The meeting happened in the southern city of Kandahar on May 12, between the Taliban Supreme Leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada and Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.

The meeting, first reported by Reuters, is believed to be the first between Akhundzada and a foreign leader.

The Biden administration was quickly briefed by Qatar in Washington and then in a phone call the day after the meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Al-Thani, who also serves as foreign minister. A brief readout by the State Department on May 13 only noted Blinken’s “appreciation for Qatar’s continued assistance on Afghanistan.”

Qatar’s Al Jazeera reported a few days later that Al-Thani had visited the Afghan capital as part of “facilitating the relations between the caretaker [Taliban] government and the international community…”

American officials have met occasionally with Taliban representatives in the Qatari capital, Doha, since the US left Afghanistan in August 2021 amid the Taliban takeover of the country.

Despite American warnings to the Taliban not harbor terrorists, Al Qaeda’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri took up residence in Kabul before being killed in a US drone strike last July.

Qatar serves as the US protecting power in Afghanistan, where it does not have a diplomatic presence. The diplomatic compound in Kabul – once one of the largest US Embassies in the world – has been shuttered since August 2021, and the US relocated its diplomatic mission to Doha.

The strawberry moon will light up the night sky this weekend.

You can watch the full moon’s rise just after sunset in the southeast direction. The orb will reach peak illumination at 11:42 p.m. ET Saturday and appear full for three days, according to NASA. Find out your local peak time using The Old Farmer’s Almanac’s full moon calculator and check the local forecast.

The name of this last full moon of the spring, which is sometimes the first full moon of the summer, has nothing to do with the moon’s appearance or color. The strawberry moon got its name from Native American tribes “to mark the ripening of ‘June-bearing’ strawberries that are ready to be gathered,” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which notes, “As flowers bloom and early fruit ripens, June is a time of great abundance for many.”

This year, according to NASA, some moon gazers will get an additional treat. People in Argentina and the Atlantic Daylight Time zones “eastward across the rest of North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia to the International Date Line in the mid-Pacific” will see Antares, the most luminous star in the Scorpius constellation, a few degrees right of the moon.

What’s more, at dusk Saturday two striking planets will be on display.

“We can see Venus setting in the west,” said Mike Hankey, operations manager for the American Meteor Society, via email. “This will appear as a ‘very bright star’ near the horizon. It is the brightest object in the sky next to the sun and moon. Mars is also visible just next to Venus and can be seen at dark and will look like a dim reddish star to the top left of Venus.”

June full moon and traditions

People of other regions have also given the June moon names that represent their seasonal or cultural customs — such as the Europeans’ honey moon since June “was traditionally the month of marriage, and is even named after the Roman goddess of marriage, Juno,” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

For believers of Hinduism, this moon and the three days it appears full mark Vat Purnima, when women demonstrate their love for their husbands by “tying a ceremonial thread around a banyan tree,” according to NASA.

The strawberry full moon isn’t your last chance to catch a cool celestial event this year. Here are the full moons, eclipses and meteor showers to watch out for through the rest of 2023.

Full moons and supermoons

Most years have 12 full moons, but 2023 will have 13, with two — which are supermoons — happening in August. Supermoons are brighter and closer to Earth than normal and therefore appear larger in the sky. There are four supermoon events in 2023, including one on July 3 and September 29.

Here are the full moons remaining in 2023, according to the Farmer’s Almanac:

● July 3: Buck moon

● August 1: Sturgeon moon

● August 30: Blue moon

● September 29: Harvest moon

● October 28: Hunter’s moon

● November 27: Beaver moon

● December 26: Cold moon

Lunar and solar eclipses

An annular solar eclipse will occur on October 14 and be visible for people across North, Central and South America. This is when the moon passes between the sun and Earth at or near its farthest point from Earth — making the moon appear smaller than the sun and creating a glowing ring around the moon.

When viewing solar eclipses, wear eclipse glasses to avoid eye-damaging sunlight.

On October 28, a partial lunar eclipse will be viewable by people in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, parts of North America and much of South America. In this type of event, the sun, Earth and moon don’t completely align, so only part of the moon passes into shadow.

Meteor showers

There are nine more meteor showers that peak this year, all of which are most visible from late evening until dawn in areas without light pollution. Catch these events on their peak dates:

● Southern Delta Aquariids: July 30-31

● Alpha Capricornids: July 30-31

● Perseids: August 12-13

● Orionids: October 20-21

● Southern Taurids: November 4-5

● Northern Taurids: November 11-12

● Leonids: November 17-18

● Geminids: December 13-14

● Ursids: December 21-22

The 2023 Stanley Cup Final gets underway Saturday as the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Florida Panthers in the NHL’s end of season showcase.

