Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León has announced he is temporarily suspending the presidential transition process after Public Ministry agents raided electoral facilities and opened voting boxes.

“We have informed President (Alejandro) Giammattei that we are temporarily suspending our participation in the administrative transition process while the necessary institutional political conditions are reestablished,” Arévalo posted Tuesday local time on X.

Arévalo was expected to be sworn in as president of Guatemala on January 14, 2024.

The president-elect denounced the raids, during which Public Ministry agents opened ballot boxes and photographed their contents, according to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

The Public Ministry is investigating allegations that Movimiento Semilla – Arévalo’s Party – used forged signatures when it was seeking authorization as a political party.

Arévalo also called for the resignation of Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras and other government officials over the incident during a press conference on Tuesday.

“Today’s actions constitute flagrant crimes of abuse of authority for electoral purposes and violation of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala,” the president-elect wrote on X.

Arévalo has filed a court complaint over the incident.

The president-elect has previously alleged that powerful groups headed by the country’s Attorney General are opposed to his victory and are involved in an “ongoing coup.”

Incumbent President Giammattei spoke by phone with the secretary general of the Organization of American States to officially notify him of the suspension of the transition process.

Giammattei said the presidency is willing to resume the transition process and described Arévalo’s decision to suspend it as “unilateral.”

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala (TSE) held its own press conference to denounce the latest actions of the Public Ministry.

Irma Palencia, the TSE’s president, said those actions had put the Guatemalan electoral system and democracy “at risk” and had violated the “civic rights of citizens expressed at the polls.”

The Catholic Church beatified on Sunday a Polish family of nine, including a new-born baby, who died at the hands of Nazi Germans during World War Two for sheltering a Jewish family from the Holocaust.

The beatification service for Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children was held in the southeastern Polish town of Markowa where they died in March 1944 at the hands of German military police.

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read a letter from Pope Francis during a mass attended by Poland’s president and prime minister, among others.

“We authorise that from now on the venerable Servants of God, Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma, spouses and their seven children… (who) fearlessly sacrificed their lives for the sake of love for their brothers and welcomed into their home those who suffered persecution, be given the title of blessed,” the Pope wrote.

After the announcement of the beatification, a painting of the family was unveiled and a reliquary containing their remains was brought to the center of the stage.

Beatification is the last step before sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. Vatican media have noted that it is the first time that an entire family has been honored together in this manner.

Speaking at the Vatican, Pope Francis described the Polish family as a “ray of light” in the darkness of World War Two and said they should serve as a model for others to follow.

He initiated a round of applause for them from pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square to hear his Angelus message.

Polish President Andrzej Duda thanked the Catholic church for the beatification on behalf of the nation.

“Thank you for showing the historical truth about that time, about the fate of Poles and Jews on this land under German occupation, who all wanted to survive and yet did not shrink from such ultimate acts of brotherhood and mercy,” he said.

Holocaust

Some three million Jews who lived in pre-war Poland were murdered during the Nazi German Holocaust, accounting for about half of all Jews killed during World War Two.

Jews from across the continent were sent to be killed at death camps built and operated by Germans in occupied Poland – home to Europe’s biggest Jewish community at the time – including Auschwitz, Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibor.

The Ulma family has been at the heart of the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government’s efforts to highlight the courage of those thousands of Poles who had sought to help Jews escape the Holocaust.

The policy has driven condemnation from Jewish organizations and some historians for minimizing the role of those who collaborated with the Germans. PiS says commemorating those dishonors the country.

In the region of Markowa, some historians have said witness testimonies show some local residents looted Jewish houses, denounced Jews to Germans, or even killed them themselves.

“How we discuss the history of this region is a wasted opportunity. If we showed what some Poles did then, we would be showing the heroism of the Ulmas to its full extent,” said Dariusz Libionka, a historian with the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Poland’s Institute for National Remembrance (IPN) has said that research by Libionka and fellow historian Jan Grabowski contains factual errors and denies that a museum in Markowa has omitted or concealed information about Polish involvement in the deaths of Jews.

Thousands of Poles risked their lives to protect Jewish neighbors during the war. But research published since the fall of communism in 1989 showed that thousands also killed Jews, or denounced those who hid them to the Nazi occupiers, challenging the national narrative that Poland was solely a victim.

