Royal Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales is coming under renewed pressure from two of Spain’s leading organizations involved in women’s soccer over his behavior in the aftermath of La Roja’s World Cup victory.

The union representing Spain’s women soccer players has called for the country’s football federation chief to be punished for kissing star player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips following the team’s World Cup victory, as it vowed to fight back against “machismo and sexism.”

“It is essential that our team, the current world champion, is always represented by figures who project values of equality and respect in all areas,” Spain’s Association of Professional Soccer Players (FUTPRO) said in a statement Wednesday.

“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.”

Rubiales was filmed forcibly kissing the striker after her team’s 1-0 victory over England on Sunday.

Hermoso, 33, who has previously said she “didn’t like” the kiss and “didn’t expect it,” also issued a statement Wednesday, saying the union and her agency TMJ would be “defending my interests and acting as spokespersons on this matter.”

FUTPRO vowed in its statement to fight “sexual harassment or abuse, machismo and sexism.”

“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,” the union said.

Meanwhile, Spain’s women’s soccer league, Liga F, also issued a statement on Wednesday saying that it has filed an official complaint with the Spanish High Council of Sport (CSD) and calling for Rubiales’ “unacceptable and repugnant” actions to be punished.

“One of the biggest achievements in the history of Spanish sport was tarnished by the embarrassing behavior of the top representative of Spanish football, who once again, and led by his continuous and habitual desire for the spotlight, demonstrated that he isn’t up to the position which he holds,” the statement read.

“It’s not only about the kiss. It’s about the attitude that is so far removed from the values of our society. An attitude which is imprinted in the history of world sport, and most seriously, will always remain tied to our Women’s National Team … We can’t permit that this episode suffers no consequence.

“It’s the time to give a step forward. The other side of the coin would be a humiliation for all women and the biggest loss of Spanish sport and of our country.”

Rising criticism

On Monday, Rubiales admitted he had “made a mistake” by kissing Hermoso after she collected her winners’ medal.

“I surely made a mistake, I have to recognize that,” Rubiales said in a video statement. “Here, we didn’t understand it because we saw something natural, normal and in no way, I repeat, with bad faith. But outside of the bubble, it looks like it has turned into a storm and so, if there are people who have felt offended, I have to say I’m sorry.”

However, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has said the apology offered by Rubiales was “not enough.”

Rubiales has faced widespread criticism for the incident, with politicians and journalists labeling his behavior “unacceptable” and “simply disgusting.”

The football federation is expected to address the incident during an extraordinary general assembly on Friday, though it doesn’t appear on the order of the day for the meeting released by the federation.

CSD President Victor Francos has said he will take action against Rubiales if the federation fails to do so.

The controversy comes against a backdrop of ongoing unrest between Spain’s players, coach Jorge Vilda and the football federation.

In September 2022, 15 members of Spain’s senior women’s squad sent personally signed letters to the federation via email to announce they would no longer play for the national team, unless there were wholesale changes made throughout the coaching staff.

However, the football federation backed Vilda, who has himself become embroiled in a controversy surrounding the World Cup final after video emerged of him appearing to inappropriately touch a female staff member during the match.

As our tiny dhow glides serenely along the sinuous desert coastline, it’s hard to believe the glass and steel jungle of Dubai is just a couple of hours’ drive away.

You won’t find a trace of skyscrapers, malls or even roads here. The only heights within sight, some even taller than the record-breaking Burj Khalifa, are the almost vertical walls of barren rock that enclose the pristine, warm waters of the Khor ash Sham inlet.

The Musandam Peninsula, at the northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has sometimes been compared to Norway, and not just because it happens to be next to oil-rich waters.

Here, the desert flatlands of Ras-Al-Khaimah, the northernmost of the seven United Arab Emirates, give way to a dramatic mountainous landscape interspersed by a labyrinthine succession of coves, bays and inlets.

This is a land of desert fjords that can be every bit as magnificent as its Nordic counterpart.

Rugged isolation

The Musandam Governate is only accessible by land through the UAE, but the peninsula is an exclave of the Sultanate of Oman, whose mainland lies some 100 kilometres to the south, separated from it by a large chunk of Emirati territory.

It’s not the border, though, which is responsible for the traditional isolation of this tiny speck of land, slightly larger than Rhode Island, but its extremely rugged terrain.

There’s only one paved road linking the governorate’s capital, Khasab, to the rest of the world via Ras-Al-Khaimah. And while some cross-country tracks traverse the rocky, desert interior of the peninsula, you would need a 4×4 vehicle and preferably some knowledge of the local landscape in order to navigate them.

Even to this day, many settlements on Musandam are only accessible by sea. This has shaped a local identity that, unlike in the neighbouring emirates, has remained relatively untouched by mass tourism.

