A Thai court on Wednesday acquitted five activists accused of obstructing the Queen’s motorcade at a protest in 2020, in a landmark judgment that ended the prospect of more severe punishment nearly three years after rare calls for reform of the powerful monarchy erupted in the kingdom.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, which represented two of the activists, said a court in the capital Bangkok acquitted the defendants on all the charges, ruling the protesters were not aware of the incoming royal convoy.

If found guilty, the defendants had faced a minimum sentence of 16 years in prison for allegedly “violating the Queen’s liberty and her well-being.” Maximum sentences included life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

The royal institution is regarded by many in Thailand with deity-like reverence and even speaking openly about the monarchy was long considered taboo.

Protesters in 2020 were calling for amendments to Article 112 of the Criminal Code – Thailand’s strict lese majeste law that criminalizes criticism of the monarchy and makes any frank discussion of the subject fraught with risk.

Lese majeste convictions carry long prison terms and currently, anyone can bring a case, even if they aren’t connected to the alleged crime.

Thailand’s Move Forward Party, which won the most votes in Thailand’s May election, has pledged to amend the law.

What happened at the protest

The incident in October 2020 was a turning point in the youth-led mass demonstrations that had broken out across the country for months. Thousands of people had taken to the streets demanding democratic and military reforms, constitutional change, and – what was unprecedented in Thailand – reform of the monarchy.

On October 14, 2020, dozens of protesters had gathered outside Bangkok’s Government House when Queen’s Suthida’s motorcade drove past.

Video from the scene showed the crowd shouting and holding up the three-finger salute inspired by the Hunger Games movie franchise that became a symbol of the protests. Police were seen pushing back the demonstrators as the car, which also carried King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s youngest son, Prince Dipangkorn, slowly drove past.

The incident with the royal motorcade was cited by the government as one of the reasons for announcing an emergency decree that banned gatherings of more than five people and a nationwide ban on publishing and broadcasting news and information that incites fear among the public.

In defiance of that decree, thousands of demonstrators escalated their protests, with dozens arrested.

The five: Bunkueanun, Ekachai Hongkangwan, Suranat Paenprasert and two others were arrested on three charges for assaulting the Queen’s liberty, inciting chaos and obstructing traffic.

The most serious was Section 110, with those found guilty facing 16 years to a maximum life imprisonment for violence or attempted violence against the Queen, the heir-apparent or regent. If the actions are considered likely to endanger the Queen’s life, then the death penalty could be applied.

‘Relieved’

The court in its ruling found that on the day of the incident, police did not manage the route of the royal procession properly and officers at the scene didn’t know which royal procession it was, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

When the protesters realized it was a royal procession, they allowed it to move through and there were no objects thrown or obstruction of the procession, the court found, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

Bunkueanun, who is studying International Relations at Mahidol University, said he was “relieved” with the verdict and called the judges “fair handed and very impartial.”

“My determination has not changed since then,” he said.

This story has been updated to clarify the role of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights.

The weekend’s events in Russia seem an almost surreal interruption to the long slog of conflict unfolding in neighboring Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s challenge to the Russian state erupted and receded in the space of 24 hours, but the consequences of his short-lived mutiny may reverberate for much longer.

Prigozhin’s Wagner forces, for all his boasting, were never going to be a match for the Russian security forces. The march on Moscow comprised scattered convoys that had little shape and less direction – and insufficient firepower to challenge the regular military.

Despite Prigozhin’s bluster, there is virtually no evidence that any regular Russian units came over to Wagner’s side, though some may have opted not to confront them. In some ways, it was surprising that Prigozhin’s columns got as far as they did.

And yet, the saga was humiliating to the Russian military and at least embarrassing to the Kremlin. There was the bizarre recorded encounter between Prigozhin and two very senior military officers in Rostov-on-Don, during which he upbraided them like teenagers sentenced to detention (and said that Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had run away).

Prigozhin and his men were able to take over the headquarters of the Southern Military District without a murmur, let alone a shot. Indeed, Russian regular forces (except for a couple of helicopters over the city of Voronezh) appear to have sleepwalked through the day’s events.

The brief drama forced a visibly angry President Vladimir Putin to address the nation early on Saturday and threaten Prigozhin with dire consequences, even raising the specter of civil war in the process. The much-prized sense of national purpose in an existential struggle against what Moscow falsely claims are Ukrainian neo-Nazis that were creatures of the West was punctured by what was at times a day of melodrama.

Some moments, such as the hasty erection of roadblocks on Moscow’s southern outskirts and the mobilization of Chechen special forces to move on Rostov, were reminiscent of the 1991 attempted coup by Soviet hardliners against Mikhail Gorbachev – not in a political sense but for the haphazard and inchoate nature of events.

