Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was stunned by third seed Daniil Medvedev on Friday at the semifinals of the US Open, as the Spaniard crashed to just his second grand slam defeat since his title-winning run at last year’s tournament.

Medvedev produced a “12 out of 10” performance, he told reporters afterwards, to defeat Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 and advance to his third career US Open final and his fifth career grand slam final.

Despite an assured start from the world No. 1, Medvedev saved the only two break points of the first set and later won the tiebreak 7-3 with four straight points, two of which were winners.

Alcaraz looked visibly flustered in the second set and Medvedev won 16 out of 18 points on his serve, taking the set easily 6-1.

“I don’t think I’m going to think about this loss for a long time,” Alcaraz told reporters afterwards. “Of course, I have to learn about it. I want to be better. These kinds of matches help you a lot to be better and grow up in these situations.”

After a bathroom break, Alcaraz, the youngest world No. 1 of all time and still only 20 years old, looked revitalized and quickly took the first game. He waved his arms up at the crowd who responded with a huge ovation and the two-time grand slam winner went on to take the third set 6-3.

Medvedev regrouped in the fourth set and secured a crucial break point after an astonishing seven deuce game to creep closer to a memorable victory. He then sealed the win after fending off three break points in his final service game, and closed out his fourth match point with an overhead smash.

It was “amazing” to advance to the final, Medvedev told the ESPN broadcast afterwards.

“Especially beating someone like Carlos (Alcaraz). I lost two times easy against him this year so before the match for sure a lot of doubt. Could I impose my game to him? What should I do better? Finally, amazing match for my side and I’m really happy to be here on Sunday.”

In his young career, Alcaraz has yet to win from two sets down, although he has nine wins and just one loss in five set matches.

Medvedev will now face Novak Djokovic for the title in a rematch of the 2021 US Open final in which the Russian defeated Djokovic in straight sets.

Hurricane Lee maintained major hurricane status Friday evening as the powerful storm’s indirect – yet dangerous – impacts were expected to reach the waters of the East Coast as early as this weekend.

The hurricane, now a Category 3 storm that briefly strengthened to a rare Category 5 in the Atlantic Ocean, is packing destructive maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and is about 440 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands as of 11 p.m. ET Friday.

“Some fluctuations in intensity are likely over the next few days, however Lee is expected to remain a powerful major hurricane through early next week,” the National Hurricane Center said.

It’s too soon to know whether this system will directly impact the US mainland, but the storm will create dangerous coastal conditions like rip currents and large waves along the East Coast as soon as Sunday regardless of its final track.

Lee, which was a Category 1 storm Thursday, intensified with exceptional speed in warm ocean waters, more than doubling its wind speeds to 165 mph in just a day.

The storm’s winds increased by 85 mph in a 24-hour period, which tied it with Hurricane Matthew for the third-fastest rapid intensification in the Atlantic, according to NOAA research meteorologist John Kaplan. The monstrous hurricane struck Haiti in 2016, killing hundreds in the Caribbean nation while also wreaking havoc on parts of the US Southeast.

The center of Lee will pass to the north of the Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend and into early next week. Tropical storm conditions, life-threatening surf and rip currents could occur on some of these islands over the weekend.

Lee now in rare company

Lee hit a rare strength that few storms have ever achieved. Only 2% of storms in the Atlantic reach Category 5 strength, according to NOAA’s hurricane database. Including Lee, only 40 Category 5 hurricanes have roamed the Atlantic since 1924.

Category 5 is the highest level on the hurricane wind speed scale and has no maximum point. Hurricanes hit this level when their sustained winds reach 157 mph or higher. A 165-mph storm like Lee is the same category as Hurricane Allen, the Atlantic’s strongest hurricane on record, which topped out at 190 mph in 1980.

Hurricanes need the perfect mixture of warm water, moist air and light upper-level winds to intensify enough to reach Category 5 strength. Lee had all of these, especially warm water amid the warmest summer on record.

Sea-surface temperatures across the portion of the Atlantic Ocean that Lee is tracking through are a staggering 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal after rising to “far above record levels” this summer, according to David Zierden, Florida’s state climatologist.

Reaching Category 5 strength has become more common over the last decade. Lee is the 8th Category 5 since 2016, meaning 20% of these exceptionally powerful hurricanes on record in NOAA’s hurricane database have come in the last seven years.