The locals have even preserved their own unique language, Kumzari, a tongue with Persian roots and strong Arabic influences mixed with elements of Portuguese and Hindi.

This linguistic blend is a clue to the fact that Musandam’s apparent remoteness is less of an issue when it comes to the open seas.

Strategic trade route

The fate of this region has often been enmeshed with that of the geopolitical power-brokers of every era, due to its strategic location guarding the southern side of the Strait of Hormuz and the entrance to the Persian Gulf.

The Portuguese were here at the height of their power and built a fort, still standing today, at the Peninsula’s main town, Khasab, in order to control sea traffic and trade in this area.

In the 19th century it was the turn of Britain to set foot in the peninsula. The Khor ash Sham inlet was formerly known as Elphinstone Inlet, having been named after the British Governor of Bombay under whose orders the region was first surveyed in the 1820s.

Some vestiges of that period, in the form of a few derelict stone structures, are still visible on Telegraph Island, a tiny islet that tourist-laden dhows sail past on their way to the head of the inlet. During the Victorian era this was a major node in the Imperial communications network, since it housed a key station in the telegraph line linking London to British India. It’s one of several places reputed to have been the origin of the phrase “going round the bend,” due to lonely soldiers losing their grip on their senses in the desert heat.

In the mid-19th century, the British Royal Navy even considered setting up a naval base in Khasab. That was not to be, but Britain remained closely involved in the affairs of this oil-rich part of the world and as recently as 1971, it deployed SAS and SBS special forces to help the Sultan Qaboos of Oman secure his sovereignty over Musandam.

In modern times, up to 20 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz each day, making this narrow stretch of water perhaps the world’s single most important maritime oil route.

Day trips

For visitors, the sea remains the main allure of the Musandam Peninsula and with tourism booming in Dubai and along the UAE coast, guests have started to trickle in.

Several local companies arrange day-long cruises through the fjords. The typical itinerary includes a sailing excursion along the coast of its largest inlet, Khor ash Sham.

The dhows make several stops along the way so that passengers can take a plunge in the crystalline waters. You don’t need much equipment, just a pair of goggles and fins, provided by the crew, in order to be able to swim along the coral reefs and admire the underwater fauna.

Khasab is the home port for all the sailing excursions and while its commercial and touristic infrastructure is pretty low-key compared to the glittering resort extravaganza of the UAE coast, it boasts a couple of hotels equipped to modern international standards.

What’s more, Omanis take pride in their hospitality. When our group accidentally left behind a child’s toy at our hotel, the manager volunteered to drive hundreds of miles across an international border just to return it in person.

How to get there

The local airport at Khasab has direct daily flights to Muscat, the Omani capital, although most tourists come by road from Ras-al-Khaimah and beyond.

Before setting off for Musandam and its fjords, though, it is advisable to take some considerations into account. This is an exclave after all.

Citizens of most countries can get an Omani entry visa at the border (citizens of GCC countries can simply pass through), but you’ll still need to clear both Emirati and Omani customs, and handle the corresponding paperwork at each of the border posts.

If driving a car with UAE registration, you’ll also need to be insured to drive in Oman and to show proof of it. Many car rental places in the UAE offer this insurance for an extra fee, but otherwise you can get it at the border post from an Omani insurance company that has a little office set up there.

Other than that, and notwithstanding the occasional arrival of a large group in a bus, the border procedure is pretty fast. The road is open to explore what is, without a doubt, one of the most stunning natural jewels of the Middle East.

Ecuadorians have voted to ban oil drilling in one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, the Yasuní National Park, situated in the Amazon rainforest.

With more than 92% of the votes counted, nearly 59% of voters rejected the oil drilling while 41% voted in favor, according to the National Electoral Council of Ecuador (CNE) on Monday morning.

The referendum comes as the impacts of human-caused climate change accelerate, as the world continues to burn fossil fuels. Last month was the planet’s hottest June on record, and some scientists warn that the Amazon is heading towards a dangerous tipping point.

The Yasuní National Park park spans around 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) at the meeting point of the Amazon, the Andes and the Equator. Just one hectare of Yasuní land supposedly contains more animal species than the whole of Europe and more tree species than exist in all of North America.

But underneath the park lies Ecuador’s largest reserve of crude oil.

In 2007, President Rafael Correa proposed that the international community give Ecuador $3.6 billion to leave Yasuní undisturbed. But the plan failed.

In 2016, the Ecuadorian state oil company began drilling in Block 43 – around 0.01% of the National Park – which today produces more than 55,000 barrels a day, amounting to around 12% of Ecuador’s oil production.

Yasunidos, an environmental collective, has been pushing for the vote to ban drilling in the park for a decade. In May they and other groups secured a victory when the country’s constitutional court authorized the vote to be included on the ballot of the presidential election held on August 20.

