The waters of the Caspian Sea appear deceptively calm. But this sea route – which provides a direct path between Iran and Russia – is increasingly busy with cargo traffic, including suspected weapons transfers from Tehran to Moscow.

As cooperation between the two countries deepens, the Caspian Sea route is being used to move drones, bullets, and mortar shells that the Russian government has purchased from the Iranian regime to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, according to experts. Tracking data shows that vessels in the region are increasingly going “dark” – suggesting growing intent to obfuscate the movement of goods.

Last year, data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence revealed a September spike in the number of gaps in vessels tracking data in the Caspian. That’s shortly after the United States and Ukrainian governments say Moscow acquired drones from Tehran last summer. Russia’s use of Iranian drones increased in the fall, including against critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

And analysts say that Ukraine’s Western allies would have little power to stop such arms deliveries.

“There is no risk to Iranian exports in the Caspian Sea because of the bordering countries – they don’t have the capability or motive to interdict in these sorts of exchanges,” said Martin Kelly, lead intelligence analyst at security company EOS Risk Group. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, all former Soviet republics, are the other nations with ports on the Caspian Sea.

It’s a “perfect environment for this trade to go unopposed,” Kelly added.

There’s been an overall jump in the number of vessels in the Caspian Sea turning off their tracking data between August and September of 2022, according to Kelly. And the number of gaps in ships’ tracking data remains high so far in 2023, according to data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

The phenomenon is largely driven by Russia-flagged and Iran-flagged ships and, in particular, the type of cargo ships capable of carrying weaponry, according to Bridget Diakun, a data analyst and reporter for Lloyd’s List, which specializes in analysis of global maritime trade.

An International Maritime Organization resolution requires most vessels to carry a tracking system that automatically provides location and identification information to other ships and to coastal authorities. For safety reasons, those automatic identification systems (AIS), are supposed to be transmitting data at all times, with limited exceptions. But ships are able to turn off their AIS tracking, a tactic that can be used to disguise parts of their journey, hide destinations, or go “dark” when calling into a port.

At the end of 2022, Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows there was an uptick in “probable dark port calls” to Russia and Iran’s Caspian Sea ports, Diakun said.

“It’s suspicious if a ship just goes from one port and comes back without calling at another port,” unless the vessel is transferring cargo to another ship rather than a port, she explained.

Most gaps in the tracking data for Russia-flagged and Iran-flagged cargo ships have occurred near Iran’s Amirabad and Anzali ports, as well as in Russia’s Volga River and its port in Astrakhan, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Several patterns emerged – some of the ships can be seen making the journey from Iranian ports to Astrakhan, although they did not make an official port call there. Other vessels that experts highlighted as being suspicious can be seen going dark on the approach to Iran’s Amirabad Port and Russia’s Astrakhan Port, or can be seen turning off their tracking data for extended periods of time.

Although analysts say that it’s difficult definitively to know what cargo is on these ships, barring eyewitness accounts or satellite imagery, the patterns in suspected nefarious activity in the Caspian Sea support Western intelligence reports of Iran’s drone exports to Russia.

“There’s a correlation between Russia requesting drones from Iran, dark port calls in the Caspian Sea, and an increase in dark AIS activity,” Kelly said.

Deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran

Even before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there was increased attention and interest in the Caspian Sea route, largely coming from the Iranian side.

She added that the Caspian – where Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan also have ports – sees a lot of legitimate trade and is a key path for goods to move to Asian markets. But, Diakun said, it’s also “a hotspot for sanctioned vessels.”

Iran is also helping Russia with its years-long project of dredging the Volga River, the Bosphorus Observer said, which will allow heavier shipments to be delivered to Astrakhan Port and to the Black Sea and beyond, using the Volga-Don Canal.

Last week, Putin and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi signed a deal to finance and build an Iranian railway line as part of the early stages of creating a “North-South transport artery,” according to the Kremlin. Putin said the railway – which will have a central branch going along the Caspian Sea – would help connect Russian ports on the Baltic Sea with Iranian ports in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf, helping bolster global trade for both nations.

