Three people, including a young girl, were killed in Kyiv on Thursday while desperately trying to take cover in a closed bomb shelter amid fresh Russian strikes, in an incident that sparked anger in the Ukrainian capital.

Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko condemned the incident as a “crime” in a statement shared by Ukraine’s National Police, adding that an investigation had been launched.

Russia launched a total of 10 missiles at Kyiv early on Thursday morning, all of which were shot down, the Ukraine Armed Forces said.

However, falling debris from the skies killed three people – a 9-year-old girl, her 34-year-old mother, and a 33-year-old woman – according to the national police. Fourteen others were injured.

The husband of one of the women told public broadcaster Suspilne that when they heard the air raid alarm, people ran to the shelter but found it locked. “People knocked… They knocked for a very long time… There were women, children. No one opened. My wife and child [were there]. The child is fine, but my wife died,” he said.

“I just ran to the other side, calling for them to open. And just at that moment everything happened, at that moment something flew – I don’t know, fragments or something,” the man, named Yaroslav, added.

Another eyewitness named Kateryna Didukh said: “They ran here to hide, but unfortunately it was closed. This is the largest bomb shelter. They were all standing at the entrance. There is a polyclinic and a kindergarten here, and it fell right between them.”

An image taken in the aftermath of the incident shows the grandfather of the nine-year-old victim, who was killed alongside her mother, watching over her body.

The photographer, Serhii Okunev, said in a Facebook post the man “sat on his haunches for several hours, then a chair was found for him.”

Lessons would have to be learned from the incident, minister Klymenko said in his statement. “The 16th month of full-scale war. It would seem that during this time, responsible officials should have identified and fixed all the flaws in the issue of people’s safety. The enemy continues large-scale shelling of cities. But some shelters still remain closed during the air raid alarm.

“Closed bomb shelters during the war are not just indifference. It is a crime,” he added, calling for shelters to be kept open around the clock.

Bomb shelter patrols

In response to the incident on Thursday, Kyiv’s Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said police would now patrol bomb shelters in the city during night-time air-raid alarms to check they are open.

In a Telegram post, Klitschko said a missile fragment fell near the entrance to a clinic in the Desnianskyi district of the capital, “4 minutes after the air raid alarm was announced. People were running to the shelter.”

“Now the investigation is establishing whether the shelter was open. Whether there were people in it,” he said.

“I gave a separate order to the heads of the capital’s districts to immediately check all bomb shelters,” he added.

Klitchko said he had asked for the head of the Desnianskyi district to be removed from his duties while the investigation into the shelter at the clinic is underway, adding that the head of the medical institution should also be removed.

Belgorod strikes

Ukraine, meanwhile, unleashed an early-morning strike on Russia’s Belgorod region Thursday, a day after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov lashed out at Western countries for not condemning recent strikes inside Russian territory.

“Shebekino is under incessant fire: at 12 a.m., 3:40 a.m. and 5:15 a.m., the Ukrainian armed forces fired Grad missiles at the center and outskirts of the city,” Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

Gladkov added that of the five injured, three people have been hospitalized, one woman was treated at the scene, and “there is information about a man who is unconscious with multiple shrapnel wounds. An ambulance team is transporting him to the hospital.”

Residential and administrative buildings were damaged in the strikes, according to Gladkov.

Belgorod – which borders Ukraine’s Kharkiv region – has recently become a hotbed of straying violence, marking a new turn in a conflict that is increasingly coming home to the Russian people.

In a regular call with journalists on Wednesday, before the overnight strikes, Peskov said the Kremlin was concerned about the situation in Belgorod.

He said: “We have not heard a single word of condemnation from any one from the collective West, so far. The situation is rather alarming. Measures are being taken.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Volunteer Corps – a group of anti-Putin Russian nationals aligned with the Ukrainian army – has denied shelling civilians as it claimed its “second phase” inside Russia had begun on Thursday.