Some politicians, including energy minister Fernando Santos, have argued that a ban it would have negative impacts on Ecuador’s economy.

“It could cause huge damage to the country,” Santos told local radio in June, according to a Reuters report, estimating the country could lose $1.2 billion in revenues. He also denied there has been environmental harm from the drilling.

But environmental and Indigenous groups argued that Ecuador needs to move away from fossil fuels and protect the Amazon, saying that other economic activities such as eco-tourism could help fill the gap.

In a post on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), Yasunidos called the result “a historic victory for Ecuador and for the planet!”

Mitch Anderson, executive director of the non-profit Amazon Frontlines, said in a statement: “In one fell swoop, the Ecuadorian people struck a mighty blow to the oil industry, protected one of the most biodiverse forests in the Amazon, and showed the world what grassroots climate action really looks like.”

But Fernando L. Benalcazar, a senior consultant at APD Proyectos, which works with the extractive industry, said that Ecuadorians had voted to ban drilling “without understanding the implications for the economic and social development of Ecuador.”

The referendum took place alongside the presidential and legislative elections on Sunday.

Luisa González, of the Movimiento Revolución Ciudadana party, took the lead in the first round of the elections, which have been marred by political assassinations and violence driven by criminal organizations vying to control the country’s drug trafficking routes.

González will face second-place finisher Daniel Noboa in a run-off election in October as no candidate won more than 50% of the ballot.

Saudi border guards killed “hundreds” of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023, Human Rights Watch alleged in a report released Monday.

The organization said it interviewed 42 Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers and analyzed over 350 videos and photographs posted to social media, as well as satellite imagery. Together, HRW said it showed evidence of dead and wounded along the migrant trail, in camps and medical facilities, as well as burial sites and “expanding Saudi border security infrastructure.”

Videos shared on TikTok and Facebook purport to show dead bodies along the migrant trail near the Yemen-Saudi border, as well as migrants with wounds consistent with injuries from explosive blasts or gunshots, according to a forensic pathologist. HRW claimed to have sourced and verified the videos.

Several videos purportedly recorded near an informal migrant camp appear to show Saudi border guard posts, and newly constructed fences next to one. HRW further said that satellite imagery obtained by the nonprofit also indicated growing graveyards nearby.

“Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons indiscriminately and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic. If committed as part of a Saudi government policy to murder migrants, these killings would be a crime against humanity,” HRW said in their report, adding that the violence appeared to be ongoing.

For decades, Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers have attempted to travel across the “Eastern Route” – a dangerous journey from the Horn of Africa, across the Gulf of Aden, into Yemen and eventually Saudi Arabia, HRW said.

A cessation of hostilities agreement signed in November 2022 between warring parties in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region ended a conflict that left tens of thousands dead and displaced millions. But despite a reduction in abuses, human rights groups say violence has continued, and some migrants HRW interviewed said they had fled because of the recent conflict. Violence and insecurity have also persisted in other parts of the country, including in the Amhara and Oromia regions, forcing civilians to flee.

Along the route, migrants board overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels from Djibouti into Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory, where they’re divided by smugglers according to their Ethiopian ethnicity for language purposes and kept in camps in Saada, in northern Yemen, close to the Saudi border, holding tens of thousands of other migrants waiting to be smuggled into the country, HRW said.

The migrants described beatings, sexual assault and ransom by the smugglers. Those who could not pay the smugglers were taken to cramped Houthi-run detention centers, where they say they were abused and extorted, HRW reported.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital Sanaa and toppled the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government. It spiraled into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to beat back the Houthis.

The coalition, supported by the United States, has faced withering criticism – including from Human Rights Watch – for bombing civilian targets in Yemen. Eight years later, the coalition has been unable to dislodge the rebels, whom the Saudi military claims have fired over 1,000 rockets and drones toward Saudi cities in retaliation, according to Reuters.

The war has sparked one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving thousands dead and pushing parts of the country into famine due to a Saudi blockade on Houthi-held ports.

The new HRW report says smugglers move 200 migrants at a time from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, with those unable to pay the smuggler fee in full often forced to lead the group. The migrants leading the group “consequently were the most likely to be injured or killed by explosive weapons attacks or shootings,” HRW said.

The organization interviewed 27 people who described 28 separate explosive weapons incidents from the Saudi side of the border after they had crossed the border from Yemen into Saudi territory, sometimes lasting hours or even days. Interviewees described being attacked by Saudi border guards, describing their uniforms and describing the explosive weapons being “like a bomb.”

“We were fired on repeatedly. I saw people killed in a way I have never imagined. I saw 30 killed people on the spot. I pushed myself under a rock and slept there. I could feel people sleeping around me. I realized what I thought were people sleeping around me were actually dead bodies. I woke up and I was alone,” Hamdiya, a 14-year-old whose name was changed to protect her identity, told HRW.