“We know that the current administration in Iran has been pushing for an improvement of ties with the Eastern countries, but in particular with Russia,” said Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British think tank. She added that the balance of power has shifted since February last year, now that “Russia sees Iran as a natural provider of weapon capability for its war in Ukraine.”

The huge number of sanctions imposed against Russia in the past year is also a new challenge for the country, Tabrizi said, “whereas Iran has been navigating that environment for a number of decades.”

The perception in Moscow is that Iran can teach Russia a lot about the “tools to evade sanctions” and “how to still have a significant economy even when sanctions are imposed,” according to Tabrizi.

In March, Iran’s Finance Minister Ehsan Khandouzi told the Financial Times, “We define our relations with Russia as strategic and we are working together in many aspects, especially economic relations.”

The United States, along with European allies, consider Tehran’s arms transfers to Russia to be in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which was passed to endorse the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and control the transfer of weapons from Iran.

“There’s great potential here for all kinds of different sanction violations,” said Bosphorus Observer analyst Yörük Işık, adding that Russia could also be sending spare parts and other equipment to Iran via the Caspian Sea route, which would be illegal in the eyes of Western nations.

Air-mailed weapons

Iran has also been accused by Ukraine, Western governments and security analysts of sending weapons and supplies to Russia by plane.

Three Iranian state-owned airlines and “one supposedly private one” called Mahan Air have delivered drones “and instructors” to Moscow, according to a March 2022 statement from the National Resistance Center of Ukraine, an official body. In 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Mahan Air for transporting weapons, fighters and supplies for Iran’s Quds Force.

Last year, the US Commerce Department identified four Iranian cargo planes that it says flew to Russia in violation of American export controls, with US authorities linking those planes to “backfilling items to Russia.” The US Commerce statement said that support for such aircraft violates US export controls, in light of “Iran’s support for Russia’s war machine, including the recent provisioning of unmanned aerial vehicles.”

“There are some Iranian state airlines that are transporting drones from Iran into Russia,” Kelly of EOS Risk Group said. “However, in terms of the comparison of the volume of what can be transported in a single voyage, a ship gives you a much larger volume and capability.”

In November, the Iranian regime acknowledged that it had sold “a limited number of drones” to Russia, but Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian insisted the weapons were provided “in the months before the start of the war in Ukraine.” Iran maintains that the sale does not violate UN provisions.

Russia, which held the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council during April, continues to scoff at Western sanctions. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said last year that reports the country is using Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are “unsubstantiated inferences,” despite Ukraine, its allies and arms-tracking experts finding ample evidence of their use in Ukraine.

Analysts expect levels of nefarious activity and “dark” port calls in the Caspian Sea to remain high in 2023, and that Moscow’s sway over the world’s largest inland body of water will go unchecked.

“They don’t have any other authority there to hide from,” said Işık of vessels navigating the Caspian Sea. He also noted that a “Russian-flagged ship gives you an extra layer of protection,” given other nations and actors in the region are fearful of questioning or interfering with Russian vessels, according to Işık.

Growing cooperation on this inland sea – which is tucked away from the influence and interference of Western nations – bolsters the strength of both Moscow and Tehran.

“The Caspian Sea used to be a theater of confrontation between Russia and Iran, and now it’s a potential avenue for sanction evasion and potential weapon provision,” Tabrizi said, noting that the countries have a more equal partnership now, especially when it comes to military cooperation.

“In terms of longer-term repercussions… on a more strategic front when it comes to the Middle East, but also broadly speaking, I think that is going to be very interesting to watch and potentially very problematic for Western interests.”

Iran has exported drones, or drone capabilities, to its regional proxies and allies in the past, Tabrizi said, and that has been considered a threat. “But I think the scale of the exports that we are seeing now is different.”

At least two people died and dozens more were left injured after Russian forces struck a medical facility in the city of Dnipro on Friday morning, after intense shelling rained over central Ukraine overnight.

A 69-year-old man was killed while “just passing by when the rocket struck the city,” and the body of another man “was pulled out of the rubble,” said Serhii Lysak, head of the regional military administration.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Air Force reported strikes on the Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions from 10 p.m. Thursday night to 5 a.m. on Friday morning.