In a video message, a fighter from the Russian Volunteer Corps claimed they were “once again fighting on Russian territory.”

The Freedom for Russia Legion posted a video online, claiming it shows the “detonation of ammunition and mortar of the enemy after a precise artillery work on them.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that together with the Federal Security Service (FSB) it had prevented an incursion across its border by Ukraine, saying tanks and two motorized infantry companies attempted to enter the Belgorod region.

According to the daily briefing by the Russian MoD, around 3 a.m. Moscow time (8 p.m. Wednesday ET), “after intensive shelling of civilian targets in the Belgorod region, Ukrainian terrorist formations with up to two motorized infantry companies, reinforced with tanks, attempted to invade the territory of the Russian Federation near the settlement of Novaya Tavolzhanka and the Shebekino international automobile checkpoint.”

The Russian military repelled three attacks by Ukrainian terrorist groups, MOD spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said, adding that “terrorists of the Kyiv regime were pushed back, suffering significant losses.”

“Violations of the state border were not allowed,” he added.

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, also denied these latest claims of a border incursion.

“There was no enemy on the territory of the Belgorod region and there is none,” Gladkov said in a Telegram video message Thursday.

“There is massive shelling. Of course, the lives of civilians, the population is under threat. Mainly, in Shebekino and in the surrounding villages,” he added.

Shelling continued into the afternoon on Thursday. Photographs and videos from social media showed a plume of smoke rising from downtown in Belgorod. One video showed broken windows in a nearby high-rise building.

Gladkov said on Telegram that it appears a drone caused the explosion, adding that two men were injured in the attack.

The Russian Volunteer Corps, alongside another anti-Putin group known as the Freedom for Russia Legion, last week claimed responsibility for an incursion into Belgorod.

West Ham ended its 43-year wait for a major trophy after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday.

The Premier League club scored a late winner through Jarrod Bowen to seal the famous victory, sparking frenzied celebrations inside the Fortuna Arena in Prague.

“This is fantastic,” West Ham’s manager David Moyes said after the match.

“I’ve had a long career in football and you don’t get many moments like this but thankfully tonight we’ve got the result we’ve wanted.”

Despite struggling for form domestically, West Ham has thrilled its fans in Europe over the last two seasons.

It was knocked out of the Europa League semifinals last year but managed to reward its passionate fanbase with a memorable performance on Wednesday.

Saïd Benrahma’s second-half penalty had given the Hammers the lead but it was canceled out by Giacomo Bonaventura’s effort seven minutes later.

With the game looking like it was heading to extra-time, Bowen was played through by Lucas Paquetá’s superb pass before he calmly finished off his chance in the 90th minute.

Bowen ran to the West Ham fans with his teammates in wild celebration

“I obviously dreamed of scoring but to score the winner in the last minute … you always say you want to score a last-minute winner!” he said after the game.

“To do it in front of these fans, I thought I was going to cry. I’m just so, so happy. I can’t put it into words.”

Crowd trouble

Despite the jubilant scenes, the game was marred by fan trouble.

In the first-half, Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi was hit by an object thrown from the stands as he prepared to take a corner.

Biraghi required medical assistance after being struck in the head, causing him to bleed.

“West Ham United unreservedly condemn the behaviour of a small number of individuals who threw objects onto the pitch during tonight’s UEFA Europa Conference League final,” the club said in a statement, per Reuters.

“These actions have no place in football and do not in any way represent the values of our football club and the overwhelming majority of our supporters, who have behaved impeccably in Prague this week and throughout our last two seasons in European competition.

“In line with our zero-tolerance approach, anyone identified will have their details passed to the police and will be given an indefinite ban and therefore be unable to enter London Stadium and travel with the club.”

West Ham captain Declan Rice was leading the celebrations after lifting the trophy, amid speculation around his future at the club.

The England midfielder has been targeted by several teams but was reluctant to talk about next season after the game.