“We have an obligation to remember the righteous and have them as role models of who we want to be. And have to remember the collaborators because they are also role models of who we don’t want to be,” said Michael Schudrich, the chief rabbi of Poland.

A venomous snake delayed the start of an AFLW game in Blacktown, Australia by half an hour as players waited for a snake catcher to remove it from the field.

The red-bellied black snake, which the Australian Museum says will only bite under extreme circumstances, was spotted on the field before Greater Western Sydney Giants played Richmond Tigers in the AFWL, the women’s Australian football league.

“It’s pretty interesting,” said the Giants’ head of women’s football Briana Harvey during the delay, according to the AFL.

“There’s a little red-bellied black snake on the ground at the moment, just in one of the far pockets. Obviously for the safety of everyone here we need just to halt the game for the moment.”

Once the snake catcher arrived he picked up the snake by its tail, held it up for the cameras and put it in a container to take safely away from the game.

After the delay, the Giants sunk to their third consecutive loss of the season as Richmond completed a 19-point victory.

Now a post-tropical cyclone, Lee made landfall on the far western tip of Nova Scotia on Saturday afternoon as it churned 65 mph sustained winds to parts of southeastern New England and Atlantic Canada, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm made landfall on Long Island in Nova Scotia around 4 p.m. Atlantic Time (3 p.m. ET). It will move across the Bay of Fundy and move inland around Maine and the New Brunswick, Canadian border on Saturday evening.

Lee is forecast to weaken within hours after its landfall, but it will still be capable of heavy rains, coastal flooding and high winds as it tracks across the region overnight and early Sunday.

More than 200,000 residents across Maine and Canada’s New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are experiencing power outages. A tropical storm warning is in effect for some areas.

Utility power crews are in the field assessing damages and actively responding to downed utility lines and other damage caused by the storm.

States of emergency have been declared in Maine and Massachusetts. President Biden has authorized the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to step in to coordinate disaster relief and assistance for required emergency measures.

Lee had maximum sustained wind speeds of 70 mph, according to an update from the National Hurricane Center, which is equivalent to tropical storm-force winds.

Tropical storm-force winds currently extend outward over 300 miles.

An observation in Knox County, Maine, recently reported a wind gust of 63 mph.

In addition to ferocious winds, Lee was expected to unleash up to six inches of rain in far northern Maine on Saturday, with neighboring New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island also at risk of seeing heavy precipitation.

As the New England coast feels the effects, Boston’s Logan International Airport saw a spike in flight cancellations Saturday morning. According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, 23% of all flights into Boston and 24% of flights originating out of the city have been canceled Saturday, for a total of more than 117 flight cancellations so far.

At the coast from the Long Island Sound north through Maine, flooding of 1 to 3 feet above ground level is possible if Lee’s storm surge coincides with high tide, according to National Hurricane Center director Michael Brennan.

Canada and US residents along shore urged to stay indoors

National Hurricane Center deputy director Jamie Rhome warned that people should avoid driving near shores and urged them to stay home to ride out the storm. He also noted there’s a high rip current risk extending from southern Florida stretching thousands of miles north to Maine.

“The waves from this big hurricane produce a current that goes out to sea and will pull you out,” Rhome said Friday evening in a brief video update. “So, if you’re going to go to the beach this weekend, swim near a lifeguard.”

In anticipation of those dangerous waves, local officials in Toms River, New Jersey, barred swimming this weekend at Ortley Beach, according to a news release from the township. Violators may be ticketed.

“Lifeguards will be on duty Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to enforce the Red Flag ban on swimming. The beach itself will be open,” officials said in a news release Friday.

Meanwhile in Canada, officials in New Brunswick cautioned residents to prepare for power outages and stock up on food and medication for at least 72 hours as they encouraged people to stay indoors.

“Once the storm starts, remember please stay at home if at all possible,” said Kyle Leavitt, director of New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization. “Nothing good can come from checking out the big waves and how strong the wind truly is. Not only are you putting yourself at risk, but you are putting at risk the lives of the emergency services personnel who may have to assist you.”