The Atlantic is not the only ocean to have spawned a monster storm in 2023. All seven ocean basins where tropical cyclones can form have had a storm reach Category 5 strength so far this year, including Hurricane Jova, which reached Category 5 status in the eastern Pacific earlier this week.

How close will Hurricane Lee get to the US?

Computer model trends for Lee have shown the hurricane taking a turn to the north early next week. But exactly when that turn occurs and how far west Lee will manage to track by then will play a huge role in how close it gets to the US.

Several steering factors at the surface and upper levels of the atmosphere will determine how close Lee will get to the East Coast.

An area of high pressure over the Atlantic, known as the Bermuda High, will have a major influence in how quickly Lee turns. The Bermuda High is expected to remain very strong into the weekend, which will keep Lee on its current west-northwestward track and slow it down a bit.

As the high pressure weakens next week it will allow Lee to start moving northward.

Once that turn to the north occurs, the position of the jet stream – strong upper-level winds that can change the direction of a hurricane’s path – will influence how closely Lee is steered to the US.

Scenario: Out to Sea

Lee could make a quick turn to the north early next week if high pressure weakens significantly.

If the jet stream sets up along the East Coast, it will act as a barrier that prevents Lee from approaching the coast. This scenario would keep Lee farther away from the US coast but could bring the storm closer to Bermuda.

Scenario: Close to East Coast

Lee could make a slower turn to the north because the high pressure remains robust, and the jet stream sets up farther inland over the Eastern US. This scenario would leave portions of the East Coast, mainly north of the Carolinas, vulnerable to a much closer approach from Lee.

All these factors have yet to come into focus, and the hurricane is still at least seven days from being a threat to the East Coast. Any potential US impact will become more clear as the Lee moves west in the coming days.

In travel news this week: Bodily fluids erupt on flights across North America, the upcoming “cruise that never ends” and quiet getaways where you can escape Europe’s tourist throngs.

Quiet zones

Greece has started limiting daily visitors to the Acropolis because of tourist bottlenecks and “unpleasant conditions,” while next year, Venice will become the first city in the world to introduce an entrance fee for day-trippers.

So much for Europe’s overcrowded big hitters. To truly get away from it all, we have a few suggestions. First, there’s the Greek island of Hydra, where cars are banned and the small local population gets around using mules, donkeys and small horses.

You could also try Datça, an untouched Turkish peninsula with natural rugged scenery that feels worlds away from the hubbub of tourist towns in this busy corner of the Med.

Finally, there’s the Finnish island of Ulko-Tammio, which this summer declared itself the world’s first phone-free tourist island. One of Finland’s 41 national parks, the island is uninhabited by people, but is home to many rare birds and plants.

Emergency evacuation

On-board liquids are typically limited by airport security, but unfortunately, they were free-flowing on two recent flights across North America. (Assume the brace position: Some gruesome tales ahead.)

Air Canada has apologized after two passengers on a flight from Las Vegas to Montreal last month were told to sit in poorly cleaned seats that were still covered in vomit from a previous flight.

And a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Barcelona on September 1 was forced to do a U-turn after a passenger “had diarrhea all the way through the airplane,” creating a biohazard issue.

It concludes a summer of effluence that began in June when a traveler on an Air France flight was handed wet wipes by cabin crew after he found his footwell still wet with blood and feces from a previous passenger.

Cruise control

The organizers behind the much-heralded three-year cruise have decided that 1,095 days is just not long enough to spend adrift on the waters. Life at Sea Cruises’ showstopper trip, set to launch in November, will now continue indefinitely, with an ever-evolving itinerary. If the idea of a floating Hotel California appeals, read on.

You’ll have to wait til December 2024 to sail on Disney’s sixth addition to its growing cruise line. The Disney Treasure will be filled with pop culture themes, with nods to Marvel superheroes, “The Lion King,” “Star Wars” and more.

Adrenaline rush

Want to escape the doom loop of the daily news cycle? Have you considered riding a loop-the-loop instead? A heap of new theme parks has opened around the world, and when it comes to fresh perspectives on life, there’s nothing quite like literally hanging upside down.

If you like your action adventure wet ‘n’ wild, Abu Dhabi has built a white water river in the middle of a hot desert. It’s in Al Ain Adventure Park, the Middle East’s first destination for white water rafting, kayaking and surfing.

Finally, for travelers of a more mindful, celestial bent, a luxury tented camp in Utah is the world’s first lodging to receive certification from DarkSky International because of its stunning stargazing opportunities unhindered by today’s artificial-light-filled world.

