Myanmar’s already dire human rights situation is deteriorating and the junta should release all political prisoners, the United Nations’ chief said Wednesday, as a leading local news outlet revealed one of its journalists had been jailed for 20 years for covering the aftermath of a cyclone.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said he remains “deeply concerned about the worsening political, humanitarian, and human rights situation in Myanmar, including Rakhine state, and the plight of the massive number of refugees living in desperate conditions.”

Speaking on the last days of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, Guterres reiterated his “urgent call on the military authorities of Myanmar to listen to the aspirations of its people, release all political prisoners, and open the door to a return to democratic rule.”

Since the Myanmar military seized power in a coup in 2021, the country has been rocked by violence and instability and plunged into economic chaos. Fighting between junta troops and resistance groups under the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) unfolds almost daily across the country.

Thousands of civilians have been killed in junta airstrikes and ground attacks, according to monitoring groups, and many more – including journalists, activists and anyone accused of dissent – have been arrested.

On Wednesday, independent local media outlet Myanmar Now said one of its photojournalists was sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labor by a military court on a raft of charges, including sedition.

Sai Zaw Thaike was in western Rakhine state to report on the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Mocha, which killed over 140 people and caused widespread destruction. He was arrested by junta soldiers in the state capital Sittwe on May 23, Myanmar Now reported.

“All of Sai Zaw Thaike’s colleagues at Myanmar Now and I are deeply saddened to hear of the lengthy sentence handed down to him,” the outlet’s editor-in-chief Swe Win said in a statement.

“His sentencing is yet another indication that freedom of the press has been completely quashed under the military junta’s rule, and shows the hefty price independent journalists in Myanmar must pay for their professional work.”

In the aftermath of the cyclone Myanmar’s junta suspended humanitarian access to parts of Rakhine state, where more than 1 million people were in urgent need of aid, the UN’s humanitarian office said at the time.

The decision to stop aid access in the already-impoverished state paralyzed the humanitarian response to Cyclone Mocha and crippled life-saving aid distributions to storm-hit communities.

Myanmar Now said though Sai Zaw Thaike’s initial charges included misinformation, incitement, and sedition, it was not clear what he was convicted of.

Sai Zaw Thaike was not allowed access to a lawyer during his detention and there were no hearings – the verdict took place in a closed-door military compound in Yangon’s notorious Insein Prison, according to the media outlet.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was the longest known prison sentence given to a journalist since the February 2021 coup.

“Myanmar authorities’ grotesque 20-year sentencing of Myanmar Now journalist Sai Zaw Thaike on blatantly bogus charges is an outrage and should be immediately reversed,” Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative said in a statement.

“Myanmar’s junta must stop imprisoning members of the press for merely doing their jobs as reporters.”

According to data from the Detained Journalist Group, more than 150 journalists have been arrested, and four media workers have lost their lives since the coup, Myanmar Now reported.

Meanwhile, Myanmar’s highest profile prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi remains locked up and facing the prospect of decades without liberty, amid reports her health is ailing.

Reuters reported that a request for an outside physician to see the ousted state counselor was denied by the junta, citing a source familiar with the matter and the shadow government.

Deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary general Farhan Haq on Wednesday called for Suu Kyi’s release saying, “everyone in detention should be able to have access to health care, that is a basic right.”

Leaders of the ASEAN member states met this week in Jakarta and Myanmar’s deteriorating security and humanitarian situation was high on the agenda. It’s the second consecutive year that Myanmar was not invited to the regional summit following the coup.

But the bloc has faced criticism for its failure to get Myanmar’s military leaders to stop the violence and human rights violations in the country and a five-point consensus agreed by ASEAN leaders and Myanmar junta chief Maj. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in 2021 as a roadmap toward peace has floundered.

ASEAN leaders said they were “gravely concerned by the lack of substantial progress on its implementation” but maintained the consensus “remains as ASEAN’s main reference to address the political crisis in Myanmar,” according to the chairman’s statement.

Myanmar was supposed to hold the annual rotating ASEAN chairmanship in 2026 but regional leaders said the Philippines will take the role instead.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, who also attended the summit, said the United States will continue to press the Myanmar regime “to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained and to reestablish Myanmar’s path to inclusive democracy.”

Children are migrating through Latin America and the Caribbean in record numbers, driven by gang violence, poverty, instability and climate change, the United Nations reported Wednesday.

In the first seven months of 2023, more than 60,000 children crossed the Darien Gap, a major migration route and treacherous stretch of jungle that connects South and Central America, more than any other year on record, said the UN’s Children Fund, UNICEF.