Ten people interviewed said 11 border crossing attempts involving more than 1,200 migrants resulted in at least 655 deaths. Another nine attempts resulted in deaths, according to migrants interviewed, who said they were too busy fleeing or traumatized to estimate the toll, but estimated the toll based on those who returned to the camps. One interviewee told HRW that “from 150, only 7 people survived that day … there were remains of people everywhere, scattered everywhere.”

HRW said it interviewed survivors who were asked by Saudi border guards which limb they preferred to be shot, before shooting them at close range.

“They shot at our legs … the guards were wearing Saudi military uniform, multiple colors with a mix of green and brown,” one 23-year-old migrant told HRW. “Many people were shot in different parts of their body. The bullet went through my mouth and out through my neck. I was shot brutally.”

The human rights organization also noted that the Iran-backed Houthi militant group in Yemen have played a “significant role” in perpetrating abuses against migrants along the migration route, including facilitating access to the border for smugglers and migrants, “detaining and extorting migrants” and “torturing, arbitrary detention, and trafficking.”

Among their recommendations, HRW called on the United Nations to establish an independent investigation into the killing against of migrants and asylum seekers.

The HRW report comes nearly a year after a group of UN experts laid out allegations that they had received that Saudi security forces had killed as many as 430 migrants and injured 650 in cross-border shelling and shooting between January 1 and April 30, 2022. The experts said it appeared to be “a systematic pattern of large-scale indiscriminate cross-border killings.”

The depth and frequency of craters across the frontline city of Orikhiv are a blunt example of why Ukraine needs F-16 fighter jets urgently.

Ukrainian troops amassed around the city have the unenviable task of pushing through minefields towards an enemy that has long anticipated their advance.

But their biggest handicap is the one they rarely hear until it is too late. Russian jets fire half-metric-ton bombs that glide in from afar – from outside of the reach of Ukraine’s air defenses – and then devastate Ukrainian positions at will. Sometimes as many as 20 in as many minutes are launched into Orikhiv.

Ukrainian radar systems provide some warning, coupled with the brief and ominous roar of an incoming missile. But the eventual target is often obliterated without notice.

So when Ukraine says it urgently needs F-16s, it is because Ukrainian troops are dying daily because of Russian air superiority. Despite Western promises, even the training is yet to begin. On Friday, Ukraine welcomed the news that the US approved the transfer of F-16s when training is complete. But it remains the case that Ukraine is unlikely to receive jets until next year.

Armchair critics of the slow pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive seem to have conjured a superhuman Ukraine, capable of overturning any basic military precepts, based on the collapse of Russian positions in Kyiv’s lightning advances on Kharkiv and Kherson last year. They now expect an army that was almost written off 18 months ago, to now be able to achieve a feat no NATO army would even attempt.

NATO armies would not consider tackling the minefields and defenses along the southern Zaporizhzhia front without high-end armor, anti-demining equipment, air superiority and a well-trained force. But somehow the West has afforded itself the luxury of impatience with Ukraine not being able to take an army of often-mobilized young men, rush-trained on new equipment, and overrun Russian-held territory by fall.

‘It is very scary’

Ukrainian troops know all too well the impact F-16s could have on Russian forces and the fight, as they are suffering the same from Russian jets now.

In Ukraine’s harried cities, where air raid sirens are so constant locals barely deviate on their path when they sound, F-16s would permit some of the Russian jets that fire missiles from a distance to be intercepted or challenged. It would disrupt the given of terror that Moscow inflicts on civilian areas every night. When you are lying in Dnipro, hearing the sirens and waiting for the blasts, any debate on whether Ukraine needs more air defenses feels ridiculous.

The task of getting high-end jets to Ukraine at pace was always ambitious.

The supply of F-16s, with the intense amount of training and servicing they require, would always have brought NATO to the closest it has been yet to being a combatant. The jets need Ukrainians to become masters in their upkeep overnight, and there was always a risk NATO personnel would be called upon to fill in the gaps, or help repair the planes inside NATO territory. And so the pace has slowed.

Whether there are enough suitable Ukrainians to be trained, or whatever the other bureaucratic hurdles, the will is clearly not there yet among NATO states to make it happen. They have learned they can do things fast if they want to – they did so with the Leopard tanks.

The calculation may have been made that the risk for NATO being dragged into the war is too high to justify moving faster with F-16s. That it is easier to instead gamble on whether Ukraine can succeed in its counteroffensive, with one hand tied behind it back.

In the basements of Orikhiv, where Ukrainians troops sit and wait to learn whether the incoming missiles jets will strike near them, it is a gamble that seems callous and detached.

Editor’s Note: Help is there if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters.
In the US: Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
Globally: The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world.

The family of a 26-year-old doctor in Japan who died by suicide last year after working more than 200 hours of overtime in a single month have pleaded for change in a nation long plagued by overwork culture.

