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The NFL's Pro Bowl is being played Tuesday night in San Francisco ahead ofSuper Bowl LXthis weekend.

Yahoo Sports first reported on the move in New York at the fall owners meetings. Here's a guide to what you need to know about the game.

When and where is the Pro Bowl?

8 p.m. ET Tuesday, at Moscone Center in San Francisco

How can I watch the Pro Bowl?

It will be televised on ESPN.

What is the Pro Bowl format?

Flag football, 50-yard playing field, two 10-yard end zones, touchdowns worth 6 points, with teams allowed to try for 1 point after from the 5-yard line or 2 points after from the 10

Who is playing in the Pro Bowl, and why are some stars skipping it?

Shedeur Sanders,Joe Burrowand other big names. Fans voted on the initial rosters, but for various reasons several high-profile replacements have been selected.

Sanders was selected as a replacement for Drake Maye, who will lead the Patriots in Sunday's Super Bowl against the Seahawks. Burrow is replacing injured Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Joe Flacco, the AFC's third QB, is alsoreplacing an injured Justin Herbert of the Chargers.

The NFC quarterbacks include Detroit's Jared Goff, Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts and Dallas' Dak Prescott. Here are the full Pro Bowl rosters for theNFCandAFC.

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The coaches are two 49ers legends, with Steve Young coaching the AFC and Jerry Rice leading the NFC.

Why are they playing the Pro Bowl on a Tuesday, and why is the format flag football?

The answers to these questions are intertwined, so we'll lump them together. Theformat of the Pro Bowl shifted to include flag footballand skills competitions starting with the 2023 event, in response to feedback from coaches, players and others involved. This was in part to minimize the risk of injury and to refresh an event that had become stagnant overall.

The focus has now moved toward the flag football element with the Olympics in mind. Asreported by Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein this past fallat the annual league meetings in New York, the NFL is committed to spotlighting flag football on a global stage ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when the sport will be introduced into competition for the first time andNFL players will have opportunities to participate.

"We're committed to this flag football format," NFL executive vice president Peter O'Reilly said in the fall. "This is clearly rooted in our commitment to flag and making sure we're honoring players in the right way. There's a broader strategic play here, and that's one of the main reasons we brought it into Super Bowl week."

Why are they playing the Pro Bowl in a convention center?

NFL executive vice president Peter O'Reilly addressed this tooin the fall. He acknowledged the Moscone Center's capacity will be smaller than recent Pro Bowl venues, but the game will nonetheless be ticketed. It's a necessary evil, if you will, of the Pro Bowl being spotlighted during Super Week.

What is the future of the Pro Bowl?

Per Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein,expect this flag football-in-the-Super-Bowl-host-city format to continue to the Super Bowl's 2027 stage in Los Angeles, which will also host the Olympics in 2028.

There could be, however, a growing issue with player participation.New York Jets QB Justin Fields reportedly declinedto participate this year to focus on his offseason training, and that might become a more common thing as there isn't a ton of upside to taking part.

Players on the winning team willreportedly get $96,000 each,while players on the losing team will reportedly receive $48,000 each. That's a great chunk of change to you and me and a lot of NFL players who line the middle and back ends of rosters — but not to the stars people will pay and watch to see.

Still, there figures to be enough participation from players and backing from the NFL to continue through the target year of the 2028 Olympics. After that, who knows.

March Madnessis so ingrained as a national spectacle at this point the controversial selections and snubs are an inevitability, and even an expected part of the show whencollege basketballfans gather on Selection Sunday for the reveal of the bracket.

Bracketologysprouted from our collective thirst to know what teams must do to hear their name on Selection Sunday, and where those teams might be ranked. So too dida collection of rankingsbased on computer models and formulas and, like last year, seven of those metrics will be listed on the team sheets used by the selection committee as it meets heading into Selection Sunday to determine the field for the 2026 NCAA tournament.

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Each ranking or rating is separated into two distinct categories — predictive metrics and results-based metrics. TheNCAA Evaluation Tool (NET),KenPom,ESPN's BPIandthe Torvik rankingsare considered predictive rankings that measure how good a team is based on its offensive and defensive efficiency, adjusted for opponent strength and location. TheKPI,ESPN's Strength of Record (SOR)andWins Above Bubble (WAB)are results-based rankings that judge how hard it was for a team to attain its résumé.