Above all, the day exposed the transactional nature of relationships among Russian elites. What had begun as “treasonous” behavior and a criminal challenge to the state that must be ruthlessly dealt with ended with a tawdry deal brokered by the dictator next door that gave Prigozhin a “get-out-of-jail-free card,” and amnesty to the mutineers advancing on Moscow.

Putin left looking weaker

This was not lost on Kyiv, with an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Mikhailo Podolyak, saying that “at the end of the day, everything goes back to normal, (Prigozhin) is not a traitor, he is a hero of Russia, and so on. It’s a failed state.”

Russian state media has gone to great lengths to show how Putin was in control throughout. “The whole night the president has been in touch with all law enforcement structures,” said Pavel Zarubin, a state TV reporter on Sunday.

And in reality Russia “is not on the verge of a civil war or major upheaval, even if there is a not negligible level of discontent with the state of affairs across the country,” concludes Thomas Graham at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.

But as Prigozhin was granted an escape route hours after betting the farm on overthrowing the military establishment, his departure from the scene still left Putin looking weaker, even a touch naïve.

For years Putin had tolerated and even encouraged Prigozhin’s ambitions, his Wagner private military company was at first a cheap way to project Russian power in Africa, perform basic guard duty in Syria and later serve as a useful counterweight to the defense establishment, which the Wagner chief reviled in ever more sulphuric language after the launch of the Ukraine operation.

Prigozhin’s activism, his plundering of Russian jails for cannon fodder, the readiness of his fighters to go on the offensive and ultimately take the city of Bakhmut despite hideous losses, was in contrast to the almost invisible leadership of the Defense Ministry and the ever-changing cast of generals leading the “special military operation.”

Putin indirectly scolded him this month after Prigozhin refused an order to register (and thereby defang) Wagner with the Defense Ministry (in trademark colorful language); but no action was taken. That attempt by the ministry may have tipped Prigozhin into his drastic demarche, but even if Putin saw it coming he failed to head it off. He said the actions of his former chef and St. Petersburg comrade were a “stab in the back.”

The leadership of the Defense Ministry, specifically Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, was silent and apparently absent throughout the crisis. Their already tarnished reputations appear to have taken another blow, while two senior generals did speak up – demanding Prigozhin end his escapade.

One Ukrainian officer noted with some satisfaction that “numerous senior officers responsible for decision-making chose to abstain from issuing orders or making decisive moves, opting to wait for the outcome.”

Fading veneer

It may take weeks for any personnel reshuffle to materialize in Moscow but “someone will have to take the blame for not nipping the rebellion in the bud. It is a fair bet that Putin will not blame himself. There will be much finger-pointing inside the Kremlin, as elite factions seek to save their own positions and erode their rivals’,” says CFR’s Graham.

The weekend’s events seem to have chipped away at the already fading veneer of Putin’s omniscience, eroded by a series of miscalculations in the planning and execution of the war and a severe underestimation of the West’s response.

“Now, they have to be focused on defending Moscow – Russia’s capital – against mercenaries and Putin’s own men.”

Graham echoes that.

“It will inevitably distract attention of Russia’s senior leaders from the war effort — and not only in the short-term … The Kremlin will have to devote greater resources to ensuring that no similar threat emerges in the future,” he writes.

In an authoritarian state, doubt is corrosive. Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, says that “for a dictatorship built on the idea of unchallenged power, this was an extreme humiliation, and it’s hard to see the genie of doubt ever being forced back into the bottle.”

Hanna Notte, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agrees – up to a point.

“It’s conceivable that the corrosion of his rule is in motion. And more importantly, that the process will continue,” Notte wrote on Twitter. “But there’s also the possibility that the immense dysfunctionality of the system we observed yday can prove quite durable & not become dangerous to #Putin.”

Putin appears to believe that he can wear down all opponents – the West, Ukraine and probably Prigozhin. And Notte says that if “Ukraine’s counter-offensive falls below expectations, the regime might prove less brittle than many thought.”

Fillip for the Ukrainians

The Kremlin may well use the upheaval to strengthen still further the apparatus of oppression, the one part of the Russian state that appears to work relatively efficiently.

Still unknown, the trickle-down effect of the weekend’s events on the rank-and-file Russian troops in Ukraine whose morale is already brittle. Many will likely be asking themselves yet again what they are fighting for as the Ukrainian counter-offensive gains pace.

