operation. A tentative proposal for a meeting between Araghchi and the US vice-president, JD Vance, who was in Rome, was seen as premature. There is pressure on Witkoff and Trump to deliver on one of the three negotiations in which they are involved – Iran, Hamas-Israel, and Russia-Ukraine. One source said: “Whatever you may think of Iran, they are rational actors, and they are more likely to strike a deal.” The visit was intended as a message of solidarity that it opposes and would not collaborate in any US-Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites. The Omani foreign ministry said the goal of the talks was to reach “a fair, sustainable and binding agreement … to ensure that Iran is completely free of nuclear weapons and sanctions, while preserving its right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes”.

Australia will continue to petition Russia for the release of Oscar Jenkins, an Australian citizen captured while fighting on the side of Ukraine, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on April 19. "We'll continue to make representations to the reprehensible regime of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin on behalf of Mr Jenkins," Albanese told 9News. Jenkins disappeared on Dec. 16, 2024, during a combat operation near the village of Mykolaivka, in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk Oblast. In the weeks that followed, unconfirmed reports began to surface, alleging that he had been executed while in Russian captivity. The claims prompted Australian officials to seek clarification from Moscow regarding his status. Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, has said that Jenkins should be treated as a prisoner of war just like Ukrainian citizens fighting for their country, and that he should be realeased in a prisoner exchange. "(Jenkins) has an official contract with the Ukrainian armed forces, so he must be treated as a prisoner of war, but Russia does not really care about international law," Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Australia, told Nine News. However, Russia is reported to have executed a number of POWs. Kyiv's repatriation efforts have predominantly centered on the return of Ukrainian soldiers, leaving foreign fighters who serve in Ukraine's military in a particularly vulnerable position should they be captured by Russian forces. Belarusian soldier Vasyl Verameichyk, who had been fighting for Ukraine, was detained by Belarusian security services while on holiday in Vietnam. Fellow Belarusian volunteers have repeatedly appealed to Ukrainian authorities to press for his release, but there has been no indication of progress.

Ukraine reports drone and artillery strikes over Easter weekend, while Moscow also claims ceasefire breaches by Kyiv Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Vladimir Putin's Easter ceasefire as a fake “PR” exercise and said Russian troops had continued their drone and artillery attacks across many parts of the frontline. Citing a report from Ukraine's commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskyy said Russia was still using heavy weapons and since 10am on Sunday an increase in Russian shelling had been observed, he said. The Russian army had even doubled its use of kamikaze drones, he added, saying that there were 26 assaults between midnight on Saturday and noon on Sunday. “In practice, either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favourable PR coverage.” He continued: “The Russian army is attempting to create the general impression of a ceasefire, while in some areas still continuing isolated attempts to advance.” At least two civilians and a rescue worker from the Proliksa aid agency were hurt when Russian drones targeted their cars. “For us, it's just another day of war – with shelling from various types of weapons and even one attempt to assault our positions,” Denys Bobkov, the spokesperson for Ukraine's 37th separate marine brigade, told the Guardian, in a message from the front. Bobkov said that by 2pm on Sunday his brigade had recorded 16 drone attacks and two artillery strikes. In Moscow, Russia's defence ministry claimed Ukraine had broken the ceasefire more than 1,000 times. It said there had been more than 900 drone strikes, with damage to infrastructure and civilian casualties. After a bloody week, during which Russia killed 35 people in a missile attack in the centre of Sumy, Ukrainian cities were relatively clam on Sunday. Worshippers gathered at St Volodymyr's cathedral in Kyiv, where priests blessed their Easter baskets with Holy water. Unfortunately, we cannot trust Russia today,” Olga Grachova, 38, who works in marketing, told the news agency Agence France-Presse. “Now if for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we're just going to say: ‘You're foolish. You're horrible people' – and we're going to just take a pass,” he said. The US president denied claims that Putin was “playing” him. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has suggested that Crimea and four other Ukrainian provinces could be given to Russia. It insists its original war goals must be achieved. Last month, Ukraine accepted a 30-day US ceasefire proposal and is poised to sign an agreement on Thursday giving the US access to its minerals. There are hints, however, that Zelenskyy is growing frustrated at the White House's pro-Putin rhetoric. Trump has piled pressure on Ukraine – in effect cutting off military aid and temporarily pausing intelligence sharing – while taking no corresponding measures against Russia. On Sunday, Zelenskyy appeared to take a swipe at Fox News. The rightwing US TV network broadcast live coverage of Putin attending an Orthodox Easter service in Moscow together with Russia's patriarch, while incorrectly labelling Kyiv as part of Russia. Ukraine's foreign ministry said it had asked Fox News for an explanation.