Final call

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Category 3 Hurricane Lee remains hundreds of miles east of the Caribbean early Saturday, yet forecasters say the storm’s effects may have an impact on the US Atlantic seaboard as early as this weekend.

Lee was just shy of 400 miles east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands as of 5 a.m. ET Saturday, whipping up maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane, which earlier reached Category 5 status, could further weaken Saturday but is expected to re-strengthen over the weekend and remain strong into the middle of next week.

“Confidence in the intensity forecast is low at the moment, although it is likely that Lee will remain a dangerous hurricane for at least the next 5 days,” the hurricane center said Friday.

And while it’s still too early to determine whether this storm will directly impact the US mainland, Lee is expected to bring dangerous coastal conditions, including rip currents and large waves to parts of the US as soon as Sunday – regardless of its final track.

“Dangerous surf and rip currents are expected to begin along most of the US East Coast Sunday and Monday and worsen through the week,” the hurricane center said.

Caribbean islands will be similarly impacted by the storm as it moves slowly west-northwest through the Atlantic. Lee is expected to pass “well to the north” of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the northern Leeward Islands, forecasters said.

“Swells generated by Lee are affecting portions of the Lesser Antilles,” the hurricane center warned Friday night. The British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda will also face swells this weekend that can bring life-threatening surf and rip conditions.

Lee enters rare company

Lee hit a rare strength that few storms have ever achieved. Only 2% of storms in the Atlantic reach Category 5 strength, according to NOAA’s hurricane database. Including Lee, only 40 Category 5 hurricanes have roamed the Atlantic since 1924.

Lee, which was a Category 1 storm Thursday, intensified with exceptional speed in warm ocean waters, more than doubling its wind speeds to 165 mph in just a day.

The storm’s winds increased by 85 mph in a 24-hour period, which tied it with Hurricane Matthew for the third-fastest rapid intensification in the Atlantic, according to NOAA research meteorologist John Kaplan. The monstrous hurricane struck Haiti in 2016, killing hundreds in the Caribbean nation while also wreaking havoc on parts of the US Southeast.

Category 5 is the highest level on the hurricane wind speed scale and has no maximum point. Hurricanes hit this level when their sustained winds reach 157 mph or higher. A 165-mph storm like Lee is the same category as Hurricane Allen, the Atlantic’s strongest hurricane on record, which topped out at 190 mph in 1980.

Hurricanes need the perfect mixture of warm water, moist air and light upper-level winds to intensify enough to reach Category 5 strength. Lee had all of these, especially warm water amid the warmest summer on record.

Sea-surface temperatures across the portion of the Atlantic Ocean that Lee is tracking through are a staggering 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal after rising to “far above record levels” this summer, according to David Zierden, Florida’s state climatologist.

Reaching Category 5 strength has become more common over the last decade. Lee is the 8th Category 5 since 2016, meaning 20% of these exceptionally powerful hurricanes on record in NOAA’s hurricane database have come in the last seven years.

The Atlantic is not the only ocean to have spawned a monster storm in 2023. All seven ocean basins where tropical cyclones can form have had a storm reach Category 5 strength so far this year, including Hurricane Jova, which reached Category 5 status in the eastern Pacific earlier this week.

How close will Hurricane Lee get to the US?

Computer model trends for Lee have shown the hurricane taking a turn to the north early next week. But exactly when that turn occurs and how far west Lee will manage to track by then will play a huge role in how close it gets to the US.

Several steering factors at the surface and upper levels of the atmosphere will determine how close Lee will get to the East Coast.

An area of high pressure over the Atlantic, known as the Bermuda High, will have a major influence in how quickly Lee turns. The Bermuda High is expected to remain very strong into the weekend, which will keep Lee on its current west-northwestward track and slow it down a bit.

As the high pressure weakens next week it will allow Lee to start moving northward.

Once that turn to the north occurs, the position of the jet stream – strong upper-level winds that can change the direction of a hurricane’s path – will influence how closely Lee is steered to the US.

Scenario: Out to Sea

Lee could make a quick turn to the north early next week if high pressure weakens significantly.

If the jet stream sets up along the East Coast, it will act as a barrier that prevents Lee from approaching the coast. This scenario would keep Lee farther away from the US coast but could bring the storm closer to Bermuda.

