Even as Ukrainian forces have breached the first line of Russian defenses on part of the southern front, soldiers taking part in the counteroffensive have revealed just how difficult it is to make more than incremental gains in the face of complex and multi-layered fortifications.

Ukrainian units say they have take the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region, and are moving towards several others in a bid to bring the strategic hub of Tokmak within range of artillery.

One soldier, a communications specialist named Oleksandr Solonko, has written in detail about the challenges of making progress in the area, and his account is supported by others.

First, he says, the topography is important: fields, villages, relatively flat land.

“Whoever you are, an assault group…an evac[uation mission], an airborne or ground reconnaissance, your movement is visible from afar. The enemy has been preparing to meet you for a long time,” Solonko wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“There are a limited number of access roads and logistics routes. Everything has been shot at and shelled repeatedly every day. You are almost certainly being spotted. It is basically impossible to do the job while remaining completely invisible to the enemy.”

And Solonko says that Russian fortifications are elaborate.

“There is an entire system of trenches, dugouts, actual tunnels in some places … automatic grenade launchers, machine guns, anti-tank missile systems. Anti-tank ditches and minefields stretch across the fields,” he wrote. “What is not dug up is mined. We need to go through all this to move forward.”

In recent weeks, multiple accounts have told of Ukrainian sappers making slow progress as they try to remove a wide variety of mines, some set off by tripwires, that are intensively laid as a first line of defense by the Russians. It’s unclear whether minefields are as thick deeper into Russian lines, where they might interfere with Russian forces’ own ability to maneuver.

“Those who are very rosy-eyed and believe that the Ukrainian Armed Forces took a long time to knock the Russians out of Robotyne village have not seen the system of defenses that had to be overcome to push the Russians away from the Mariupol highway and approach the village, surround it and then enter. A tremendous amount of work has been done,” Solonko wrote.

“Our positions on the retaken territory are surrounded by mines and tripwires. Paths are being made to enter, sappers are gradually clearing the territory,” he added.

“Drones are hanging in the sky around the clock, both ours and theirs. So it is impossible to hide any movement of equipment, any maneuver immediately becomes known to the enemy and shelling begins either with artillery or drones,” he said.

The officer said that unlike in Bakhmut, an eastern city captured by the Russians in May after months of grueling fighting, there were no basements in which to shelter. “Here there are just open fields and bombed out forest plantations, of which there is practically nothing left.”

Analysts say there are deeply entrenched defenses further ahead. Satellite imagery of the village of Solodka Balka, seven kilometers south of Robotyne, show steel-reinforced communications trenches, vehicle shelters and dragons’ teeth aimed at obstructing Ukrainian armor.

OSINT analyst Emil Kastehelmi notes that “the Russians have built 100-350m long communication trenches, which helps them both reinforce or retreat from the fighting positions.”

“Heavy fortifications are built in order to block any potential advance on the main road towards Tokmak,” Kastehelmi said Sunday in a post on X.

In its latest front line assessment, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said: “Ukrainian forces are now within striking distance of the next series of Russian defensive positions, which appears to be comprised of a relatively more contiguous array of anti-tank ditches and dragon’s teeth anti-tank obstacles, with Russian fighting positions behind these obstacles similar to the previous layer of Russian defenses.”

“The highly interconnected systems of trenches and dugouts that the Ukrainian soldier described is the result of months of Russian preparation,” it said. “It is unclear if Russian forces extended that system throughout subsequent series of defensive positions further south.”

Solonko also acknowledged the loss of Ukrainian armor in the region “because of the enemy’s superiority in the air.”

“Guided aerial bombs are one of the biggest fears. The Russians use them on a massive scale. I can’t judge the accuracy, but the weapon is formidable in power,” he wrote in his posts on X.

The Russians are extensively using drones for surveillance and targeting Ukrainian positions, according to Solonko. “They identify targets and launch Lancets in swarms as well as guided bombs,” he added.

But he also writes that US-donated vehicles are saving lives: “We talked to a soldier who survived a direct attack twice in Bradley. Even the most hopelessly damaged equipment is pulled out and taken for repair.”

He also believes that the capture of Robotyne augurs well for the offensive, despite the many obstacles.