The Knights go into the final as heavy favorites with many expecting the Stanley Cup to be heading to Vegas for the first time. However, the Panthers are happy to play the role of the underdog and have been on an incredible playoff run thus far.

The world of ice hockey knows that anything can happen when it comes to shocks with Florida looking to channel images of the “Miracle on Ice.”

The likes of Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe will be hoping to do their best Mike Eruzione impression from Team USA’s famous win against the Soviet Union.

How to watch

The best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final starts on Saturday June 3 with the opening game starting at 8 p.m E.T.

All the games from this year’s Stanley Cup Final will be shown live in the US on TNT.

The favorites

The Vegas Golden Knights finished with the most points in the Western conference. The Golden Knights picked up 111 points and ended the season with a 51-22 record with nine overtime losses.

The Golden Knights faced the Winnipeg Jets in the opening round of the playoffs. Despite losing the first game, Vegas bounced back to win four on the trot to take a 4-1 series win.

The Edmonton Oilers were up next and Vegas marched to a 4-2 second-round series win to set up a Western Conference Final series against the Dallas Stars.

The Golden Knights raced to a 3-0 series lead before the Stars won back-to-back games to keep the series interesting. Eventually Vegas wrapped up the series with a 6-0 win to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Vegas stars Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith previously took to the ice for Florida before being let go after being deemed unwanted. Since then, Marchessault has become Vegas’ all-time leader in goals, assists, points and games played while Smith is second in goals, fourth in assists, third in points and fourth in games played.

“They’re reminding me a lot of the team we had the first year: against all odds,” Marchessault said of the Panthers after reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

“They worked hard to be there. It’s all in their honor. They have a great team all around the lineup and a good goaltender. Yeah, definitely excited to play them, and it’s going to be a good series.”

The underdogs

While the Golden Knights were expected to go far following the regular season, the Florida Panthers have upset the odds throughout the playoffs to reach their first final for almost 30 years.

The Panthers qualified for the playoffs via the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference and as a result faced the Eastern Conference table toppers in the first round.

The Boston Bruins set the NHL regular season record for most wins (65) and most points (135) in a single season and a routine series win was expected for the recordbreakers.

When the Bruins raced to a 3-1 lead, it seemed like the series was going exactly according to script with the favorites advancing. However, Paul Maurice’s team had other ideas and won three consecutive games to shock the hockey world.

The Panthers and the Bruins played out a thriller in Game 7 with the match going to overtime. In OT, Verhaeghe popped up with a winner to send the underdogs soaring into the second round, thwarting the Bruins’ Stanley Cup dreams.

Florida’s next two series were wrapped up a lot more comfortably. The Panthers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 before sealing a 4-0 sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Panthers star Tkachuk has led in points in the postseason with 21 (nine goals, 12 assists), but more than that, the 25-year-old has stepped up in the crunch moments when his team has needed him.

He’s netted three overtime goals in the playoffs, including the game-winner on a power play with 4.9 seconds remaining in regulation in Game 4 against Carolina.

Tkachuk said his Panthers team is relishing the feeling of proving people wrong with their run to the final two.

“Kind of that similar feel of being the underdog and trying to prove people wrong again,” Tkachuk said.

Nearly nine months after missing out on the 1,500 metres world record by three-hundredths of a second, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon buried the ghost of past disappointments with an emphatic performance at Friday’s Florence Diamond League meeting.

In Monaco last year, double Olympic and world 1500m champion Kipyegon came agonisingly close to breaking Genzebe Dibaba’s mark of 3:50.07 set in 2015 as she crossed the line in 3:50.37.

Kipyegon’s narrow miss left her dejected, with the 29-year-old telling Olympics.com, “… after the finish line, I thought I got the world record.

“That’s why I went down and slept a little bit, knowing that I got it. But later I saw the screen and it was really disappointing.”

However, on Friday, Kipyegon did not let up for a moment, doggedly continuing on long after she had left her rivals in the dust to cross the line in 3:49.11 – almost an entire second faster than Dibaba’s record.

“When I crossed the finish line, I knew I broke the world record because I had a good finish and felt very strong at the end. I knew everything was possible,” Kipyegon said after her remarkable run on Friday.