"As ordered by Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation, all groups of forces in the area of the special military operation strictly observed ceasefire from 6:00 p.m. Moscow time on April 19 and remained at lines and positions taken earlier," the report said. The Russian army struck Ukraine's temporary deployment sites in 87 areas before the Easter truce was declared. "Operational/tactical aircraft, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groups of forces struck temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian armed units in 87 areas," the ministry said. "Ukrainian units shelled the positions of our troops from weapons and mortars 444 times, and carried out 900 attacks with quadcopter-type unmanned aerial vehicles and drops of various munitions, including on borderline areas of the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod Regions, totaling 12 attacks, 33 drone attacks, and seven drops of munitions," the report said. "Units of Battlegroup South took more advantageous lines and positions, inflicted damage on formations of four mechanized, assault, airmobile, air assault brigades of the Ukrainian army and a territorial defense brigade near settlements of Dyleyevka, Konstantinovka, Aleksandro-Shultino, Belaya Gora, Zarya, Aleksandrovo-Kalinovo, Yablonovka, and Kleban-Byk of the Donetsk People's Republic. The Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 310 troops, a US-made M113 armored fighting vehicle, and four armored combat vehicles," the report said. Moreover, ten cars, seven pieces of artillery, three electronic warfare stations, and an ammunition depot were destroyed. The Ukrainian army lost up to 40 troops and an ammunition depot in the responsibility area of Russia's Battlegroup North. The Ukrainian army lost up to 40 troops, three armored combat vehicles, two cars, four field branch artillery weapons, and a Czech-made 122mm Vampire multiple launch rocket system. An ammunition depot was destroyed," according to the report. "Units of Battlegroup Center took more advantageous lines and positions, inflicted damage on formations of mechanized, assault, jaeger brigades, an unmanned vehicle brigade and an assault regiment of the Ukrainian army near settlements of Uspenovka, Zverevo, Nadezhdinka, Krasnoarmeysk, Petrovskoye, and Novopavlovka of the Donetsk People's Republic. The enemy lost more than 420 troops, three Kozak armored combat vehicles, six cars, and two field branch artillery weapons," the report said. Russia's Battlegroup East has destroyed more than 160 troops and three armored fighting vehicles of the Ukrainian army. "Units of Battlegroup East continued advancing deep into the enemy's defense line, inflicted damage on troops and equipment of two mechanized, an airmobile, and an air assault brigades of the Ukrainian army near settlements of Zelenoye Pole, Bogatyr, Otradnoye, and Poddubnoye of the Donetsk People's Republic. The enemy lost more than 160 troops, a tank, three armored fighting vehicles, seven cars, and three field branch artillery weapons, including a US-made 155mm Paladin self-propelled artillery system," the report said. The Ukrainian army lost more than 100 troops and an ammunition depot in the responsibility area of Russia's Battlegroup Dnepr. More than 100 troops, a tank, five cars, four electronic warfare stations, and an ammunition depot were destroyed," the ministry said. Russia's air defenses downed three JDAM smart bombs, a HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, and 88 drones. "Air defense systems destroyed three JDAM smart bombs and a US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, as well as 88 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles," the report said. In all, the Russian forces have destroyed 661 warplanes, 283 helicopters, 52,831 unmanned aerial vehicles, 604 anti-aircraft missile systems, 22,967 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,544 multiple rocket launchers, 23,913 field artillery guns and mortars, and 34,387 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the ministry added.