“I can understand why the Russians are so angry because of the loss of the village of 6 streets. They did a great job of not letting the Ukrainians through. It is easier to defend by all standards. We are doing a great job to break through. And when we succeed, it means our work is going better,” he wrote.

Libya’s internationally recognized government dismissed Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush on Sunday after a meeting she held with her Israeli counterpart sparked an uproar in the country.

Israel’s foreign ministry announced on Sunday night that the meeting had taken place in Rome last week.

The Libyan foreign ministry rejected reports that the meeting was officially sanctioned and said in a statement that it was “informal,” “unprepared” and “did not include negotiations or consultations.”

It added that Mangoush “reaffirmed Libya’s principles towards the Palestinian cause in a clear and unambiguous manner.”

Libya does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and normalization of ties remains a controversial issue in the country. Videos circulating on social media over the weekend showed Libyan protesters burning Israeli flags and attempting to enter the gates of a government building in Tripoli.

An Israeli source familiar with the situation appeared to dispute the Libyan account on Monday, saying the meeting with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was planned, and news that it had taken place was supposed to be made public at some point. The source requested anonymity to discuss diplomatic issues.

The source said there were discussions before the ministers met about publishing the fact of the meeting, but that “the timing of when it would be published wasn’t agreed on yet.”

The Israeli foreign ministry published its statement Sunday in response to questions from an Israeli journalist who got word of the meeting and asked the ministry about it, the source said. Israel told Mangoush that was what had happened, the source said.

Cohen earlier called the meeting “historic” and described it as “the first step in the connections between Israel and Libya.”

“I spoke with the foreign minister about the vast potential for the two countries from their relations, as well as the importance of preserving the heritage of Libyan Jewry, which includes renovating synagogues and Jewish cemeteries in the country,” Cohen was cited as saying by Israel’s foreign ministry.

Libya has fallen into chaos since a NATO-backed uprising overthrew former ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The country has been split into two rival governments, one in Tripoli and one in Benghazi, since 2014.

The parliament backing the eastern-based government denounced Mangoush’s meeting with Cohen and called for a “harsh punishment.”

Mangoush was Libya’s first female foreign minister.

The death earlier this year of former US swimming champion Jamie Cail has been ruled accidental and fentanyl related, according to a Facebook post from the US Virgin Islands Police Department.

An autopsy report from the US Virgin Islands Office of the Medical Examiner listed Cail’s cause of death as “fentanyl intoxication with aspiration of gastric content,” police said Friday.

Cail, 42, died in February on the island of St. John. Police said at the time that her boyfriend, who has not been identified, left a bar just after midnight to check on her and found her on the floor of their home.

The boyfriend and a friend took her to Myrah Keating-Smith Community Health Center where she was given CPR, authorities said.

Cail, who had previously lived in New Hampshire, ultimately “succumbed to her ailment,” officials added, saying she had died on arrival.

Fentanyl is a fully synthetic opioid, originally developed as a powerful anesthetic for surgery. It is also administered to alleviate severe pain associated with terminal illnesses like cancer.

The drug is up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, and just a small dose can be deadly. Illicitly produced fentanyl has been a driving factor in the number of overdose deaths in recent years.

Cail won gold at the 1997 Pan Pacific Championships as a member of the US women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay, according to FINA, the international governing body of swimming. She also won a silver medal in November 1998 at the FINA Swimming World Cup in Brazil in the women’s 800-meter freestyle.

USA Swimming said Cail was “a cherished teammate” in a February statement.

As a teenager, Cail spent some time at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, a private college-preparatory school known as a swimming and diving powerhouse.

“She was so tough… a serious competitor,” he said, noting she would push herself to total exhaustion during training. “But outside the pool, she was a very sweet and sensitive person.”

Cail was listed in the top 16 athletes nationwide in her age group in at least 10 events in US Swimming’s rankings for the 1996-97 season.

She swam briefly at the University of Southern California before transferring to the University of Maine where she earned a letter in her only season. She graduated in 2003.

The stage is set for another epic showdown between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open which starts on Monday.

The pair have thrilled tennis fans this season with two special matches, first in the Wimbledon final and then most recently at the Cincinnati Open.