The Kenyan remained behind the pacemakers for the first half of the race before running clear in the final 300m to finish well ahead of Britain’s Laura Muir and Australian Jessica Hull.

“After 1,000, when the pacemaker went out, I just pushed myself towards the finish line. And that was what my manager told me – anything is possible – after the pacemaker, just run your race,” Kipyegon said.

The world record completes Kipyegon’s collection of achievements, adding to her two Olympic 1,500m golds and the 2017 and 2022 world titles, Commonwealth Games gold medal from 2014 and three Diamond League titles.

“This was really important because this was something I was still missing in my career,” Kipyegon added.

“Getting this, it will really motivate me and I left the legacy for the next generation – they can say she broke the world record, she was the Olympic and the world champion. It was amazing tonight.”

The Phoenix Suns will hire Frank Vogel as the franchise’s new head coach, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania citing NBA sources.

The 49-year-old Vogel previously coached the Los Angeles Lakers for three seasons, helping lead the team to an NBA championship in 2020 before his firing in 2022. He also coached the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers.

Vogel replaces Monty Williams, who compiled a 194-115 record in four seasons with the team and won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award last season after the Suns won 64 regular-season games.

In 2021, Williams, who just reportedly signed a record deal to coach the Detroit Pistons, helped lead the Suns to its first NBA finals appearance since 1993.

Feeling the squeeze

Weight load and distribution is a delicate balance in terms of airplane safety, but as people’s average heights and weights change over the decades, it’s a situation that needs to be monitored.

Air New Zealand – which just topped a list of 2023’s best airlines – is on the case by asking all of its international departing travelers to hop on the scales as part of a passenger weight survey, the results of which are thankfully anonymous.

And in the United States, two senators are raising the alarm about cramped airline seats. They’re calling for new cabin evacuation tests, saying that the Federal Aviation Administration is ignoring “the reality of flying in America today” and that the safety testing carried out in 2019 wasn’t fit for the purpose.

Also this week, South Korea’s Asiana Airlines is no longer selling seats near the emergency exits on Airbus A321s, after a recent incident in which a man allegedly opened a door midflight. Yikes!

Destination inspiration

Pop quiz: What was the world’s first capital city be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site? No, it wasn’t Rome or Athens, it was Quito in Ecuador. This underrated capital, with its historic center built on the remains of an Inca city, deserves to be more than just a stopover on the way to the Galapagos Islands.

You probably haven’t stacked up many postcards from Karakorum, Mongolia’s ancient capital. However, as the home of the Khan dynasty, from Genghis to Kublai, it’s a motherlode of cultural history. And now that the country’s president has vowed to revitalize the city, the future’s looking bright, too.

Aficionados of late 20th-century American culture may instead prefer a self-guided “Dazed and Confused” tour of Austin, Texas. Richard Linklater’s stoner cult hit has just celebrated its 30th anniversary but to misquote Matthew McConaughey’s character Wooderson, “That’s what I love about these Gen X movies, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”

Big dreams, big dollars

China is building a 15-mile, $6.7 billion bridge featuring eight lanes, artificial islands and an undersea tunnel. It’s part of its plans to turn its Greater Bay Area, one of the world’s largest and most populated urban regions, into an economic hub to rival San Francisco or New York. There might be some bumps on the way, though.

In Rwanda, work’s underway on a new $2 billion airport just south of the capital of Kigali. Developers hope the new facility, which will be able to handle 8 million passengers a year when it opens in 2026, will be the jewel in the crown of Africa’s aviation industry.

Finally, plans have been revealed for what could be the world’s largest ocean restoration project. If construction goes ahead, the ambitious project in Dubai would consist of 77 square miles of artificial reef, creating a home for more than one billion corals and 100 million mangrove trees.

Dare to bare

With topless bathing now allowed at Berlin’s public swimming pools and on the popular vacation island of Nantucket, it’s been a big year for fans of life au naturel. There are now more places than ever to frolic fabric-free at clothing-optional beaches. Here’s our roundup of 20 of the world’s best nude beaches.

In case you missed it

First Rome’s Trevi Fountain turned black, then Venice’s Grand Canal turned green. 

This video explains why Venice went Hulk-hued.

How “begpackers” became some of Asia’s least popular tourists. 

Turns out people don’t like being asked to fund other people’s vacations.

A Sherpa saved a climber in Mount Everest’s “death zone.” 

He says it was the hardest rescue in his life.

These flight attendants fell in love on an airplane.

Here’s their feel-good story to kick off Pride Month.