“There is interest from other club that’s out there but I have two years left at West Ham. I love this club, I love playing for this club,” Rice told BT Sport.

“There hasn’t been anything yet, my focus is playing for West Ham, enjoying tonight and seeing what happens.”

Real Madrid has agreed a deal to sign football star Jude Bellingham, the Englishman’s club Borussia Dortmund announced on Wednesday.

According to a statement from the German club, Real Madrid will pay €103 million ($110.4m) to acquire the 19-year-old, as well as additional fees.

Bellingham will need to complete a medical before sealing the move.

“In addition, the payment of variable transfer fees up to a maximum total amount of around 30% of the amount of the fixed transfer fee has been agreed,” Dortmund said.

“Such variable transfer fees are dependent on the achievement of certain sporting successes by Real Madrid and/or sporting successes or performances of the player at Real Madrid in the period of the next six seasons.”

Bellingham, who has been highly coveted throughout his career, joined Dortmund in 2020 from second-tier English side Birmingham City as a 17-year-old.

The midfielder quickly impressed playing for the Bundesliga club, his maturity and leadership qualities at a young age shining through.

Despite playing in front of a huge stadium at the Signal Iduna Park with pressure on his shoulders, Bellingham never wilted and has even been named the team’s captain multiple times this season.

Known for his complete skillset – calm on the ball, athletic, physical at defending and able to score goals – he became a stalwart at Dortmund, starting over 30 league games in each of his last two seasons in Germany.

He led the team in goal scoring this season, whilst also leading the Bundesliga in duels won, highlighting his all-round abilities.

Perhaps more impressive is his maturity despite his young age; Dortmund coach Edin Terzić said Bellingham was “the oldest 19-year-old I have ever seen.”

A vital part of Gareth Southgate’s England national team, Bellingham played a key role in the team’s run to the 2020 European Championship final.

“He’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever seen,” his England teammate, Phil Foden, told ITV in December after the pair had helped England to qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

“I don’t see a weakness in his game, I think he’s got everything. I’m sure he’s going to be the best midfielder in the world.”

Multiple teams have reportedly been interested in acquiring Bellingham’s signature this summer but after Liverpool dropped out of the race to sign him, Real Madrid seemed the likeliest of destinations.

His imminent arrival in the Spanish capital will complete a revamp of Madrid’s midfield core. Just a few years ago, Luka Modrić, Toni Kroos and Casemiro were helping the club to win multiple Champions League titles and La Liga success.

But now, with Casemiro at Manchester United and Modrić and Kroos in the final stages of their careers, Bellingham joins a midfield room which includes Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga, two of the most exciting talents in the world, as well as the all-action Federico Valverde.

It seems like every night Nikola Jokić is making history, and Game 3 of the NBA Finals was just another day at the office for the record-breaking Denver Nuggets star.

In the Nuggets’ 109-94 road win against the Miami Heat, Jokić became the first ever player to record a 30-20-10 stat line in the NBA Finals. But for the Joker, this was business as usual.

“I don’t care. It’s just a stat,” the Serbian said of his accomplishment after finishing the game with 32 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Not only did Jokić make individual history, but alongside Jamal Murray, the duo became the first teammates to both drop triple-doubles in an NBA Finals game. Murray recorded 34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the guard torched the Heat from start to finish.

“I’ve been with Nikola for eight and Jamal for seven years now, and we’ve had some pretty good moments, but not in the NBA Finals,” said Nuggets head coach Michael Malone. “For those guys to make history the way they did tonight, no one has ever done that. I mean, that’s what’s really neat about it.”

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra was also full of praise for Denver’s dynamic duo.

“It’s a great duo. Their games really complement each other,” said Spoelstra on the history-making night. “You have one guy that really can score in a lot of different ways. Another guy who is setting great screens or handoffs, and if the ball gets back to him, he can get a bunch of people involved.”