The Air Force command reported 17 cruise missiles and 31 “attack drones” and noted that there were strikes in Dnipro and Kharkiv regions using S-300/S-400 missile systems.

Kyiv also saw some air attacks across the city, according to Serhii Popko, head of the city’s military administration. He added that there were no casualties.

Around 31 people were wounded in the bombardment in Dnipro, including eight doctors and two children, according to the head of Dnipro’s regional council Mykola Lukashuk. Among the injured, 16 people were taken to hospitals and the others are receiving outpatient treatment, Lukashuk said in a Telegram post.

Rescue operations were ongoing on Friday afternoon, with workers searching for survivors under the rubble. Three people were missing following the attack.

Scenes emerged of fires tearing through one of the buildings of the medical clinic. The video, posted by Lysak, also showed smoke pouring out of windows and a totally collapsed roof.

Dnipro Mayor Boris Filatov said that a change of shifts for doctors meant fewer people than usual were working at the facility at the time of the attack.

“The moment the rocket struck there was a change of shifts. Hopefully, there will be no more victims,” Filatov told journalists at the hospital site.

“It is a miracle that the rocket struck at the very moment of the doctors’ change of shifts.” He added that there were outpatient consultations when the attack took place.

The clinic is used to treat mentally ill patients and also houses an inpatient treatment facility, according to the mayor.

The rocket strike also affected a veterinary clinic, where animals undergoing treatment had to be dug out of the rubble, the clinic’s owner said.

“All the employees are in a state of shock,” clinic owner Dr. Andrii Malyshko told Ukrainian TV. “All the animals were saved from the burning building.”

The rocket hit the clinic at around 10:30 a.m. local time, which caused a fire. The clinic had numerous dogs and some cats, which were all transferred to clinics nearby, according to Malyshko.

‘Violation of international humanitarian law’

Kyiv and its Western allies fiercely condemned the Kremlin’s attack on central Ukraine, calling for accountability over the Russian strikes.

France called them “war crimes” that “cannot go unpunished,” according to a statement from the French Foreign Ministry.

The missile and drone attacks on Kyiv and the Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions of Ukraine “once again deliberately targeted civilian sites,” the ministry said, “in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday: “Russian terrorists once again confirm their status of fighters against everything humane and honest.”

“The shelling aftermath is being eliminated and the victims are being rescued. All necessary services are involved,” he added.

Firearms manufacturer Kalashnikov has unveiled an upgraded AK-12 assault rifle, with modifications based on the weapon’s use in the war on Ukraine.

Kalashnikov Group Chief Designer Sergey Urzhumtsev told Russian state media TASS on Friday the upgrade followed “input” gathered from “experience of the gun’s use in the special operation” – a euphemism for Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

He added that the first batch of upgraded AK-12s has already been delivered to the “special military operation” area in Ukraine “to specify the feedback.”

As part of the upgrade, the rifle’s two-round burst mode was excluded from the latest design, because it didn’t increase the weapon’s efficiency significantly and complicated its layout, according to TASS.

The other changes were aimed at making the rifle easier to operate.

The AK-12 has several mounting platforms that allow the installation of additional gear, such as sights, a front handle, a flashlight, a laser designator, as well as devices for noiseless and flameless fire, according to TASS.

The 5.45 mm AK-12 is “the standard service assault rifle of the Russian infantry and other units,” according to the Kalashnikov website.

The Russian military has been undergoing reequipment with AK-12 rifles since 2018, according to the Kalashnikov website.

Also on Friday, Kalashnikov said it was launching a drone-producing unit.

“We have set up a division of unmanned aerial vehicles. We have consolidated all of our capacities on their development and production and are expanding output several-fold,” TASS reported Kalashnikov Group President Alan Lushnikov as saying on Friday.

The new unit will handle ground-based drone launch and control capabilities, as well as everything that is necessary for the effective operation of unmanned aerial vehicles, Lushnikov said.

The Kalashnikov Group produces tactical-level drones, he said.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II faced a potential assassination threat 40 years ago, ahead of a trip to the United States, according to newly released documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A cache of 103 pages were posted to the FBI’s online records site, The Vault, on Tuesday. The files cover preparations for several trips the late Queen made to the US, including an official tour of the West Coast with her husband, Prince Philip, in 1983.