Takashima Shingo had been working as a resident doctor at a hospital in Kobe City when he took his own life last May, according to public broadcaster NHK.

According to the family’s lawyers, Takashima had worked more than 207 hours overtime in the month before his death, and had not taken a day off for three months, NHK reported.

The hospital, Konan Medical Center, has denied those accusations in a press conference last week. But in June, the government’s labor inspection body ruled his death a work-related incident due to his long hours, according to NHK – highlighting the immense pressures placed on health care workers.

Japan has long battled a persistent overwork culture, with employees across various sectors reporting punishing hours, high pressure from supervisors and deference to the company, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

The ensuing stress and mental health toll has even caused a phenomenon called “karoshi,” or “death by overwork” – leading to legislation meant to prevent death and injury from excessive work hours.

In a news conference last Friday, Takashima’s family described what they said was a young man driven to desperation and expressed their grief over his death.

Prior to his suicide, his mother Junko Takashima said, the doctor would say “it was too hard” and that “no one would help him,” according to video published by local media of the news conference.

“No one is looking out for me, he kept telling me. I think the environment put him over the edge,” she said.

“My son will not become a kind doctor, nor will he be able to save patients and contribute to society,” she added. “However, I sincerely hope that the working environment for doctors will be improved so that the same thing will not happen again in the future.”

Takashima’s brother, who was not named, also spoke in the news conference, saying: “No matter how we look at my brother’s work hours, 200 hours (of overtime) is an unbelievable number, and I don’t think the hospital is taking a solid approach to labor management in the first place.”

In a press conference last week, the Konan Medical Center pushed back. “There are many times when (doctors) spend time studying on their own and sleeping according to their physiological needs,” a spokesperson said. “Due to the very high degree of freedom, it is not possible to accurately determine working hours.”

A number of overwork cases have made national and global headlines over the years – for instance, Japanese officials concluded in 2017 that a 31-year-old political reporter, who died in 2013, had experienced heart failure from spending long hours on the job. She had worked 159 hours of overtime in the month before her death, according to NHK.

The problem remains especially high in the health care sector. One 2016 study found that more than a quarter of full-time hospital physicians work up to 60 hours a week, while 5% work up to 90 hours, and 2.3% work up to 100 hours.

Another report, published this year by the Association of Japan Medical Colleges, found that more than 34% of physicians are eligible for a “special level of overtime hours exceeding the upper limit of 960 hours per year.”

Reforms to labor law and overtime regulations in 2018 have seen some small progress, with the government reporting last year that the average amount of annual hours worked per employee has been “gradually decreasing.” However, though the number of actual working hours has been declining, overtime working hours have fluctuated over the years, it added.

US women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe has spoken out and strongly criticized the behavior of Luis Rubiales following Spain’s World Cup victory on Sunday.

Rubiales, the president of the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF), was seen giving Spain star Jennifer Hermoso an unwanted kiss on the lips after the 33-year-old received her gold medal following the team’s Women’s World Cup final win against England.

“It made me think about how much we are required to endure,” Rapinoe told The Atlantic when asked about the kiss and the issues surrounding La Roja before the tournament. “Think how much that Spanish team had to shoulder: some of the players who stood up way back last year [to protest against mistreatment] still aren’t on the team.

In September 2022, 15 members of Spain’s senior women’s squad sent personally signed letters to the RFEF via email to announce they would no longer play for the national team, unless there were wholesale changes made throughout the coaching staff, as reported by Spanish outlet Cadena Ser.

However, RFEF backed head coach Jorge Vilda, and all but three of the 15 players who sent letters missed out on Spain’s triumphant World Cup campaign.

“Maybe that was something that galvanized them [to win the final], but you shouldn’t have to have that,” added Rapinoe, who also told The Atlantic that the actions of Rubiales after Spain won the World Cup signal the “deep level of misogyny and sexism” in the Spanish federation and Rubiales himself.

The furore surrounding Rubiales was sparked by video showing him embracing Hermoso, then putting both hands on her head before kissing her. He then pats her on the back as she walks away.

“What kind of upside-down world are we in? On the biggest stage, where you should be celebrating, Jenni [Hermoso] has to be physically assaulted by this guy,” Rapinoe continued.

Rapinoe’s comments come amid increasing pressure on Rubiales.

On Tuesday, a day after Rubiales apologized and admitted he “made a mistake” kissing Hermoso, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Rubiales’ apology was “not enough.”

“It is true that there has been some behavior, in this case of Mr. Rubiales, which shows that in our country there is still a long way to go in terms of equality and respect and in this equalization of rights between women and men,” Sánchez said.

“The apologies made by Mr. Rubiales are not enough. I even think that they are not appropriate and that, therefore, Mr.
Rubiales needs to continue to take steps to clarify what we all saw.”