And of course the episode is only a fillip for the Ukrainians. One Ukrainian military officer was provocatively shown on social media eating popcorn as he watched events in Russia unfold.

Podolyak says that “Prigozhin humiliated Putin/the state and showed that there is no longer a monopoly on violence,” and went on to mock the Russian state as a “flimsy structure held together by inertia on a wing and a prayer.”

Hyperbole of course, but as Ukraine’s counteroffensive struggles to gain momentum, the prospect (however faint) of an internal threat to Putin is likely a comforting thought.

As for Prigozhin, last seen shaking hands with admirers as he left Rostov: his current whereabouts are unknown.

But he released new audio on Monday explaining his decision to stop what he called a “march” on Moscow. Prigozhin claimed he wanted to avoid Russian bloodshed, and also said the march was a demonstration of protest, not an attempt to overturn power in the country.

He added that the Russian Defense Ministry had planned for his Wagner private military group to “cease to exist” from July 1.

“Prigozhin’s instrument is Telegram. Putin is famously not on the Internet; he apparently doesn’t understand social media. Big mistake,” says Stalin biographer Stephen Kotkin.

As for the bigger picture, Putin’s Kremlin “remained, and remains, viable as long as there is no political alternative,” Kotkin adds. “Now, we might see just how hollow the regime is. Putin has unwittingly launched a stress test of his own regime.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin have both broken their silence, after the paramilitary group’s short-lived and chaotic insurrection at the weekend threw the country into uncertainty, in what the Russian leader described as a betrayal of the country.

In a brief address to the nation on Monday, Putin said Wagner fighters made the “right decision” by halting their advance, adding that the “armed rebellion would have been suppressed anyway.”

Those forces would now have the opportunity to sign a contract with Russia’s Ministry of Defense “or other law enforcement agencies, or to return to your family and friends,” he said. He added that fighters could also opt to go to Belarus, where Prigozhin is also expected to go to per a deal apparently brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Putin did not mention Prigozhin by name, but he accused “the organizers of the rebellion” of “betraying their country, their people, (and) also betrayed those who were drawn into the crime.”

“They lied to them, pushed them to death, under fire, to shoot at their own. It was precisely this outcome – fratricide – that Russia’s enemies wanted,” he said in the five-minute speech, which appeared to be pre-recorded from inside the Kremlin, according to Russian state media TASS.

The address came soon after Prigozhin made his own comments, saying that the canceled uprising had been a protest, rather than a real attempt to topple the government.

“The purpose of the march was to prevent the destruction of PMC Wagner and to bring to justice those who, through their unprofessional actions, made a huge number of mistakes during the special military operation,” Prigozhin said in an audio message, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Troops from his private military group seized control of a military base and moved in convoy towards Russia’s capital on Saturday in a remarkable and unexpected challenge to Putin. The march was suddenly called off when Lukashenko’s deal was struck.

Wagner’s march toward Moscow not only marked a drastic escalation in Prigozhin’s long-running feud with Russia’s Defense Ministry, but left an air of uncertainty and more questions for Putin, who is recovering from one of the gravest challenges to his authority in decades.

Questions also remain on Prigozhin’s whereabouts and the future of Russia’s war with Ukraine, in which Wagner played a crucial role.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s Presidential Administration, mocked Putin’s address on Monday, insinuating that the short speech didn’t seem to determine the “future of Russia” as the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reportedly said it would.

“A truly ‘epochal’ address that ‘determines the future of Russia.’ He [Putin] voluntarily put an end to his own subjectivity. Doubts are finally dispelled. #Russia is waiting for… the new president…,” Podolyak said in a tweet.

A protest?

Prigozhin also claimed Monday that Russia’s Defense Ministry had planned for Wagner to “cease to exist” from July 1 and further defended his group’s actions.

“Overnight, we have walked 780 kilometers (480 miles), 200-something kilometers (125 miles) were left to Moscow,” Prigozhin claimed in his Monday message, despite no evidence that Wagner forces made it that close to the Russian capital. 

“Not a single soldier on the ground was killed,” Prigozhin added. “We regret that we were forced to strikes on aircraft,” he said. “…but these aircraft dropped bombs and launched missile strikes.”

Belarusian President Lukashenko “extended his hand” and offered to find solutions to further the work of the Wagner Group in a legal way, Prigozhin said, mirroring the line that Minsk and the Kremlin has communicated about why the march – which for several hours appeared to be an armed insurrection on the Russian state – suddenly ended.

Prigozhin claimed that residents of Russian towns “were all happy [to see us]” adding that “many of them still write us words of support and some are disappointed that we stopped, because in the march of justice, in addition to our struggle for existence, they saw support for the fight against bureaucracy and other ills that exist in our country today.”