One document appears to detail a tip gathered around a month before that visit from San Francisco police regarding a phone call from “a man who claimed that his daughter had been killed in Northern Ireland by a rubber bullet.”

It continues: “This man additionally claimed that he was going to attempt to harm Queen Elizabeth and would do this either by dropping some object off the Golden Gate Bridge onto the Royal Yacht Britannia when it sails underneath, or would attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth when she visited Yosemite National Park.”

The same document notes that “it is the intention of the Secret Service to close the walkways on the Golden Gate Bridge when the yacht nears.” There’s no mention of any precautions that may have been taken at the national park nor do the files reveal whether any arrests were made.

The files illustrate the FBI’s hypervigilance at possible threats to the visiting British monarch, collaboration with the US Secret Service and concerns about the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and its sympathizers during royal visits.

The Queen’s cousin, Louis Mountbatten, was assassinated by the Provisional IRA in 1979, using a bomb planted in his fishing boat. Three others died in the same explosion, including two children. Many of the Queen’s trips to the US took place amid the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the documents reveal the FBI was closely monitoring as it prepared for royal visits over the years.

Ahead of a private visit to Kentucky in 1989, one document notes that while the FBI was unaware of any specific threats to the Queen, “the possibility of threats against the British monarchy is everpresent from the Irish Republican Army (IRA).”

Elsewhere in the files, a document preparing for the Queen’s state visit in 1991 outlines concern about Irish groups organizing protests at several scheduled engagements, including a baseball game the monarch was due to attend and a White House event. Citing information printed in a Philadelphia Irish newspaper titled Irish Edition, the page read: “The article stated anti-British feelings are running high as a result of well publicized injustices inflicted on the Birmingham Six by the corrupt English judicial system and the recent rash of brutal murders of unarmed Irish nationalists in the six counties by loyalist death squads.”

It added: “Though the article contained no threats against the President or the Queen, the statements could be viewed as being inflammatory. The article stated that an Irish group had reserved a large block of grand stand tickets.”

Another document in the file, dated July 1976, mentioned an occasion when the Queen traveled back across the Atlantic to help mark America’s bicentennial celebrations, with stops including Philadelphia, Washington and New York.

During that trip, the FBI documents disclose, a summons was issued to a pilot for flying a small two-seater plane over Battery Park, carrying a sign that read “England, Get out of Ireland.”

A SpaceX capsule carrying a decorated former NASA astronaut and three paying customers returned home from the International Space Station Tuesday, concluding a historic weeklong mission for the crew.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft departed the space station Tuesday morning and the crew spent nearly 12 hours in orbit as the capsule maneuvered back toward Earth. After a fiery reentry, the Crew Dragon and passengers made a safe splashdown off the coast of Panama City, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico at 11:04 p.m. ET.

This mission, dubbed Axiom Mission 2, or AX-2, launched from Florida on May 21. AX-2 was put together by the Houston-based company Axiom Space and marked the second all-private mission to the orbiting outpost, meaning solely commercial companies, rather than a government agency, have been leading the mission.

This mission was also a milestone in the history of spaceflight as stem cell researcher Rayyanah Barnawi became the first woman from Saudi Arabia to travel to space.

The AX-2 mission is one in a lineup of commercial missions designed to spur private sector participation in spaceflight — particularly in low-Earth orbit, where the International Space Station orbits.

Meet the AX-2 crew

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, 63, led the AX-2 crew. Whitson, now an Axiom Space employee, also became the first woman to command a private spaceflight.

“I’m really excited about returning to space, but even more excited about welcoming three new astronauts,” Whitson said in a May 21 statement from the Crew Dragon spacecraft after launch.

One of the three paying customers joining Whitson was John Shoffner, an American who made his fortune in the international telecom business and founded the hardware company Dura-Line Corp.

Saudi Arabia also paid to fly two of its citizens: Barnawi and Ali AlQarni, a fighter pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force.

“I am very honored and happy to be representing all the dreams and all the hopes of all the people in Saudi Arabia and all the women back home,” Barnawi told reporters at a May 16 news conference.