Younger children were making these dangerous journeys at an increasing rate, UNICEF added, with those under 11 years old now accounting for up to 91% of all children moving through key transit points in the region.

“More and more children are on the move, at an increasingly young age, often alone and from diverse countries of origin, including from as far away as Africa and Asia,” said Garry Conille, director of UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean.

“When they cross several countries and sometimes the entire region, disease and injury, family separation and abuse may plague their journeys and, even if they make it to their destination, their futures often remain at risk.”

Globally, children make up around 13 per cent of the migrant population, but they account for 25 per cent of people on the move in Latin America and the Caribbean – the highest proportion in the world.

“The unprecedented scale of the child migration crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean urgently requires a stronger humanitarian response as well as the expansion of safe and regular migration pathways for children and families to help protect their rights and their futures, no matter where they are from,” Conille said.

“Even if children make it to their destination, their futures often remain at risk.”

The trek across the Darién Gap, a stretch of remote, roadless, mountainous rainforest connecting South and Central America, is one of the most popular and perilous walks on earth.

The 66-mile (106-kilometer) hike brings migrants from Colombia to Panama and is a crucial passage for those hoping to reach the United States and Canada.

Almost 250,000 people made the crossing in 2022, fueled by economic and humanitarian disasters – nearly double the figures from the year before, and 20 times the annual average from 2010 to 2020.

The unprecedented movement of people in the Western Hemisphere has placed immense pressure on the Biden administration, which – despite rolling out a series of measures to stem migration – is still facing potentially thousands more people arriving at the US southern border this fall, placing a politically delicate issue at the forefront on the cusp of a presidential election.

Already, border officials are seeing an increasing number of daily encounters at the border compared to earlier this summer. In July, the number of families apprehended at the border – one of the most vulnerable populations – nearly doubled compared to June, raising concerns within the Biden administration.

Mary Achieng’s family is in the malaria ward at Nightingale Hospital in western Kenya almost every month. On this visit in late August, she’s being treated along with her two sons, aged 4 and 12. All three are recovering from a disease that has long devastated their region.

Achieng lives in Kisumu, Kenya, a hot and humid lakeside region where conditions are ideal for malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. She’s one of 14 million Kenyans who live in areas where malaria is endemic and who struggle with the burden of a disease which kills an estimated 10,000 people in the country each year.

Now there are fears that the malaria is spreading to new communities in the country – and just at a time when the development of the world’s first mosquito vaccine is raising hopes the deadly disease could one day be eradicated.

The reason: climate change.

A breeding ground for mosquitoes

Mosquitoes thrive in warm and humid conditions and the human-caused climate crisis is fueling more frequent and severe heat waves as well as storms that leave behind pools of water where the insects love to breed.

In Kenya, as elsewhere in Africa, it means malaria-transmitting mosquitoes are threatening communities where outbreaks have previously been rare.

Scientists from Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) are investigating reports of malaria cases in people who had not recently traveled out of areas previously considered “malaria-free.”

This includes places like the Kikuyu highlands, on the outskirts of the capital Nairobi, where scientists found malaria-transmitting mosquitoes for the first time. A significant increase in temperatures in the area – about 1.3 degrees Celsius over the last 60 years- could be a driving factor, they said in a recent report.

Steve Ngugi, a 45-year-old Kikuyu resident, was shocked to learn he had tested positive for malaria in February despite not having traveled to a malaria zone. It was the first time in his life that he contracted the disease. With little or no immunity, malaria left him extremely sick, weak, and fearing for his life for three months.

It is a problem that affects many countries in Africa, which shoulders 95% of malaria infections, killing more than 600,000 people annually – most of them children.

A recent report found that malaria-transmitting mosquitoes have reached new heights in sub-Saharan Africa, on average climbing 21 feet in elevation every year over the last 120 years. It’s a pace that follows climate change, according to the report authors.

“Where cooler places now are becoming warmer, we are seeing increased malaria rate in those areas because of mosquito multiplication,” said Richard Munang, climate change program coordinator for the UN’s environmental agency.

Experts warn other continents are at risk too, as the climate crisis accelerates.

“What is happening in Africa will gradually see itself elsewhere, because with a warming climate, with the changing temperatures, malaria mosquitoes are migrating to other areas that are conducive for them,” said Munang. As the insects move to different territories, people will be displaced, he said.

There is good news when it comes to combating malaria. Scientists and health experts have made strides in tackling the disease over the last two decades using a wide range of preventative measures.

In Kenya, increased distribution of insecticide-treated bednets, preventative doses of antimalarial drugs, and nation-wide awareness campaigns have contributed to a dramatic decrease in malaria.