For many teams, the two types of ratings largely converge by the end of the season. For others, however, there can be a wide swath of outcomes based on how a game was played and whether it was won or lost. These are the schools from major andmid-major conferencesthat could inspire the most robust conversation and debate among committee members, either over their selection into the 2026 NCAA tournament as an at-large and/or their potential seeding in the field, due to the differences between their ranking in predictive metrics and results-based metrics.

Here's an early look at 10 teams with polarizing profiles ahead of Selection Sunday based on the metrics used for the men's NCAA tournament:

MARCH MADNESS BRACKETOLOGY:Houston, Florida rise in NCAA tournament seeding

March Madness 2026: NCAA tournament metrics' most polarizing teams

All records and rankings through games played on Feb.2

Florida(16-6)

• NET: 12

• KenPom: 7

• BPI: 7

• Torvik: 6

• KPI: 20

• SOR: 18

• WAB: 18

How the NCAA tournament selection committee seeds the defending national champions is developing into a fascinating subplot for Selection Sunday afterFloridadidn't get wins in high-profile nonconference games against Arizona, Duke and UConn. But the Gators remain in the SEC driver's seat with a huge matchup against Texas A&M looming on Feb. 7. Predictive rankings have them already in contention for a top-two seed, but results-based metrics have Florida hovering just inside the top-20. Will committee members give the Gators the benefit of the doubt over teams with fewer losses?

Louisville(15-6)

• NET: 17

• KenPom: 16

• BPI: 11

• Torvik: 16

• KPI: 28

• SOR: 32

• WAB: 26

The Cardinals are 11-2 when freshman Mikel Brown is in the lineup, with losses to only Duke and Arkansas, and look poised to return to the NCAA tournament in coach Pat Kelsey's second season. But Louisville is 4-4 without Brown, including three losses in four games last month as ACC play got underway. So the Cardinals are positioned as high as No. 11 in predictive metrics as a result of their ceiling with Brown, but their results-based rankings are as low as No. 32. If those dynamics remain the same over the next month, there will be lingering questions about how Louisville will be seeded by the selection committee.

Indiana(15-7)

• NET: 30

• KenPom: 33

• BPI: 25

• Torvik: 23

• KPI: 49

• SOR: 37

• WAB: 39

The Hoosiers are as high as No. 23 and as low as No. 49 among the seven metrics used by the NCAA tournament selection committee, with a weak schedule and lack of significant wins until recent triumphs over Purdue and UCLA leaving them in an interesting spot to start February. Indiana hasn't slipped up against inferior competition and had several metric-boosting blowouts to help juice its predictive metrics. The Hoosiers would likely make the NCAA tournament field as an at-large team if Selection Sunday were this week, but they're only a loss or two away from being on the wrong side of the bubble again.

UCF(17-4)

• NET: 37

• KenPom: 45

• BPI: 51

• Torvik: 46

• KPI: 15

• SOR: 21

• WAB: 19

The Knights' résumé won't be straightforward for selection committee members if UCF continues on its current trajectory, with the predictive metrics of a bubble team and results more in line with a top-six seed. The Knights didn't test themselves much in the nonconference schedule, but got a key road win over Texas A&M, already beat Kansas and Texas Tech in Big 12 play and have no bad losses. Coach Johnny Dawkins is having his best season since he last made the NCAA tournament in 2019.

Texas(13-9)

• NET: 39

• KenPom: 34

• BPI: 35

• Torvik: 38

• KPI: 63

• SOR: 54

• WAB: 52

The Longhorns could present challenges for the committee if they linger along the NCAA tournament bubble around Selection Sunday. Their predictive metrics rank among the top-40 after some impressive SEC wins over Vanderbilt and Alabama last month, but they've also got a Quad 3 loss at home to Mississippi State and only one nonconference win of note on their résumé. Texas still has chances to boost its profile with games looming against Florida, Texas A&M and Arkansas at the end of SEC play, but its profile can't withstand too many more setbacks.