The European Union is openly willing to resume the European Nazi ideology, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov said commenting on threats to leaders of countries over the Victory Day visit to Russia. "There is no such a word to describe this notion. It is, indeed, I'm not ironical now, incomprehensible how the European Union is openly willing to resume the European Nazi ideology," he said in an interview with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin who posted it on his Telegram channel. "Of course, we will not put up with it, and we will do everything to make sure that this ideology ‘keeps head down', that it is eliminated once and forever, and that Europe returns to its values," Lavrov added. The European Union's intention to establish a coalition on sending troops to Ukraine demonstrates a superiority intention, the minister said as he warned against using such a language when speaking with Moscow. "The coalition of apparently those wishing this very feeling of their own superiority, own ability to decide as they want, without listening to and absolutely ignoring other views. However, one should not use such a language when speaking with Russia," he said. Moscow sees what frankly hawkish, hostile slogans are being shouted by "[Emmanuel] Macron, [Keir] Starmer, and now [Friedrich] Merz before taking the chancellor office, threatening the Russian Federation," the official noted. President [of Russia Vladimir Putin] has repeatedly stated that we are ready to discuss any problems. But, of course, we are polite people and we expect common decency from those who will inevitably address us," the minister concluded.

Be among the first to get it. Russian forces during the so-called Easter ceasefire targeted a Ukrainian volunteer's vehicle with three (first person-view) FPV drones while he was evacuating civilians in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainska Pravda reported on April 20. "I turned on the emergency lights, got out of the car, and started waving my arms to show that I was a civilian," Tkachov told Ukrainska Pravda. "Despite that, the drone struck just half a meter from my car. I motioned for the two cars behind me to go ahead, but I couldn't drive myself anymore because my car wouldn't start (after being damaged by the drone strike)." Tkachov and two civilians who had been in the vehicle with him reportedly took cover in nearby bushes as a second FPV drone circled overhead and struck just meters away, leaving one of the civilians wounded by shrapnel. Russia's Easter ceasefire was supposed to come into effect at 6 pm on April 19 and last until midnight on April 21, with Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming it would "test Ukraine's sincerity in pursuing peace talks." Since then, multiple ceasefire violations have been reported across the front line, while at least one person was killed and four others injured in Kherson Oblast. "We are documenting every Russian violation of its self-declared commitment to a full ceasefire for the Easter period and are prepared to provide the necessary information to our partners," Zelensky said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on April 20. "Either Putin does not have full control over his army, or the situation proves that in Russia, they have no intention of making a genuine move toward ending the war, and are only interested in favorable PR coverage."