Scenario: Close to East Coast

Lee could make a slower turn to the north because the high pressure remains robust, and the jet stream sets up farther inland over the Eastern US. This scenario would leave portions of the East Coast, mainly north of the Carolinas, vulnerable to a much closer approach from Lee.

All these factors have yet to come into focus, and the hurricane is still at least seven days from being a threat to the East Coast. Any potential US impact will become more clear as the Lee moves west in the coming days.

Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled to federally decriminalize abortion on Wednesday, finding that the current ban on the procedure is unconstitutional.

“The First Chamber of the Court ruled that the legal system that penalizes abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional, since it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate,” the Supreme Court said on social media.

Abortion has already been decriminalized in 12 states in Mexico. The most recent ruling, which took place in the central state of Aguascalientes just days ago, was lauded online, Reuters reported, with rights activists posting green hearts on social media.

The hearts represent the so-called Green Wave, the social movement for reproductive rights that has swept Latin America since the start of this century.

Mexico’s Supreme Court first said that it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion in 2021, ruling against a law in the state of Coahuila, which threatened women who undergo abortions with up to three years prison and a fine.

The country has become an unexpected haven for US residents after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Senior Western officials are visiting the United Arab Emirates to discuss sanctions as concerns mount over goods being exported to Russia that could potentially be used in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the visit, said that it comes as part of “a collective global push to keep computer chips, electronic components and other so-called dual-use products, which have both civilian and military applications, out of Russian hands.”

Last week, chip manufacturing giant Nvidia said in a regulatory filing that the US government had added additional licensing requirements for its H100 and A100 chips, which are often used for generative artificial intelligence, for customers in the Middle East. The new restriction comes amid US concerns over technology transfer to sanctioned countries.

It’s unclear which Middle Eastern states the additional measures target, or why they were placed. A US Department of Commerce spokesperson denied that the US is blocking chip sales to the Middle East, Reuters said.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are reportedly buying thousands of Nvidia chips used to build artificial intelligence software, the Financial Times said in August citing “people familiar with the moves”.

Asked about the chip sale restrictions, a UAE foreign ministry official said the country operates “one of the most sophisticated customs systems in the region.”

The UAE has invested large sums in developing an artificial intelligence program and has a ministry dedicated to the technology. It is currently building large language models (LLMs) using advanced microchips.

An AI language model named “Falcon LLM”was launched earlier this year by the UAE’s Technology Innovation Institute, and an Arabic language AI model named “Jais” was unveiled by Abu Dhabi-based developer G42 last week.

UAE ‘abides by UN sanctions’

Russia is under a barrage of sanctions from the US and other Western nations following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. But most of these are primary sanctions, which can only be enforced within the territory of the sanctioning country.

Western officials have visited the UAE several times over the past two years to warn the regional business hub that helping Moscow evade sanctions wouldn’t be without consequences.

The US has previously sanctioned entities and individuals in the UAE for sanctions evasion, including two UAE-based air transportation firms for collaborating with a sanctioned Iranian firm to transport Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), personnel, and related equipment from Iran to Russia.

“The UAE strictly abides by UN sanctions and has clear and robust processes in place to deal with sanctioned entities, which has been exercised against a number of companies,” the UAE foreign ministry official said.

The UAE central bank in March cancelled a license granted to Russia’s MTS Bank after it came under US and British sanctions.

The Gulf state has walked a tightrope between Washington and Moscow since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, opting to remain neutral as it sees the world order moving toward multipolarity. It has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but has expanded economic ties with Moscow.

Last week, the UAE was one of six nations, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, to be invited to join BRICS, a grouping of nations effectively led by China with Russia. The UAE hasn’t officially accepted the invitation.

The bloc held its first summit in 2009 with four members before adding South Africa the following year. In 2015, it launched a lender known as the New Development Bank.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv on Wednesday for his third trip to the Ukrainian capital since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, where he doubled down on US support for Kyiv’s counteroffensive, announcing more than a billion dollars of additional US aid and underscoring for an audience back home why the US needs to commit billions of dollars more to help defeat Vladmir Putin.

Blinken said the US is “determined to continue to walk side-by-side” with Ukraine when he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as he called the country’s progress in the counteroffensive “very, very encouraging.”

Zelensky said it is always a “great message of support” for Ukraine when US officials visit, noting that this is a “tough period” for his country.

The top US diplomat announced more than a billion dollars in additional funding for Kyiv’s war effort as the Biden administration braces for a political struggle to secure more money from Congress.