But videos posted to social media show a more nuanced picture.

Wagner forces were met with some cheering in Rostov-on-Don, where on Saturday, local people were taking photos with Wagner fighters, chatting with them, and jubilantly climbing their equipment.

But many of those videos show Russians cheering only after the announcement of the apparent deal brokered by Lukashenko. Videos of the Wagner convoy en route to Moscow only show it sitting on the roadside, and traveling through cities in apparent attempts to bypass blockades and roadblocks – there were no crowds or people that greeted them.

Unclear future

The future role of Prigozhin or his Wagner group remains unclear. The unit has been increasingly essential to Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

The investigation into the criminal case involving Prigozhin and his alleged involvement in organizing an armed mutiny is still active, Russian state news agency TASS said Monday, citing a source close to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

On Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told journalists a deal had been reached with Prigozhin and the charges against him for calling for “an armed rebellion” would be dropped, without providing a time frame.

“We stopped at the moment when the detachment, which had approached Moscow, deployed its artillery, made a reconnaissance of the area, and it was obvious that at that moment a lot of blood would be shed. We felt that demonstrating what we were going to do was sufficient,” Prigozhin said Monday.

Prigozhin had previously accused Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, of not giving his forces ammunition and was critical of their handling of the conflict, but he always defended the reasoning for the military campaign and steered clear of criticizing Putin himself.

But he crossed these red lines over the weekend. Late on Friday, Prigozhin accused Russia’s military leadership of killing his fighters during a strike on a Wagner camp, which the Russian Defense Ministry has denied.

He also said Moscow invaded Ukraine under false pretenses devised by the Russian Ministry of Defense, and that Russia is actually losing ground on the battlefield.

“When we were told that we were at war with Ukraine, we went and fought. But it turned out that ammunition, weapons, all the money that was allocated is also being stolen, and the bureaucrats are sitting [idly], saving it for themselves, just for the occasion that happened today, when someone [is] marching to Moscow,” Prigozhin said.

What followed was a remarkable 24-hour confrontation that seemingly weakened Putin’s reputation and sowed further discord and infighting in Russia’s military ranks.

Former WWE wrestler and NFL player Darren Drozdov has died at age 54, according to the WWE.

The WWE announced Drozdov’s death and remembered the athlete as “an imposing force in the ring” in a news release on Friday.

Drozdov, known as both Puke and Droz in the ring, was a notable in-ring WWE competitor, the pro wrestling company said, addin that he he was a “gifted athlete” well before wrestling. Drozdov played football at the University of Maryland before short stints in the NFL where he played for the New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos.

Drozdov died of natural causes, according to a statement from his family shared by the WWE.

The wrestler became quadriplegic after a “tragic ring accident” while wrestling for the WWE in 1999, according to his family.

“Nevertheless, Droz maintained a championship mindset and lived every day to the fullest even though he was unable to move from the neck down for the past 24 years,” his family says in the statement.

Drozdov’s family quoted the athlete reflecting on his outlook on life: “There is always another day. Just because I’m paralyzed and stuck in a wheelchair, doesn’t mean my life is over. I’ve learned to live again, and my life is far from over.”

The family also extended their thanks to Drozdov’s “fans, teammates, colleagues, and friends” over the years.

“You all gave him meaning, purpose and something to live for,” says the statement. “He loved each and every one of you and cherished the conversations, notes and letters he received. His faith in humanity never faltered, so know that for all the love you’ve shown him, he loved you back.”

In a tweet, actor and wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson remembered Drozdov as one of his “ring brothers.”

“We wrestled on a lot of cards together. Such an awesome dude. Great personality and great wrestling talent. We always talked about football and fishing. Sending love, strength, mana and light to his family. RIP brother,” Johnson wrote.

Drozdov played football for the Denver Broncos between 1993 and 1994 before moving on to the wrestling ring. The team said in a tweet Friday that they were “saddened” by his death.

Drozdov “embodied the spirit of perseverance & determination through adversity, and our hearts go out to his family,” the Broncos wrote.

World soccer governing body FIFA will allow a variety of different armbands that highlight “a range of social causes” to be worn at the upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the organization said Friday.

“FIFA, in partnership with several United Nations agencies, will use the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 to highlight a range of social causes, selected following extensive consultation with stakeholders including players and the 32 participating member associations,” FIFA said in a statement.

Team captains will be allowed to wear an armband around eight different social causes, including gender equality, inclusion and peace, during the tournament, which FIFA says will reach an “estimated audience of over two billion people around the world.”