Game 3 got off to a very even start as both teams traded buckets throughout the opening quarter. The Nuggets eventually took a five-point lead into halftime and didn’t look back after seizing the initiative.

Malone’s team outscored the Heat 29-20 in the third quarter, and this proved to be decisive as Miami failed to get back into the game.

Despite the Heat’s loss, Miami fans would have been happy to see Jimmy Butler scoring points. Butler has been the star for the Heat throughout the playoffs and his scoring will be crucial if Miami are to get back on level terms in Game 4.

“We feel great. We didn’t play our best tonight. I feel like we just got to come out with more energy and effort, and that’s correctible,” said Butler, remaining upbeat. “So come out, dive on the floor, get loose balls, get defensive rebounds and maybe, just maybe, it would have been a different game.”

Aside from Jokić and Murray, it was also a night to remember for Christian Braun. The rookie put on a show in Game 3 – finishing the night with 15 points on 7-8 shooting.

“He just has stayed ready the whole year, mentally, physically, emotionally,” Malone said of the 22-year-old. “That kid never gets too high, never gets too low. Very calm, cool and collected young man.”

Game 4 takes place Friday with the Heat looking to level the series in front of their home crowd at the Kaseya Center.

A string of sports games and practices have been postponed as smoke from Canadian wildfires continues to choke the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast parts of the United States.

Around 75 million people are under air quality alerts as wildfire smoke shrouds major US cities, with Major League Baseball (MLB), the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) forced to postpone games due to concerns over dangerous air quality.

The MLB postponed two games – one between the Detroit Tigers and the host Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park and the other between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium – on Wednesday due to medical and weather expert warnings about “clearing hazardous air quality conditions in both cities,” the league said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the WNBA was forced to postpone Wednesday’s game between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx due to smoke impacting the Liberty’s home arena, with the league noting that information regarding the rescheduling of the game would be provided at a later date.

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) canceled Thursday’s training at Belmont Park due to “poor air quality conditions” affecting New York state, while in New Jersey, the NWSL postponed Wednesday night’s Challenge Cup game in Harrison and rescheduled it for August 9.

“The safety of our players, officials and fans is our top priority. Following consultation with the NWSL Medical and Operations staff, it was determined that the match could not be safely conducted based on the projected air quality index,” the NWSL said in a statement.

Smoke from Canada’s fires has periodically affected the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic for more than a week, raising concerns over the harms of persistent poor air quality.

More than nine million acres have been charred by wildfires in Canada so far this year – about 15 times the normal burned area for this point in the year – and more than 10,500 people have been evacuated from communities across Alberta.

According to the MLB, the Phillies-Tigers game will take place at 6:05 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, while the Yankees and the White Sox will now play a doubleheader beginning at 4:05 p.m. (ET) on Thursday.

The Belmont Stakes is scheduled for Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, and the NYRA said a decision on Thursday’s live racing program will be made in the morning following a “review of the air quality conditions and forecast.”

A plume of thick smoke streamed south from Canada throughout the day Wednesday, moving into some of the most densely populated regions in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, including the New York City metro area.

It prompted significant concern from health professionals, forced a ground stop at a major New York airport and led to the cancellation of outdoor school activities, as well as the postponement of some professional sports games.

And forecasts suggest it could linger for days.

The smoke, emanating from more than 100 active fires in central Quebec, is being carried down on the back side of a low pressure system centered over New England.

The thickest smoke on Wednesday stretched from Lake Ontario to Long Island and was slowly pushing south.

The northerly winds on Thursday will start to push that thick band of smoke farther south into the mid-Atlantic, into cities including Washington, DC, and Baltimore.

MAPS: Track air quality and wildfire smoke across the US

Delaware, Maryland, northern Virginia and the nation’s capital could see the same poor air quality that plagued New York City on Wednesday.

While Thursday may be an improvement for many in the New York area, smoke will likely continue to be significant, and air quality could near or reach unhealthy levels yet again.