Lionel Messi will miss a Major League Soccer match for the first time since joining Inter Miami as he will not feature against Atlanta United on Saturday.

The turf field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta did not play a role, the source said.

The 36-year-old’s arrival to the MLS sparked a debate in US soccer about the potential physical impact of playing on an artificial surface and there had been speculation in the build up to the match over whether he would play on a turf field.

However, at Messi’s introductory media conference with Miami he explained that his “youth was spent on artificial turf, my whole life was on that pitch.”

When he moved to Europe to play for Barcelona he would play on grass, but Messi added: “Truth is it’s been a while since I’ve played on artificial turf, but I have no problem adapting myself again.”

The seven-time Ballon d’Or award-winner, who did not play in Argentina’s World Cup qualifying win over Bolivia on Tuesday, did not travel with the club for Saturday’s match.

On Friday, Messi posted a picture on his Instagram stories account of a pizza order in Miami.

Organizers were expecting more than 70,000 spectators at the stadium to see the Argentinian phenom.

Inter Miami, on a nine-game winless run prior to Messi’s debut, is unbeaten in 11 games and captured its first trophy last month. Messi has featured in three MLS games so far this season.

When Essence Griffin started working as a flight attendant in 2022 she was thrilled.

Griffin was in her early 20s and desperate to see the world. The years stuck at home during the pandemic had “lit a fire” inside her.

At first, Griffin’s job as a flight attendant for a US airline felt like the perfect opportunity. But after just over a year of flying, she decided to take a step back.

“I’m taking a break now,” she says. “I got burned out.”

Griffin’s not alone. Working as a flight attendant might sound like a dream job – but in a post-pandemic aviation landscape defined by delays, lost luggage, staffing issues and disruptive passengers, the dream is souring for some.

The legacy of the pandemic

2020 saw many aviation workers furloughed, while those still working risked falling ill. Then, as the pandemic waned and airplanes returned to the skies, airlines struggled to restaff quickly enough to match demand.

When aviation returned, disruptive passengers seemed more prevalent than ever – with the then-obligatory wearing of face masks often the inciting factor. Since 2021, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reported a “rapid growth” in “incidents where airline passengers have disrupted flights with threatening or violent behavior.”

US flight attendant Rich Henderson, who’s been flying for a decade, says during the pandemic, “the whole thing shifted, the whole environment and the energy in the environment shifted.”

In Henderson’s opinion, it’s all yet to shift back – staffing, scheduling and long days remain an issue, while disruptive passenger incidents are a continuing concern.

These issues are not specific to the US, according to Dutch flight attendant Juliana Oliveira.

Flight attendants don’t want delays any more than passengers, adds Oliveira, suggesting there is a misconception that crew are paid during long waits on the ground.

“We only get paid from the turning on of the engine until turning off,” she says. There are certain airlines that are exceptions to this rule, but this is the general policy.

The FAA stipulates that flight attendants in the US are supposed to clock off after 14 hours. But Henderson says “once the door of the aircraft is closed, we’re powerless, so we can go illegal while we’re in the middle of working a sequence if we’re still on the plane.”

Oliveira says flight attendants in Europe have similar limitations on working hours under the European Aviation Security Agency (EASA) but “we can go further than 14 hours under special conditions.”

“We do not get extra pay for extra hours,” she says.

When Covid happened, all of the fun parts of being a flight attendant, all of the satisfying, exciting parts of being a flight attendant were stripped from the job

Rich Henderson, flight attendant

Extra long days make dealing with disruptive passengers all the more draining. Henderson recalls a “day that clocked in at 17 hours and one minute” which ended with a hostile passenger interaction

“I had a passenger throw a cup at me, tell me I was worthless and tell me that I was horrible at my job,” says Henderson. “I felt so dehumanized.”

Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggests an “increasing frequency and severity” of disruptive passenger incidents: a June 2023 IATA report states there was one unruly incident reported for every 568 flights in 2022, up from one per 835 flights in 2021.

The problem’s so omnipresent there’s a whole conference dedicated to the issue – Dispax World, the international conference on unruly airline passenger management and restraint, set to take place in October 2023 in Prague in the Czech Republic.