An employee does a quality control check on an assembly line of generic drugs at Pharmascience manufacturing facility in Montreal on December 8, 2022.Christinne Muschi/The Globe and Mail Getting caught up on a week that got away? The Trump administration opened an investigation into the entire pharmaceutical supply chain this week, a move that threatens to widen potential tariffs on prescription drugs. The Bank of Canada decided to hit pause on its almost year-long monetary policy-easing campaign this week, leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.75 per cent. This move follows seven consecutive cuts, as Mark Rendell reports, which have lowered mortgage rates and other Canadian borrowing costs considerably since last summer. Governor Tiff Macklem said the central bank decided to give itself time to assess the fallout from Trump's erratic and destabilizing trade war and it needs to “proceed carefully.” The Bank of Canada also decided to forgo its usual forecast in its quarterly Monetary Policy Report, but outlined two possible scenarios. The downside scenario sees Canada entering a recession this year and inflation rising above 3 per cent. Mr. Macklem also added that he and his team are “prepared to act decisively if incoming information points clearly in one direction.” The next rate decision is scheduled for June 4. Jason Kirby reports that the number of reservations at Canadian restaurants has grown more than 20 per cent so far in April compared to last year. It seems that Canadian travellers are saving money from the boycott and choosing to spend more at local restaurants – a bright spot in an otherwise gloomy consumer economy. Take a closer look at the numbers in this week's Decoder series. A shopper walks past an empty sales area at the flagship downtown Hudson's Bay store, in Vancouver, on March 24.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press As Hudson's Bay Co. continues to liquidate its operation, many employees are raising the alarm about long-term disability payments. According to a law firm representing some employees, Hudson's Bay's benefit policy provides long-term disability payments through an “administrative services only” [ASO] arrangement, which is not insured – meaning, if the retailer is unable to come up with a plan to keep some of its stores afloat, or if a new owner steps in, those benefits could disappear. The retailer also announced it intends to auction off historically significant artifacts it still owns, including its 1670 charter that played a pivotal role in the history of Canada. Many Canadian business owners across the country have been purchasing heaps of excess inventory from both the United States and elsewhere around the globe in preparation for U.S. tariffs on Canada, among other global trade partners, and for Canada's counterlevies. But with U.S. President Donald Trump regularly shifting course on tariffs – and Canada largely spared in the latest round of sweeping levies announced on April 2, which ranged from 10 to more than 100 per cent – the strategy involves significant risk. Mariya Postelnyak spoke to businesses that are in prepper mode, and how they've embraced stockpiling as a buffer against potential disruption in the trade of supplies and finished goods. Mr. Macklem was frank about the overwhelming lack of visibility as he announced the Bank of Canada's decision to hold its policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent. Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Pope Francis gave the traditional Easter blessing on Sunday, appearing from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in front of delighted crowds after a brief meeting with Vice President JD Vance in what marks his highest-profile appearance yet since being discharged from hospital. The 88-year-old pontiff has not led the main Holy Week and Easter services but has made brief appearances over the Easter weekend, including spending 30 minutes at a prison in Rome on Thursday and a visit to St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday evening. The pope also has difficulty raising his arms. He later greeted cheering crowds in St. Peter's Square from the popemobile, the first time he has done so since his hospitalization. Before giving the blessing, the pope had a brief private meeting with Vice President Vance, a devout Catholic, which “provided an opportunity to exchange Easter greetings” according to the Vatican. Vance's office later released its own readout, which stated that the vice president and Cardinal Pietro Parolin discussed “their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump's commitment to restoring world peace.” Related article Vance, Vatican officials engage in ‘exchange of opinions' over migrants Just before he was hospitalized in mid-February, Francis issued a rebuke of the Trump administration's immigration policy and refuted the vice president's use of a theological concept, the “ordo amoris” (“order of love” or “order of charity”), to defend the administration's approach. Since his discharge from hospital last month the pope has been making surprise appearances and has shown a determination to resume his duties. Doctors have advised him to avoid large crowds during his two months recovery period. Francis said: “I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!”