“Football unites the world and our global events, such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, have a unique power to bring people together and provide joy, excitement and passion,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“But football does even more than that – it can shine the spotlight on very important causes in our society. After some very open talks with stakeholders, including member associations and players, we have decided to highlight a series of social causes – from inclusion to gender equality, from peace to ending hunger, from education to tackling domestic violence – during all 64 matches at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.”

FIFA said that team captains will have three options: “They can wear the ‘Football Unites the World’ armband for the entire tournament; an armband corresponding to the theme of their choice for the entire tournament; or the armband corresponding to the theme of the specific matchday.”

There will be “eight specific messages” during the tournament that fall under FIFA’s global campaign titled “Football Unites the World,” which are:

Unite for Inclusion – in partnership with UN Human Rights

Unite for Indigenous Peoples – in partnership with UN Human Rights

Unite for Gender Equality – in partnership with UN Women

Unite for Peace – in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

Unite for Education for All – in partnership with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Unite for Zero Hunger – in partnership with the UN World Food Programme

Unite for Ending Violence Against Women – in partnership with UN Women

Football is Joy, Peace, Love, Hope & Passion – in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO)

At the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 the captains of several men’s European teams did not wear “OneLove” armbands due to the danger of receiving yellow cards.

Several European teams were set to participate in the “OneLove” campaign to promote inclusion and oppose discrimination, but those countries were prevented by FIFA from doing so.

In a joint statement at the time, they said they had been told by the governing body that any “breaches of kit regulations” would result in on-field sanctions for the players.

The armbands, which featured a heart striped in different colors, became the center of huge controversy at the tournament, despite standing against all forms of discrimination – including solidarity with people of different genders and sexual identities.

In the absence of players not wearing the armbands, politicians watching their countries in Qatar – including Belgian Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser – had them on display while sitting close to Infantino.

There is no explicit mention of LGBTQ rights in Women’s World Cup armbands, beyond the “themes” of “gender equality” and “inclusion.”

The Women’s World Cup is scheduled to be played from July 20 to August 20 with the opening game taking place in Auckland when co-hosts New Zealand play Norway.

A heat wave in parts of the South and Mississippi Valley is peaking and a new one is building in the West on Friday, putting more than 70 million people in those areas under heat alerts ahead of the holiday weekend.

More dangerous severe thunderstorms and areas of heavy rain along the northern side of the heat dome are forecast to track eastward from the Central Plains to the Ohio Valley and eventually the mid-Atlantic over the next couple of days, bringing some heat relief, but also the risk of damaging storms and additional power outages.

Oppressive heat smothers South

In the mid- to lower Mississippi River Valley and the Deep South, temperatures on Friday will again near or top 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; Little Rock, Arkansas; and New Orleans are under excessive heat warnings, as heat and humidity may combine to make temperatures feel like 105 to 115 degrees.

This continues distressing, deadly heat that parts of the South have experienced for days. Eleven people died in recent days due to heat-related illnesses in Texas’ Webb County, which includes Laredo, and at least two people died from the heat in Louisiana’s Caddo Parish this month, officials said.

Parts of Texas have sweltered under triple-digit temperatures for more than two weeks – but the state is seeing signs of relief. Dallas was not under any heat alert Friday morning as temperatures there dip to more typical summer values.

“Although a few locations across Central and East Texas may reach advisory criteria, the prevalence of 105 heat indices will be far less widespread, and our protracted stretch of advisories/warnings for heat will come to an end,” the National Weather Service office in Dallas said.

Heat across the rest of the South is expected to follow a similar pattern to Dallas, with slight relief slowly occurring over the holiday weekend.

“An increase in showers and thunderstorms this weekend into next week during peak heating will bring some relief from the heat as the upper-level ridge weakens slightly across the region,” the National Weather Service office in Memphis said.

Storms will tame temps this weekend

Rounds of storms each day “will begin to erode the upper ridge (heat dome) responsible for the ongoing heat wave across the South and help bringing cooler air ever so slowly east across the Central Plains,” the Weather Prediction Center said Friday morning.

But the trade-off is rounds of dangerous storms.

Damaging winds and large hail are the main threats today as storms move around the periphery of the heat dome parked over the South. Denver, Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, are in a Level 1 of 5 risk on Friday.

A level 2 of 5 slight risk of severe storms stretches from Colorado to Kentucky on Friday, including Colorado Springs, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Nashville, Tennessee.