Unfortunately for those in the Northeast, the weather pattern is not helping. The low pressure that is funneling the smoke into the US is forecast to linger over New England through the weekend, meaning northwest winds will continue to point the Canadian smoke toward the eastern Great Lakes and Northeast for the next couple of days.

This pattern could eventually break by next week as a new storm system moves in from the west. Significant rainfall and stronger winds are exactly what the Northeast needs to clear out the smoke.

A summer of smoke

Unfortunately, the next few months could spell a summer of smoke for Canada and the US, with the bulk of Canada’s fire season – which doesn’t typically end until September – still ahead.

A hot and dry spring has led to an incredibly active start to the fire season across almost all of the country, and massive fires in Alberta and Saskatchewan started impacting air quality in the US and Canada back in May.

Last week, wildfires in Nova Scotia pushed smoke south. Over the weekend, the fires shifted to Quebec. For all of these locations, the hottest part of the year is still ahead and the peak of fire season doesn’t come until later in July.

Wildfires have already burned a full year’s worth of acreage in Canada so far this year. In a typical year, only around 10 to 15% of the annual average would have burned by the first week of June.

Without a significant cool and wet pattern setting in over Canada, these fires will likely continue to burn and new ones pop up for many weeks to come.

The photos and videos out of the Northeast look like scenes from “Mad Max,” as a monstrous cloud of smoke spewed by Quebec’s wildfires engulfed communities.

The air is an eerie shade of orange and the visibility is low. Distant buildings that you would otherwise be able to see on a clear day are blotted out by the murky haze.

But why is it orange – and not white, gray or some other color?

Wildfire smoke turns the air orange for the same reason clear air makes the sky look blue – it has to do with what kind of tiny particles are in the air, how many there are and what wavelength color they block.

Check out this almost unbelievable time-lapse of wildfire smoke consuming the World Trade Center and the New York City skyline.

Those vulnerable to poor air quality, including seniors and young children, should limit time outdoors if possible.

More: https://t.co/ChRuWv7X6E pic.twitter.com/mtKtLun8lN

— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) June 7, 2023

Think back to the days in school when you learned about ROYGBIV, all the colors of the rainbow. Sunlight contains all of those colors. As it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, the sun’s light hits all of the molecules and particles in the air.

The colors we ultimately see are whatever wavelengths are left over after they’ve interacted with those particles. Wildfire smoke blocks the shorter wavelengths – like yellow, green and blue – leaving just the red and orange to pass through.

This effect is even more pronounced in the morning and evening, when the sun is low in the sky. The light has more atmosphere to pass through before it gets to our eyes, which amplifies the colors and how thick the smoke looks in the air.

Interactive: Track the air quality across the US

Major metro areas had air quality indexes ranging from 200 to 300 – which is considered “very unhealthy,” according to government website AirNow.gov.

The enormous cloud of pollution could cause long-term health effects, depending on the individual and their amount of exposure, experts have warned. And officials have urged many residents to stay indoors. Smoke conditions could last through at least Thursday.

Millions across the US and Canada will remain at risk of inhaling potentially harmful air from wildfires in Quebec on Thursday as more officials urge people to limit time spent outdoors and mask up for enhanced protection.

Colossal clouds of heavy smoke from more than 430 active wildfires raging across Canada have descended on parts of the US Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, enveloping neighborhoods, parks and school grounds in an orange haze filled with possible pollutants. And forecasts suggest it may take several days for the air to clear.

With about 75 million people under air quality alerts in the US, public schools in Yonkers, New York, are closed Thursday. Other school districts in New York, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, have canceled outdoor activities while New Jersey’s governor encouraged local school districts to do the same.

Winds are forecast to continue pushing thick smoke farther south into the Mid-Atlantic, meaning the same ominous smoke that delivered some of the world’s worst air quality to New York City this week could smother Delaware, Maryland, northern Virginia and Washington, DC, by Thursday morning.