Curt Lind didn't know it, but he was already dead. The 82-year-old was ambushed by a hooded figure lying in wait outside his trailer park who repeatedly slashed his throat, CCTV footage seen by The Telegraph reveals. The collar of his jacket, which had been torn off during the frenzied knife attack and trailed limply from his hand, was visibly soaked through with blood. He staggered away, perhaps trying to seek help from a neighbour, before collapsing face-first in the middle of the road. He didn't move again until the authorities in Vallejo, California collected his body later that day. The man charged with his murder was Maximilian Snyder, a 22-year-old former computer science student. Prosecutors have linked him to the Zizians, a “death cult” of transgender vegans, which once operated on Lind's land before allegedly trying to kill him following a dispute over rent. At least two of them appear to have faked their own deaths, and they have since been linked to a string of murders across the US. But as recently as November 2022, the members of the so-called cult were living in Lind's trailer park in Vallejo. Back then, Lind was also living on the lot in a caravan. He met the Zizians in early 2020 while the tug boat they were living on was docked at a harbour south of San Francisco, and offered to rent out his land to them. But they formed a sort of bond, and Lind would recall taking one of them to buy their first bra. “Curt was open to different people's ways of life,” said Jon Jenkins, who knew Lind for 20 years, recalling his friend speaking up for the group just months before they allegedly tried to kill him. The group took its name from its leader Ziz, real name Jack LaSota, who in labyrinthine blog posts would formulate a philosophy about the brain's two hemispheres – which can be good or evil, male or female, and “often desire to kill each other”. LaSota, who was born a man before transitioning, would dress up in long black “Sith” robes, after the Star Wars villains. “The Sith do what they want deep down,” he explained in one post. Anna Salamon, who founded a rationalist group in the Bay Area, later said she was “viscerally afraid of LaSota in a way I've never been viscerally afraid of anybody” and realised the group of young people she brought together could be radicalised by his violent ideology. “We didn't know this at the time, but in hindsight we were creating conditions for a cult,” she told NBC News. After moving onto converted trucks on Lind's land, the purported members were regarded with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion by neighbours. They were gaunt, pale, would never talk to or in front of strangers, and on several occasions were spotted walking around naked. Trust is hard to find in that corner of Vallejo, where locals recall at least three bodies being dumped along the streets in recent years in cases not linked to the Zizians. Many repeat a warning not to hang around until it gets dark. It's kind of a lawless town,” claimed Kevin Lum, a shaven-headed mechanic who works at one of the many garages that line the road. The city went bankrupt a few years ago, and though it has clawed its way back to solvency, holes remain in vital services – including law enforcement, as police openly admit. It might be just a half-hour drive from Napa Valley's famous wine region, and the Napa River is a short walk from Lind's trailer park, but Vallejo is a very different place. Lind later said his relationship with the Zizians soured when they stopped paying rent as the Covid pandemic hit, and he was reportedly forced to go to court to get some $60,000 he was owed. In November 2022, prosecutors said he was called out of his caravan by Suri Dao, one of the members of the “death cult”, who told him there was a water leak in their truck. On the way out, he grabbed a small handgun he had recently started carrying – similar to a derringer, according to neighbour Greg Frizzie. Other members of the group were waiting for Lind to appear, and when he bent down to turn off the water valve they allegedly attacked him with kitchen knives and impaled him with a ninja sword. Groping blindly for his gun, Lind fired into the group, killing Emma Borhanian, a former Google employee, and wounding Alexander Leatham, a former maths student at the University of California. But others were allowed to leave the scene and scattered, including LaSota and another member called Gwen Danielson, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Lind spent weeks in hospital, and was left blind in one eye with a scar on his neck from where the group members had allegedly tried to behead him. Photos of the 82-year-old from then on show him with his right eye permanently closed. Mr Jenkins, known by locals as “Big Jon”, started acting as a kind of bodyguard for his friend and took to carrying a gun. A hole had been dug through one of the trucks, about 8ft deep, while nearby were “boxes and boxes” of lye, a powerful alkaline. And they wrote big letters on it – pee,” Mr Jenkins said, wheezing with laughter. Danielson was also thought to be dead, but her father recently told the New York Post she was in hiding from her former fellow alleged cult members. Then in January of this year, Mr Jenkins noticed that black flowers, with