Thunderstorm complexes with heavy downpours, hail and damaging wind gusts will develop over the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys Saturday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

On Saturday, a level 3 of 5 enhanced risk of severe storms covers portions of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky, including St. Louis and Louisville. Damaging winds and large hail are the most likely threat with these storms. A Level 2 of 5 risk stretches farther east to the Virginias, Carolinas and Georgia.

By Sunday, storms look to target the Ohio Valley into the mid-Atlantic where a Level 2 of 5 risk is already highlighted. Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and Indianapolis are included.

Southwest bakes as new heat wave builds

As parts of the South begin to see some relief, heat in the West is building.

Millions across Las Vegas and Phoenix will be under excessive heat warnings beginning Saturday, with temperatures projected to soar above 110 degrees for both locations this weekend. And many parts of California are under excessive heat warnings or heat advisories.

Las Vegas has gone a record-breaking 293 consecutive days without reaching 100 degrees, but is forecast to top 100 degrees today, and shoot up to 110 degrees by Sunday and beyond.

“This heat should be taken seriously and precautions need to be taken to prevent heat-related illnesses,” the National Weather Service office in Las Vegas warned. “Avoid outdoor activity during the hottest parts of the day (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.), drink extra water, take breaks in cool or shady locations, and wear light colored, light weight clothing.”

More than 600 people in the US are killed by extreme heat every year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As human-induced climate change forces temperatures to rise around the globe, officials urge people to take safety precautions during heat waves, including staying hydrated, avoiding leaving pets and kids in cars unattended and finding cool, indoor spaces to wait out the high temperatures.

Summers are getting hotter than ever, shattering all-time high temperature records, straining the energy grid and damaging critical infrastructure.

Heat waves also are coming to include another increasingly dangerous element: overnight temperatures that don’t cool down enough to offer sufficient reprieve from oppressive heat, particularly for people without access to air conditioning.

Hotter nights are a consequence of the climate crisis, scientists have warned. On average, nights are warming faster than days in most of the United States, the 2018 National Climate Assessment found.

Increasing nighttime heat is even more common in cities because of the urban heat island effect, in which metro areas are significantly hotter than their surroundings.

Places with a lot of asphalt, concrete, buildings and freeways absorb more of the sun’s heat than areas with ample parks, rivers and tree-lined streets. At night, when temperatures are supposed to cool down, the retained heat is released back into the air, said University of Washington climate and health expert Kristie Ebi.

Areas with a lot of green space – with grass and trees that reflect sunlight and create shade – are cooler on summer’s hottest days, she said.

“It’s going to take a while for trees to grow, but we need tree-planting programs focusing on places that are particularly vulnerable, making sure that city planning takes into account that we’re heading into a much warmer future.”

Nighttime should be when our bodies get a break from the heat, Patel said. But with the climate crisis, it’s becoming less likely to happen. Heat-related deaths could increase sixfold by the end of the century due to warmer nighttime temperatures, unless planet-warming pollution is significantly curbed, a 2022 study in the Lancet Planetary Health found.

The climate crisis is already affecting people’s ability to sleep, said Minor, co-author of a study that found people living in warmer climates lose more sleep for each degree of temperature increase. It was published in May in the journal One Earth.

“We all know what it’s like to try to fall asleep on a hot night – it’s uncomfortable,” Patel said. “We often lose sleep. It is estimated that by the end of the century, we could lose about two days of sleep per year, and it will be worse for people without access to air conditioning.”

At its most extreme, when a human body does not get the chance to recover – typically at night – heat stress can progress to heat stroke, which is associated with confusion, dizziness and passing out, Patel explained.

People around the world are already losing roughly 44 hours of sleep every year on average due to warm nighttime temperatures during just the first part of the 21st century, Minor’s study estimated. He calls this “sleep erosion,” noting each person may lose up to 58 hours of sleep by the end of the century.

“People in our study did not appear to make up for lost sleep on hotter nights by napping during the day or by sleeping more during the days or weeks after,” Minor said. “In fact, they lost additional sleep over these periods due to a delayed temperature effect, possibly due to ambient heat being trapped indoors.”

And much like other social issues, the impacts don’t fall equally across communities, he said.

“For every degree of nighttime temperature rise, we found that the elderly lost over twice as much sleep as middle-aged adults, females lost slightly more sleep than males, and critically, residents of lower-middle-income countries lost three times as much sleep compared to people living in higher income countries,” Minor said.

Heat waves that go on for several days tend to be associated with more deaths as the body can no longer keep itself cool, Patel said.

And unless planet-warming pollution is curbed, the climate crisis is set to increase exposure to dangerous heat index levels by 50% to 100% in much of the tropics and by up to 10 times across much of the globe, according to a 2022 study published in Communications Earth & Environment.