The president of the Spanish government’s High Council of Sport (CSD) has also spoken on the incident and says he will take action against Rubiales if the RFEF fails to do so.

On Tuesday, RFEF called an extraordinary general assembly – set for Friday – to deal with the fallout of Rubiales giving Hermoso the unwanted kiss.

Speaking to the “El Larguero” program on Spanish outlet Cadena SER later on Tuesday, CSD president Victor Francos said the council is willing to get involved after receiving three formal complaints about Rubiales’ actions.

Nearly two dozen cattle died in Nebraska, more than 100 Missouri nursing home residents were evacuated and an ice cream shop in Iowa was forced to close as record-shattering heat engulfs more than 20 states.

Excessive heat warnings, the most severe form of heat alert, spanned more than 1,100 miles Wednesday, from the Gulf Coast northward to central Minnesota. Twenty-two states were under some kind of heat alert Wednesday afternoon.

Temperatures will soar more than 20 degrees above what is typical for late August through the end of the week across the Plains, Midwest and South. Even locations that are acclimated to sweltering summer heat will face extreme conditions.

By Friday, more than 65 million people will have experienced a temperature above 100 degrees.

This latest heat wave is exceptional even for this record-breaking summer. It’s being fueled by a heat dome, a strong area of high pressure that traps and intensifies hot air at the surface, which has been measured at record levels in multiple states.

The dangerous heat forced the evacuation of 117 people at a Kansas City nursing home Tuesday after the air conditioning there failed, the Kansas City Fire Department said. The heat index reached 119 degrees. Seven of the residents were Covid-19 positive and taken to a hospital, KCFD Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins said.

The rest were relocated to nine other local facilities, Hopkins said.

The heat has also proved unsurvivable for some animals. Twenty-two cattle died in extreme heat Tuesday at a University of Nebraska-Lincoln farm according to Eric Hunt, an agricultural climatologist with University of Nebraska extension.

In Des Moines, Iowa, the Black Cat Ice Cream store closed through Thursday, with its owners writing in a Facebook post the “extreme heat is too much for the 100+ year old building that we are in to keep up.”

And the temperatures won’t let up: Hundreds of heat records could be set in the coming days as portions of the central and southern US approach temperatures never-before recorded.

Scroll down for a day-by-day look at the heat forecast.

All-time records may fall Wednesday

The core of the worst heat on Wednesday is centered along the Mississippi River Valley and impacts states as far north as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Multiple Midwestern cities including Chicago, Indianapolis and Springfield, Illinois, may reach triple digits on Wednesday for the first time in over a decade.

The heat index already exceeded 100 degrees early Tuesday afternoon as far north as Minneapolis and Green Bay, Wisconsin. These cities typically experience temperatures in the 70s in late August. Chicago’s heat index climbed to 116 degrees early Tuesday afternoon, which was just short of the city’s all-time record of 118 degrees set on July 14, 1995.

On the southern end of the heat dome, New Orleans will make a run Wednesday at reaching or exceeding it highest temperature ever recorded – 102 degrees. The city will only add to a recorded 12 days of temperatures at or above 100 degrees this year, which is more than any other year on record.

A slow shift in the heat begins Thursday

Portions of the Midwest and Plains will begin to see minor relief on Thursday as the worst of the heat starts to shift south and eastward. Scorching heat will remain in place across the South and much of the Mississippi River Valley, but will expand east to roast the Ohio Valley and more of the Southeast.

Record high temperatures may fall from Iowa to Indiana and southward to the Gulf Coast on Thursday.

The heat index in parts of Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia could climb into the triple digits on Thursday after being spared from the worst of the heat for several days this week.

No relief for the South on Friday

Friday is shaping up to be yet another brutal day for the southern US, with dozens of records in jeopardy from Texas to the Carolinas.

Georgia and portions of the Carolinas will experience heat index values in excess of 100 degrees, while parts of Louisiana continue to deal with values in the 110s.

Overnight temperatures won’t fall to levels more typical for late August and will be dangerously high. Elevated overnight temperatures can pose a serious risk to people without a reliable way to cool off.

Record heat dome sent heat index above 130 degrees

The ongoing heat dome has been the strongest on record in several locations, including portions of Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri according to the National Weather Service offices there.

A weather balloon launched Monday by the National Weather Service office in Topeka, Kansas, observed atmospheric data that would suggest this heat dome is record-strong for that location. The same was true in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Springfield, Missouri.

The heat index topped 130 degrees in Kansas on Sunday and Monday and reached a staggering 134 degrees on Monday in Lawrence. It also topped 120 degrees on Tuesday in several states including Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Extreme heat forces school closures

Milwaukee Public Schools are closed Wednesday as an excessive heat warning remains in effect for the area, the school district said. All after-school activities, athletics, recreation child care camps, community learning centers and Safe Places are also canceled or closed for the day.