Late Wednesday night, the air quality index in New York City topped 320, meaning it was “hazardous” or level 6 of 6, the worst designation from AirNow.gov, an air quality data site maintained in partnership by several government agencies. The air quality of the city slightly begins to improve early Thursday morning, albeit still at a “very unhealthy” level 5 of 6.

Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, were the most affected metro areas early Thursday morning, with air level quality at “hazardous.” Other major cities in the US that face “unhealthy” or “unhealthy for sensitive groups” levels include Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Washington, DC.

Check out this almost unbelievable time-lapse of wildfire smoke consuming the World Trade Center and the New York City skyline.

Those vulnerable to poor air quality, including seniors and young children, should limit time outdoors if possible.

More: https://t.co/ChRuWv7X6E pic.twitter.com/mtKtLun8lN

— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) June 7, 2023

The smoke from the wildfires has delivered some of the poorest air quality measures in decades, according to Mark Zondlo, an atmospheric chemist specializing in air quality monitoring and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton University.

“The weather pattern is such that it’s funneling that smoke plume, keeping it tight close to the ground, and it’s coming for a bullseye right for us.”

Air quality in Canada has been on the decline as the ferocious blazes trigger evacuation orders, including for about 7,000 people in Quebecois town of Chibougamau.

US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed the wildfires’ impacts on air quality on Wednesday, according to a statement from Trudeau’s office.

“Both leaders acknowledged the need to work together to address the devastating impacts of climate change,” the statement read.

Biden has directed federal firefighting resources to aid in stopping the fires, the White House said, adding that more than 600 firefighters and support personnel have already been deployed.

While those conditions persist, experts and officials alike have been urging people to stay indoors as much as possible and wear N95 or KN95 face masks when outside to ensure they’re properly protected.

NYC to cancel all outdoor city events

Wildfires that lead to such poor air quality have become more common and severe as the planet warms from the impacts of human-induced climate change, experts have said.

“We typically see these impacts with wildfires in the Western US and in the Mountain West,” said Dr. Peter DeCarlo, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

“The East Coast is generally a little bit more insulated from this type of thing. Our forests tend to be wetter and don’t burn as much, but looking forward with climate change, while this is kind of a unique experience that we’re seeing right now, it may become a lot less unique and a little bit more common in the future.”

As New York’s air remains compromised, the state is providing one million N95 masks to those who need them, the governor announced Wednesday evening.

About 400,000 of those masks will be distributed at New York state parks and public transit stations, among other locations, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. An additional 600,000 masks will be available at Homeland Security stockpiles for local governments to pick up, she added.

“Simply stay indoors. Outdoors is dangerous in just about every part of our state,” the governor said, calling the poor air quality “unprecedented.”

To that end, outdoor events held by New York City have been canceled, and city beaches will also remain closed, Mayor Eric Adams said Wednesday.

While conditions may improve overnight into Thursday morning, air quality during the afternoon and evening hours will plummet again, Adams indicated.

“I want to be clear, while there may be potential for significantly improved conditions by Friday morning, smoke predictability that far out is low, is difficult to predict the movement of the smoke. …This is an unpredictable series of events,” he added.

Air quality alerts extended

Elsewhere, officials in Pennsylvania and Delaware issued a “code red” to warn residents of the potentially harmful air quality.

A code red was issued in Philadelphia Wednesday, warning that the elderly, young children and those who are pregnant or have heart or lung conditions could experience serious health effects from the smoke, according to James Garrow, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

For Delaware, an air quality alert and a Code Red Action Day are in effect through Thursday. State officials have advised residents to limit time spent outdoors and stay in a space with filtered air.

Additionally, Rhode Island’s air quality alert has been extended through Thursday, citing heavy smoke and unhealthy particles on the air quality index.

It’s the biggest city in the world, a vast metropolitan area that’s home to more than 37 million people. A place where cutting edge modernity and deeply held tradition exist in close proximity.