During the mission, Barnawi led stem cell research suited for the microgravity environment aboard the space station. The orbiting laboratory has long been a key venue for various scientific experiments, as the lack of gravity can give researchers a better fundamental understanding of the topic at hand. Barnawi and AlQarni also engaged in outreach projects, including testing out a kite in microgravity and capturing video for viewers back home.

The AX-2 crew spent about eight days working alongside astronauts representing NASA, Russia’s Roscomos space agency and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency aboard the space station, though they operated on different schedules. The AX-2 crew worked through a lineup of more than 20 investigations and science projects — including stem cell and other biomedical research.

This mission marked Whitson’s first return to space since 2017. Her extensive prior experience on the station made her a US record holder in 2017 for the most cumulative days logged in space, and she ranks eighth on the all-time list, according to NASA.

Whitson has flown on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft as well as NASA’s space shuttle, but she said preparing for this mission was “obviously different” because it involved training to operate SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which has only been flying astronauts since 2020.

“That’s been one of the biggest challenges for me is learning this particular spacecraft,” she said. “But I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Barnawi and AlQarni are only the second and third Saudi nationals to travel to space. The first was Prince Sultan bin Salman, who spent about a week on a NASA space shuttle mission in 1985.

Saudi Arabia has faced a barrage of criticism from the Biden administration and Congress over its human rights record, though the ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia remain strong.

AlQarni said in a news conference earlier in May that he believes Arabs’ participation in spaceflight is a “great opportunity” that can inspire the region.

The mission will “hold a big message. … We are holding hands, we are working together for the betterment of humanity and just trying to innovate,” he said during a mid-May news briefing.

The future of private spaceflight

This mission isn’t the first time individuals have paid their way to space. A company called Space Adventures brokered several such missions to the space station in the early 2000s, booking rides for wealthy thrill seekers on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft.

Axiom brought that business model to the United States, partnering with SpaceX to establish a framework for getting an array of customers to the space station. The company’s first foray, Axiom Mission 1, or AX-1, launched in April 2022 and marked the first time private citizens traveled to the space station from US soil.

Axiom’s goal is to make these missions routine, offering more opportunities for people who are not professional astronauts to experience spaceflight. During a prelaunch news conference, Derek Hassmann, chief of mission integration and operations at Axiom Space, said his company expects to see more customers sponsored by governments, similar to the AX-2 passengers from Saudi Arabia.

“Government astronauts are indeed a key piece of our business plan,” he said. “Early in the program … it wasn’t clear to us what the balance would be between private individuals and government astronauts since nothing like this had ever been done before. But it’s become clear to us that the government … market is key, and we’re pursuing that actively.”

Axiom leadership envisions private spaceflight will continue even after the space station is retired, which NASA anticipates will happen in late 2030. Axiom is one of several US companies gunning to create a new, privately owned space station. It’s an effort supported by NASA, which aims to bolster private sector participation closer to home so the agency can focus on investing in deep-space exploration.

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic left a political message on a TV camera lens at the French Open on Monday in response to violent clashes in Kosovo.

Following his first-round victory against American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Djokovic wrote “Kosovo is the [heart] of Serbia. Stop the violence” in Serbian on a camera lens, using a heart symbol.

The message was displayed on the big screen of Court Philippe Chatrier.

Tensions have been rising in the past week in Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. There were clashes with protestors on Monday after ethnically Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo, a majority Kosovo Serb area, following April elections that Kosovo Serbs had boycotted.

At least 34 soldiers with NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo were injured during the clashes.

Djokovic elaborated on his message in Serbian at a press conference, saying: “This is the least I could have done. I feel the responsibility as a public figure – doesn’t matter in which field – to give support.

“Especially as a son of a man born in Kosovo, I feel the need to give my support to our people and to the entirety of Serbia. I don’t know, and I think many others don’t know, what the future brings for Kosovo and for Serbian people, but it’s necessary to show support and demonstrate unity in these kinds of situations. I don’t know what will happen.”

Djokovic’s reference to the “entirety of Serbia” reflects the policy of the Serbian government, which still considers Kosovo to be an integral part of its territory and has not recognized the country’s independence.

NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) said that recent developments in Kosovo had prompted it to increase its presence in the northern part of the country on Monday.

According to the Italian defense ministry, some KFOR soldiers were injured when protesters threw “Molotov cocktails with nails, firecrackers and stones.”

“My stance is clear: I am against wars, violence and any kind of conflict, as I’ve always stated publicly. I empathize with all people, but the situation with Kosovo is a precedent in international law,” the 36-year-old added.

As a child growing up in Belgrade, Djokovic lived through NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999, which was intended to end atrocities committed by troops of Yugoslavia’s then-president Slobodan Milošević against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

Djokovic is aiming to win his 23rd grand slam title at the French Open, which would move him clear of Rafael Nadal at the top of the men’s all-time list.

The French Open has already seen a major upset as world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev was knocked out by Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild in the first round on Tuesday.

The world No. 172 showed little sign of nerves by beating Medvedev in a thrilling five-set encounter – 7-6(5) 6-7(6) 2-6 6-3 6-4 – in over four hours on court.

Medvedev is certainly not at his best on the surface but was coming into Roland Garros off the back of winning his first clay-court trophy at this year’s Italian Open.

He was widely expected to beat Seyboth Wild – who was making his first main draw appearance at the grand slam – but the Brazilian came out swinging, dominating the match with his powerful forehand in windy conditions.

“I have watched Daniil play for my entire junior career, up until today. Playing on this court against this kind of player and beating him is a dream come true,” Seyboth Wild, 23, said during his on-court interview.

“Walking on court, I just wanted to get to the net as much as possible and use my forehand against his and it worked pretty well.”

After winning the opening set, Seyboth Wild squandered set points in the second which allowed Medvedev to grow into the game.

The Russian then won the third set with ease but continued to struggle with his consistency and was clearly frustrated.

It allowed the Brazilian to recover and take the match into a nail-biting deciding set in which he held his nerve to see out a memorable win on Philippe Chatrier.

After winning match point with another crushing forehand, the beaming Brazilian turned to the crowd in disbelief, before raising his arms aloft.

“It was pretty tough. I started cramping in the second set. I did my best and tried to play my best tennis and it worked,” Seyboth Wild said. “I am really happy with the way I played.”

He will now face either Quentin Halys or Guido Pella in the second round.

Smoke from raging wildfires in Nova Scotia that has forced nearly 18,500 people to evacuate is spreading from Canada to the United States and impacting cities across the northeast on Tuesday, weather officials said.

The fires, which are continuing as the Canadian region experiences record-breaking heat, span more than 25,000 acres and have destroyed multiple buildings and caused huge plumes of smoke to tower over the region. Officials announced a provincewide burn ban Monday due to the “seriousness of the current fires.”

The smoke is making its way over Cape Cod and will spread along parts of New England as winds shift to the southeast, according to the National Weather Service in Boston.

“Those with a sensitive nose may be able to smell the smoke as it pushes through the region,” the agency said.

A fire burning in Halifax, the provincial capital of Nova Scotia, is “not yet under control” and has forced around 16,492 people to evacuate, according to Halifax Regional Municipality officials.

Authorities said about 2,000 people have been evacuated from Shelburne County in southwest Nova Scotia.

Residents are still advised to avoid the evacuation areas as at least 200 structures suffered damage from the fires, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Deputy Chief Dave Meldrum said on Tuesday, adding that the fires have not yet been contained.

“Please don’t return to the evacuated area. It’s still a dangerous place. It’s not ready for you yet,” Meldrum added.

“I am praying for any type of precipitation at this point, and I know everybody up here shares in that thought,” David Steeves with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Renewables said in a press conference on Tuesday.

“Weather is not helping us at all in regard to this,” Steeves said.

Near Philadelphia, the air quality was considered “moderate” as of Tuesday morning, according to a recent tweet from the National Weather Service. But it’s still uncertain whether the wildfire smoke will reach the ground before dissipating. If it does, the air quality could deteriorate quickly – especially for sensitive groups such as the elderly, young children and people with respiratory illnesses.

An area of high pressure centered to the south of Nova Scotia will bring winds from the southeast later on Tuesday, allowing the smoke to disperse inland and exit north and west of New York. Although some smoke and haze may linger overnight, a general clearing trend is expected near coastal New York.