Washington(12-10)

• NET: 47

• KenPom: 46

• BPI: 44

• Torvik: 44

• KPI: 64

• SOR: 60

• WAB: 60

The Huskies would be a fascinating test case if Selection Sunday were this week instead of next month as no Big Ten team has a wider gap between its metrics. The predictive rankings are all mostly the same, ranging from No. 43-47, and put Washington on the bubble. The results-based rankings are similar as well, only those range from No. 60-64 because of the team's 10 losses. That would put the Huskies in danger of missing the NCAA tournament. None of those defeats, however, are outside of the first two quadrants.

California(16-6)

• NET: 51

• KenPom: 54

• BPI: 69

• Torvik: 56

• KPI: 40

• SOR: 48

• WAB: 41

The predictive metrics haven't caught up to the results-based metrics after Cal knocked off UNC, Stanford and Miami to emerge from a three-game losing skid. TheGolden Bearshave played their way onto the NCAA tournament bubble and have no bad losses on their ledger. A few closer-than-expected results facing a weak nonconference schedule leaves them limited margin for error the next month.

Oklahoma State(15-6)

• NET: 68

• KenPom: 57

• BPI: 71

• Torvik: 70

• KPI: 46

• SOR: 44

• WAB: 46

The Cowboys look like they could provide a window into how the NCAA tournament selection committee judges a team that does well in nonconference play only to then stumble in conference action. Oklahoma State is considered the 12th-best team in the Big 12 by predictive metrics after it started league play with five losses in eight games. But it's nearly 22 spots higher nationally, on average, in results-based metrics thanks to early wins over Texas A&M, USF, Northwestern and Grand Canyon that have aged better than expected. The Cowboys still have a shot based on the strength of the Big 12.

George Mason(20-2)

• NET: 65

• KenPom: 76

• BPI: 68

• Torvik: 108

• KPI: 35

• SOR: 40

• WAB: 43

This one-time Final Four phenomenon could be poised for another mid-major NCAA tournament run involving a borderline Selection Sunday résumé. The Patriots have won 20 of their first 22 games, but both losses came in rare Quad 1 or 2 opportunities. Their predictive metrics continue to lag significantly when compared to their results-based rankings. It doesn't help thatGeorge Masonwon't face Atlantic-10 Conference favorite Saint Louis until its regular-season finale. The Patriots need more quality win opportunities.

Miami (Ohio)(22-0)

• NET: 53

• KenPom: 90

• BPI: 91

• Torvik: 80

• KPI: 54

• SOR: 24

• WAB: 33

The undefeated darlings of the MACcould present the NCAA tournament selection committee with a real issue to sort through if they were to get upset before claiming the league's automatic berth into March Madness. KenPom and ESPN's BPI have Miami rated outside the top 75 with no Quad 1 wins, but the RedHawks rank among the top 35 in ESPN's strength of record and the NCAA's wins above bubble metrics thanks to their unblemished record. Would Miami with one or two losses merit an at-large berth on Selection Sunday?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:NCAA bracketology 2026: March Madness metrics unsure of these 10 teams

Imagine this scene:

LeBron James and his son Bronny, in Cavs uniforms, capping off a historic farewell tour with another championship in Cleveland. As they tackle each other in euphoria, James Harden peers over at Giannis Antetokounmpo, both also wearing wine-and-gold, and laughs maniacally at the craziness of it all. Harden finally earns his championship — and ruins the chances of his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, at a three-peat in the process. (Yes, I'm projecting the Thunder win it all this year.)

That's the storybook ending for LeBron's 24-year career. Walking off as a champion — something Michael Jordan once had, but gave it up with a last-ditch run with the Washington Wizards.

And believe it or not, it can be done. Especially since the Eastern Conference is wide open.

The trade rumor mill is kicking into high gear ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. And it's possible Harden and Antetokounmpo (and, in time, LeBron and Bronny, too) will be packing their bags for Ohio soon.

Here's how it all would go down.

Trade 1: James Harden for Darius Garland

On Monday night, kicking off trade deadline week, Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko broke the news that the LA Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers wereengaged in James Harden trade talks. According to Iko, the Cavs were leading the chase for Harden's services at the deadline.