Few cities manage to bring together the cut and thrust and the slower pace of days gone by quite like Tokyo. From the bright neon lights of the Shibuya Crossing to the quiet majesty of the ancient Buddhist temple of Senso-ji, this is a city where people hold the past and the future in equal esteem.

You can feel it throughout the year: during the springtime cherry blossom (sakura) season, which sees Tokyoites and tourists alike flock to parks to view these beautiful blooms up close; and the quieter, equally beautiful, fall foliage season, when Inokashira Park’s trees are a fiery riot of red and orange leaves.

The locals’ great love of all things tech is never far away, though, whether in the pachinko parlors of Akihabara or the way in which lightning fast internet and the latest apps make day-to-day life easier for everyone.

Foodie traditions

This juxtaposition of past and future extends to the city’s seemingly endless foodie hotspots, too. Tokyo restaurants amassed 263 stars in the latest Michelin guide, more than anywhere else in the world. And while cutting edge fine dining is all the rage there is space, too, for more humble dishes.

Onigiri – savory rice balls wrapped in nori or seaweed – have been a comfort food staple for thousands of years. And Yumiko Ukon serves up the most delicious rice balls in this huge metropolis. Her restaurant, Onigiri Bongo, is a social media sensation, with hungry visitors standing in line for as long as two hours to sate their appetites. The Japanese art of patience needs to be applied in abundance if you want to eat here.

“I have three people helping now, but when I was working alone, I made about 1,000 pieces (a day),” she explains while quickly pulling together one of her delicious creations. Salmon, she says, is the most popular filling.

Onigiri Bongo has become a sensation not only because of the high quality of the food, but also the larger than usual size of the rice balls.

There’s no polite way of eating onigiri. It’s a case of gobbling them up without making too much of a mess. Inevitably, the ease with which the dish can be eaten has attracted speed eaters. Yumiko says that the male record stands at 24 onigiri, 14 for women.

But of course no trip to Tokyo would be complete without a steaming hot bowl of ramen.

At Chukasoba Ginza Hachigou, chef Ya-Sushi Matsumura has been perfecting the art of ramen for over 30 years. His restaurant has just six seats and, in the opinion of food critic Takefumi Hamada, serves the best noodles on the planet.

“The bowl of ramen is less than 10 bucks. So I don’t think he’s making that much money,” says Hamada, while showcasing the best way to devour this iconic and now globally ubiquitous dish.

“By slurping you’re eating not just the noodles, but also the soup that comes with it. And that’s the purpose of slurping. And also at the same time, you’re enjoying the aroma of the soup.”

‘The Monk In Heels’

If food taps into Tokyo’s need for tradition while also pushing the boundaries, Buddhism provides another, perhaps surprising confluence of these two urges. Temples abound across Tokyo, but none of the monks found within them are quite like Kodo Nishimura.

Known as “The Monk In Heels,” Nishimura juggles his life as a monk with his work as a makeup artist.

Twice a week, he says, he puts on perfectly applied eyeshadow and lipgloss, showing the world his true self.

“When I have a dinner that I go to or if I have any media appearances, that’s when I apply makeup. But I don’t really feel that I have to do makeup on myself every day, because I feel enough that I don’t need makeup… a superhero doesn’t transform for nothing.”

If Nishimura was a superhero, his cape would be in the colors of a rainbow. He is fighting the good fight for acceptance and using his own story as an example. He has become famous in Japan for showing how people can live a life true to themselves and to love themselves, something which can be hard to do in a place that reveres tradition and remains deeply conservative at heart.

Nishimura even took his story onto “Queer Eye: Big In Japan,” a Netflix show, allowing him to reach an even wider audience.

“I still have to tell myself ‘someone may not like me, but I like myself. I love myself.’”

As a boy in Tokyo, Nishimura says it was expected that he would become a monk, something he struggled with due to his sexuality and, in his own words, his wish to “be a Disney princess.” He has, however, found a way to strike a balance.