‘For God’s sake, stop burning,’ officials say

Eight of the 13 wildfires burning in Nova Scotia started on Monday, three of which are “out of control,” Scott Tingley, manager of forest protection for the region’s Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, said during a Tuesday news conference.

The five remaining active wildfires are “small” and authorities have been successful in containing them, Tingley said.

During the news conference, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reminded residents of the provincewide burn ban, saying it was “absolutely ridiculous” that at least six illegal burns were found on Monday by conservation officers.

“Don’t be burning right now. No burning in Nova Scotia,” Houston said. “For God’s sake, stop burning. Stop flicking your cigarette butts out your car window. Just stop it.”

The ban is expected to stay in place until June 25, “unless the Province determines it can be lifted sooner,” officials said in a news release on Monday.

“Our resources right now are stretched incredibly thin right now fighting existing fires,” Houston said.

Every household required to evacuate will receive $500 administered through the Canadian Red Cross, according to the release. The funds are intended to help with what Houston called “urgent needs such as food and personal care items.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the wildfires “incredibly serious” in a tweet Monday.

“We stand ready to provide any federal support and assistance needed,” Trudeau said. “We’re keeping everyone affected in our thoughts, and we’re thanking those who are working hard to keep people safe.”

Between 1990 and 1998, the Chicago Bulls won six NBA championships, in arguably the greatest run in North American sports history. In fact, the only two years the Bulls didn’t win the title was when Michael Jordan tried his hand at baseball.

The run was spearheaded by Jordan – arguably the greatest basketball player of all time – but that level of success wouldn’t have been possible without a complimentary No. 2; the Robin to his Batman – in this instance, that was Scottie Pippen.

The key roles played by ‘His Airness’ and Pippen in Chicago’s success featured prominently in “The Last Dance” on Netflix – the acclaimed documentary series detailing Jordan’s time with the franchise, in particular, his final year with the team in the 1997/98 season.

However, speaking on his former Bulls teammate Stacey King’s podcast ‘Gimme the Hot Sauce’ on Friday, Pippen described Jordan as a “horrible player.”

“I’ve seen Michael Jordan play before I came to the Bulls. You guys have seen him play … He was horrible to play with. It was all 1-on-1, shooting bad shots. All of a sudden, we become a team and we start winning. Everybody forgot who he was. He was a player who was really not at the top of his category. It was scoring.”

Jordan played three seasons with the Bulls before Pippen was drafted to Chicago. In the 1986/87 season, Jordan averaged 37.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

Pippen appeared to double down on his comments and his own impact in the league a day after his podcast appearance in an Instagram post with a picture of himself during his younger days accompanied with the caption: “From humble beginnings to 6 championships, 2 gold medals, Hall of Fame, and leading the Bulls franchise with the most playoff wins. Here’s to the unsung heroes… Cheers!”

In the interview with King’s podcast, Pippen also dished out high praise to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James – the player whom many debate is Jordan’s equal, if not his superior.

“LeBron will be the greatest statistical guy to ever play the game of basketball,” Pippen said. “And there’s no comparison to him. None. So does that make him the greatest player to ever play the game?”

Jordan hasn’t commented before on Pippen’s angst towards him, but according to sports journalist Jackie MacMullan on the ‘Hoop Collective’ podcast after a chat the two had had for MacMullan’s own podcast, Jordan appeared surprised by recent remarks.

“I don’t think he was particularly thrilled with the blowback from ‘The Last Dance’ and some of the things that came back at him,” MacMullan said. “I think some of it flummoxed him a little bit to be honest.”

Pippen’s past feelings about No. 23

Pippen, a Hall of Famer, hasn’t been afraid of expressing his feelings towards Jordan in the past either.

Shortly after the release of “The Last Dance,” Pippen said he “was nothing more than a prop” in the 10-part docuseries.

“They glorified Michael Jordan while not giving nearly enough praise to me and my proud teammates,” Pippen wrote in his memoir, ‘Unguarded.’ “Michael deserved a large portion of the blame. The producers had granted him editorial control of the final product. The doc couldn’t have been released otherwise. He was the leading man and the director.