Djokovic described last Sunday’s Cincinnati Open final victory over Alcaraz as “one of the toughest matches” of his career and the three-set, nearly four-hour clash will surely go down as one of tennis’ all-time great encounters.

World No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, Alcaraz and Djokovic played some otherworldly tennis in Cincinnati as the sport’s burgeoning rivalry continues to enthrall fans in the absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

In truth, it’s almost impossible to see a US Open winner beyond Alcaraz, the defending champion, and Djokovic with the pair simply in a league of their own compared to the rest of the draw.

A mere 20 points separate Alcaraz from Djokovic at the top of the world rankings, before a steep drop off of more than 3,500 points to Daniil Medvedev at No. 3.

Men’s tennis has been reliant on the epic rivalries between Nadal, Federer and Djokovic over the years and while it may be hyperbole to say Alcaraz’s emergence has saved the sport, the Spaniard’s rise certainly makes the transition into the next era significantly smoother.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable season in 2023, winning six titles that include Wimbledon – his second grand slam – and two Masters 1000 events.

After his stunning five-set win over Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, Alcaraz’s form briefly deserted him in a shock quarterfinal defeat to Tommy Paul at the Canadian Open but he bounced back brilliantly to play some of his best tennis of the season in his run to the final in Cincinnati.

Alcaraz enters the tournament as the top seed, and faces a possible quarterfinal rematch with Jannik Sinner, a year after their epic five-set classic which saw Alcaraz win at 2.50 a.m. setting a record for the latest finish for a match at the US Open.

He is also in the same side of the draw as third seed Medvedev who he could face in the semifinals.

“What Alcaraz has done in the last year is unbelievable,” seven-time grand slam champion John McEnroe told Eurosport. “[He’s] the best I’ve ever seen at this age.

“Novak is incredible how good he still is, to see the all-time great play against the young superstar is incredible. I’d love to see that match played again.

“The last couple of matches have been close and incredible matches, let’s hope it lasts.”

Djokovic’s win over Alcaraz in Cincinnati was his fourth title of the year, including victories at the Australian Open and French Open to take his grand slam tally to 23.

The Serb is in the United States for the first time since 2021 due to his unvaccinated status but made up for lost time by immediately returning to winning ways in Cincinnati.

Djokovic faces Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the first round and is in the same quarter of the draw as Stefanos Tsitsipas.

He may now be 36 years of age and firmly in the twilight of his career but Djokovic is still capable of consistently producing his best tennis, meaning fans likely have plenty more match ups to look forward to between the world’s two best players.

Best of the rest

As world No. 3 and a former US Open champion, Russia’s Medvedev is the most likely of the chasing pack to cause an upset at Flushing Meadows.

The 27-year-old has faced hugely contrasting fortunes in the first and second half the season. Medvedev won five ATP Tour titles in the first five months of 2023, including two Masters 1000 tournaments and a run of three consecutive tournament wins in the month of February.

However, his form has largely tailed off since winning his last title against Holger Rune at the Rome Masters.

Soon after that tournament, Medvedev suffered a shock first-round defeat to Thiago Seyboth Wild at the French Open and – aside from a career best semifinal appearance at Wimbledon – hasn’t won more than two matches at a tournament since.

Medvedev is without doubt a contender at the US Open, but only if he can recapture his early season form.

After reaching the final in 2022, Capser Ruud – who has now lost on all three of his grand slam finals appearances – has plenty to play for as he hopes to defend the rankings points earned during last year’s run.

The world No. 5 has also endured an up and down season, the peak of which came during a four-week window in May and June when he reached the semifinals of the Rome Masters and then the final of the French Open.

Now with increased experience in grand slam finals, perhaps the 2023 US Open will finally be the tournament Ruud banishes his grand slam final demons.

A week after clinching Spain’s first Women’s World Cup, the country’s soccer federation is at war with the very players who brought home the trophy.

The scandal began just moments after La Roja’s historic 1-0 victory against England, when the head of the Spanish football federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, kissed midfielder Jennifer Hermoso on the lips.

Rubiales, 46, said he made a mistake but that the kiss was consensual. Hermoso, 33, said she did not give her permission and felt violated.

Fast forward eight days and Spain’s World Cup winners are refusing to play. The country’s football federation is threatening legal action. And Rubiales is vowing to “fight to the end.”