The conference will gather legal experts, academics, officials and flight attendants to discuss what they call “the scourge of unruly passenger behavior.”

IATA data suggests the most common issue among disruptive passengers is “non-compliance.” With mask-wearing no longer compulsory, it’s passengers smoking, failing to fasten seatbelts when instructed and consuming their own alcohol on board the aircraft that are among the top issues.

Henderson suggests there was an onboard passenger behavioral shift in 2020 that’s only continued to spiral in the years since.

“I think during Covid, and that sort of era, people were really emboldened to speak up when they felt like something was wrong or unjust – whether or not it actually was is debatable – but people just felt more empowered to push back on rules,” he says.

“I think we’re still in a time period where people just feel they can get away with whatever they want.”

Mental health impact

The net effect of these issues is “morale is down,” as US flight attendant Nastassja Lewis puts it.

Lewis is the founder of flight attendant mental health nonprofit th|AIR|apy, which provides support and advice for flight attendants struggling with mental health and wellbeing.

The nonprofit started as a Facebook support group for flight attendants in 2018, launched by Lewis at a time when her own “mental health took a dive.”

“I have had a lot of experience with burnout myself, where I have just broken down and just cried,” she says.

During the pandemic, the group’s numbers ballooned and Lewis says she “realized there was a need for mental health advocacy within aviation.”

Now, th|AIR|apy’s website has resources, offers emergency assistance funds and a 24/7 peer-to-peer text line.

“We launched that text line in 2021,” says Lewis. “And within the first six months, we had over 10,000 text messages, exchanged back and forth between volunteers and texters.”

The text line was initially US only, but th|AIR|apy now offers an international service via WhatsApp.

“So we’re getting messages from all over the world,” says Lewis. “Anywhere there is a flight attendant, we have gotten a message from them saying, ‘I just need to talk to somebody, and I need support.’”

Lewis and her team have noticed recurring themes in the messages from “shorter turnaround times, the uncertainty, the industry’s vulnerability to external factors.”

“Work-life balance” is also a term that comes up regularly, as well as “disruptive passengers.”

There are often messages from junior flight attendants who, like Essence Griffin, feel there’s a gap between their expectations of the job and the grueling reality.

I had a passenger throw a cup at me, tell me I was worthless and tell me that I was horrible at my job. I felt so dehumanized.

Rich Henderson, flight attendant

First year flight attendants have the least control over their schedules, so are most likely to feel the brunt of the industry’s issues.

“Most airlines are based on seniority,” says Griffin. “So the longer you’ve been there, the more safer you get, the more control you have of your schedule. You can choose the amount of hours you get to work. So the longer you stay, the better it gets.”

“In our industry, until you gain enough seniority, predictability is not your best friend and then add isolation on top of it, you’re going to be uncomfortable and you’re going to experience fatigue,” says Lewis, who says flight attendant attrition is an ongoing problem.

Lewis and her volunteer team can’t offer direct solutions to these issues, but they can provide support and empathy. She says there’s a comfort in being honest about experiences.

The power of empathy is something Henderson has noticed too. In his spare time he runs an Instagram account, Two Guys on a Plane with his husband Andrew Henderson, a fellow flight attendant.

Two Guys on a Plane’s Instagram feed is populated with memes and jokes about working as a flight attendant, but under the veneer of humor, some very real issues are spotlighted – including flight attendant burnout and waning mental health.

Henderson realized his experiences were universal when fellow flight attendants started approaching him at work to talk about his posts.

“I think being honest, but in a funny way, was something that really resonated with people,” he says.

On social media, he got similar feedback from flight attendants from across the globe, which he says “just goes to show how universal our thoughts and feelings about the job and pressures really are.”

It was both reassuring – and depressing – to Henderson to realize other flight attendants felt similarly burned out.

“There was no roadmap on how to cope or how to get through that,” he admits, but he felt better sharing his experiences with others.

Henderson started therapy this year and has also been talking through his feelings with his therapist.

“I guess that kind of helped me understand my own thoughts and feelings,” he says. “Is this the job for me anymore? Is this just a phase? Is it because I’m hitting 10 years of flying?”