The Harden news may have blindsided some considering the Clippers have pulled off one of the greatest in-season turnarounds in NBA history, going 16-3 at one point after starting the season 6-21. But for anyone who has been paying attention to Harden's career-long pattern of asking out, it was only a matter of time before Harden and the Clippers headed for a divorce.

When Harden arrived in ClipperLand in 2023, my first reaction was:Great, so where's he going next?Sure enough, less than three years later, amid a team resurgence for the ages, the NBA's most mercurial star was suddenly sitting out games for "personal reasons" and, voila, trade talks emerged.

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There has been no formal trade request, but we can read the tea leaves here. Harden is eligible for a contract extension and hasn't gotten one. His co-star, Kawhi Leonard, is at the heart of an NBA investigation into Steve Ballmer and the Clippers front office for cap circumvention allegations regarding an apparent no-show contract for Leonard. Recently, Leonard and Harden were noticeably left off the All-Star team despite more-than-worthy campaigns and the Clippers hosting the All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome. That's a lot of bad vibes.

The Cavs reportedly hold interest because of Darius Garland's injury woes and the need to keep Donovan Mitchell happy amid a pressure-packed, underwhelming season. Harden has been playing brilliantly this season and, perhaps more importantly, his contract is almost perfectly aligned with Garland's salary of $39 million this season, making a one-for-one swap possible under the CBA rules. Key to all of this is the Cavs are a second-apron team and therefore cannot aggregate contracts to make a deal work.

So that's the first deal: Harden for Garland straight up. I wouldn't be surprised if the Clippers ask for Cleveland's 2026 second-round pick for taking on another year of Garland's contract, even if he is just 26 years old. The Clippers get a much younger two-time All-Star guard who is entering his prime, but they've notably kept their 2027-28 books completely clean for a potential massive free agency pursuit. Acquiring Garland would be a minor departure from that strategy.

Trade 2: Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo for Evan Mobley and picks

I mentioned earlier the Cavs are operating as a second-apron team, which complicates any Giannis trade talks for Cleveland. They can't aggregate salaries unless they dump about $14 million worth of salary to a third party. Enter the Brooklyn Nets who, according to Spotrac salary data, havejuuuuuustenough space to grease the wheels for Milwaukee and Cleveland to consummate a deal. Assist point to my pal Kevin Pelton, who proposed the general framework.

So the trade: Cleveland receives Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo; Milwaukee nets Evan Mobley, Lonzo Ball and a 2031 first-round pick from Cleveland, and Tyrese Martin from Brooklyn; Brooklyn absorbs Max Strus' contract and earns the right to swap first-round picks with Cleveland in 2028, 2030 and 2032.

The Cavs need Harden to make Giannis feel comfortable that they're championship-ready enough for him to commit to a long-term extension when he's eligible for a four-year, $275 million pact this upcoming October. With Garland sidelined, I'm not sure the Cavs, as is, have enough to get that critical sign-off from Antetokounmpo. Last thing the Cavs want is to give up Mobley only for Antetokounmpo to walk in the summer of 2027.

Would a starting five of Harden, Mitchell, Jaylon Tyson, Antetokounmpo and Jarrett Allen win a title? Maybe. But they could use a star small forward to complete the set.

What's that? Is that The King's music!?

Move 3: LeBron James signs in free agency with Cavs

LeBron James is a $52.6 million expiring contract this season and has veto power on any trade. It's possible he engineers a deal (again, he has to sign off on a trade for it to go through) to Cleveland to set up hislast hurrah next season back home, but doing so would probably gut the Cavs' depth ahead of a championship pursuit.

Instead, James could slow his roll and wait until this summer to head back to Cleveland when he could sign a Dirk-esque contract with the Cavs. Why would he take a discount if he's still playing at an All-Star level? It would serve as something of a compromise so the Cavs would trade for son Bronny, who is due a guaranteed $2.3 million next season.