The RFEF has called regional federations to convene for an “extraordinary and urgent” meeting on Monday to address the current situation after Rubiales was provisionally suspended by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, over the weekend.

Here’s what you need to know.

What happened

After sealing their victory on August 20, the Spanish squad lined up to receive their medals and congratulations from major political and football figures.

Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, was first in line. Next to him stood Spanish Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. Rubiales stood to the younger royal’s left. He was followed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, among others.

The medal ceremony began, and one-by-one, the champions were honored by the delegation. Infantino handed each player their medals. The royals then embraced them. Rubiales greeted many of them with a big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek, even lifting some into the air.

The beginning of Rubiales and Hermoso’s encounter, however, was not caught on the live television feed. After showing one of the Spanish players kissing the Women’s World Cup Trophy, the broadcast cut to Rubiales hugging Hermoso. Rubiales’ arms are around Hermoso’s shoulders, with Hermoso’s around the top of Rubiales’ back. The pair briefly rock back and forth slightly, and Rubiales appears to say something in Hermoso’s ear.

Rubiales puts his hands on the back of Hermoso’s head. He kisses her on the lips, then slaps her twice on the back before she continues down the procession.

What Rubiales and Hermoso are saying

Hermoso said at no point did she consent to the kiss.

“I felt vulnerable and a victim of an impulse-driven, sexist, out of place act without any consent on my part,” she said on social media. “Simply put I was not respected.”

Rubiales admitted he made a mistake on Monday, the day after Spain’s win, but later defended his actions. In a defiant speech on Friday, he said the kiss was “spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and (done) with consent.”

He added that he would not resign and said he would “fight to the end.”

What others are saying

Rubiales has been heavily criticized for his actions and could lose his job.

FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Rubiales and provisionally suspended him from all football-related activities. Spanish players’ union FUTPRO called for Rubiales to be punished after the kiss, while global players’ union FIFPRO called for “immediate disciplinary action” following Rubiales’ Friday speech.

The president of Spain’s High Council of Sport, the Spanish government agency that oversees sporting activities, said the council would look to suspend Rubiales as quickly as it could while still allowing him proper due process.

In response to Rubiales’ decision to stay, the RFEF vice president Rafael del Amo and 11 members of the Spanish national women’s soccer program have resigned.

Players have also threatened to boycott competitions should Rubiales stay in his post.

Hermoso and her teammates on Spain’s World Cup winning squad said they would not play again for the country until Rubiales has been removed from his position. Their coach, Jorge Vilda – who himself is embroiled in a controversy after video emerged of him appearing to inappropriately touch a female staff member during the World Cup final – called Rubiales’ behavior “improper.”

On the men’s side, striker Borja Iglesia said on social media he would not play for the national team “until things change.” Men’s World Cup winners Iker Casillas and Andres Iniesta condemned Rubiales, as has current men’s team coach Luis de la Fuente. Other teams have showed solidarity.

Politicians have weighed in as well.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Rubiales’ initial apology was “unacceptable” and “not enough,” while a deputy prime minister, Yolanda Diaz, called for Rubiales to resign.

The RFEF, however, is standing behind Rubiales. It accused Hermoso of lying about the incident and threatened legal action against her and others.

What comes next

By backing Rubiales, the Spanish football federation has opened a major rift between itself and its three most important partners – FIFA, the Spanish government and the unions that represent Spanish football players.

Whether Rubiales can survive the pressure for him to step down remains to be seen.

But the incident has shed a light on the issues of sexism and machismo in Spain, both of which the players’ union has vowed to fight back against.

“The union is working so that acts like the ones we have seen never go unpunished, are sanctioned and the pertinent measures are adopted to protect the football players from actions that we believe are unacceptable,” the union said Wednesday.

“It is necessary to continue advancing in the fight for equality, a fight that our players have led with determination, taking us to the position in which we find ourselves today.”

As the checkered flag waved at the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday to greet home favorite Max Verstappen over the finish line, the Formula One driver took another step towards history.

The win in the Netherlands was Verstappen’s eleventh of the season and ninth in a row, drawing him level with Sebastian Vettel for the most consecutive victories in F1 history. The German, then driving for Red Bull, completed the same feat during his 2013 title win.