“When I went to the training, the master told me that sexuality doesn’t matter,” he says. ”So I started to feel that it is up to me to create my own organization and me being visible and vocal, hopefully is gonna make more places for people like me.”

There’s no question that Nishimura is at the forefront of a new, more open, more tolerant Tokyo. He is daring to be different in a society that encourages conformity, while testing the boundaries of standing out and standing up.

The power of art

Tokyo is the only city in the world where you can don a robot suit or experience futuristic art installations that stimulate the senses, before stepping back in time to craft something as simple and beautiful as origami.

The power of making beautiful things using age-old techniques, whether its ikebana flower arrangements or wood block printings known as mokuhanga, is held in high esteem here. Origami, too, remains a powerful, soothing way to use such skills and step away from the fast-paced world of the modern city.

Mastering it requires time and patience. Origami Master Kazuo Kobayashi, who at 81 has been working on his art for 50 years, has this in abundance.

“The secret of origami is that it does not require any words. Everyone can enjoy it without even speaking,” he explains, while casually folding together perfect roses and cherry blossom blooms. This, he explains, has taken years of practice, allowing him to become a professional.

He doesn’t, he claims, make mistakes; every one of his creations is perfect. He is the face of a timeless, sedate Tokyo, an antidote to the hectic way things often feel here.

Such timelessness is at the heart of Tokyo’s wonderfully contradictory nature. It is a city that deals in opposites, from the old ways of origami and onigiri through to the hi-tech streets of Shibuya and Shinjuku and the individualism of Kodo Nishimura, ‘The Monk In Heels’, to the conformism of salarymen who gather beneath cherry trees for company picnics during the annual sakura season.

Best of all, it is a city at ease with such contradictions, happy to play all roles as a way of showing off its idiosyncrasies and wonders for all the world to see.

An Air India flight sent to the remote Russian city of Magadan to pick up its stranded passengers has landed safely in San Francisco, the airline said Thursday.

“All our passengers are being extended maximum on-ground assistance with clearance formalities and provided other necessary support,” Air India wrote on Twitter.

Earlier in the week, an Air India flight AI173 from New Delhi to San Francisco had been diverted due to a technical issue with one of the plane’s engines. It landed in Russia’s Magadan airport, in the country’s far east, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew.

In a statement Wednesday, Air India said a “ferry flight” took off from Mumbai to take the passengers to San Francisco subject to “necessary clearances.”

There are no Air India staff in the remote town of Magadan. Instead, the airline said support was provided to the passengers through “round-the-clock liaison” with the Consulate General of India in Vladivostok, a city about 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) south of Magadan, as well as India’s Ministry of External Affairs, local ground handlers and Russian authorities.

Russia has banned numerous western countries from operating in its airspace, though some carriers like Air India continue to fly over Russia.

The United States said earlier this week that it was monitoring the situation. “We are aware of a US-bound flight that had to make an emergency landing in Russia, and are continuing to monitor that situation closely,” said State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel.

While Patel could not confirm how many US citizens were on the flight, he said it was “of course likely that there are American citizens on board.”

Patel also said it would be possible if needed for the US to take steps “in assessing manifests and passengers who may be bound for the United States.”

Patel would not say if the US would need to exempt any replacement parts for the plane from sanctions on Russia.

The diversion came amid a debate about the use of Russian airspace by some carriers.

Air India’s CEO defended its use of Russian airspace on Monday, telling an airline summit that “we operate in the accordance within the ambit of what’s provided to us by the nation of India.”

He added: “Not all nations agree. And so there are going to be different outcomes as a consequence. I think we’ve seen over the past few years the consequence of aviation not being able to connect people and economies and cultures and support all of the other things that we spin off.”

Meanwhile, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on Monday predicted possible dangers of a plane being forced to land in Russia with American citizens on board while speaking to reporters, Reuters reported.