Looking to the future

American Airlines flight attendants’ union recently voted to authorize strike action, demanding “meaningful improvements” in flight attendants’ contracts. In a statement, American Airlines responded stating it is looking “forward to reaching an agreement that provides our flight attendants with real and meaningful value.”

Lewis also advocates for an increased passenger/traveler understanding, “to foster a more understanding and empathetic atmosphere on these flights.”

“A lot of people, when they think of flight attendants, all they think about is that we’ll be there to serve them a Coke, help them with their bags, and that’s basically where our job ends,” she says.

“They don’t know how much we’re responsible for. We’re responsible for your safety, making sure safety protocols are enforced, and of course customer service. But we work really, really long hours in really, really unpredictable environments, and that is really vital for them to know.”

For all the stresses of the job, and for all the times he’s wondered whether to pack it all in, Henderson says he’s still grateful to be a flight attendant – he loves traveling, and that’s never wavered.

“I never want to sound like I completely hate my job, because I don’t,” he says. “But I also want to be realistic about what’s going on.”

As for Griffin, the recently qualified flight attendant who’s taken a break from aviation, she says she still looks back at her year flying with a positive lens, despite “the craziness.”

“I met so many people, I had so many experiences, I traveled to so many places within a year, it’s insane. So I’m so grateful for my experience,” she says.

“It wasn’t what I thought, and I did get burnt out very easily. But it’s something that I would definitely come back to in the future.”

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has wrapped up its deliberations related to sites that are in danger and began adding new sites on Saturday to its prestigious World Heritage List.

Sites in Ukraine — the St. Sophia Cathedral and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, both located in the capital city of Kyiv, and the historical center of Lviv in western Ukraine — were deemed to be “in danger” earlier this week.

Deliberations started Saturday considering 50 sites nominated for the well-known World Heritage List.

The Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua in Congo and the volcanoes and forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons on the French island of Martinique, were chosen to be inscribed to the World Heritage List on the first day.

World Heritage in Danger List

The World Heritage in Danger List includes heritage sites that are threatened by forces such as armed conflict, natural disasters, pollution and more.

Built in the 11th century and decorated with eye-catching mosaics and frescoes, St. Sophia cathedral and its related monastic buildings were added to the in danger list alongside the nearby monastic complex Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves.

Situated near the Polish border, the historic center of the city of Lviv, which is made up of a fifth-century castle, a synagogue and various other religious buildings, also was added to the list.

The decision was made “due to the threat of destruction the Russian offensive poses,” according to a statement from UNESCO, which stressed that both had “remained under permanent threat since the start of the invasion.”

“Faced with the risk of direct attack, these sites are also vulnerable to the shockwaves caused by the bombing of the two cities,” the UNESCO statement continues.

The inclusion of the sites would pave the way for “additional financial and technical aid in order to implement new emergency measures – in line with the measures already taken by Ukraine with UNESCO,“ the statement added.

The decision to add the Ukraine sites came shortly after the committee chose not to inscribe the Italian city of Venice and its lagoon to the same list.

World Heritage List

As discussions moved to contenders for the World Heritage List, the Forest Massif of Odzala-Kokoua in Congo was inscribed on Saturday. It is one of Africa’s oldest parks as well as one of the largest tropical rainforests in the world.

On the French island of Martinique, the volcanoes and forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons on the northern part of the island were also announced as a new addition to the list during the first day of deliberations.

Meanwhile, an existing World Heritage Site — Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay — was extended to include Cat Ba Archipelago, the country’s largest limestone archipelago. It is now listed as one site: Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago. Ha Long Bay was first recognized in 1994.

The status of Madagascar’s Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, consisting of five protected areas, was also extended to include the Andrefana Dry Forests, which can only be found on the Indian Ocean island.

Over the next few days, the committee will review the remaining nominations, which include a Viking age ring fortress in Denmark and a 2,000-year-old earthworks in Ohio.

Sites must be of “outstanding universal value” to be added to the World Heritage List, according to UNESCO.

To qualify, a site has to meet at least one of a specific list of criteria, which is “regularly revised by the committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.”

Vladimir Putin has said Russia is considering and discussing some military cooperation with North Korea, following a summit at which that country’s leader Kim Jong Un appeared to endorse Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The leaders met at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s far east, as both countries face international isolation over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.