The Cavs could head into next season with a starting lineup of Mitchell, Harden, James, Antetokounmpo and Allen with Tyson, Dennis Schröder, Keon Ellis (eligible for extension), Bronny James and Sam Merrill anchoring the second unit. Maybe bring back Kevin Love for the double farewell tour? Can we get J.R. Smith off the golf course and in Cleveland again?

The backdrop of all of these Cavs blockbuster deals is fortifying a long-term commitment from Mitchell, who can walk as a free agent in the summer of 2027. He holds a player option for $53.8 million during a summer in which the Knicks, Lakers and Clippers could carve out the requisite cap space to hit the Donovan dance floor.

Moving past the current star-studded core that has underwhelmed in the playoffs would certainly be a risk, but bringing three former MVPs into the fold would represent the kind of massive swing that might inspire Mitchell's confidence that Cleveland is his home. Sure, the Cavs would be banking on three players on the wrong side of 30 (and the wrong side of 40 in LeBron's case), but it's not like the youthful core in Cleveland has been cutting it in the playoffs.

If the Harden-Giannis-LeBron Plan is truly the goal, it would make a lot of sense why Klutch Sports has been attempting to represent Giannis,according to TrueHoop's Henry Abbottlast week. Having Giannis as a client wouldn't just be a boon for Rich Paul when Antetokounmpo comes up for a massive extension, but it would also serve as an information pipeline to assure everyone is on the same page in Cleveland.

Would the blockbuster deals be enough to win James a fifth championship and ride into the sunset as a champion? Perhaps. If you thought the 2016 championship in Cleveland couldn't be topped, I present to you the James retirement plan with Harden finally earning his ring and Giannis winning his second.

DUBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A group of Iranian gunboats approached a U.S.-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz north of ​Oman, maritime sources and a security consultancy said on Tuesday.

The ‌Iranian boats ordered the tanker, the Stena Imperative, to stop its engine and prepare ‌to be boarded before it could speed up and continue its voyage, maritime risk management group Vanguard said.

The vessel did not enter Iranian internal territorial waters and was escorted by a U.S. warship, the maritime risk ⁠management group said. An ‌American official confirmed it was U.S. flagged.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations earlier said that a group of ‍armed boats attempted to intercept a vessel 16 nautical miles (30 km) north of Oman, without identifying the vessel or the boats.

The agency said it was investigating the ​incident, which happened in the inbound Traffic Separation Scheme of the ‌Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency cited unnamed Iranian officials as saying later on Tuesday that a vessel had entered Iranian territorial waters without the necessary legal permits, was warned and left the area "without any special security event taking place."

The strait links the Persian Gulf ⁠to the Gulf of Oman and the ​Arabian Sea beyond.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, ​the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia.

Three vessels, ‍two in 2023 ⁠and one in 2024, were seized by Iran near or in the strait. Some of the seizures followed U.S. seizures of tankers ⁠related to Iran.

(Reporting by Jonathan Saul, Tala Ramadan, Idrees Ali and Elwely Elwelly, ‌writing by Jaidaa Taha and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Sharon ‌Singleton, Alex Richardson and Bernadette Baum)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Navy fighter jet shot down an Iranian drone that was approachingthe aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincolnin the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday, threatening to ramp up tensions as the Trump administration warns of possible military action toget Iran to the negotiating table.

The drone "aggressively approached" the aircraft carrier with "unclear intent" and kept flying toward it "despite de-escalatory measures taken by U.S. forces operating in international waters," Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said in a statement.

The shootdown occurred within hours of Iranian forces harassing a U.S.-flagged and U.S.-crewed merchant vessel that was sailing in the Strait of Hormuz, the American military said.

The developments could escalatethe heightened tensions between the longtime adversariesas President Donald Trump has threatened to use military action first overIran's bloody crackdown on nationwide protestsand then to try to get the country to makea deal over its nuclear program. Trump's Republican administration hasbuilt up military forces in the region, sending the aircraft carrier, guided-missile destroyers, air defense assets and more to supplement its presence.

The Shahed-139 drone was shot down by an F-35C fighter jet from the Lincoln, which was sailing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) from Iran's southern coast, Hawkins said. No American troops were harmed, and no U.S. equipment was damaged, the military's statement noted.