The district announced schools will remain closed Thursday and all after-school and athletic programs are canceled.

In Missouri, Kansas City Public Schools will release students early for the rest of this week as some of its classrooms don’t have air conditioning units. The heat index in the area could hit 110 degrees.

“It’s important to note that many of our secondary schools don’t have AC units in all of the classrooms, and the existing AC units are struggling due to this unusual heat, and are not able to maintain a comfortable temperature within our facilities,” the Kansas City school district said.

In Iowa, 100% of Des Moines Public Schools’ classrooms do have air conditioning – and the AC “has been running around the clock to best maintain comfortable indoor temperatures,” the school district said.

However, “Most school buses are not air conditioned; riders should expect these vehicles to be warm throughout the day,” Des Moines Public Schools said.

And some schools from Chicago to Omaha, Nebraska, have canceled outdoor activities until the extreme heat ends.

Anti-corruption candidate Bernardo Arévalo, from the progressive Movimiento Semilla party, won Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday, beating former first lady Sandra Torres in a race marred by fears of democratic backsliding.

Speaking to reporters shortly after preliminary election results showed him winning a majority, Arévalo said the people have “spoken loudly.”

“What the people are shouting at us is: ‘Enough of so much corruption’ – This is a demonstration of the change of mind that we are witnessing in Guatemala,” he said. “Guatemalans today have hope and we are celebrating in the streets the recovery of the sense of hope in our country.”

Arévalo won 58.01% of the vote compared to Torres’ 37.24%, according to official data from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.

It marks a stunning win for the former diplomat who reinvigorated a race that has been plagued by controversy after the state disqualified opposition candidates who spoke out against corruption – drawing concerns from rights groups and Western allies.

“Corruption is a phenomenon that has penetrated the different institutions of society and has infiltrated the different spaces. Our task will be to recover those spaces,” Arévalo said Sunday.

The president of the electoral tribunal, Irma Palencia, said during a press conference on Sunday night that “today, the people voice’s spoke,” as it became apparent that Arévalo had won by a large margin.

Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei congratulated Arévalo for his win in a post on X, saying he would “extend the invitation to start the ordered transition the day after the results are official.”

The center-left politician Arévalo tapped into widespread public discontent with his promises to curb crime and corruption, tackle malnutrition, and bring growth to a country that has one of the highest levels of inequality in the region.

Achieving those goals won’t be easy for Arévalo, whose father was the country’s first democratically elected president, as Congress is set to be largely controlled by establishment parties, including Torres’ Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE).

UNE questioned the results in a statement Monday. “The UNE Party is respectful of the Rule of Law, and we will establish a final position when the results are clarified with total transparency, as we have been demanding regarding the use of the Preliminary Electoral Results Transmission System (TREP),” the statement read.

“Let us remember that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal never clarified why it endorsed the irregular use of a parallel system for the Departmental Electoral Board of the Central District and Department of Guatemala, used during the first electoral round and which failed in other countries.”

The party added that it regretted that international observers have never spoken out to review the alleged irregularities.

The Electoral Observation Mission of Guatemala observed the elections over the weekend and reported no irregularities.

Several losing parties denounced irregularities after the first round of elections on June 25.

Attempts at disqualification

Analysts cautioned there could also be attempts to undermine the victory by Arévalo.

There were previous efforts by state actors to disqualify him after his surprise second place finish during the first round of voting in June.

A Guatemalan court suspended his Movimiento Semilla party on the request of Rafael Curruchiche, who heads the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity and is on the US State Department’s Engel List of “corrupt and undemocratic actors.”

Curruchiche said they were investigating Movimiento Semilla for allegedly falsifying citizens’ signatures – a claim Arévalo has denied.

His win comes as regional observers say rising kleptocracy, graft and weakening rule of law have exacerbated inequality in the Central American country, driving thousands of Guatemalans to move to the United States in recent years.

The situation worsened after a United Nations-backed anti-corruption commission, known as CICIG, credited for assisting in hundreds of convictions, was dissolved in 2019, rights groups say.

Prosecutors and judges associated with the commission were arrested and investigated and many have since fled the country. The ensuing years have seen high rates of poverty and malnutrition.

Members of the media who have opposed corruption in their reporting have also faced legal consequences. This year, prominent Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora was sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, in a ruling press groups described as an attack on free speech.

The 2023 travel craze is not letting up for the upcoming Labor Day weekend in the US, travel experts warn.

“Summer travel has been hot all season long with increased travel for Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Expect the same for Labor Day,” online travel advice site The Vacationer reported this week.

“Travelers heading out of town over the long weekend should expect busy airports and long lines,” the travel app Hopper said in a news release.