“Living through a heat wave during the day can be like running a race,” Patel said. “We need a cool break to recover and recuperate, and when nighttime temperatures don’t drop, we don’t get that critical time we need to relieve the stress on our bodies from being overheated during the day.”

With violent and fiery protests gripping Paris and other cities across France in the wake of the fatal police shooting of a teenage boy, many of the millions planning a visit there this summer will be wondering if it’s safe to go ahead with their trip.

Chaos, destruction and confrontations have led to curfews in some towns around the capital. Bus and tram services faced disruptions with a nationwide shutdown ordered for 9 p.m. on Friday to try to stem another night of violence.

As peak travel season gets underway – further boosted by the start of the two-week Tour de France cycle race – the world’s most-watched sporting event – here are some answers to the questions that visitors may be asking.

What’s happening in France right now?

Areas within some of France’s major cities have erupted in violence for several successive nights after a teenager named Nahel Merzouk, reportedly of Algerian descent, was fatally shot by police — an incident caught on video.

Confrontations between police and protesters began on the night of June 27 in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre, where Merzouk was shot, and have since spread to other parts of the capital and several other cities.

More than 800 people were arrested the night of June 29, as outrage continued to intensify. Merzouk’s death appears to have become a flashpoint for anger about racial inequality in France and claims of police discrimination.

Buildings, vehicles and debris have been set alight during the turmoil. France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has been holding crisis talks amid concerns that the country could see a replay of violence in 2005 that led to a state of emergency.

Which cities are affected?

Protests began in Nanterre, a suburb of northwestern Paris’ wider metropolitan area. Subsequently there have been protests in other areas around the capital: Bezons, Gennevilliers, Garges-lès-Gonesse, Asnières-sur-Seine, Montreuil, Neuilly-sur-Marne, Clamart and Meudon.

Further out, Trappes, Clergy, Guyancourt and Vigneux-sur-Seine have also been affected.

These are all beyond the “Periphique” ring road that encircles the central Paris “arrondissements,” where most of the main tourist attractions and accommodations are located.

Elsewhere in France, Elite RAID police have also been deployed to key tourist cities Marseille and Bordeaux in the south, as well as the northern cities of Lille — a stop for the Eurostar train from London — and Roubaix.

What about curfews?

Limited curfews have been imposed in two towns close to Paris at the center of some of the worst violence.

In Clamart, a curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. was put in place on Thursday and is set to continue nightly until July 3. Restrictions from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. will be in place in Neuilly-sur-Marne.

How has transport been affected?

Transport networks have been severely affected. On Friday, France ordered the shutdown of all bus and tram services nationwide by 9 p.m.

The measure, announced by the Ministry of the Interior, came a day after some services in and around Paris were suspended as a direct result of the violence, some of which has targeted transport infrastructure.

In Clamart, one of the badly hit towns, a tram was set on fire. Several buses were torched in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers.

On Friday, some bus services were disrupted in Paris but the Metro system was operating as normal.

The Nanterre-Préfecture train station was closed.

In Lille, bus and tramways were shut down after 8 p.m. on Thursday. On Friday daytime, services were more or less running normally, with some diversions in place.

In the southern city of Marseille, public transport was due to stop services at 7 p.m.

There has been no disruption to the Eurostar service connecting London, Lille and Paris as a result of the protests. French intercity trains are also not affected.

It’s not clear if there will be any further shutdowns or disruptions if the protests continue in coming days and those using them are advised to check websites for updates before traveling.

Is it safe to visit?

While the teenager’s death and subsequent outrage has sent shockwaves across France, much of life continues as normal. The central areas of Paris, home to the Louvre Art Museum and the Eiffel Tower have been almost totally unaffected. Likewise the rural and coastal areas that host many visitors.

That said, it’s not clear at present how long the protests will continue and what further measures the French government will adopt to try to tackle them.

Travel advisories from several countries warn of the protests and urge people to monitor the news and check in with tour operators; none have advised against traveling to France altogether.

The US State Department issued a security alert on June 29 covering France that highlighted the violent fallout of the shooting of the teenager and warned its citizens to steer clear of trouble spots.

“These demonstrations, along with spontaneous protests, are expected to continue and may turn violent,” it said.

“US citizens should avoid mass gatherings and areas of significant police activity as they can turn violent and result in clashes.

“Some cities are imposing curfews. As always, it is a good practice to notify friends or family of your whereabouts. Note that public transportation is being affected.”

It suggested monitoring media outlets France24, RFI and The Local, for updates.

A US “level 2” advisory issued in October 2022 by the State Department remains in place urging travelers to “exercise increased caution in France due to terrorism and civil unrest.”