Iranian state media reported that Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is investigating the "interruption" of the drone. Semi-official Tasnim news agency posted on its Telegram that before the footage cut out, the drone was able to successfully transfer the images it took back to Iran.

US says Iran also harassed a merchant vessel

After the shootdown, Revolutionary Guard forces harassed the merchant vessel Stena Imperative, the U.S. military said. Two boats and an Iranian Mohajer drone approached the ship "at high speeds and threatened to board and seize the tanker," Hawkins' statement said.

The destroyer USS McFaul responded and escorted the Stena Imperative "with defensive air support from the U.S. Air Force," the statement said, adding that the merchant vessel was now sailing safely.

Talks between special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials were still planned, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

"President Trump is always wanting to pursue diplomacy first, but obviously it takes two to tango," Leavitt said after the incidents. She added, "As always, though, of course, the president has a range of options on the table with respect to Iran."

IranianPresident Masoud Pezeshkiansaid Tuesday that he instructed the country's foreign minister to "pursue fair and equitable negotiations" with the U.S., marking one of the first clear signs from Tehran that it wants to try to negotiate with Washington.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on Telegram that he had spoken with his counterparts in Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey and Oman regarding regional developments and the importance of protecting "regional stability and security."

Tensions began to rise again between the U.S. and Iran as the Islamic Republic spent weeksquelling proteststhat began in late December against growing economic instability before broadening into a challenge to the country's ruling theocracy.

Trump had promised in early January to "rescue" Iranians from their government's protest crackdown beforestarting to pressure Tehran againto make a deal over its nuclear program. That is even as the Republican president insists Iranian nuclear sites were "obliterated" inU.S. strikes in June.

"We have talks going on with Iran. We'll see how it all works out," Trump told reporters Monday. Asked what his threshold was for military action against Iran, he declined to elaborate.

"I'd like to see a deal negotiated," Trump said. "Right now, we're talking to them, we're talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that'd be great. And if we can't, probably bad things would happen."

Turkey had been working behind the scenesto make the talks happen there later this week as Witkoff is traveling in the region. A Turkish official later said the location of talks was uncertain but that Turkey was ready to support the process.

US military builds up presence in the region

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has been moving a growing number of assets into the region over the past several weeks, including the Lincoln and several destroyers, whicharrived last week.

The carrier strike group, which brought roughly 5,700 additional service members, joined three destroyers and three littoral combat ships that were already in the region.

Analysts of flight-tracking data also have noticed dozens of U.S. military cargo planes heading to the region.

The activity is similar to last year when the U.S. moved in air defense hardware, like a Patriot missile system, in anticipation of an Iranian counterattack following the U.S.bombing three key nuclear sites. Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar days after the strikes.

The U.S. has several bases in the Middle East, includingAl Udeid, which hosts thousands of American troops and is the forward headquarters for U.S. Central Command.

Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.

By Michael Georgy

FILE PHOTO: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends a hearing behind bars in a courtroom in Zintan

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Libya's Saif al-Islam Gaddafi went from his notorious father's heir apparent to a decade of captivity and obscurity in a remote hill town before launching a presidential bid that helped derail an attempted election.

He has been killed, sources close to the family, his lawyer Khaled el-Zaydi and Libyan media said on Tuesday.

Details surrounding the circumstances of ​his death were not immediately clear.

Despite holding no official position, he was once seen as the most powerful figure in the oil-rich North African country after his autocrat father Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled ‌for more than four decades.

Saif al-Islam shaped policy and mediated high-profile, sensitive diplomatic missions.

He led talks on Libya abandoning its weapons of mass destruction and negotiated compensation for the families of those killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in ‌1988.

Determined to rid Libya of its pariah status, Saif al-Islam engaged with the West and championed himself as a reformer, calling for a constitution and respect for human rights.

Educated at the London School of Economics and a fluent English speaker, he was once seen by many governments as the acceptable, Western-friendly face of Libya.

But when a rebellion broke out against Gaddafi's long rule in 2011, Saif al-Islam immediately chose family and clan loyalties over his many friendships to become an architect of a brutal crackdown on rebels, whom he called rats.