wire stems and fabric petals, had been attached to the gates of Lind's compound. Seemingly, it was placed there to mourn Borhanian, the dead Zizian. “When we first saw the flowers, he thought, well, maybe one of our friends was pulling a little joke on us. Mr Frizzie found the stranger sitting on his wall, and then walking down his side of the pavement, which is adjacent to Lind's property. “You're new here, right?” he said to the man, who up close he claims turned out to be a “skinny Asian dude”. Mr Frizzie, who lives in Idaho but occasionally stays at a caravan on his Vallejo property for work, headed out to meet his wife, who stayed in a hotel a few towns over “because she knows how crazy it is down here”. He was about a 15-minute drive away the next day when he got a call from Mr Jenkins, a family friend: “Something happened to Curt – we need your video, we need your camera. He pulled over and watched the footage from cameras installed outside his house, which he claims showed the man he knew for more than 30 years being chased and murdered by that same hooded figure. “Such a good guy,” he said of Lind, finally. Authorities believe the man in that footage is Snyder, a former computer science student at Oxford University with ties to the Zizians. He pleaded not guilty to Lind's murder in a Vallejo courtroom in March, humming a tune under his breath as the hearing began. Three days after Mr Snyder was said to have murdered Lind in California, his girlfriend, Teresa Youngblut, a member of the Zizians, allegedly shot and killed a border guard in Vermont called David Maland. Her companion, known alternately as Felix or Ophelia Bauckholt, died in the shoot-out that followed. Pennsylvania police said the gun used by Youngblut had been bought by a person of interest in another killing: Michelle Jacqueline Zajko, whom prosecutors have also linked to the Zizians. She was questioned in connection with their deaths but not charged. Adding to the web of intrigue, LaSota was arrested in a Philadelphia hotel room the following month and charged with obstructing a homicide investigation, by officers who had obtained a warrant to seize Ms Zajko's gun. Otherwise, he is not alleged to have any involvement in the deaths. In February this year, police arrested LaSota alongside Zajko when they parked their box trucks on the land of a man in Frostburg, Maryland. She told The Telegraph her suspicions had been raised after meeting LaSota and his “strange” account of a suicide by a trans woman called Maia Pasek. Later, a second person linked to the Zizians killed themselves: Jay Winterford, known in online circles as “Fluttershy”. LaSota has never been charged or accused of wrongdoing by the authorities in connection with these deaths.

This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies. Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that he wants to make the ongoing Japan-U.S. tariff talks a model for negotiations between the U.S. and other countries, during a TV program on NHK on Sunday. Ishiba said he believes that a desirable outcome for both their countries will be needed. “A result in which one side gains while the other loses won't become a model for others,” he said. Concerning Japan's safety standards for automobiles, which the U.S. is reportedly demanding that Japan deregulate, Ishiba said, “We'll discuss [the issue] in detail and avoid accusation of being unfair while acknowledging the differences [between Japanese and U.S. regulations].” Asked about whether he intends to put security issues on the agenda, Ishiba said, “It's a topic from a different field than trade, so I don't think it's right to discuss [these issues together].” “I want to do what I can to help reduce the burden on the Japanese people as much as possible.” Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting, readable fomat.

This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies. Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. TOKYO (AP) — World champion Alysa Liu produced a flawless routine in the women's free skate as the United States won its sixth gold medal at the figure skating World Team Trophy on Saturday. Skating to “MacArthur Park” by Donna Summer, the 19-year-old Liu landed seven triple jumps for a personal-best score of 150.97 points. Japan's Kaori Sakamoto was third with 145.00. Italy was third with 86 points to claim its first ever medal in the event. I'm so insanely proud of my team and everyone,” U.S. skater Jason Brown said. “It's been such an incredible season, and to end it here has been so special.” Liu's previous best free skate score was 148.39 only last month at the world championships in Boston. “I was a little bit happier after my free skate at worlds but I'll take this one,” Liu said. “I only ran it one time before coming here, so I wasn't expecting that. The U.S. has medaled at every biennial World Team Trophy since its inception in 2009 and has won six of the nine competitions. Malinin landed four quads in his program to “I'm Not a Vampire,” scoring 183.88 points. The three-time world ice dance champions received 12 points after a season's best score of 133.51 France was fourth, followed by Canada and Georgia. Our weekly ePaper presents the most noteworthy recent topics in an exciting, readable fomat.