AAA, the automotive and trip-planning group, said in a news release this week that Labor Day weekend travel will be up 4% over last year domestically, according to booking data.

That’s notable, but it’s the increase in international bookings for Labor Day weekend that’s jaw-dropping. Those bookings are up 44% over 2022.

Labor Day is on Monday, September 4, this year and is celebrated in Canada, too. The holiday weekend traditionally marks the end of the summer travel season, which is set up to go out with a crowded bang in 2023. Here’s what to know and tips for last-minute Labor Day travelers:

Behind the international travel bonanza

International travel has “increased drastically” compared with last year as Covid-19 pandemic restrictions faded worldwide, said Chris Cave, the CEO of FlightHub Group (the parent company of online travel sites Flighthub.com and JustFly.com), in a news release.

“Europe has seen a surge in travel all year, with more people eager to see the world again without restrictions,” AAA said in its news release.

Even with wildfires threatening some areas, Canada is popular this time of year “because of its cooler temperatures and stunning scenery,” AAA said.

It also noted that international cruise bookings are up 44% over last year and that international hotel bookings for the holiday are up 82% compared with 2022.

AAA said its findings show the top five international destinations over Labor Day weekend to be Vancouver, Rome, London, Dublin and Paris.

Hopper said the top three international destinations booked for Labor Day weekend off its site are San Juan, Toronto and Cancun.

FlightHub, which breaks down its categories between North America and the rest of the world, said the top five international destinations booked on its site are the Philippines, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Turkey. In Canada, its top bookings are for the cities of Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

• New York City to Dublin as low as $506
• Boston to Copenhagen as low as $581
• Chicago to Paris as low as $626

But in general, Berg suggests holding off a bit.

“Travelers considering an end-of-summer getaway to Europe should look beyond Labor Day weekend into September and October,” Berg said. “Prices will drop by 25% for trips in these early fall months compared to peak summer prices.”

The outlook for domestic travel

What happens in Vegas will be happening to a lot of people this coming holiday.

The top five domestic destinations, according to AAA, are Seattle, Orlando, Anchorage, New York and Las Vegas. Hopper’s top three domestic cities are Las Vegas, Atlanta and Denver. For FlightHub, it’s Vegas (again) and Orlando.

AAA also said data shows domestic cruise bookings over Labor Day weekend are up 19% compared with 2022, helping make Florida a popular and crowded destination.

A lot of people will be hitting the road, too.

“Most travelers will leave on Thursday or Friday to take advantage of the long holiday weekend,” said Paula Twidale, senior vice president of AAA Travel.

In its release, AAA provided some road forecasts from INRIX, a global provider of transportation data and insights.

The best times to travel by car over Labor Day weekend are early in the morning or in the evening.”

Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX

INRIX said Thursday, August 31, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. should be the busiest time on the road (though that can vary by city). INRIX also said Friday, September 1, is also expected to have higher-than-normal traffic between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m.

“The best times to travel by car over Labor Day weekend are early in the morning or in the evening,” said Bob Pishue, transportation analyst at INRIX. “If you must travel during heavy traffic, navigation apps and local departments of transportation can help steer drivers around long delays.”

AAA had some neutral-to-decent news on gas prices, which should be similar to last year.

“The national average for a gallon of regular was $3.78 on Labor Day 2022. This summer, gas prices spiked in July because of tight supply and the high cost of oil,” AAA said in its release. “August has brought some relief and, barring a major storm in the Gulf of Mexico, prices should remain steady – or even go down – heading into Labor Day weekend.”

On the rental car pricing front, Hopper said they are averaging $41 per day, down 14.5% from this time last year.

Domestic flight tips

There could still be some affordable domestic worms left for you late birds.

Here are a few of his top tips:

Be flexible with travel dates: Usually, the Thursday and Friday before Labor Day and Labor Day itself are the busiest and most expensive days to fly. Dengler suggested travelers search for flights earlier in the week such as Tuesday and Wednesday. For the return after Labor Day, Dengler likes Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday.

Be flexible with your destination: If you’re not locked into a specific place, Dengler said use the Google Flights Explore feature to find cheap flights from your home airport or nearby ones. On Tuesday, he found a Philadelphia to Miami or Orlando roundtrip flight from Tuesday, August 29, through Wednesday, September 6, for only $78 roundtrip.

Book morning flights directly with the airline: “Book directly with the airline to best position yourself in the event you need to change your flight due to cancellations or significant delays. Additionally, opt for early morning flights as those tend to be cheaper and are less likely to experience interruptions,” he said.

Hopper’s Berg said you should sign up for delay and cancellation alerts.

Also, “if you haven’t booked yet, build in a buffer day,” she said. “Particularly for holiday weekends, it’s always a good idea to add in an extra day or two to your travel plans, to ensure you can arrive at your destination on time and with some wiggle room.”