He added: “Even in the second episode, which focused for a while on my difficult upbringing and unlikely path to the NBA, the narrative returned to MJ and his determination to win. I was nothing more than a prop. His ‘best teammate of all time,’ he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried.

“Each episode was the same: Michael on a pedestal, his teammates secondary, smaller, the message no different from when he referred to us back then as his ‘supporting cast.’ From one season to the next, we received little or no credit whenever we won, but the bulk of the criticism when we lost.

“Michael could shoot 6-for-24 from the field, commit five turnovers, and he was still, in the minds of the adoring press and public, the Errorless Jordan. … Now, here I was, in my mid-50s, 17 years since my final game, watching us being demeaned once again. Living through it the first time was insulting enough.”

Pippen’s recent comments, however, are a change from statements he’s made in the past about comparisons between Jordan and James.

“Michael Jordan was the greatest to ever put on shoes and play in our game. No doubt about it,” Pippen said in 2018 on ESPN.

“I’m always asked to compare him to LeBron. I try to make the best of it. But really the comparison shouldn’t ever be made. They both play two different positions. The way LeBron James plays, Michael Jordan was never asked to play that way because I took that away from him. I was the point forward. I was the facilitator. Michael Jordan was a scorer. He was a defender. He played the game as complete as LeBron James did when he needed to. But he was asked to score the basketball and that’s what he was great at.

“And there’s no game that I would ever play in and pick LeBron James over Michael Jordan. Not if I’m trying to win. I’m not going to give up my teammate who I won six championships with and go and start fishing in a pond thinking I’m going to catch a bigger and better fish.”

Its economy lie-flat seating concept is making waves, and now Air New Zealand is officially the airline of the year, at least according to Australia-based aviation safety and product rating agency AirlineRatings.com.

AirlineRatings.com cites AirNZ’s intriguing SkyNest economy beds – set to launch in 2024 – as one of the key factors determining its number one spot.

AirlineRatings.com also praised Air New Zealand’s operational safety, environmental leadership and staff motivation.

Ranking airlines

After a couple of years of reduced air travel in the wake of the pandemic, travelers returned to the air in 2022 to significant airline chaos – canceled flights, lost luggage and overstretched staff.

The result, said Thomas, was an “interesting” year all in all, as “most airlines suffered declines in passenger approvals as the industry struggled to get into the air.”

The jury’s still out on whether this year will see a more stable air travel landscape. And interestingly, while Air New Zealand came out on top for 2023, Thomas said the results were close among the top five.

Qatar Airways, which topped last year’s AirlineRatings.com’s ranking, came in at number two this year, also winning the Best Business Class, Best Catering and Excellence in Long Haul Travel – Middle East awards.

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is number 3 on AirlineRatings.com’s 2023 list. Korean Air, which also won the Excellence in Long Haul Travel – North Asia award was at number four. Singapore Airlines, named top in the Best First Class award and the Excellence in Long Haul Travel – Southeast Asia award, took fifth place overall.

To produce its rankings, AirlineRatings.com examines major safety and government audits, as well as looking at airline fleet age, passenger reviews, profitability, investment rating, product offerings and staff relations. Since the awards launched in 2014, Thomas said scoring and categories have morphed “to reflect the ever changing dynamics of the industry and customer expectations.”

Air New Zealand is also making headlines this week for other reasons. From now until July 2, 2023, New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority is asking its national airline to weigh passengers departing on international flights from Auckland International Airport.

AirlineRatings.com’s top 25 airlines for 2022

1. Air New Zealand
2. Qatar Airways
3. Etihad Airways
4. Korean Air
5. Singapore Airlines
6. Qantas
7. Virgin Australia/Virgin Atlantic
8. EVA Air
9. Cathay Pacific Airways
10. Emirates
11. Lufthansa / Swiss
12. SAS
13. TAP Portugal
14. All Nippon Airways
15. Delta Air Lines
16. Air Canada
17. British Airways
18. Jet Blue
19. JAL
20. Vietnam Airlines
21. Turkish Airlines
22. Hawaiian
23. KLM
24. Alaska Airlines
25. United Airlines.