Home advantage is something that matters to Verstappen. He said that he already had “goosebumps” during the national anthem ahead of the race – not that the emotion affected his ruthless streak even as inclement weather threatened to upset his rhythm.

As rain fell early in the race, Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez quickly switched to wet-weather tyres to steal an advantage and briefly surpass the reigning world champion, only for the 25-year-old Verstappen to make the change a lap later and rapidly exhibit his superiority over Perez and the rest of the field.

The Mexican’s afternoon was further spoiled later in the race as he made an error to allow Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly to surpass him and secure their spots on the podium.

Alonso had started the race in fifth but – Verstappen aside – put on the driving performance of the day. The 42-year-old secured the 105th podium of his remarkable career and pulled off one of the overtakes of the season to displace Lando Norris on just the second lap of the race, unconventionally sling-shotting his Aston Martin around the hairpin third turn.

The partisan crowd at Zandvoort was not bothered by the downpours, vociferously rooting for their man. That support did not go unnoticed by Verstappen, who described the atmosphere as being “incredible” throughout.

Verstappen also stated that he considered the win on Sunday as one of his more challenging victories.

“It was probably one of the more difficult races to win, but nine in a row is something I never even thought about,” said Verstappen.

“I’m very happy with that but I’m in general very happy to win here in front of my home crowd.”

Verstappen was asked after the race about being on the precipice of F1 history and the prospect of a 10th consecutive victory at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza next weekend, but he batted away the question instantly.

“I’ll think about it next week,” he said. “I’m just going to enjoy this weekend. It’s always tough, the pressure is on to perform, and I’m very happy of course to win here.”

Clearly, Verstappen thrives under that pressure. Since F1 returned to the Netherlands in 2021 following a 34-year hiatus, he has won all three editions of the Dutch Grand Prix.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner was less coy about the achievements of his star man and indeed the team as a whole.

“I think quietly he’s very proud of what he’s doing and achieving,” Horner told reporters.

“To win nine in a row is insane. And (for Red Bull) to have done it in the same team with another driver is something that I don’t think any of us could have ever envisaged.”

The Dutch star has now won 46 races in all, which puts him fifth on the all-time list. Alain Prost and Vettel, five and seven race wins ahead of Verstappen as things stands, could be overtaken before the 2023 season ends given that nine races remain. That would leave just Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher ahead of him at the end of the season.

Verstappen’s own record of 15 wins in a single season – set during last year’s triumphant campaign – is also under serious threat given his current state of apparent invincibility on the track.

Roberto Mancini was announced as the new head coach of Saudi Arabia’s men’s team on Sunday, just two weeks after resigning as manager of his native Italy.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mancini wrote that he was “honored to be selected for such a prestigious role” and that he will “proudly continue to bring our Italian culture to the world.”

He continued to say he has “accepted to embrace such an exciting new project, grounded on a shared vision and purpose to grow the national football sector as well as the young talents and the future generations.”

Both Mancini and the official Saudi national team shared a video on X showing the 58-year-old wearing a green tie and drinking a coffee. At the end of the video, Mancini says, “I made history in Europe. Now it is time to make history with Saudi.”

Mancini was head coach of Italy for five years, winning the men’s European Championship with the team in 2021. However, Italy failed to qualify for the Qatar World Cup in 2022 under his stewardship and currently sits third in its group for the 2024 edition of the European championship, behind England and Ukraine.

At club level, Mancini has managed Inter Milan and Manchester City most notably, as well as a stint with Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia. He won Manchester City’s first English Premier League title in 2012 in dramatic fashion.

Saudi Arabia’s men’s national team sprung one of the surprises of the 2022 World Cup, defeating eventual champion Argentina 2-1 in the group stage.

The country has been investing heavily in sport in recent times, with teams in the Saudi Pro League – the professional men’s league in the country – signing a slew of global stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, and reigning Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema.

Saudi Arabia’s next fixtures are against Costa Rica and South Korea in September. Both games are being held at St. James’ Park, the home ground of Newcastle United. Newcastle is majority owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf state, which is chaired by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Afghanistan’s Band-e-Amir National Park was known for having employed the country’s first-ever female park rangers. Now, women won’t even be allowed to visit, let alone work there, as the Taliban deepens its repressive rule over the country.