The meeting came after US officials warned that Russia and North Korea are “actively advancing” in a potential arms deal that could see Pyongyang provide weapons for Moscow to use in its faltering Ukraine war in exchange for sanctioned ballistic missile technology.

Putin was asked if he discussed military-technical cooperation with Kim during the leaders’ meeting. In his response, Putin acknowledged the certain restrictions in place, which Moscow fully complies with, but admitted there are areas open for discussion and consideration, suggesting the presence of potential prospects for cooperation.

“Well, there are certain restrictions, and Russia complies with all these restrictions,” Putin told state-owned Russia 1. “But there are things that we can of course talk about, discuss, think about it. And here too there are prospects,” he added.

Kim said before a toast at a state dinner with Putin that he is “certain that the Russian people and its military will emerge victorious in the fight to punish the evil forces that ambitiously pursues hegemony and expansion.”

Without naming Ukraine, Kim said the “Russian military and its people will inherit the shining tradition of victory” and demonstrate their reputation on the frontline of “military operation,” the euphemistic phrasing Moscow uses to describe its illegal invasion of Ukraine.

“I will always be standing with Russia,” Kim said, praising Moscow for having “stood up against the hegemonic forces” to defend its sovereignty and security, a veiled reference to the United States and the West.

In return, Putin signaled a willingness to assist North Korea in developing its space and satellite program.

“The leader of North Korea shows great interest in space, in rocketry, and they are trying to develop space. We’ll show our new objects,” Putin said. “We’ll talk about all the issues without haste, there is time.”

Video released by the Kremlin Wednesday showed the two leaders shaking hands before touring the space center and adjoining rocket complex, where launch vehicles are assembled and tested, according to Russian state media.

North Korea has made space technology a priority – but has some ways to go, having tried and failed twice this year to launch a spy satellite into orbit.

Kim has also stressed the role of military satellites as a means to protect national safety and territorial stability and has spoken of their strategic value when deploying military force preemptively, North Korean state media reported in April.

Providing this technology to North Korea would be in violation of international sanctions, aimed at hampering Pyongyang’s ability to build a fully functioning nuclear weapons and ballistic missile force.

The talks between the two leaders, which lasted a total of five hours, were “very substantive,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, according to RIA. Peskov claimed North Korea “shows huge interest in developing bilateral ties with Russia.”

Putin also described to Russia 1 the initial “candid exchange of views” as “highly productive.”

Responding to the summit, US ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Russia’s engagement with North Korea was a mark of its desperation.

Why the meeting at a space center matters

During the tour, the two leaders inspected the complex where Russia plans to launch its next generation of spacecraft.

The facilities were built to receive launch vehicles, conduct pre-launch preparations, launches, and post-launch operations, state news agency TASS reported.

Analysts say the location of Wednesday’s summit at the space center was significant.

Moscow is in need of fresh supplies of ammunition and shells after more than 18 months of war in Ukraine has left its military battered, while North Korea, which has faced years of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program, is short of everything from hard cash and food to missile technology.

North Korea has also signaled the meeting would deepen ties between the two countries.

Kim arrived in Russia on Tuesday aboard his heavily-armored private train accompanied by party and military leaders, according to photos shared by North Korean state media.

During a stop at the border town Khasan Tuesday, where Kim was welcomed by Russian officials, the North Korean leader said his trip to Russia was a “clear manifestation” of Pyongyang “prioritizing the strategic importance” of Moscow-Pyongyang relations, state media reported.

Former US National Security Adviser John Bolton warned Tuesday that the meeting between Putin and Kim is “quite significant,” and “goes well beyond a potential arms deal.”

After the talks, Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said “North Korea is our close neighbor,” according to state media.

“And despite any comments from the outside, we will build relationships with our neighbors in a way that is beneficial to us and our neighbors,” he said.

Among Kim’s delegation are his second-in-command of the military, Ri Pyong Chol, a target of US and UN sanctions for his role in leading the country’s ballistic missile programs as the former head of Department of the Munitions Industry, photos from KCNA show. His sister and high-level official Kim Yo Jong was also seen standing alongside her brother while he signed a guest book.