“In the ongoing counteroffensive, progress has accelerated in the past few weeks. This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum,” Blinken said at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

The new package includes up to $175 million to replenish Ukrainian forces with weaponry that the US has given to the country in the past including: air defense system components, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems for HIMARS, munitions, ammunition, and communications systems, according to a State Department fact sheet. These weapons will come from Pentagon stocks.

The military assistance includes depleted-uranium munitions for the first time.

The aid also contains $100 million for long-term military support, $90 million to assist demining efforts, $300 million to support law enforcement efforts, $200 million for transparency and anti-corruption efforts and $200 million for humanitarian assistance.

Blinken also said that the US will be transferring seized Russian assets to Ukraine for the first time. He did not say how much those assets amounted to, or precisely when the transfer would happen.

“Those who have enabled Putin’s war of aggression should pay for it,” Blinken said.

Blinken’s visit to Kyiv came less than a month after President Joe Biden asked for more than $24 billion to help Ukraine defeat Russia, as some polls show the American public’s support for continued funding is softening. This visit aimed to help the administration make the case for that continued support to the American people, a senior US State Department official said.

‘What happens here has profound repercussions’

“We’re standing with, standing up for Ukraine. But we’re also standing up for the very principles that are at the heart of the international system that are necessary to help us keep peace, stability and security around the world, ” Blinken said as he visited with US diplomats in the country. “And what happens here has profound repercussions quite literally, around the world.”

The trip came as Ukraine’s counteroffensive moves into its fourth month, with both political and military leaders in Kyiv talking up recent gains, especially in the south of the country, following growing concerns the concerted push on the battlefield has failed to produce results.

Speaking alongside Blinken, Zelensky expressed gratitude to Biden and to the US Congress for showing “great unity” in a bipartisan fashion on aid towards Ukraine.

His comments came as Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made the case in Washington that it is “not the time to go wobbly” on support for Ukraine, while some of his colleagues in the House have voiced opposition to continued support for Ukraine.

Blinken’s first stop on Wednesday was at a military cemetery, where he laid a wreath in honor of Ukraine’s fallen soldiers.

Meeting with Kubela, Blinken said he was again “struck by the extraordinary bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian forces, Ukraine’s leadership.”

“We’ve seen good progress in the counteroffensive, which is very heartening. We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in the counteroffensive, but it has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent… so that in the future, aggressions like this don’t happen again,” Blinken added.

He added he wanted to work with partners to “build and rebuild a strong economy (and) a strong democracy” in Ukraine.

Blinken will remain in Ukraine on Thursday.

Aid package includes depleted uranium munitions

The aid package include depleted uranium munitions for the first time.

The munitions can be fired from the US-made Abrams tanks that are set to arrive in Ukraine this fall. The munitions can pierce armored plates like those found on tanks because they are made of a highly dense metal, a byproduct from fuel production for nuclear power plants. Depleted uranium rounds are nearly 70% denser than lead, which is the metal used in standard rounds of ammunition.

The UK Defense Ministry confirmed in March that it would be sending ammunition containing depleted uranium to Ukraine, which sparked a protest from Russia.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that depleted uranium is “considerably less radioactive than natural uranium.” The agency added that the “main conclusion” of studies done of the health of military personnel exposed to depleted uranium is that exposure could not be linked to any statistically significant increases in the personnel’s mortality rates.

The visit by Washington’s top diplomat was an opportunity for the United States and Ukraine to align ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later this month, the senior state department official told reporters traveling with Blinken.

“The Ukrainians have an important mission in New York to continue to explain – to their allies and partners around the world – what’s going on and their continued need for support. And it’s important for us to continue to lead that global effort to support them,” the official said.

“Having a chance to consult and align before we get to New York is very, very important.”

The official reiterated an argument for supporting Ukraine that Biden has made in the past, saying that it is about “dictators and autocrats not being able to bite off a piece of their neighbor and get to keep it live that way with impunity.”

While some US officials have been privately critical of Ukraine’s counteroffensive strategy, the official would not delve into specifics other than to say that now is the right time to “come and assess” how the counteroffensive is going.

Blinken arrived in Kyiv Wednesday morning after making an overnight journey by train from Poland, in common with almost all high-profile visitors to the war-torn city, including Biden.