Afghanistan’s Minister for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, announced Saturday that women will no longer be able to visit the popular park, located in central Bamiyan province, one of the country’s poorest and least developed regions.

Established in 2019 by the local Afghan government in collaboration with several international agencies including USAID and the United Nations Development Programme, the park was considered a peaceful oasis with deep blue lakes surrounded by mountains.

Heather Barr, associate director of the women’s rights at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Monday that the ban shows how “the walls are closing in on women” within Afghanistan.

“Not content with depriving girls and women of education, employment, and free movement, the Taliban also want to take from them parks and sport and now even nature, as we see from this latest ban on women visiting Band-e-Amir,” she said.

“Step by step the walls are closing in on women as every home becomes a prison.”

The Taliban’s casts a long and notorious shadow over Bamiyan province. Home to a sizable Shia Muslim minority it was the site of horrific massacres during the civil war of the 1990s and the subsequent rise of the Taliban.

It was also once the center of a thriving Buddhist civilization on the 4th and 5th centuries. But in March 2001, the Taliban famously destroyed two enormous statues of Buddha in Bamiyan that had stood undisturbed for more than 1,500 years, saying they were idols that violated Islam.

Since re-taking control of the country in August 2021, amid the United States’ chaotic, controversial withdrawal, the Taliban has rolled back decades of progress on human rights. And with bans on most work and study, women are largely confined to their homes.

In Afghanistan, “there is no such thing as women’s freedom anymore,” Mahbouba Seraj, an Afghan women’s rights activist and 2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, said earlier this month.

“The women in Afghanistan are being slowly erased from society, from life, from everything – their opinions, their voices, what they think, where they are,” she added.

This latest restriction comes nearly a month after women were banned from beauty salons in Afghanistan, further diminishing their freedom in what was also a harsh economic blow to families who relied on them for income.

According to a UN report released in June, women are banned from working in most sectors outside the home, and are prohibited from attending public baths, parks, and gyms. They must wear a loose-fitting black garment that covers their face, and they’re not permitted to leave home without reason, and even then not without a male guardian.

The report was compiled after a week-long visit to Afghanistan by Richard Bennett, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, who led a contingent from the working group on discrimination against women and girls.

Restrictions imposed outside the home and economic hardship had resulted in “significant tensions” inside homes and a rise in domestic violence, and there was “notable evidence” of a “significant increase” in forced marriage of girls, the report found.

Tropical Storm Idalia is strengthening quickly as it churns toward Florida and could become a dangerous Category 3 storm as it approaches the coast with a mix of heavy rains, high winds and damaging storm surge.

Idalia is expected to intensify into a hurricane Monday and make landfall on Wednesday morning near the Big Bend of Florida as a dangerous major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As the storm intensifies, “life-threatening storm surge and dangerous winds” are “becoming increasingly likely for portions of Florida,” the hurricane center said early Monday.

The storm’s expected arrival has prompted Florida to deploy swift water rescue teams as local officials called for evacuations, announced school closures and warned residents to prepare their property.

The storm is about 125 miles off the western tip of Cuba, whipping up maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, the hurricane center said in a 5 a.m. update.

Follow Idalia’s track here.

“Idalia has been moving erratically and is nearly stationary,” the hurricane center added. “A motion toward the north-northeast and north is expected to begin later today, bringing the center of Idalia over the extreme southeastern Gulf of Mexico by tonight.”

Along Florida’s Gulf Coast, a hurricane watch has been issued from Englewood to India Pass, including Tampa Bay, according to the hurricane center. A tropical storm warning is also in place for the Dry Tortugas, Florida, while a tropical storm watch has been issued for the Lower Florida Keys west of the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge.

“It should be emphasized that only a small deviation in the track could cause a big change in Idalia’s landfall location in Florida due to the paralleling track to the west coast of the state,” the hurricane center noted.

Tropical storm conditions are possible in the Dry Tortugas beginning late Monday and along the Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management urged people under a storm surge threat to have evacuation plans set, in case an evacuation order is issued.