Accompanying Putin was Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who visited Pyongyang in July. Putin told reporters Wednesday that Shoigu “was well received” in North Korea and “we have a lot of questions.”

North Korea fires ballistic missiles

Hours before the summit, North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The two ballistic missiles fired by North Korea each traveled about 650 kilometers (400 miles) before falling into the sea, it added.

US and South Korean intelligence authorities were analyzing further details of the launch, said the JCS which called it “a significant provocative act” that threatens peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as the international community.”

Analysts say it’s unusual for Pyongyang to conduct a launch while Kim is out of the country.

North Korea may be intending “to show that the military maintains readiness with uninterrupted command and control,” Easley, the professor of international studies, said.

“It is also remarkable that North Korea fires missiles subject to UN sanctions while Kim is in Russia to meet with the leader of a permanent member of the Security Council,” Easley added.

Thousands of mourners gathered in eastern South Africa on Saturday for the state funeral of Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

The veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, died last week aged 95.

Mourners – some dressed in traditional Zulu outfits made of leopard and other animal skins and holding shields crafted from cow hides – gathered at a stadium in the town of Ulundi, where they danced, sang and cheered ahead of the service.

South African media reported that two giraffes and six impalas had been slaughtered and skinned as part of the ritual preparations.

Buthelezi, the founder of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) who served two terms as Minister of Home Affairs in the post-apartheid government after reconciling with his governing African National Congress (ANC) rival, had undergone a procedure for back pain in July and was later readmitted to hospital when it did not subside.

He founded the IFP in 1975 and it became the dominant force in what is now KwaZulu-Natal province.

Like the ANC, he was critical of white minority rule, which had relegated Zulus and other Black South Africans to downsized ‘homelands.’

But his Zulu nationalist movement became entangled in bloody conflicts with the ANC in the 1980s and 1990s. The ANC was dominated by members of the rival Xhosa nation, and its leaders saw Buthelezi’s on-off willingness to work with the apartheid authorities as a betrayal of all Black South Africans.

The two parties made peace when Buthelezi decided to participate in South Africa’s 1994 election, the first national poll since the end of white minority rule, which brought Nelson Mandela to power.

By then some 20,000 people had been killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes in fighting between Buthelezi’s supporters and those of the ANC, as a result of which critics dubbed Buthelezi a war lord. He stepped down as IFP leader in 2019.

It all seems so daunting: plastics in the ocean, dying coral reefs, entire species being wiped out – but don’t click away in despair!

There really are things everyone can do to help make the ocean cleaner and keep our environment healthier.

Here are some easy (or mostly easy) life changes that have a big impact on our environment.

Eat fish responsibly

Whenever you eat fish, make sure you choose a sustainable variety that isn’t endangered.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “Seafood Watch” program has online guides detailing which fish are your best bets. All of these directories, broken up by region, can be downloaded into a printable pocket guide – so if you’re a seafood lover, it’s a handy resource to keep nearby.

The most consumed seafoods in the US are shrimp, salmon and tuna. If those are among your go-to choices, some more environmentally responsible options to look for include shrimp from the US or Canada; salmon caught in the US Pacific or Canada; and canned tuna labeled “pole-caught,” “pole-and-line-caught,” or “troll-caught.”

How your fish is caught is important. You want to make sure you’re not consuming fish caught in nets that are notorious for trapping “bycatch” – turtles, seabirds and whales often get caught in those lines and die.

And since whales do an excellent job trapping planet-warming carbon emissions – even better than trees – keeping them in the ocean helps us all.

Avoid single-use plastic

This is a big one…and one of the worst problems facing the ocean, landfills and even our bodies!

Jennifer Savage of Surfrider Foundation suggests supporting businesses that avoid single-use plastics.

If your favorite restaurant still uses plastics, she tells diners to refuse the plastic forks and gently suggest the management move to a more sustainable takeaway option (like bamboo utensils and paper containers and straws) or – even better – go with washable plates and cutlery.

“It saves money, too. If they’re spending all this money buying single-use plastic, a small investment in a dishwasher and reusable cutlery will save money in the long run.”