North Korea’s attempt to put a military reconnaissance satellite in space failed Wednesday when the second stage of the rocket malfunctioned, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that Pyongyang planned to carry out a second launch as soon as possible.

“The new satellite vehicle rocket, Chollima-1, crashed into the West Sea ​​as it lost propulsion due to an abnormal startup of the engine on the 2nd stage after the 1st stage was separated during normal flight,” KCNA said.

The report said “the reliability and stability of the new engine system” was “low” and the fuel used “unstable,” leading to the mission’s failure.

North Korea’s National Space Development Agency said it would investigate the failure “urgently” and carry out another launch after new testing, KCNA reported.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said it identified an object presumed to be part of what North Korea claims to be its space launch vehicle in the sea about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Eocheong Island at around 8:05 a.m. and is in the process of obtaining it.

Earlier, South Korea’s military said Pyongyang fired a “space projectile,” triggering emergency alerts in Seoul and Japan, weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to prepare to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite.

Both countries later canceled those alerts when it became clear there was no danger to civilian areas from the North Korean launch.

Analysts said Wednesday morning’s events illustrated problems for both North and South Korea, for Pyongyang in its space program and for Seoul in its public alert process.

“North Korean space efforts have consistently failed, indicating that whereas its military ballistic capabilities are being developed, its space launch capabilities are not proceeding at the same pace of development,” said Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst at The Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

“That is curious because space launch capabilities and ballistic missile systems are essentially similar technologies in many respects, and North Korean testing of ballistic missile systems have been more successful,” Davis said.

South Korea’s spy agency said it believes that the launch Wednesday might have failed partly because North Korea rushed preparations and tried to change the flight path, South Korean lawmaker and ruling party member Yoo Sang-bum told reporters on live TV.

Citing the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Yoo said in a briefing to reporters that Kim Jong Un is believed to have watched the attempt from about 1.3km away from the Tongchang-ri launch site.

The North Korean satellite is believed to be 1.3 meters (4.3 feet) long and weigh 300 kilograms (661 pounds), Yoo said, adding that it’s believed to be capable of basic reconnaissance duty with resolution of a maximum 1 meter. “[The NIS] believes this rocket is a new projectile based on an ICBM engine,” the lawmaker said.

Yoo said the NIS believes it would take at least a couple of weeks for North Korea to mount a second launch, though possibly less if the issues aren’t serious.

North Korea has performed dozens of ballistic missile tests over the past two years, which analysts have said have shown a maturation in the program.

The test of a new solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in April showed that Pyongyang could launch the missiles more quickly in the event of any nuclear confrontation, analysts said.

The North Korean launch sparked air raid sirens around Seoul about 6:30 a.m., causing confusion among residents who are used to pre-announced tests of the warning system in the middle of the day.

The sirens were followed by a text sent to cell phones, telling people to prepare to seek shelter.

The alert was canceled about 20 minutes after it was issued.

Who implemented the alert remains uncertain. The Interior Ministry said it was issued by the Seoul city government in error.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon apologized to the citizens for “causing confusion” over sending a citywide alert, adding that efforts will be made to refine the system to avoid similar situations.

Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said any criticism of government leaders for the alert may be unwarranted.

“The government would receive more criticism if it did not make every effort for public safety,” Easley said.

In fact, he said the alert could help shake South Korean residents from complacency about the dangers posed by Pyongyang’s missile programs.

“The Yoon administration will likely promise improvements to the alert system but may also expect that greater awareness of the North Korean threat will increase support for the government’s military deterrence policies,” Easley said.

Both the South Korean and Japanese governments condemned the North Korean launch as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

“Whether it was a success or not (it was) a serious provocation that threatens peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the international community,” according to a statement from Yoon’s office.

In Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tokyo “vehemently protested” to North Korea. He promised continued “vigilance and surveillance” from the Japanese government.

Japan’s Defense Ministry had warned on Monday it would destroy any North Korean missile that entered its territory after Pyongyang notified the country of plans to launch a “satellite.”

Brazil’s lower house of Congress on Tuesday night approved a bill that would limit the recognition of ancestral lands in a vote met by protests from Indigenous groups.

The bill, known as PL 490/2007, would strip the environment and Indigenous people ministries of some powers, weakening their oversight of environmental protections and the demarcation of Indigenous lands.

The proposed legislation, which passed by 283 votes to 155, still requires approval from the Senate and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Ahead of the vote, Indigenous groups blocked a highway just outside the country’s largest city Sao Paulo. Protesters burned tires, fired arrows and threw objects at the riot and military police, who used water cannons and tear gas in return.