Now with the introduction of the world’s first malaria vaccine, hailed as a breakthrough, there is talk of one day reaching eradication.

Around 1.7 million children in Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi have benefited from the vaccine since its pilot roll-out in 2019, resulting in a substantial drop in severe malaria and child deaths.

So it’s a bitter irony that as Kenya celebrates hard-earned gains, new malaria species and cases are popping up in areas historically deemed low-risk.

“We were at the verge of bringing cases to minimum, to non-detectable levels,” said Damaris Matoke-Muhia, principal research scientist at the KEMRI’s Malaria Lab.

If global temperatures keep rising, Matoke-Muhia said, “it’s likely that our story will change about malaria.”

“If this continues like this” she added, “we have to go back to the drawing board, start thinking of novel interventions.”

And then there were two.

After two gripping weeks of action, the women’s US Open draw concludes on Saturday with a mouthwatering finale between home favorite Coco Gauff and world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka.

Both players have produced stunning tennis en route to the final and while Sabalenka will go into the match as the favorite, Gauff will be confident she can get over the final hurdle in front of a partisan crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

How to watch

The action for the final grand slam title of the season begins at 4 p.m. ET.

Viewers in the US can watch all the action on ESPN, while Sky Sports will broadcast the matches in the UK.

A first grand slam for Gauff?

The last time Gauff and Sabalenka met was in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells in March, with the Belarusian winning comfortably, 6-4 6-0. Saturday’s final should be an altogether different contest, however, with Gauff improving rapidly in the six months that have passed since that defeat.

The 19-year-old has won three WTA titles this season, including the biggest of her career in Cincinnati just before the US Open, and has won 17 of her last 18 matches. She is the youngest American woman to reach the US Open final since a 17-year-old Serena Williams did so in 1999.

“Serena is Serena. She’s the GOAT. I hope to do half of what she did,” Gauff said, per the WTA.

This will be the second grand slam final of Gauff’s career after reaching the French Open final in 2022, where she was swiftly defeated by Iga Świątek.

But following her 6-4 7-5 semifinal win over Karolína Muchová, Gauff spoke about the improvement in her mentality, of going from somebody blighted by imposter syndrome to now believing she is capable of contending with the best players in the world.

“I think it’s [imposter syndrome] still a part of me,” she said. “It’s something I’m doing better with, definitely. Even after [winning Washington] DC, I still was like: ‘Well, I beat some good people, but maybe I caught them on off days.’

“It’s still definitely a part of me, but I do think I’m giving myself more credit more and speaking things into existence is real. I’ve been trying to speak more positively of myself and actually telling myself that I’m a great player.”

The sixth seed told reporters that after her first-round Wimbledon loss she was “preparing for next year,” before adding she was “really proud of myself” for the way she has performed at Flushing Meadows.

“I have been focusing more on myself and my expectations of myself,” said Gauff, per Reuters. “I really believe that now I have the maturity and ability to do it.”

‘Just keep fighting’

Until her semifinal against Madison Keys, Sabalenka had been dominant in New York – not dropping a set and never losing more than five games in a match.

However, she was pushed all the way by the American on Thursday and had to bounce back from a brutal 6-0 first-set loss, eventually winning 0-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (10-5).after two-and-a-half hours of grueling tennis.

Such was the likelihood of a Keys victory late in the second set, Gauff was even asked about the prospect of facing her fellow American in her post-match press conference.

Sabalenka’s run to the final of the US Open caps off a remarkable year in which she won three titles – including her first grand slam at the Australian Open and her sixth Masters 1000 title in Madrid. Win or lose on Saturday, she will be crowned the new world No. 1 on Monday.

Despite winning the last time they met, Sabalenka heralded Gauff’s development this season and says she is a “much better” player now than she was six months ago.

“She’s improved a lot,” Sabalenka told reporters after her semifinal. “So it’s a different player – we don’t really like thinking about that match.

“Going into this final, I think I just have to focus on myself and prepare myself for another fight. No matter what, just keep fighting and keep playing my best and do my best.

“You know, there is nothing much you can, what else can you do? You just have to be there and you have to fight for it.”

Sabalenka will no doubt have to play before a partisan crowd in Saturday’s final but having already overcome an intense atmosphere against Keys on Thursday, she said she felt confident of handling the occasion.

“Of course, I would prefer [to] have someone else or [the] crowd be a little bit the same to both players, but today’s match I think is gonna help me in the final because I’ll be fine with this support. I’ll be all right,” she said.

“I’m still hoping that probably some of them will be supporting me – just a little bit. Just sometimes, please. Please,” she laughed.

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.