“Storm surge is often the greatest threat to life and property from a hurricane,” the agency warned. “It happens quickly and can endanger you, your family & your home.”

With Idalia’s current forecast track, western Cuba is expected see hurricane conditions by late Monday, with winds possibly reaching tropical storm strength by Monday morning. The government of Cuba has upgraded the tropical storm warning for Pinar del Rio to a hurricane warning.

“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the hurricane center said.

As the storm approaches, the Tampa Bay area is forecast to see a storm surge of 4 to 7 feet above normal tidal levels. The highest storm surge is expected to occur in the Big Bend area of Florida, where ocean levels could top 10 feet above the normal tide.

When rising waters move inland from the shoreline, normally dry areas near the coast could become flooded, according to the hurricane center.

Scattered flash and urban flooding is also expected across parts of the west coast of Florida, the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia as Tropical Storm Idalia drops heavy rainfall from 3 to 6 inches with isolated amounts up to 10 inches from Tuesday into Wednesday.

Heavy rainfall could also lead to flash flooding across portions of the Carolinas Wednesday into Thursday.

Western Cuba could also see 3 to 6 inches of rain with isolated amounts up to 10 inches.

Florida preparing for Idalia

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged Floridians Sunday to “just heed the warnings of your local officials” as the state braces for Idalia’s arrival.

“Our emergency operations center here in Tallahassee will go to a Level 1, 24-hour around the clock,” starting at 7 a.m. ET Monday, DeSantis said.

In preparation, 1,100 National Guardsmen have been mobilized with high-water vehicles and aircraft for rescue and recovery efforts, DeSantis said. The Florida Highway Patrol also has 300 troopers ready to deploy.

Power companies will also start staging personnel on Monday, according to the governor.

“If you are in the path of the storm, you should expect power outages so please prepare for that,” the governor told residents.

Hillsborough County, where the city of Tampa is located, has declared a state of local emergency ahead of possible impacts from Idalia.

A state of emergency was also declared Sunday for Citrus County, where schools will have a half day schedule Monday and close Tuesday and Wednesday.

“All citizens and businesses of Citrus County should be preparing for storm impacts – residents living in campers, recreational vehicles, tents, other structures unable to withstand the winds of a tropical storm, or along the west side of U.S. Hwy 19 are advised to voluntarily evacuate,” the county said.

Hernando County Schools will also be closed Monday through Wednesday because of Idalia, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Voluntary evacuations were issued Sunday for some areas of Hernando County Sunday. “All residents living in coastal and low-lying areas, as well as manufactured homes county wide, are included,” the county said in a post on Facebook.

A Moscow court has extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who had been arrested on espionage charges, by three months.

His pretrial detention was extended until November 30, the press service of the Lefortovo Court said Thursday.

It had been due to end on August 30 after previously being extended on May 23 while he awaits trial.

The Wall Street Journal called the development “deeply disappointing.”

“Today, our colleague and distinguished journalist Evan Gershkovich appeared for a pre-trial hearing where his improper detention was extended yet again,” the newspaper said in a statement Thursday. “We are deeply disappointed he continues to be arbitrarily and wrongfully detained for doing his job as a journalist.”

Gershkovich’s lawyers will appeal the court’s decision, according to WSJ’s Editor in Chief Emma Tucker and Publisher Almar Latour.

“It’s also a reminder of the fight we’re in as Evan has now been wrongfully detained for five months — a horrific and sobering milestone in our efforts to free him,” they said, according to the statement.

On June 22, Gershkovich lost an appeal against the extension of his pre-trial detention in Moscow.

Gershkovich has been detained in Russia since March following his arrest on charges that he, the WSJ, and the US government vehemently deny.

His arrest was the first detention of an American reporter in Russia on allegations of spying since the Cold War, rattling White House officials and further straining ties between Moscow and Washington.

The US State Department has officially designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia. US President Joe Biden has also been blunt about Gershkovich’s arrest, urging Russia to “let him go.”

Biden last month said he is “serious” about a prisoner exchange to free Gershkovich.

“I’m serious about a prisoner exchange. I’m serious about doing what we can to free Americans who are being illegally held in Russia or anywhere else for that matter. And that process is underway,” Biden told a news conference in Helsinki in July.