Indigenous groups from across the country also planned protests in the capital Brasilia, where Lula da Silva is meeting with South American leaders.

The president could still veto the bill, Reuters reports, but Congress could have enough support to override the move.

“PL490 has been approved by the Chamber: a serious attack on indigenous peoples and the environment,” Sônia Guajajara, the Indigenous Peoples minister, tweeted late on Tuesday.

“We keep fighting for life. Still in the Senate, we will dialogue to avoid negotiating our lives in exchange for profit and destruction. We will not give up!.”

What’s in the bill

Lula da Silva has promised to repair the damage to the Amazon caused during the tenure of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. A surge in invasions and illegal extraction of natural resources in protected Indigenous lands were reported under the far-right former leader’s time in office.

Last month, Lula da Silva recognized six Indigenous territories, Reuters reports, fulfilling part of his campaign promise to protect Indigenous lands from being taken for farming, gold mining and logging in the Amazon.

But Lula da Silva has had to face a hostile Congress, which approved expediting the bill’s review process last week.

While the bill does not impact fully recognized Indigenous territories, it would affect territories that are under claim.

Rights groups warn that the bill would “prevent Indigenous communities from obtaining title of their lands if they were not physically present on them on October 5, 1988, the day Brazil’s current Constitution was adopted,” writes Human Rights Watch.

“Indigenous peoples who were expelled from their territory before October 1988 and cannot prove they were involved in an ongoing dispute over their claim on that date would not be able to secure legal recognition of their lands,” Human Rights Watch wrote in a statement.

“Choosing an arbitrary cutoff date and refusing to recognize ancestral lands claimed after that date is not in line with international standards,” it added.

Kim Yo Jong, senior North Korean official and sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said a North Korean military reconnaissance satellite will soon enter space orbit and begin its mission, according to state news agency KCNA on Thursday local time.

Kim defended Wednesday’s failed launch and North Korea’s right to self-defense, saying that if North Korea’s satellite launch is to be condemned, all the countries that have already launched thousands of satellites, including the US, should be condemned, referring to it as a group of gangsters, in the statement.

North Korea is well aware of “the protracted nature of the confrontation with the US” and will make all efforts to “bolster up war deterrence in all-inclusive direction,” KCNA statement said.

The statement added that North Korea will “never remain an onlooker” when the US and its actors continue its “rash acts of infringing upon our sovereign right.”

Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea’s attempt to put a military reconnaissance satellite in space failed when the second stage of the rocket malfunctioned, KCNA said.

“The new satellite vehicle rocket, Chollima-1, crashed into the West Sea ​​as it lost propulsion due to an abnormal startup of the engine on the 2nd stage after the 1st stage was separated during normal flight,” KCNA said.

The report said “the reliability and stability of the new engine system” was “low” and the fuel used “unstable,” leading to the mission’s failure.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said it identified an object presumed to be part of what North Korea claims to be its space launch vehicle in the sea about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Eocheong Island at around 8:05 a.m. and is in the process of obtaining it.

The bodies of four people have been recovered from Lake Maggiore in northern Italy after a tourist boat capsized on Sunday evening, Italy’s fire service has said.

Search and rescue operations have now concluded after the last body was recovered at 8 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), the fire service, Vigili del Fuoco, said in a tweet Monday.

The 16-meter (52-foot) houseboat had been carrying 24 people when it encountered difficulty during a “violent storm” and capsized shortly after 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. ET) on Sunday, Sky Tg24 reported.

There were 22 tourists on board, including British passengers, and two crew members, according to Sky Tg24.

Twenty people were rescued after the boat capsized, the fire and rescue service said.

Some of the 20 survivors reportedly managed to swim to the shore, according to Sky Tg24, adding that, although five were taken to the hospital, no survivors had sustained any serious injuries.

Divers and a helicopter were used as part of the search and rescue operation, according to the fire and rescue service.

Among those killed was the skipper of the boat’s girlfriend, while one of the bodies was found within the wreckage of the boat, roughly 15 meters (49 feet) below water, Sky Tg24 added.

An operation is now underway to recover the sunken boat.

Lake Maggiore is a popular destination for tourists and is shared by Italy and Switzerland.

Passengers had been celebrating a birthday party when the boat, traveling between the Italian towns of Lisanza and Dormelletto, capsized, according to Sky Tg24.