Speaking to Reuters at the time of the revolt, he said: "We fight here in Libya, we die here in Libya."

He warned that rivers of blood would flow and the ⁠government would fight to the last man and woman and bullet.

"All of ‌Libya will be destroyed. We will need 40 years to reach an agreement on how to run the country, because today, everyone will want to be president, or emir, and everybody will want to run the country," he said, wagging his finger at the camera in a TV broadcast.

'I'M STAYING HERE'

After rebels took over the capital Tripoli, Saif ‍al-Islam tried to flee to neighbouring Niger dressed as a Bedouin tribesman.

The Abu Bakr Sadik Brigade militia captured him on a desert road and flew him to the western town of Zintan about one month after his father was hunted down and summarily shot dead by rebels.

"I'm staying here. They'll empty their guns into me the second I go out there," he said in comments captured in an audio recording as hundreds of men thronged round an old Libyan air force transport plane.

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Saif ​al-Islam was betrayed to his rebel captors by a Libyan nomad.

He spent the next six years detained in Zintan, a far cry from the charmed life he lived under Gaddafi when he had pet tigers, ‌hunted with falcons and mingled with British high society on trips to London.

Human Rights Watch met him in Zintan. Hanan Salah, its Libya director, told Reuters at that time that he did not allege ill treatment. "We did raise concerns about Gaddafi being held in solitary confinement for most if not all of the time that he had been detained," she said.

Saif al-Islam was missing a tooth and said he had been isolated from the world and that he did not receive visitors.

He was, however, granted access to a television with satellite channels and some books, she added.

In 2015, Saif al-Islam was sentenced to death by firing squad by a court in Tripoli for war crimes.

Saif al-Islam is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague for war crimes. The court issued an arrest warrant against him for "murder and persecution".

'YOU NEED TO COME BACK SLOWLY'

He spent years underground in ⁠Zintan to avoid assassination after he was released by the militia in 2017 under an amnesty law. From 2016, he was ​allowed to contact people inside and outside Libya, said Mustafa Fetouri, a Libyan analyst with contacts in Saif al-Islam's inner circle.

Saif al-Islam ​received visitors almost every week and debated politics and the state of the country. Sometimes he received gifts and books.

Wearing a traditional Libyan robe and turban, he appeared in the southern city of Sabha in 2021 to file his candidacy for the presidential elections.

He had been expected to play on nostalgia for the relative stability before the 2011 NATO-backed ‍uprising that toppled his father and ushered in years of ⁠chaos and violence.

However, his candidacy was controversial and opposed by many of those who had suffered at the hands of his father's rule. Powerful armed groups that emerged from the rebel factions that rose up in 2011 rejected it outright.

As the election process ground on in late 2021 with no real agreement on the rules, Saif al-Islam's candidacy became one of the main points of contention.

He was ⁠disqualified because of his 2015 conviction, but when he tried to appeal the ruling, fighters blocked off the court. The ensuing arguments contributed to the collapse of the election process and Libya's return to political stalemate.

In an interview with The New York Times Magazine in ‌2021, Saif al-Islam discussed his political strategy. "I've been away from the Libyan people for 10 years," he said. "You need to come back slowly, slowly. Like a striptease. You need to ‌play with their minds a little."

(Reporting by Hani Amara and Ayman al-Warfalli; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Olivier Holmey)

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — There's a chance the dreaded buzz of propellers heard on Ukrainian battlefields is coming from drones built in a country with a population of just over a million on Europe's southeastern fringe: Cyprus.

Manufacturer Swarmly says there are more than 200 of its H-10 Poseidon drones helping Ukrainian artillery batteries pinpoint enemy targets on the ground in all kinds of weather, racking up more than 100,000 hours in the air over the last three years.

Its 5,000-square-meter (54,000-square-foot) factory, where the whir of grinders shaping composite plastics reverberates off the walls, has become a major source of uncrewed vehicles shipped to countries such as Indonesia, Benin, Nigeria, India and Saudi Arabia, according to company officials. Most of the factory floor is reserved for uncrewed aerial vehicle manufacture. But tucked in a secure storage area is a selection of Swarmly's super-fast marine drones replete with high-definition cameras and .50-caliber machine guns.