Also, she says, consumers are realizing they prefer the less-disposable options.

“People love it, people are so much happier. Think about how much better it feels to have a meal with metal utensils and a real plate.”

As consumers begin to worry about things like microplastics making their way into their bodies, this is a “no-brainer” for restaurants, she says.

“They found plastic in our bodies…people don’t want to eat off plastic plates with plastic utensils.”

Surfrider Foundation even has a helpful online guide, highlighting ocean-friendly restaurants.

That plastic isn’t really recyclable

It’s important to realize that most plastic doesn’t get recycled, according to Savage. She says the US rate of plastic recycling is only about 5% to 6%.

“Things that have a number on them … that’s just a fallacy. That stuff just gets sorted out and put into the landfill,” Savage says. Ditto for that “chasing arrow” symbol you see on the bottom of many plastic containers, she says. Most of it still isn’t recyclable.

Some states, including California, are starting to crack down on that misleading labeling and aren’t allowing the symbol to appear on plastic that isn’t recyclable.

So whenever you can: skip single-use plastic and Styrofoam. Support businesses that are part of the solution. And talk to your representatives about phasing it out.

Why beach clean-ups help

Picking up trash on the beach won’t solve the problem on its own, but it is really important, says Savage.

“At that moment in time, you’re going to have a cleaner beach. You will have less plastic in your environment. Cleaning it up and leaving it better than you found it makes you feel good.”

And that “feeling good” often leads to activism. “Next thing you know, they’re going to city council meetings, contacting their representatives.”

Another bonus of participating in a beach clean-up? It allows organizations to gather data about the most common items that end up as beach litter.

“In California, you don’t see as many single-use plastic bags, so you don’t see them [on the beach as often] anymore. It helps people to see what the biggest problems are. Whether it’s plastic chip bags, or cigarette butts, or whatever.”

Choosing the right personal care items (and don’t moisturize with sharks!)

Autumn Blum is a cosmetic chemist by day, and a shark-obsessed scuba diver on the weekends.

She spent years formulating skin products for other companies before striking out on her own to create a mineral sunscreen business. Her inspiration? Seeing a group of snorkelers surrounded by a circle of oily film on the water, formed by the chemical sunscreens they had slathered on. She was horrified, knowing the chemicals were deadly for coral and many fish.

“There are so many things that impact our waters. Something that we use on our bodies should not be one of them. Period,” says Blum. “That’s an easy piece that we can change to make a positive impact.”

Blum says recent chemical sunscreen bans are already making a difference in places like Hawaii, with reefs coming back to life. She’s also encouraged by efforts to renew coral reefs via coral planting.

There’s still no mutually agreed-upon term to describe what’s “reef-safe,” so what you really need to do is avoid certain ingredients that are known to be harmful, Blum says.

Avoid microbeads

Blum also encourages consumers to make sure they don’t buy products that contain microbeads.

After you wash them off your face or body, those microbeads go down the drain, pass right through your local wastewater plant, and dump into the ocean. From there, they can be eaten by fish.

Humans then eat the fish that have eaten the microbeads…and that’s another way we end up with microplastics in our bodies.

Shark-friendly moisturizer

Many new moisturizers are touting “squalane” as their new miracle ingredient.

It is a common ingredient in sunscreens, cosmetics, and high-end skin products. “The unfortunate thing about squalane is that it’s frequently obtained from shark livers,” says Blum.

Many species of sharks are facing extinction, and several of those species are considered “critically endangered.”

Plant-based squalanes work just as well as shark-based ones, Blum says. So when reading your ingredient label, make sure it says “vegan squalane” or “plant-based squalane.” Otherwise, advises Blum, assume it comes from sharks.

The future is fungus

Now for the good news: Materials are being developed that could revolutionize all our packaging, Blum says.

Mycelium, made from mushrooms, performs a lot like current plastics.

Meanwhile, researchers at Yale have discovered a separate fungus with tantalizing abilities to break down polyurethane. It will be awhile, Blum says, but “really cool” technology based on plastic-eating mushrooms could be in our future.

“It’s not commercial-ready, but it’s on the horizon,” she says.

So forget “The Last of Us.” The mushrooms may save us all.