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office also issued warnings but stressed most visits to France were without incident.

“The protests may lead to disruptions to road travel or targeting of parked cars in areas where protests take place,” it said on its website.

“You should monitor the media, avoid protests, check the latest advice with operators when travelling and follow the advice of the authorities.”

It went on to advise travelers to get insurance and noted: “Around 17 million British nationals visit France every year. Most visits are trouble-free.”

Half of the top 10 beaches in the United States for 2023 are in Florida and Hawaii.

That’s according to the 2023 list of best US beaches released in May by “Dr. Beach,” aka coastal scientist Stephen Leatherman.

Florida’s St. George Island State Park earns the top slot. The barrier island park offers nine miles of pristine beaches along the Gulf Coast. With nature trails for biking and hiking, plus birding, fishing, boating and camping, St. George offers more than just excellent swimming and sunbathing. It’s also a prime spot for stargazing with limited light pollution and an observation platform for night sky exploration.

The beach has “some of the whitest, finest sand in the world,” said Leatherman, who is a professor in the Department of Earth & Environment at Florida International University. “The water is crystal clear and clean, far from any sources of pollution on this offshore barrier island.”

Leatherman has been ranking America’s best beaches since 1991.

He uses 50 criteria to evaluate hundreds of public beaches in the United States. The criteria include beach width, sand softness, water temperature and color, wildlife and more.

The No. 2 beach for 2023, Duke Kahanamoku Beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, is on the west end of the famed Waikiki Beach with fewer visitors than the more crowded stretches. Diamond Head volcano rises in the distance, making for an especially stunning setting, and the beach is good for families with children thanks to a protective offshore coral reef.

Wailea Beach in Maui and Poipu Beach in Kauai are the other Hawaii beaches in this year’s top 10.

Florida’s Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin/Clearwater also made the top 10. None of Florida’s Atlantic beaches appear in the 2023 top 10; Leatherman pointed out that the Atlantic coastline is being affected this year by sargassum seaweed.

The other five beaches are in New York, North Carolina, California, South Carolina and Massachusetts. Each state has one beach on the 2023 list.

Top 10 US beaches for 2023

1.    St. George Island State Park, Florida

2.    Duke Kahanamoku Beach, Oahu, Hawaii

3.    Coopers Beach, Southampton, New York

4.    Caladesi Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida

5.    Lighthouse Beach, Buxton, Outer Banks of North Carolina

6.    Coronado Beach, San Diego, California

7.    Wailea Beach, Maui, Hawaii

8.    Beachwalker Park, Kiawah Island, South Carolina

9.    Poipu Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

10. Coast Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Sierra Leone’s President Maada Bio was sworn into a second term on Tuesday, just hours after the country’s electoral authority certified his victory at the polls over the protests of rivals.

Bio’s Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) won nearly 1.6 million votes – 56.1% of the total ballots – to defeat his closest opponent, Samura Kamara of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party, who won a 41% share of the vote.

“By the powers vested in me… I hereby certify that Bio Julius Maada… [is] duly elected president,” declared Chief Electoral Commissioner Mohamed Konneh.

Just hours after the results was announced, Bio was sworn in at the State House where he gave a speech thanking citizens for their “trust and dedication.”

“Our triumph belongs to every Sierra Leonean,” he added.

Kamara however rejected the results and described it as a “frontal attack on our fledgling democracy.”

His APC party had on Monday rejected provisional results that showed an early lead for Bio, describing then as “cooked-up figures.”

APC alleged a lack of transparency by the electoral body in tallying the ballots, adding that its agents “were neither allowed access to participate (at tally centers) nor were they allowed to verify results prior to the announcement.”

The vote count was fraught with controversies and some international observers expressed concerns about the integrity of the process.

“Carter Center observers reported that the tabulation process lacked adequate levels of transparency,” the observer group said in a statement ahead of the declaration of the final results.

“Carter Center observers directly observed instances of broken seals and inappropriately open ballot boxes in three of the five tally centers,” it added in its preliminary report issued Tuesday.

The electoral commission described the weekend poll as relatively peaceful but acknowledged pockets of violence and delays in polling in some areas.

On Sunday, Kamara’s APC party accused the country’s security forces of laying siege to its head office in the capital Freetown, and firing live rounds into the property while it held a press conference after the polls.

He described it as an “assassination attempt,” however police denied firing live rounds.

The June 24 vote was the fifth election since the end of the country’s brutal civil war in 2002. Key among voter concerns were high inflation rates and unemployment levels, as well as political violence and corruption.