In April 2022 Blinken made the trip with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, just a few weeks after Russian forces had withdrawn from areas immediately to the north of the Ukrainian capital. His second trip was in September last year as Ukraine’s first big counteroffensive was underway in the Kharkiv region.

According to the State Department, Blinken also briefly went into Ukraine in March 2022, when he met on the border with Foreign Minister Kuleba.

The United Kingdom is set to classify Russia’s Wagner mercenary group as a terrorist organization, a move that will open the door to prosecution of its members and supporters.

The decision – which puts the the organization into the same category as the likes of al Qaeda, ISIS and Boko Haram – comes with the group weakened and the UK government facing questions on why it took so long to proscribe it.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and the group’s field commander Dmitriy Utkin died last month in what Western officials believe was a deliberate plane crash, two months after Prigozhin staged a short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin, the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power in more than two decades.

Most security experts doubt Wagner will survive in its current form without Prigozhin, but that has not stopped the UK to move against the group.

In a statement on Wednesday, the UK Home Office said the designation will make it “illegal to be a member or support Wagner Group” and punishable by up to 14 years in jail. The listing will also ban promoting the group, arranging or addressing its meetings and showing its logo in public.

“They are terrorists, plain and simple – and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law. Wagner has been involved in looting, torture, and barbarous murders. Its operations in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa are a threat to global security,” UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in the statement. The order still needs to be passed in parliament.

The inclusion on the the terror list will also allow the government to seize Wagner’s property, which could pave a way for Ukrainians seeking to sue Wagner for compensation through the British court system.

In November, a UK law firm launched a lawsuit against Wagner on behalf of Ukrainian refugees living in Britain, seeking compensation for the damage from Russian aggression.

‘Not enough’ to sanction Wagner

The UK government sanctioned Wagner last year, describing it at the time as “Russian mercenaries reportedly tasked with assassinating President Zelensky.”

But it has been under pressure for months to designate the group a terrorist organization. A parliamentary report concluded in June that the government had “underplayed and underestimated” Wagner’s activities for nearly 10 years and was “remarkably complacent” about the role of mercenary groups.

The report specifically said that it was not enough to sanction Wagner and that the government needed to proscribe it as a terror group.

Many of Ukraine’s Western allies have imposed sanctions on Wagner and its top officials. But these sanctions appear to have had only limited impact on the mercenary group’s operations in Ukraine and across several countries in Africa.

The US Treasury Department designated Wagner a “transnational criminal organization” in January.

The Biden administration was considering designating the group as a foreign terrorist organization but has not done that so far. A bipartisan group of members of Congress has called for the designation.

In February, the European Union followed by adding Wagner to its global human rights sanctions regime.

Lithuania and Estonia have classified the group as a terrorist organization. In May, the French parliament passed a resolution calling on the EU to add Wagner to the EU list of terrorist groups.

The UK government is hoping that the inclusion of Wagner on the lists will put extra pressure on the group at a time when its future is already very uncertain.

For years, the Kremlin denied the existence of Wagner. But Wagner managed to secure several symbolic victories for Russia in its assault on Ukraine, especially in the bitter fighting around the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The group became more visible and Putin himself recently acknowledged it was funded by the Russian state.

Wagner’s power started to diminish in late spring and over the summer, as Kremlin tried to limit Prigozhin’s growing influence. When Prigozhin ordered his men to march on Moscow in late June, his fate appeared to be sealed. The group was officially exiled to Belarus after the short-lived mutiny ended and Prigozhin more or less disappeared from the public eye.

The Kremlin will now need to decide what to do next with the group – whether to legalize it and make it part of the Russian armed forces, or let it continue on in some other form. It is unclear whether the terrorist designation will have any impact on that decision.

Team USA has crashed out of the FIBA Basketball World Cup with a shock 113-111 loss in the semifinals against Germany.

The US was considered an overwhelming favorite to win the World Cup and took a strong team to the Philippines. However, following a disappointing performance, the US was the victim of a huge upset.

As expected, the semifinal match-up got off to a tight start. Neither team was able to take control throughout the opening two quarters with the US taking a slight 60-59 lead into halftime.

However, the third quarter saw the tide change and Germany seized its opportunity, catching the US sleeping following the break.

Germany outscored the US 35-24 in the third quarter and took a crucial 10-point lead into the final 10 minutes of the semifinal clash.

Led by Anthony Edwards and Austin Reaves, Team USA rallied in the fourth and a final quarter comeback looked to be on, but it proved to be too little, too late.