Russia'sinvasion of Ukrainehas driven even the smallest European Union member countries to develop their home-grown, high-tech defense industries, just as necessity has made Kyiv a world leader in cutting-edge UAV technology. Many EU countries have partnered with Kyiv to develop that technology, and Ukraine's front lines are usually their testing grounds.

Like Cyprus, the Baltic countries and Denmark have revved up their domestic drone and counter-drone technology. In Greece, drones are part of a 25-billion euro ($29-billion) overhaul of its armed forces.

"The example of Swarmy, as well as other important companies based in small EU countries, is a testament to the serious effort made by the private sector in Europe to innovate and build mass production capacity of defense items, including uncrewed systems," said Federico Borsari, an expert with the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis.

Force Multipliers

UAVsare reshaping warfareby offering less militarily capable countries some leverage over superior adversaries. Drones aren't going to completely replace big-ticket weaponry like tanks, artillery and warplanes, said Borsari. But they offer flexibility and bang for the buck, making them a formidable force multiplier.

Take Swarmly's explosives-packed, satellite-guided Hydra marine drone. Each one costs 80,000 euros ($94,500), which means deploying a group of them to neutralize a billion-euro warship can be a bargain, said company director Gary Rafalovsky.

This sort of naval weapon taking out a much larger warship is already evidenced by Houthi attacks from Yemen, according to Fabian Hinz, a research fellow for missile technologies and UAVs at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Europe.

Barriers to entry for undercapitalized companies are low, he added, because UAVs are often designed and assembled from components cheaply and readily available on the global market.

"And that, of course, means that basically you don't have to have a great industrial investment at first that you need with other military capabilities. You don't need decades of experience in certain material sciences or these kinds of things," Hinz said.

Getting in the game

In Denmark, a pair of companies focusing on anti-drone devices have reported a surge in new clients, and some of the devices were to be shipped to Ukraine to assist injamming Russian technologyon the battlefield. Ukraine in September said it was partnering with Danish companies to build missile and drone components at a factory in Denmark.

In the Baltic country of Lithuania, scientists and business partners have joined forces under the name VILNIUS TECH to develop UAVs, automated mine detection and other military technologies. The state-run ammunition factory Giraite says it has increased production capacity by 50% since 2022.

Greece for the first time showcased its homemadedrones and counter-drone technologyduring a full tactical exercise in November as NATO urged Europe's defense sector to pick up the pace.

"We need capabilities, equipment, real firepower and the most advanced technology," NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned during a visit to Romania earlier that month. "Bring your ideas, test your ingenuity and use NATO as your test bed."

Even as drone development accelerates, Borsari cautioned that the advantages of UAVs are often tempered by numerous variables like the harsh conditions in which they sometimes fly, operators' training and skill levels, as well as the depth of logistical support to keep them functional.

Europe goes into defense mode

Russia's war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's mixed messages that havestrained relations with NATO allieshave forced European leaders to reckon with the need to become more self-reliant on defense. So the EU hasmade billions of euros availableto encourage investment and bolster its collective deterrent capability.

That's been a boost to nations like Cyprus, which assumed the six-month EU presidency on Jan. 1. Last week, the EU's executive arm approved financial assistance for eight members including Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Bulgaria, Belgium, Romania and Cyprus.

Cyprus is set to receive final approval from EU leaders for some 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in low-cost, long-term loans under the EU's 150-billion-euro joint ($177-billion) procurement program called Security Action for Europe (SAFE).

Its nascent defense industry is already made up of around 30 companies and research centers that produce technology for both civilian and military sectors, including robotics, communications networks, anti-drone systems and even satellite communications and surveillance, said Panayiotis Hadjipavlis, chief of the armaments and defense capabilities development directorate within Cyprus' Defense Ministry.

"We have niche capabilities on very high-tech products and this has to be taken seriously into account," Hadjipavlis told The Associated Press in his office, where the helmet from his fighter pilot days hung on a nearby coat rack.

Major defense industry players, he added, are among those who should take note.

Associated Press writer Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania contributed.