Germany held on resolutely, making key plays in the clutch, to book a spot in the FIBA Basketball World Cup final.

The loss represents another disappointing World Cup campaign for the US.

Despite taking a team full of NBA stars including Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson, it marks the second consecutive World Cup where the US has failed to reach the championship game.

“Terrible. Plain and simple,” Brunson told reporters of his performance against Germany.

“We knew the task at hand, that was to go and win and we didn’t do that,” Reaves added following the defeat.

Wooooooow

— Toni Kroos (@ToniKroos) September 8, 2023

“The game has been globalized over the last 30 years or so. These games are difficult. This is not 1992 anymore,” US head coach Steve Kerr told reporters postgame. “Players are better all over the world. Teams are better. It’s not easy to win a World Cup or an Olympic Games.”

The Germany team boasted a host of NBA players with Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner and Daniel Theis playing key roles throughout Germany’s World Cup run and the semifinal win.

Die Mannschaft will now face Serbia in the World Cup final with the US having to settle for a third-place playoff game against Canada. Both games will be played on Sunday with the third-place playoff acting as the curtain raiser for the final.

Hosts France won the opening game of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, beating fellow tournament favorites New Zealand 27-13 on Friday.

Damian Penaud’s second half try sparked a second half French scoring flurry in the hotly-contested clash in Paris, while Thomas Ramos added five penalties with his boot.

New Zealand winger Mark Telea scored twice, both times in the first few minutes of each half, but it wasn’t enough as Melvyn Jaminet’s late try sealed the win and gave France the perfect beginning to its World Cup campaign.

“We were expecting really hard opposition and it was a massive game. I’m proud to be French tonight,” France’s Gregory Alldritt said afterwards.

“It’s a great night for us … We are not champions now. We need go step by step.”

France next plays Uruguay in Lille while New Zealand attempts to claim its first points of the tournament as it takes on Namibia in Toulouse.

A late show

From hours before kick off, it was obvious there was a Rugby World Cup in town in Paris. And in particular, for those inside the Stade de France, the chance of watching two of rugby’s great teams do battle was an enticing one, leading to an electric atmosphere.

The atmosphere was only heightened in the moments before kickoff, with the All Blacks performing their traditional Haka, an enraptured Stade de France exploding in applause upon its conclusion.

However, it was New Zealand who got off to the perfect start within the opening two minutes, some attacking pressure resulting in Beuden Barrett’s beautiful cross-field kick being gathered by Telea on the wing to touch down and open the scoring with a try after just 93 seconds.

A penalty from Ramos got the hosts back within touching distance just minutes later and after some ferocious to-and-fro between two of rugby’s elite teams, France got itself ahead for the first time midway through the first half with another Ramos penalty.

Richie Mo’unga’s penalty handed New Zealand a slender lead once again before the players got a well-earned water break in the searing Paris heat.

Ramos got his hat trick of penalties midway through the half, blasting home from the halfway line as France once again regained the lead.

After a halftime break – with the players recuperating after a sapping first half – it was almost a mirror image of the first, with New Zealand scoring a try within just minutes as Telea once again touched down to cap off a sweeping move from one end of the pitch to the other.

In a moment of excellent rugby though, a quick break set Penaud free down the wing and it looked for all the world like he would score, only for New Zealand’s flyhalf Mo’unga to come out of nowhere and dislodge the ball with a try-saving intervention.

However, just minutes later, France did find the breakthrough after some sustained pressure, Penaud touching down as Les Bleus retook the lead.

With time ticking away and behind on the scoreboard, New Zealand pushed to assert some pressure but it proved too much as Will Jordan was penalized for an in-air collision with a French player resulting in a yellow card from referee Jaco Peyper and a 10-minute sin bin.

France made the man advantage count, Ramos scoring his fourth penalty of the game from close range to extend the lead to six points.

And try as it might to push for a route back into the game, Ramos’ fifth penalty of the game made it a two-score match and effectively wrapped up the result.

Jaminet’s late try after some fortuitous bounces sent the home fans wild as they were finally able to celebrate a momentous victory and one which almost certainly assures it of a favorable draw in the next stage of the tournament.

New Zealand on the other hand will have to do it the hard way if it wants to win a fourth World Cup, with the defeat likely meaning it will finish second in Pool A behind France barring any shocks, and as a result playing the winner of Pool B which will be one of South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga or Romania.